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Chapter 8: The Execution Challenge
This page includes links to videos and articles featuring managers from different parts of the world. You can use these materials to gain insight into how practicing managers think about the topics that are discussed in Effective Management: Developing Yourself, Others and Organizations . Please note that these are external weblinks, which means that their content is not under the control of the book author and publisher. If you do come across a broken link, please contact us at: web.editor@macmillaneducation.com.
Meet the managers from the “CEO best practice” boxes …
| Leslie Wexner, CEO of L Brands (USA) | ||||
 | Video link: https://youtu.be/Ur7XBc5HEe4 [01:26] In this short video, L Brands CEO Leslie Wexner emphasizes the importance of curiosity for success. Reflection and discussion question: - How is curiosity linked to the ability to effectively manage an organizational change process? | |||
 | Article link: http://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2014.4_Oct/Ohio/LEADERS-Leslie-Wexner-L-Brands.html This interview with Leaders magazine (which is also quoted in the CEO best practice box in the textbook) provides additional background information about Wexner’s attitude toward change. Reflection and discussion questions: - What does Wexner mean when he talks about the need to “reinvent yourself”? - What makes change initiatives more difficult in large, well-established organizations? What can managers do to keep such organizations “agile” and open to change? | |||
| Gregory Case, CEO of Aon plc (UK) | ||||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/_UuYAqLQfWg [03:24 minutes] In this video, Gregory Case, CEO of Aon plc, a leading global player in the insurance brokerage and risk consulting industry, talks about how digital technology will fundamentally redefine the workplace, both in his own company and for its clients. Reflection and discussion question: - What impact could new digital technologies and the ability to collect and analyze “big data” have on the strategy execution process in organizations? | |||
… and meet a few other managers, too
| Lucy Qi, Director of Human Resources at Michelin China (China) | ||||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/ZzQwzdNz-WU [14:12 minutes] In this video produced by China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Lucy Qi, Director of Human Resources at Michelin China, talks about how the general manager of the company´s factory in Shanghai initiated and effectively led a change process. Reflection and discussion questions: - According to Qi, which concrete actions did the general manager of Michelin China take to implement the change? How would you evaluate these actions in terms of their effectiveness? - After watching the video, what would you see as the three main success factors for effectively implementing a change project? | |||
| Paul Polman, former CEO, Unilever (The Netherlands/UK) | ||||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/xoBWKTnTPpw [07:32 minutes] In this video, Paul Polman, who served as the CEO of the transnational consumer goods company Unilever from 2009 to 2019, shares his perspective on how to best execute a strategy. Reflection and discussion questions: - What does Polman mean when he says that “at the end of the day, execution is strategy”? - What, according to Polman, are the “secrets” of effective execution? | |||
| | In this interview with McKinsey & Company, Polman reflects on the importance of execution in managing a global consumer goods company. Reflection and discussion questions: - Which tools did Polman use to ensure that the company’s strategies were adequately implemented? - At the end of the interview, Polman emphasizes the “importance of people.” What does the “importance of people” mean for organizing and leading a successful strategy execution process? | |||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/nARmfhXhCQg [08:18 minutes] In this video, Paul Polman is interviewed by his son Sebastian. In the interview, Polman reflects on his responsibility as a manager. Reflection and discussion question: - What is the link between having values and being purpose-driven on the one hand, and effective execution on the other? | |||
