“You’re such a naive academic” 🤦‍♂️

This is what Intel CEO, Andy Grove, called Clayton Christensen, the famous HBS professor and proponent of “The Innovator’s dilemma” theory, who made the word “disruption” popular.

Andy Grove authored both a technical & management book

In the mid 90s, Grove was more interested in understanding HOW to EXECUTE strategy and fend off innovators, than in academic discussions of start ups (like NVIDIA) posing threats to his empire.

His valid criticism eventually led to another consulting framework, this one by Chris McChesney, called “D4X” – “Disciplines for Execution”, which I stumbled upon while reading the book “Deep Work” by Cal Newport. 🤓

Anyone who has experienced “Ops-Shaming” – that old (communist) feeling you can sniff in the company culture, that hints only operations or production “delivers” (these days “builds”) value, need fear no longer.

Now, you too, can execute “Like A Boss”

So, what are the 4 Disciplines of Execution (D4X), you ask?

Executing, it turns out, is quite simple :

D1. Focus only on what’s wildly important
Don’t sweat the small stuff

D2. Act on leading measures
This one was an aha for me – don’t focus on outcomes (lagging measures you don’t control) but leading drivers. Karma Yoga 101.

D3. Keep a compelling dashboard
If you’ve ever walked a factory shop-floor, you can’t miss the charts, man 📈 📊 – they’re everywhere!! 📉 This is often missing in most non-Operations departments, probably due to the intangible nature of work.

D4. Create a Cadence of Accountability
In Maruti Suzuki India Limited, my first organisation, every day in the plant used to start with an All-Hands-Stand Up-Meeting.

Non-Operations folks – The onus is on you to prove your value! 🥊