You Like, I Like

Big ideas are impressive. How they’re implemented makes a world of difference.

Christ in Limbo by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1575 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)

“A man’s accomplishments in life are the cumulative effect of his attention to detail.”
— John Foster Dulles, 1953

Management guru Peter Drucker¹ is often credited with the phrase “Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art.” While there is no evidence of this exact phrase in his works, it was the guiding principle behind his life’s philosophy.

This is not to say that a vision or strategy is without merit; quite the contrary. If the gods of the C-suite are forming the body of a new being, strategy is the skeleton that forms the inner structure, while execution takes the shape of muscle, sinew, and skin to give refinement and responsiveness to the changing world.

Napoleon knew as much when he confessed that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. Eisenhower, preparing for D-Day, called planning indispensable but plans useless.

These contradictions of related terms or topics are part of what make leadership fascinating. Models and formulas exist to guide the ever-learning leader, but reality always delivers something slightly different.

Tom Peters manages to capture some of these contradictions in a piece he calls “You Like, I Like,”² inspired by his book Excellence Now: Extreme Humanism.³

He penned 52 coupled phrases; here I share a few notable ones.

You Like Strategy, I Like Execution

You like strategy.
I like execution.

You like big gestures.
I like small gestures.

You worry about disruption.
I worry about the next five minutes.

You like systems.
I like people.

You like to “get to the point.”
I like kindness.

You like answers.
I like questions.

You like “sticking to the script.”
I like unbridled curiosity.

You think “we pay our taxes.”
I think our responsibility to the community is enormous—taxes are but a first step.

You think women can be good managers.
I think women on average are better managers than men—and better salespeople, negotiators, and investors.

You like “Do it because it’s your job.”
I like “Thanks for the extra effort.”

You say, “finish it up” and move on.
I say the “last five percent” makes all the difference—and takes lots (and lots) of time.

You like your office.
I like the shop floor.

You think the development and maintenance of relationships is “not insignificant.”
I think the development and maintenance of relationships must be a “daily obsession.”

You want a technical group to be peopled with folks who have sterling technical backgrounds.
I want a technical group peppered with poets and musicians and artists and theater majors.

You like people who read Forbes and Fortune.
I like people who read Dickens and Ishiguro.

You “try to find time” to read.
I follow the dictum of fanatic studenthood and read and read—and read some more.

You like people who dream in spreadsheets and process maps.
I like people who dream about helping others accomplish things they never imagined possible.

You promote the ones with the best technical skills.
I promote the ones with the best people skills.

You say, “leave your personal issues at home.”
I say we benefit from a caring environment that celebrates and is enhanced by 100 percent of who you are.

You think management is about getting the most out of people.
I think management is helping people succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

Read the whole thing.

Strategy tells us what might be. Execution proves what is.

And between the two yawns the great gulf where history is written, where dreams survive or perish, and where, as Drucker well knew, the art of life is found not in conceiving but in doing.

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I help executives and their teams craft a clear and compelling vision, communicate clearly, and execute relentlessly. Can I help your team?

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There’s so much to learn,

1. Learn more about Peter Drucker’s work at The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University

2. “You Like, I Like,” by Tom Peters, May 21, 2021

3. Tom first appeared on Timeless Leadership in Episode 9 to discuss Excellence Now: Extreme Humanism; he joined again in Episode 48 to promote his Compact Guide to Excellence.