Hitting the wall is a rude awakening that occurs when a company has enjoyed consistent high-level performance, but comes up against some new factor: a downward turn in the economy, a lack of product innovation, growth that occurs too rapidly, a missed market opportunity, or as is most often the case, ineffective execution. Because of that new factor, the company can no longer sustain profitable growth for a significant period of time, at least two years. It is typically rude, because most business leaders don't see it coming, and it is often preceded by strong performance.

Indeed, hitting the wall has become a new business norm, and with economic conditions as they are today, business reversals haunt the leadership of more and more companies. Unfortunately, most companies that "hit the wall" never truly get past it. But a few have discovered the secrets of recharging growth and innovation. This book tries to offer urgent guidance on how to return to the path of success, on how businesses can recover after hitting performance walls. My hope is that after reading this book, you feel that it is possible to revitalize your organization, and that you have some key principles and tools to do so.

Leaders who pull themselves through various setbacks demonstrate common behavior patterns summed up neatly by the phrase ruthless execution. The bottom line is that business leaders need not change what they are about, need not alter their personalities. Rather, they must change what they do and what they focus on.

Unfortunately, most transformation efforts start fast but can peter out over time, usually at about the two year mark. It is at this point that most companies find themselves going through the motions and complacency sets in. Don't get me wrong, I've found that most companies continue to measure their transformation "activities", but they are no longer measuring for results that matter. They are on auto pilot. It is imperative that you are always keeping an eye out for the signals and perform reassessment on a regular basis. The practices we talk about in this book must become part of the corporate DNA and not merely one-time events.

To help with that, I have developed a Ruthless Execution Index. It is a list of statements to help gauge the extent to which your organization ruthlessly executes. These statements offer "signposts", or if you will, "red flags" that you need to watch out for in your business. The panel on the right contains sample questions from the Ruthless Execution Index.