Day 16 · Act III — Lead Performance
Accountability and Execution
Ownership · Leading indicators · After-action reviews
~30 minutes
Strategy is a promise; execution is keeping it.
The Core Idea
Accountability is often confused with blame. True accountability is ownership: clear commitments, visible progress and honest review.
Lagging indicators (revenue) tell you what happened. Leading indicators (qualified pipeline) tell you what is about to happen — and what you can still influence.
The Mental Model
After-Action Review
A US Army practice: What was supposed to happen? What actually happened? Why the difference? What will we sustain or improve?
At work: After a product launch slips, the team reviews the gap without blame and changes the vendor sign-off process.
The Case Study
JPMorgan Chase through the 2008 crisis
DocumentedUnder Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual during the 2008 financial crisis.
Interpretation: Dimon's annual shareholder letters emphasise a 'fortress balance sheet' and disciplined risk review — execution as preparation.
Cinema & Story
The Founder (2016)
Systems of execution can scale — but ownership without integrity corrodes legacy.
The Reading Room
Execution
Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan
A classic on the discipline of getting things done in organisations.
Further reading: Extreme Ownership — Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
The Journal · Portfolio output: Execution dashboard
The Field Experiment · within 24 hours
Run a 15-minute after-action review on a recent project.
The Evening Review
Own the outcome, especially when it disappoints.