businesses are successful not because of what they say they are going to do (their strategy), but because of what they actually do (how well they execute)

• First, he tends to use real-life case studies to illustrate points. But these are not dry academic case studies -- they're colorful stories and vignettes. They involve companies and even people you may have read about in the news. They frequently include dialogue by the managers, as if they are characters in a screenplay. That's what makes the case studies so memorable.



• Second, he writes in a staccato style, with short sentences and short paragraphs. A number of paragraphs consist of one or two sentences. This gives the writing a crisp cadence that makes the book easy to digest.

At a little over 200 pages the book can be read in a few evenings -- a virtue in our time-starved lives. Of course, you will want to refer back to the book at various points to put the lessons into place.