During the boom, many managers assumed their companies excelled at execution. In fact, much of their success arose from strong economic tailwinds. Now that the winds have shifted, executives discover to their chagrin that their company’s execution engine is less powerful than they imagined. This post lists five of the top obstacles to execution in volatile markets.

5) Rely exclusively on process to execute. Many managers equate execution with standardized processes.  They re-engineer key procedures and employ process disciplines, including six sigma, or total quality management to ensure continuous improvement. These approaches work well for activities–such as processing transactions or manufacturing cars–that can be laid out in advance and repeated thousands or millions of times per year with minimal variation. Process tools work less well for activities that consume much of the typical knowledge workers time, including coordinatinating work across a matrix or generating innovative solutions to unique problems. A study by Professors Mary Benner of Wharton and Michael Tushman of Harvard Business School found greater investment in process disciplines decreased innovation (beyond incremental improvements in their existing processes). Managers need a broader range of tools to manage non-routine work.