Execution means carrying out what has already been clearly decided or prescribed by rules. Action, by contrast, means having genuine options. It requires thinking, weighing options, deciding, communicating, negotiating, and building consensus. It also means bearing risk.
We are seeing a shift away from action and toward execution. Bureaucracy, fixed rules, and standardized processes all contribute. AI and robots will increasingly take over that execution. What we need all the more are people who can think independently, understand things at their core, communicate, and negotiate – and who are willing to bear the consequences of their thinking and actions.
