Jeffrey Pfeffer on the obsession for cost, strategic planning and execution

“If location [of R&D] was determined by cost, Silicon Valley would be empty.”

“[strategic planning] is important (…). But doing that thing well—execution—is what sets companies apart. Every football play is designed to go for a huge gain. The reason it doesn’t is because of execution—people drop balls, miss blocks, go to the wrong place, and so forth.”