Any retrospective on 2001 would certainly lead to the conclusion that the forces which were set in motion culturally, globally and economically will reverberate for many years to come. Certain indicators are already present and powerfully driving change in the business sector. At the top of the list is the return to discipline and focus on business fundamentals.

Whether it's in the boardroom or at the VC conference table, the focus of discussion inevitable leads to the following questions:

			Do we know what business we are in?
			Do we have a clear and measurable path for taking our product to market?
			Can we measure the intended outcomes on the path to success?
			What are the consequences for missing the commitments and targets? (Change out in the leadership team, downsize, sell or close down)

While no one would argue that these are the required and healthy discussions necessary to manage risk more effectively, there are other critical questions that must be asked. A focus on business fundamentals also dictates that we look at the mechanisms necessary to drive success. In our experience, once the strategy is clear and the short-term deliverables are defined, the ability to execute often is dependent on the followings essentials:

			Capability of the leadership team
			Clarity of roles and expectations
			Effectiveness of teaming, functionally and cross-functionally
			Adequacy of systems and mechanisms for coordinating and managing across boundaries
			Specificity of processes that enable cross organization alignment

A well-disciplined business will drive alignment on goals by ensuring that these issues have been clearly defined and instituted in the environment. While the mechanisms must be "right sized" to the stage of development of the enterprise (start-up versus mature organization), in every company it is the responsibility of leadership to attend to these business fundamentals.