BOOKS

2009-05-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else by Jon Gordon

From the Inside Flap

In the spirit of his international bestseller The Energy Bus, Jon Gordon returns with another inspirational fable filled with invaluable lessons and insights on bringing out the best in yourself and your team.
Training Camp follows the story of Martin Jones, an undrafted rookie trying to make it in the NFL. He's spent his entire life proving to the critics that a small guy with a big heart can succeed against all odds. After spraining his ankle in the preseason, Martin thinks his dream is lost . . . until he meets a very special coach who shares eleven life-changing lessons that keep his dream alive—and might even make him the best of the best.

Whether you play sports or the piano, work with a computer or a scalpel, these lessons apply to you because we all must climb the mountain before reaching its peak.

Based on his work with professional sports teams, world-class organizations, and interviews with top professionals in a wide variety of fields, Gordon reveals the deep truths and proven strategies that take the very best to the top. Training Camp reveals that the best performers—in any field—all share the same qualities. Among other traits, the best of the best are able to maintain a big-picture vision while taking focused action, they are mentally strong, they seize the moment, and they inspire excellence in the people around them.

But these aren't inborn traits; they're skills and attitudes that can be learned and applied by all. If you want to be your best, Training Camp offers inspiring, real-world wisdom on what it takes to reach true excellence and how you and your team—whether at work, school, or at home—can achieve it.

Excerpt from Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else

Jon Gordon

I’m excited to share with you an excerpt from my new book, Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else, that releases next week. As we know all too well, life and work can be challenging. That’s why mental, emotional and spiritual toughness is so essential. In this spirit I hope these words give you the strength to take on the day. I believe in you and I hope you will forward this to someone you believe in.
1. When you face a setback, think of it as a defining moment that will lead to a future accomplishment.
2. When you encounter adversity, remember, the best don’t just face adversity; they embrace it, knowing it’s not a dead end but a detour to something greater and better.

2008-07-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

Doctors and Discoveries: Lives that Created today’s medicine

by John Gilbraith Simmons
Review by Priyanka Garg

A difficult case; battles for life, moments of weakness whendarkness surrounds and all one has is hope- such times need inspirations from stories of Doctors who fought all ods to win their battles and wars. Their grit, their determination, their belief in themselves shows us the way.Sparing a few hours to read this bookwill really be a worthwhile investment considering the lifetime returns it can bring you !

Published in 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company, it holds gripping account of lives that made the world of medicine what it is today.The engrossing details about the passionate lone rangers, who believed in their causes, pursued it till the end of their lives at times successfully and at times heart wrenchingly, only to be proved right by the course of time as history in the making watched it all as moot witness.

“…Laennec’S invention of the stethoscope in 1816 is one of the medicine’s famous discoveries made through happenstance..Laennec wrote, “I rolled a quire of paper into a sort of cylinder and applied one end of it to the region of the heart and the other to my ear.’ With the improved sound, Laennec immediately recognised that he had found a new way of listening to the sounds emanating from within the chest. The technical term would be mediate ausculation…
“…at a time when brain surgery was in all cases a last resort, Cushing strove for better survival rates… the major problem presented by brain surgery was bleeding.Even eminent surgeons such as Victor Horsley frequently had success rates of only about fifty percent.Steve Lehrur, in his Explorers of the body, recalls one of Cushing’s own failures.Having excised a brain tumour, Cushing tried to cut off the stalk to which it had been attached,but this maneuver broke open the artery…”

A few excerps from the book.Threads of such anecdotes, facts and figures of medicine run throughout the length and breadth of the book and are woven intriguingly in this tapestry by John Galbraith.Capsuled, compiled and presented in six parts, ‘Doctors & Discoveries, lives that created today’s medicine,’ is an inspiring account of 86 lives.Dedication, conviction, perseverance and resilience that dot their successes and failures provide numerous valuable lessons for us to inculcate in our lives.

‘Doctors and discoveries’ is an excellent introduction to medical history and the personalities who shaped its course, the story of western medicine capsuled - the lives, passion, interests, ideas, inspirations, doubts and challenges faced by its most influential figures fro Hippocrates and Galen to inventor and revealer of anaesthesia William Thomas Green Morton to eccentric biologist Elie Metchnikoff whose theory of immune reaction didn’t find acceptance in his lietime but time and science later proved him right, to identification of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis by Robert

Koch to Bert Vogelstein a revolutionary in the field of cancer research to present day HIV researchers Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier-One can learn a lot from their lives.
The 1st Part has seven biographies- starts with Charles Darwin and ends with Galen representing the scope and trajectory of western medicine. The iind part entitled ‘The principle transformation’ contains 17 mini- biographies ranging from William Harvey to Oswald Avery. The iiird section is aptly titled, ‘Figures of Constant reference’.It has the profiles of most prominent personalities like John Hunter, Edward Jenner and Sigmund Freud who are constantly referred to wherever medicine is taught. The next section, Part IV th titled ‘Creating Modern Medicine’ contains 22 mini biographies of prolific personalities who in general laid the foundation of modern medicine and paved the path.

The Vth section named ‘Recent and Contemporary’ has profiles of molecular biologists, immunologists, neuroscientists, pharmacologists, enzyme hunters and determined soldiers engaged in the fight against cancer and AIDS .Its last section Part VI ‘ Omnium Gatherum’ has the miscellaneous has the miscellaneous gathering of personalities who left indelible mark on our world- a few of them from medical mainstreams, a few of them frpm medical mainstreams, a few of them not from the main streams.

A compulsive read. It certainly motivates us and teaches us to face tribulations bravely and gather our wit to think through overwhelming odds.As the author claims the whole history of western medicine does come alive through the trials, tribulations, failures and trumphs of the 86 individuals listed in this impresive Omnium- Gatherum.

2008-03-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

Negotiate This! - By Caring, But Not That Much

Author: Herb Cohen

Review by Lori West

Even before you complete the first chapter of this book, you will realize why the services of negotiator and author Herb Cohen are in such demand. The theory behind his professional success and book (as the title, Negotiate This! By Caring But Not T-H-A-T Much, suggests) is simple: the key to a successful negotiation is to establish a degree of care for the outcome that is enough to makes your expenditure of time and energy worthwhile but is not enough to hinder your position at the bargaining table.

On a practical level, the book is jammed with technical negotiation techniques geared towards the achievement of your negotiating goals. Cohen teaches everything from the critical importance of building a relationship well in advance of your negotiation sessions to the most effective way to present, modify and obtain approval for the terms you want to see incorporated into a final deal. To bolster the validity of his ideas, Cohen offers plenty of examples of our nation’s past leaders implementing his techniques and achieving significant gains.
Since, Cohen explains, everything is subject to negotiation, there is real value in understanding the needs of your adversary and seeking to address them. In a frank manner, he explains countless relationship-building techniques that can be used to negotiate win-win deals with even the most formidable opponents. In addition, Cohen focuses a lot of attention on the role power plays in a negotiation and the common misconceptions about its presence. Specifically, he explores how to determine who truly has the power, and if this does not happen to be you, how to succeed in spite of its absence.

The book also has a psychological component to it which focuses on the development of positive working relationships with your bargaining table opponents. Cohen emphasizes the fact that negotiators should never hesitate to ask for additional information at the bargaining table, nor should one be reluctant to show a genuine interest in meeting the needs of others. Recognizing the inevitability of tense moments during the negotiation process, he even provides the most fundamental stall tactics to provide time to formulate a response. For example, he states the “magic words of effective negotiating” are uh, huh, and wha and that each will inevitably offer a few additional seconds to gather your thoughts. Along these same lines, he suggests you look for a new writing instrument or excuse yourself to use the restroom if you need extra time to formulate a strategic move.

Tapping into his decades of negotiation experience — working for an impressive list of Fortune 500 Companies and participating in some our country’s most difficult negotiations -- Cohen presents his techniques intertwined with stories from the trenches. This results in the presentation of both a wealth of information and an enjoyable read. In fact, the professional, personal, and historical stories Cohen uses to provide concrete examples of his techniques are so amusing that, unless you are paying close attention, you will likely forget that this book’s purpose is to educate as well as entertain.

Excerpt from “Negotiate This! By Caring But Not T-H-A-T Much”

By Herb Cohen

Setting Objections

Before you even contact the other side, think about your interests and concerns and what’s really important to you. This is necessary so you can formulate a content goal, which should be specific, precise, and measurable. It’s the what (substance) that you wish to attain in the final agreement.Should the negotiation be more complex, multiple objectives are probably needed. When this occurs, it is wise to obtain input from those who might be affected by any outcome. Also, you may want to prioritize among your goals, while contemplating fallback positions and potential trade-offs.In this case, your objectives might fall into three categories:First and foremost, are the must haves. This primary group consists of items that are the raison d’etre for the deal. Those things that have substantial economic impact on the bottom line.The second category is the would likes, which are of importance but on these matters there is more room to maneuver since they are not deal breakers. Indeed, often a concession can be made here, in order to obtain a more profitable edge on a primary objective.Finally, there are the tradeables, items that have relatively small economic impact to you, but may have value to the other side. Invoking the reciprocity norm, these can be swapped grudgingly for a concession in a category that has a higher priority.When you establish your goals prior to negotiating, make sure they are challenging. In short, stretch your thinking. Considerable research and empirical evidence indicate that a determinant of success is the aspiration level of a negotiator. Yup, kids have it right: “If you expect more, you get more.” So, we ultimately achieve what we think we can achieve.Earlier I said that an objective must be precise and measurable. Preferably, it should be written down as a number. That means that statements like “I’ll do the best I can here” or, “My goal is to get everything that’s possible” would fail the test of specificity and quantification.Instead, a proper objective would be, “To purchase this home for not more than $239,000” or, “For me to change jobs and feel gratified would require a compensation package of at least $115,000.”Very much related to goal setting is strategy, an overall plan of action that involves a coordinated and synchronized use of all available means to attain the objective. If the goal is What you want to achieve, then the strategy is How you will get there.Once the objective is set, you should think strategically to formulate this game plan (a pattern of actions and behaviors), which provides a vision of the direction you will go to hit your target.

2008-03-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

Man's Search For Meaning - An Introduction to Logotherapy

Author: Viktor E. Frankl

REVIEWED BY : BRIAN SMITH

Compelling, inspiring, emotional, uplifting are all words I would use to describe what I thought and felt as I read Viktor Frankl's recollection of his experiences in the Nazi Death Camps during World War II. Even more compelling then that, was how he was able to find a reason to live. How could he - every possession lost, every value destroyed, suffering from hunger, cold and brutality, hourly expecting extermination - how could he find life worth preserving? I am a great believer in fate. Things happen for a reason. It was to some extent fate that helped Viktor endure life in a concentration camp, so that he could share his story with us in hopes that we could discover for ourselves, the true meaning of life.

Viktor Frankl's book: Man's Search For Meaning - An Introduction to Logotherapy - 3rd. Edition is a shinning example to us all of the power of positive thought. I believe there are no negatives in life. Everything in life is a positive because it is based on how we perceive things to be. One of my favourite quotes, and one that I use quite often in my workshops and key note speeches is by Mary Engelbreit: "If you don't like something change it; If you can't change it, then change the way you think about it." Viktor found himself in a situation that he could not change. He had lost everything. His child, wife, parents and all his worldly possessions, but he realized one thing that they could not take away from him. The one thing that they could not take away from him was "Choice". Only he could choose how to react to that situation.

We are to a great extent a by-product of our environment.

We tend to take on the look of our surroundings. If you have been exposed to one particular style of leadership then most likely that is the style you'll adopt. (Common sense is not all that common. We aren't born with it, we learn it thought the people we meet, the books we read and the things we see.) Most adults learn by observing and attending the school of hard knocks.

"Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. Everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Viktor discovered that attitude wasn't something; attitude was everything! Only you can decide how you want to react to a given situation. Attitude is 100% in your control. Viktor decided that only he got to choose how he wanted to react to his life in the concentration camps.

Viktor's book reaffirmed to me that life is a series of doors that we need to go through. Each time we go through a door, it's a learning experience and you become stronger for it. (That's why a negative is really a positive).

I found strength in Viktor's book because I know life couldn't get much worse then what he went through. If he was able to survive that, then what I have to endure is small in comparison. (If it doesn't kill you it truly does make you stronger.)

In Viktor's words: "One should not search for an abstract meaning of life. Everyone has his or her own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out a concrete assignment, which demands fulfillment. Therein you cannot be replaced, nor can your life be repeated. Thus everyone's task is as unique as their own specific opportunity to implement it." We have all been put on this earth for a purpose.

Choose to live a purposeful life. Life is a 9 volt test, so let's get energized!

2008-03-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand

by Al Ries and Laura Ries HarperCollins

According to the father-daughter team of Al and Laura Ries, a brand name is a name (a Proper Noun in fact) in the mind of the consumer that conveys a single proposition about a particular product or service. The power in a brand name lies in its ability to positively influence purchasing behavior. In an increasingly cluttered information society, a powerful brand image can act as a guidepost for the consumer in making a purchase decision.
"What is accelerating this trend is the decline of selling. As a profession and as a function, selling is slowly sinking like the Titanic. Today, most products and services are bought, not sold. And branding greatly facilitates this process. Branding "pre-sells" the product or service to the user. Branding is simply an efficient way to sell things."

A successful branding program, therefore, should differentiate your product or service from all the similar products or services out there.

"A successful branding program is based on the concept of singularity. It creates in the mind of the prospect the perception that there is no product on the market quite like your product.
Can a successful brand appeal to everybody? No. The same concept of singularity makes certain that no one brand can possibly have a universal appeal."

In this book, the authors discuss 'laws' of branding that they have found to hold true across innumerable product and service offerings. Continuing the theme that Ries has championed in previous books (see, for example, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing and Focus) they maintain that a major problem for companies is the temptation to extend a successful brand into other, sometimes only peripherally-related, areas. (Two actual examples mentioned in the book are Harley-Davidson wine coolers and Heinz all-purpose cleaning vinegar.) Such brand extensions only serve to confuse the consumer and dilute the single message strength of the core brand.

Their twenty-two 'laws' of branding are:

1. the law of expansion 

the power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope "Marketers constantly run branding programs that are in conflict with how people want to perceive their brands. Customers want brands that are narrow in scope and are distinguishable by a single word, the shorter the better."

2. the law of contraction 

a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus

3. the law of publicity

the birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising Ries and Ries maintain that advertising is best used to maintain a brand, but that it is very difficult and expensive to launch a new brand through advertising alone they best way, they say, is to be first in a new product or service category, and reap the attendant publicity

4. the law of advertising

once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy

5. the law of the word 

a brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer "If you want to build a brand, you must focus your branding efforts on owning a word in the prospect's mind. A word that nobody else owns." (p.39) Examples they give include: Mercedes = prestige; Volvo = safety; Kleenex = tissue; Xerox = copier; FedEx = overnight.

6. the law of credentials 

the crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticityŠ and the best claim to authenticity is being the leading product or service in your category, because consumers assume that if it is a leading seller, it must be good:
"Never forget leadership. No matter how small the market, don't get duped into simply selling the benefits of the category.
There are also the long-term benefits of leadership. Because once you get on top, its hard to lose your spot. A widely-publicized study of twenty-five leading brands in twenty-five different product categories in the year 1923 showed that twenty of the same twenty-five brands are still the leaders in their categories today. In seventy-five years, only five brands lost their leadership."

7. the law of quality

quality is important, but brands are not built by quality alone In fact, as the authors point out, most people have no idea as to the "real" quality of a product or service. Is a Rolex really better at keeping time than a Timex? How do you know?

8. the law of the category

a leading brand should promote the product or service category, not the brand This may seen counter-intuitive, but the authors argue here that the best way for the brand leader to build sales is to promote the category, not their specific brand. This is a more effective way to build up overall market awareness and interest, and the brand leader will naturally benefit to a greater degree than other competitors, by virtue of their larger market share. (And when the overall size of the market is built up, then the leader is in a good position to increase market share still further.)

9. the law of the name 

in the long run, a brand is nothing more than a name

10. the law of extensions

the easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything

11. the law of fellowship

in order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands see rule #8

12. the law of the generic 

one of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name Generic names (i.e. names that describe the product or service category, such as "Wine Coolerz"), do not strongly position the product or service within the category, and are thus liable to confuse potential customers.

13. the law of the company 

Brands are brands. Companies are companies. There is a difference.
"The issue of how to use a company name is at the same time both simple and complicated. Simple, because the laws are so clear-cut. Complicated, because most companies do not follow the simple laws of branding and end up with a system that defies logic and results in endless brand versus company debates.
Brand names should almost always take precedence over company names. Consumers buy brands, they don't buy companies. So when a company name is used alone as a brand name (GE, Coca Cola, IBM, Xerox, Intel), customers see these names as brands." (p.106)

14. the law of subbrands 

what branding builds, subbranding (i.e. brand extensions) can destroy. The name 'Chevrolet' used to stand for something. Now, what is it? A large, small, cheap, expensive car or truck.

15. the law of siblings

There is a time and a place to launch a second brand. "The key to a family approach is to make each sibling a unique individual brand with its own identity. Resist the urge to give the brands a family look or identity. You want to make each brand a different and distinct as possible."

16. the law of shape

A brand's logotype should be designed to fit the eye. Both eyes. The authors argue here that the ideal shape for a logotype or brand symbol is two and a quarter units wide and one unit high.

17. the law of color

A brand should use a color that is the opposite of its major competitor's.

18. the law of borders 

There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should know no borders.

19. the law of consistency 

A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades, not years.

20. the law of change 

Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and very carefully.

21. the law of mortality 

No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution.

22. the law of singularity 

The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness.

The book is a quick read, very much in the tradition of other Ries-influenced offerings. It contains much wisdom in its 22 capsules.

2007-11-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

# 'In Search Of Excellence' by Thomas J Peters and Robert N. Waterman Jr.

1. A Bias for Action :

This is about getting things done. There must be a free flow of information and open communication. The open and informal organization is more flexible and is able to take quicker action to institute changes needed to keep up in today's business world.
Management needs to get out of the office and out and about to communicate with the people of the organization. Small groups, or action oriented task forces can tackle projects or problems quickly and not get bogged down in bureaucracy.Don't be afraid to experiment. Successful companies who want to get things done are not afraid to try things, to experiment. Again, the flexible and informal organization is the context in which "trying something new" will work.

2. Close to the Customer :

It's obvious that businesses need customers, but many forget about their customers. Successful companies have an obsession about the customer, usually pertaining to quality, reliability, or service. Excellent product quality and reliability will make a satisfied customer. Great service will keep the customer coming back.

3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship :

Sometimes it takes a Champion to take an idea or process and keep at it through numerous failures until success is reached. The organization that is flexible and supportive of the creative process will be successful in the long run. The excellent company must foster in?house competition, with intense communication and be able to tolerate failure.

4. Productivity through People :

People need to be treated as adults. If workers are treated as partners, with dignity and respect this will create the primary source of productivity gains.
Companies that develop a philosophy and live the philosophy that involves everyone within the organization with the overall success of the company will become better for it.
Management by wandering around and an apparent lack of rigid command chains will foster better communication and exchange of ideas. This will eventually increase productivity.

5. Hands On, Value Driven :

Excellent companies make a serious effort to shape values. The right values, clearly expressed, will help define the organization. It is difficult to teach values through written policy statements. Stories, myths, and legends will go a long way to transmit the organizations value system. The values of an organization compare to the vision of today's modern companies.

6. Stick to the Knitting:

Do not champion mindlessly holding on to yesterday, diversification is a good thing. But organizations that branch out remaining somewhat close to their primary skill will be more successful.
Many acquisitions take up important time of top executives as they try to learn and control the new company and the synergy that was thought to exist does not pan out. Excellent companies acquire in an experimental way, buying small or starting new, willing to get out if it fails.

7. Simple Form, Lean Staff :

The size of a company can make it complex, but you need to work at making things understandable for the tens, hundreds or thousands who are the people who are making things happen, few administrative layers and few people at the upper levels.
Excellent companies are flexible when dealing with fast changing conditions. A company needs to be efficient in the basics, innovative on a regular basis and responsive to threats.

8. Simultaneous loose-tight properties :

This is the coexistence of the firm's central direction and individual's autonomy. Companies that are loose- tight may be rigidly controlled, but they still foster entrepreneurship and innovation within the ranks. The climate will foster dedication to the core values of the company, while tolerating and empowering those same employees.

2007-11-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

# Unleashing The Killer App "Digital Strategies For Market Dominance" by Larry Downes and Chunka Mui

Summary By Donald Phin

"A killer app is a new good or service that establishes an entirely new category and, by being first dominates it, returning several hundred percent on the initial investment. The personal computer, electronic funds transfer, and the first word processing program are all examples of killer apps."

Much of the book is premised on "Moore's Law" and "Metcalfe's Law". Moore's Law, is a prediction by Intel founder Gordon Moore that every 18 months, computing power would double while cost remained constant. The result is that computing devices are getting faster, cheaper, smaller and better. Metcalfe's Law is an observation made by Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3COM Corporation, that networks dramatically increase in value with each additional node or user. The book goes on to describe how the interaction of these two "Laws" is creating fundamental changes in the way in which we do business. One such affect is what the authors call the "Law of Diminishing Firms" in which they indicate that in today's digital economy size is uneconomic. While firms will not disappear, they will become smaller and comprised of complicated webs of well managed relationships.

The authors then discuss the "second-order effects" that unintentionally challenge the basis of business systems in general and give by way of example how the steam engine opened the American West. They claim that the web is tearing apart the financial services and telecommunications industries and inspiring changes as much as the steam engine did many years ago. [R. Buckminister Fuller in the Critical Path spent a great deal of time discussing the precessional affects of conduct. While we might be focusing on the 180° outcome, the greater changes are general generated by the 90° or processional affects.

DIGITAL STRATEGY

Business people today are feeling "dazed".
What will be the potential impact on your business of Internet ready television, cars and other appliances, low-cost digital cameras, desktop publishing software and personal laser printers, intelligence software agents and telephone services on the Internet?

One of the most interesting things discussed in this book is the "giving away of the killer app". The classic example is that of Netscape which exploded to a market valuation of more than $3-billion days after it's stock debut in 1995. Nicholas Negroponte wrote in 1995 in his book Being Digital that "Computing is not about computers anymore. It is about living."In today's digital economy a company that is one Internet year old acts like one that has been around for seven years.

The law of digital disruption forces us to continually ask, "What is the transaction cost of various activity and what are their benefits? How can these activities be displaced digitally?" We break these transaction costs down into six separate areas: search cost, information costs, bargaining costs, decision costs, policing costs, and enforcement costs. In a classic example that I have dealt with first hand, some times the size of a firm actually generates a transaction cost which is greater than that of the open market. A classic example is where employees use their own travel agents rather than hassling with corporate travel departments.

A number of companies are being generated to focus on reducing transaction costs in both the business to consumer and business to business setting. [Bruno Bassi's computer economics is one such example.] Whether we are dealing with the sale of an insurance product, automobile, airline ticket, hotel room or any other commodity you can think of, we are getting very close to real time market costs. [A recent Business Week cover questioned whether we are meeting the death of the salesman.]

Digital revolution will continue the trend of outsourcing and downsizing. [Today's digital revolution is creating what I call the "death of control". The fact is in today's economy the less you control the more you can do. As Dr. Deming said there are three things that a company does: those that add value, those that are administrative and those that generate waste. The first should be focused on and the second should be outsourced and third should be eliminated.
John Perry Barlow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said, "Information wants to be free".

The authors indicate that their clients frequently challenge them to find information assets hiding in their organization. They claim to do so never takes long. Distributors have logistics, manufactures have engineering, retailers have customers, etc. [This goes back to my point that we should never assume where knowledge lies in our organizations nor what form it takes. That's one reason why surveying an employee with powerful questions can lead to significant breakthroughs.]

"We believe that in the new economy many traditional functions merge into one overall activity. For the moment, lets call that one activity what it is today: brand management." "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." Alan Kay

The authors make the point that traditional planning simply doesn't work in times of great change. The authors claim that business change now originates with digital technology and that it will remain the essential disrupter of current operating models and their underlining assumptions. According to the authors "technology isn't the solution, it's the problem". Today's planning cycle is between 12 and 18 months, not 5 years.

Today's new business environment has to be treated as an evolving community, increasing bound together by cheap digital technology, rather than as a discrete and largely static set of individual actors.

The authors 12 step program for designing the killer application is as follows.

1. Outsource to the customer.

2. Cannibalize your markets.

3. Treat each customer as a market segment of one.

4. Create communities of value.

5. Replace rude interfaces with learning interfaces.

6. Insure continuity for the customer, not yourself.

7. Give away as much information as you can.

8. Structure every transaction as a joint venture.

9. Treat you assets as liabilities.

10. Destroy your value chain.

11. Manage innovation as a portfolio of options.

12. Hire the children.

DESIGNING THE KILLER APP

Think of and measure your daily operations as a series of unique transactions rather than broad categories like products and customer segments. Focus on how these transaction costs can approach zero. Data collection and customer service functions should be outsourced directly to the customer. Amazon.com is a classic example. [Focus on one-time entry of information in purchase orders. Also find a way to manage refunds online.]While customer profiling and target profiling are not new the ability of unfunded companies to collect high-quality data on a global scale at almost no cost and generate incredible value.

One of the biggest traps currently facing companies is their effort to develop "highbred" strategies which mix and match traditional structures with digitally based ones. The authors believe that this approach actually hampered development and caused diminishing returns.
How can you cannibalize either your own business or someone else's? One example given is how the Wall Street Journal with its online edition has in part cannibalized it's publishing arm, but at the effect of creating an even larger online audience.

The advent of "push technology" while not reaching it's heralded status is in fact having a significant impact on making digital strategies appear personal. The authors make the point that push technology can not only respond to what it is that you think you like, but also provide you with information what you're "going to like".Technology is allowing greater interactivity. Technology can design everything from your retirement plan to your vacation online. [How do you turn that into an enjoyable activity? One you would want to do over and over again. Generate excitement and you will generate loyalty.]One of the greatest advantages of the Internet is its ability to generate online communities. Now people with like interests can share in ways never imagined. Build some kind of online community on your web site. Give them something to talk about the way ESPN Sports Zone gives them fantasy sport leagues.

Companies that will be making it in the business to business online environment will do so by destroying additional pricing structures. Whether the medium is E-Bay or Jango, a personal shopping agent for a wide variety of products sold in Cyber Space, procure additional means of pricing and not be able to with stand the attack. Commodities can be just as easily purchased on the Internet, through an enjoyable experience, than what is going to happen to your business?
The age of closed systems is over. Everything now is open architecture and open systems. Open, Open, Open. If you have information give it away and you will be blessed.

The destruction of captive markets signals the decline of switching costs for customers. As they do throughout the book the authors point to numerous industries that seem to be ignoring the Internets reality. Traditional information providers, retailers, real estate agents, etc. were highlighted. It actually becomes hard to think of a company that could not be affected by this revolution.

Today's Internet users give back more information than they take away. "Treat your assets as liabilities." Whether it's a printing machine, manufacturing plant, retail outlet or even personnel, companies must look around them and ask how can I replace this with bits?

Break up your value chain or someone else will. Because Dell has no resellers, it can afford to deal directly with the customer. As a result it now sells more computers than Compaq. What will be the value of resellers if they are not necessary to the selling process? What if their expertise can be replaced by an online consultant? What if "intelligent agents" allow the customer to go through a friendly interface being prompted with a series of yes, no, checkmark, fill in the blank questions which allow the company to generate a mild design exactly for the customer's specific needs? What if you design that once and it works a million times? Where is the value in the value chain?

Don't get in the way of your own people creating the "killer app". If you don't allow your people to step out beyond your strategic planning you will end up behind the times. Don't let it bother you if you don't understand. I just say to myself "I won't be able to understand the whole game anytime soon, so I just play." A thirteen year old child having SIMLIFE, a computer game that simulates the life of an Eco system.

Today's executives would be well served to understand that the real technology revolution will be lead by those just entering the workforce. Ask almost any parent and they will tell you that their children can run circles around them when it comes to using technology. That's why the authors suggest hiring children or at least including them in the process of product development, strategy formation and workplace design. It is suggested that you go even beyond that and try to "live in their world".

UNLEASING THE KILLER APP

"You do not need to understand electricity to use it." Julia Cameron [This is one of my favorite quotes. The revolution will be complete when technology becomes invisible."] "To succeed at digital strategy, your organization must be a learning organization, more focused and ideas and experiments than detailed plans and forecasts.

The authors encourage you to consider about the tools on the horizon including geographical information systems (GIS), Global Positioning Satellites (GPS), video and teleconferencing, etc.
The authors ask how would your "goals change in a world where each transaction including purchasing, pricing, menus and site development could be customized in real time?" The point they are making is that in the future the customer will be dictating the price - not you.

The authors also ignore the reality that socioeconomic groups react to digital strategies differently. Men use the Internet differently than women do. Comfortable interface may not be one for a teenager and so on. When I do my workshops I always attempt to ask "enrolling" questions. I then acknowledge the response whatever it may be. The fact is you have to earn the right to be a trusted digital partner.

"Finding information is too easy." Finding useful information, on the other hand, is what separates success from failure."

One of the most interesting insights they had that asking how you can make money with new technologies is like asking how you can use a printing press to make money. The point they make is that it takes the same thing to be successful online merchant as it does with any other kind of merchant.

How can you get the most leverage from your intellectual property? Use new events, contests, customer feedback, chat rooms, etc. "The Internet is where you make money. Intranets are where you save money." Son Microsystems.

Try this interesting exercise suggested by the authors. Send an e-mail message to your entire company with an attachment. Find out how many of your managers and employees actually end up receiving the e-mail with the attachment in tact. If the answer is 100% than you're in pretty good shape.

2007-11-02T05:22:00.000-07:00

# "Good to Great" By Jim Collins

It is a bible.The Summary is by Gene Early...well researched..reread till you grasp the details..

Overview

Jim Collins’ premise in this book is that “Good is the enemy of great.” The seed of the idea for thebook came from a challenge by an organizational thought leader, Bill Meehan, who suggested that mostcompanies never make it to great. Collins’ curiosity drove him and his team into a five year research effort
to find out how good companies became great. The team culled its initial list of 1435 companies down totwo groups of eleven, one representing companies that made the breakthrough to greatness, and the other, acomparison group which failed to do so.In addition, the good-to-great companies were defined by having

1) a history of cumulative stockreturns equal to or below the general stock market, 2 ) followed by a breakthrough, 3) leading toperformance with cumulative returns at least three times the general market over fifteen years following
their breakthrough point.

The result of this intensive research answers the question, “Can a good company (organization)become a great one, and, if so, how?” Good companies and organizations can make the leap, and the bookoffers a framework consisting of a set of universal principles pointing the way toward how it can be done.

Collins’ and his team found that “every primary concept in the final framework showed up as a changevariable in 100% of the good-to-great companies and in less than 30% of the comparison companies during the pivotal years.”

The Framework

Level 5 Leadership
With some surprise, Collins’ and his team found that the type of leadership did make a difference.Leaders of the good-to-great companies were not high profile and celebrity focused. Rather they demonstrated a personal humility and professional will revealing a fierce resolve to do what was best for the company, not the leader him or herself.These leaders were labeled Level 5.

Lower levels included effective leader, competent manager,contributing team member, and highly capable individual. These Level 5 leaders were…

• …building “enduring greatness” into their organizations
• …setting their successors up for success
• …talking about the company and others, but declining to discuss themselves
• …ordinary people producing extraordinary results
• …most likely to come from within the company, not outside of it
• …quick to give credit outside themselves when there was success, while at the
same time taking personal responsibility when things went badly
• …distinctive in their approach to the people they wanted in the company.

First Who, Then What
What did these Level 5 leaders do first? Was it setting a new vision and strategy? In fact, no. Theyapproached their challenges by “first [getting] the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus,and the right people in the right seats—and then [they] figured out where to drive it.” Three simple principles emerged from this emphasis on the who prior to the what…

• Adaptability. The right people on the bus makes adapting to changing realities much easier. When people are attracted to work with other good people, they will figure out what needs to be done when direction changes.

• Motivation: The right people are self-motivated. They want to be part of something great.They will do what’s necessary to produce greatness.

• Selection: With the wrong people on the bus, it doesn’t matter if you’re going the rightdirection. It is impossible to have a great company with them.

Furthermore, these Level 5 leaders wanted top players as well top effort. They used compensation to attract the right people, not as a motivation for their work. They knew that the right people live with a “moral code [that] requires building excellence for its own sake.” These leaders were rigorous, not ruthless in people decisions using at least three practical disciplines regularly…

• Hiring. When in doubt, don’t hire—keep looking. For a company to become great, there must be enough of the right people to sustain its growth.

• Act decisively. When you know you need to make a people change, act. Know the characteristics of who you need, bring people like that on, evaluate them quickly and consistently, and act to remove them if they do not fit.

• Best person/best opportunity. Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems. The question is, “Are you going to manage your problems, or build your opportunities?”

Finally, Collins identified three characteristics which executive leaders in the good-to-great companies had to have: competence, chemistry and character. Competence is the capacity to be the best person in the industry at the job. Chemistry is the depth of respect and love that allows executive team members to yell and scream, argue and debate but remain committed to one another and cohesive in what’s best for the organization. Character relates to the implicit values required to fit into the management team. Collins finally concluded, “The people we interviewed from the good-to-great companies clearly loved what they did, largely because they loved who they did it with.”

Confront the Brutal Facts with Unwavering Faith

Good-to-great companies embodied a paradox of facts and faith. Unwavering faith that the company will prevail undergirded good-to-great companies’ ability to confront the brutal facts of the current reality,no matter what they were.

Good companies became great through making and executing on good decisions. As these good decisions and their execution accumulated over time, momentum was built to move the good company to the point of breakthrough. In this analysis, it became clear that good decisions required honest assessment of the brutal facts, and this assessment in itself often led to right decisions becoming self-evident.The discipline of paying attention to the brutal facts of reality distinguished Level 5 leaders and goodto-great companies. Central to this discipline was a culture which invited people at every level to speak up and be heard. Only as the quietest voice is heard could the truth come out, and gaining that truth was what energized this discipline. Collins’ and his team identified four basic practices for creating a culture where the truth is heard…

• Lead with questions, not answers. The purpose of the questions was to gain true understanding, not to manipulate. This practice is further demonstration of the Level 5 leaders’ humility to know that he or she was not sufficient in themselves to have all the answers.

• Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion. The goal was to find the best answer and those involved were committed to whatever it took to get this answer because they were fully engaged for the good of the organization.

• Conduct autopsies, without blame. With the right people on the bus and in the right seats,there should be no need to assign blame, even for the biggest mistakes. Rather, 1) accepting responsibility for the mistake, or failure, 2) dissecting it to learn from it, and then 3) applying this learning in future situations creates a culture of greatness.

• Build red-flag mechanisms that can’t be ignored. Good-to-great companies have no greater access to information than other companies. They have just identified ways to trigger adaptive responses to the information they get—whether from customers or employees, vendors or collaborators. Acting on such input honors the one who gives it and improves the individual and/or company that receives it.

Confronting the brutal facts truthfully was found to energize good-to-great companies. It gave them a sense of exhilaration because they believed that they would prevail in the end. Because of this attitude, each confrontation made them individually and collectively stronger.

Every good-to-great company persevered through significant adversity. This required accepting the brutal facts of reality and maintaining unwavering faith that the company would prevail. Combining these two qualities and not being swayed by unrealistic optimism nor self-defeating pessimism characterized these great companies.They had the attitude of Admiral Jim Stockdale, eight year, Viet Nam POW, who said, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be.” By doing this consistently, Admiral Stockdale was able to turn his imprisonment into the “defining moment of his life,” as these good-to-great companies did in facing their own adversities.

Hedgehog Concept

What is the one big thing you and your organization can be best at? The answer to this question is the essence of the Hedgehog Concept. Collins and his team took the metaphor from Isaiah Berlin’s essay in which he wrote, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”

The Good to Great model for getting to the core of this one big thing identifies three overlapping circles. Where all three intersect one finds the complexity of the company’s world becoming profound simplicity. It is this clarity, or deep understanding, which guides the strategies, goals, and intentions of thecompany. The three key elements for developing the Hedgehog Concept require answering three questions, called the “three circles”…

• What can you be best in the world at? The answer to this one is an identity statement defining the character of the company (or organization) and leading to strategies, goals, and intentions that express the identity. This identity is expressed through a set of skills and talents that make the identity evident. As a result, the answer may not be what you are already good at. It is rather what you can be great at, really great.

• What are you passionate about? The idea is to discover your passion, not to get a good idea and try to rev up the passion. It may mean that the choice of your Hedgehog Concept is something that you can get passionate about. This circle supports the underlying notion that with the right people (sharing this passion), you don’t have to motivate them. They are motivated because they share the passion and are energized by the work they’re involved in.
The passion may be at different levels, e.g. the mechanics of the business, the results it produces, or for what the company stands for.

• What drives your economic engine? The key to this question is “the denominator” in a simple equation. In for-profits, the equation is “profit per x.” In non-profits, it is “cash flow per x.” A further question focusing this idea is, “If you could pick one and only one ratio—profit per x or cash flow per x—to systematically increase over time, what x would have the greatest and
most sustainable impact on your economic engine?” The x might be customer visit (Walgreens), mortgage risk level (Fannie Mae), employee (Wells Fargo), local population (Kroger), or consumer brand (Kimberly-Clark).

Collins writes that “The Hedgehog Concept is a turning point in the journey from good to great.” It typically takes the right people willing to address the brutal facts over an extended period of time to get to the deep understanding of a Hedgehog Concept.

One mechanism that Collins recommends involves the following cycle…

• Get the right people involved over time.
• Ask the right questions, such as the three key ones from the Hedgehog Concept.
• Engage in intense debate over these questions
• Make decisions
• Autopsy the results without blame
• Learn from the process and apply those learnings to the next cycle.

To accelerate the process of getting clarity, he recommends, “Increase the number of times you go around that full cycle in a given period of time.”

Once you get the Hedgehog Concept, it rings true. There’s no hoping or wishing involved, there is a knowing that you could be best in the world at what you’ve discovered. This confidence is built on all the work, the debate, the action and evaluation you’ve been engaged in. And it crystallizes around this core understanding of who you are as a company, or for that matter, as a person.

When you have identified your Hedgehog Concept at a personal level, you are able to say, “I feel I was just born to do this,” “I get paid for this, for what I love to do? I must be dreaming,” and “I look forward to getting up and throwing myself into my daily work. I enjoy the actual process of working for its own sake.” Using your understanding of these three circles, you are then able to define the profound simplicity of the core of your Hedgehog Concept.

Culture of Discipline (Combined with an Ethic of Entrepreneurship)

One key to greatness is the subtle but powerful combination of responsibility and freedom. Goodto-great companies create a culture of discipline. They attract disciplined people, reward disciplined thought, and celebrate disciplined action. Such an orientation enables them to avoid bureaucracy which is created to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline. Such freedom within a framework empowers creativity and productivity. It is this framework, or system, which the good-to-great companies managed. Individuals within the system were not the primary focus because they were expected to adhere intensely to the company’s focus (their Hedgehog Concept’s “sweet spot”) and make the system work.

The three components of discipline keep repeating…
• Getting self-disciplined people on the bus.
• Such people demonstrate the discipline to confront the brutal facts and maintain unwavering faith in the ultimate success of the system (as demonstrated most succinctly in understanding their Hedgehog Concept and adhering to it.)
• And finally, these people express the discipline of action by measuring that action against their Hedgehog Concept.

This discipline involves the commitment to do whatever it takes to become great.
Collins and his team found a major distinction between good-to-great companies and their comparisons in this area of discipline. Good-to-great companies developed a culture of discipline where the entire company owned responsibility for their Hedgehog Concept and all the basics of becoming great.

Comparison companies most often had highly disciplined leaders, but weren’t able to establish a culture that supported that discipline. The challenge all these companies faced was not in finding opportunities for growth, but rather in selecting the right opportunities. As a result, the “stop doing” list is an important tool used by these companies in various forms. Essentially, it is the discipline to still the noise of activities that did not contribute directly to the Hedgehog Concept. While different companies used different practices, examples included removing all titles except those essential to external situations, dismantling empire building, and re-thinking budgeting. With regard to budgeting for example, the question became, “What should be fully funded because it contributes to the Hedgehog Concept, and what should be eliminated because it doesn’t contribute (enough)?” This takes courage, and great companies demonstrated this type of courage over and over.

This work on what moves companies from being good to great operates on an enormous presupposition—the idea of “right”—as in the right people, the right seats on the bus, thinking rightly, and doing rightly (and stop doing wrongly). So how do you “get it right.” Collins would say that there isn’t a single answer. Rather, it is a systemic understanding of the whole—leadership, people, truth-seeking, focus, discipline, acceleration, and momentum—and continuously operating on this coherent set of interacting principles. The discipline to live this systemic understanding requires…

• Building a culture that emphasizes freedom and responsibility within the constraints of an intensely focused framework.

• Populating that culture with self-disciplined people committed and able to go to extreme lengths to fulfill their responsibilities.

• Recognizing that culture is a system, not an individual, and that everyone shares in responsibility for greatness, not simply a strong disciplinarian.

• Adhering with intense concentration to the intersection of the three circles of the Hedgehog Concept while being disciplined to systematically stop doing what doesn’t fit.

Technology Accelerators

Part of this discipline involved how these companies viewed technology. They avoided many opportunities and focused on selection of technologies most applicable to forwarding their Hedgehog Concept. As a result, technology became simply one more accelerator of momentum for these companies.
With the deep understanding that came from their focus on the three circles, they all came to be pioneers in the application of technology as it fit with their Hedgehog Concept.

Thinking associated with this principle includes the process of asking…
• Does the technology fit directly with your Hedgehog Concept?
• If yes, then you need to be a pioneer in the application of that technology.
• If no, then ask, do you need this technology at all?
• If yes, then all you need is parity.

Collins and his team concluded that the comparison companies could have been given the same technology good-to-great companies used, and still fail to produce equivalent results. Why is that? It is one more example of the inner drive of a company’s character and culture. Great companies are not driven by fear—of the marketplace, of economic circumstances, or technology advances. They are driven by the potential they see and the stimulation of actualizing that potential. Technology contributes to this drive, but once again it is the interaction of principles in the “good-to-great” model that produces and sustains greatness.

Flywheel and Doom Loop

Think momentum. Good to great companies not only have it, but they’ve found a way to harness it in service of their Hedgehog Concept. The metaphor that Collins uses for this concept is the flywheel.He creates an image of a massive disk rotating on an axle. Each incremental push in the beginning appears to have little effect. However, with many people contributing, consistently over time through disciplined thought and action, the flywheel begins to move ever so slowly, increasing its speed until at a certain point there’s a breakthrough. The force of all those little pushes has created enough energy moving this gigantic wheel that it takes on tremendous momentum and requires very little energy to keep it moving. The breakthrough occurs when the weight begins to work for you and not against you. The significance of this metaphor comes from respondents at good-to-great companies. Not a single one reported that there was any one significant “push” that created this enormous force the company was exerting. What looked like an incredible transformation from the outside was in fact experienced as everyday life on the inside.

A process of moving the flywheel might look like this…
• Take the time to understand your focus (Hedgehog Concept). Discuss, debate, and dialogue.
• Recruit the right people, put them in the right seat, and find a way to remove the wrong people
• Focus on disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action
• Keep the faith as momentum builds ever so slowly
• Act consistently on your focus (Hedgehog Concept) so that each aspect of the company contributes to energy invested in it
• Once the breakthrough occurs, continue to identify how much more there is required of you in order to continue in greatness.
• Remember to celebrate along the way.

In contrast, think of a different picture. You’re driving down the freeway with one requirement. Every time you come to an exit you have to get off and take local roads to the next on-ramp where you can continue your journey…until you get off the next off-ramp. Getting from point A to point B becomes totally disrupted. This is one picture of what Collins calls a doom loop. Companies in the doom loop take all kinds of detours thinking that the detours will magically get them to their destination. They don’t realize the negative effect on their momentum, and as a result what looks like good strategy becomes extremely expensive diversions.

The doom loop can be seen as having four contributing factors…
• Reaction without understanding
• New direction, program, leader, event, fad, or acquisition
• No build-up or accumulation of momentum (in fact just the opposite, a slow down of momentum)
• Disappointing results leading back to reaction without understanding

By focusing on people, thinking, and action in a way that facilitates momentum rather than disruption, momentum is initiated and sustained. The challenge is not in being perfect, but in using every situation to give the flywheel another push toward spinning into greatness.

Conclusion
How might you summarize this highly influential book? The idea of understanding that drives action is one way to put it. Good to great companies worked to understand at a deep level what made their company work, and by continually looking for new answers to the question, they developed the momentum
to breakthrough into greatness…
• Their leaders understood success was not about themselves as a person, but about the success of their company.
• They understood that the right people in the right seats on the bus make all the difference.
• They understood the importance of finding the truth and acting on it in the form of facing the brutal facts of reality, while maintaining unwavering faith that they would succeed.
• They understood that tapping passion, extraordinary competence, and the key economic driver builds progressive momentum.
• They understood the discipline of staying focused on the essentials and stopping the distractions.
• They understood technology is best used to accelerate momentum, not to create it.
• Finally, they understood that greatness comes from sustained commitment to disciplined people, disciplined thinking, and disciplined action that creates breakthrough momentum.

Such understanding requires the integrated whole of the principles illustrated in this book. The challenge to all is to embody these principles, and by so doing, to live them out in everyday actions and interactions. By so doing, greatness, or even further greatness, awaits.

Need to revise the main points again?

Here you go...

#The Collins team selected 2 sets of comparison companies:

Direct comparisons – Companies in the same industry with the same resources and opportunities as the good-to-great group but showed no leap in performance, which were: Upjohn, Silo, Great Western, Warner-Lambert, Scott Paper, A&P, Bethlehem Steel, RJ Reynolds, Addressograph, Eckerd, and Bank of America.

Unsustained comparisons – Companies that made a short-term shift from good to great but failed to maintain the trajectory, namely: Burroughs, Chrysler, Harris, Hasbro, Rubbermaid, and Teledyne

Wisdom In A Nutshell:

Ten out of eleven good-to-great company leaders or CEOs came from the inside. They were not outsiders hired in to ‘save' the company. They were either people who worked many years at the company or were members of the family that owned the company.

Strategy per se did not separate the good to great companies from the comparison groups.
Good-to-great companies focus on what Not to do and what they should stop doing.
Technology has nothing to do with the transformation from good to great. It may help accelerate it but is not the cause of it.
Mergers and acquisitions do not cause a transformation from good to great.
Good-to-great companies paid little attention to managing change or motivating people. Under the right conditions, these problems naturally go away.
Good-to-great transformations did not need any new name, tagline, or launch program. The leap was in the performance results, not a revolutionary process.
Greatness is not a function of circumstance; it is clearly a matter of conscious choice.
Every good-to-great company had “Level 5” leadership during pivotal transition years, where Level 1 is a Highly Capable Individual, Level 2 is a Contributing Team Member, Level 3 is the Competent Manager, Level 4 is an Effective Leader, and Level 5 is the Executive who builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.
Level 5 leaders display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated. In contrast, two thirds of the comparison companies had leaders with gargantuan personal egos that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company.
Level 5 leaders are fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce sustained results. They are resolved to do whatever it takes to make the company great, no matter how big or hard the decisions.
One of the most damaging trends in recent history is the tendency (especially of boards of directors) to select dazzling, celebrity leaders and to de-select potential Level 5 leaders.
Potential Level 5 leaders exist all around us, we just have to know what to look for.
The research team was not looking for Level 5 leadership, but the data was overwhelming and convincing. The Level 5 discovery is an empirical, not ideological, finding.
Before answering the “what” questions of vision and strategy, ask first “who” are the right people for the team.
Comparison companies used layoffs much more than the good-to-great companies.

Although rigorous, the good-to-great companies were never ruthless and did not rely on layoffs or restructuring to improve performance.

Good-to-great management teams consist of people who debate vigorously in search of the best answers, yet who unify behind decisions, regardless of parochial interests.
There is no link between executive compensation and the shift from good to great. The purpose of compensation is not to ‘motivate' the right behaviors from the wrong people, but to get and keep the right people in the first place.
The old adage “People are your most important asset” is wrong. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.
Whether someone is the right person has more to do with character and innate capabilities than specific knowledge, skills or experience.
The Hedgehog Concept is a concept that flows from the deep understanding about the intersection of the following three circles:
-What you can be best in the world at, realistically, and what you cannot be best in the world at
-What drives your economic engine
-What you are deeply passionate about
Discover your core values and purpose beyond simply making money and combine this with the dynamic of preserve the core values - stimulate progress, as shown for example by Disney. They have evolved from making short animated films, to feature length films, to theme parks, to cruises, but their core values of providing happiness to young and old, and not succumbing to cynicism remains strong.
Enduring great companies don't exist merely to deliver returns to shareholders. In a truly great company, profits and cash flow are absolutely essential for life, but they are not the very point of life.

"IF YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING YOU CARE DEEPLY ABOUT AND IF YOU BELIEVE IN IT, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE NOT TRYING TO MAKE IT GREAT."

2007-10-25T01:16:00.000-07:00

"Built To Last " by James Collins & Jerry Porras

What has enabled some corporations to last so long, while other competitors in the same markets either struggle to get by, or fade away after a short period of time? This is the major question that Mr's Collins and Porras try to answer. They took a look at 18 well known, well established and healthy companies ('visionaries'), and compared them to a counterpart in their specific area of business. They analyzed all the information they could get their hands on, compiled it, and looked at it to try to find patterns both between the visionary companies and their counterparts, as well as among the visionary companies themselves. The result of all of this is a set of guidelines and principles that all companies, large or growing, can use to keep themselves growing, strong, and ahead of the competition.These are outlined below:

• Be a Clock Builder, not a Timekeeper - All the successful corporations focused on building the organization and company so it would run 'as smooth as a clock.' The visionary companies didn't simply follow others in their fields (watching the clock), but tended to lead the way.

• Your Company must have a set of 'Core Values' - Each of the visionary companies had established a set of core values in its infancy that still survive today. If it ever came upon hard times, the values would still be retained. They would only be modified in the most extreme cases.

• Preserve Your 'Core Ideology' - While the core values stay the same, the core ideology can be modified. The ideology of a company is the stimulus that keeps the company evolving over time. This change usually takes place slowly, one piece at a time, but is fast enough to keep ahead of the competition. Without this constant evolution of products, the company will eventually be left behind and disappear.

• BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) - In addition to the day-to-day ideology changes listed above, you occasionally need to paradigm shift in your product or service environment. These monumental changes are called 'BHAG,' and are considered clear-cut, compelling, cutting edge goals the company sets to progress forward. Examples of these given in the book are Boeing's BHAG's of building the first commercial jetliner in the U.S. in 1952 (the 707), and the first truly 'Jumbo Jet' in 1965, and the mission to put a man on the moon in the 1960's.

• Have a 'Cult-Like" Culture - This must pervade the company, invading it like a disease. Everyone in the company must be committed to following the path of the leader (similar to a cult leader). They must commit to the same core ideology, must be indoctrinated into the company culture, must develop a tight fit with others in the company, and must think of themselves as the 'elite' in their field.The best example given was that of Nordstroms department stores, who have the most fanatical, loyal sales persons. Other examples given were Disney with their 'cast members' in the theme parks, and IBM with its early devotion to office machinery.

• Don't be Afraid to Evolve: Try New Things and Use What Works. - All companies have to do this. As the company grows, tastes, preferences, and technology change. The visionary companies keep abreast on upcoming changes, anticipate them, or make them themselves, or else the company's products will become obsolete. You try different things and see how they work, quickly getting rid of the things that don't work. Two good examples given in the test are 3M (evolved from a mining company to a sandpaper company, to an adhesives based products company) and Marriott (from a small chain of restaurants to an airline commissary service to a full service hospitality corporation).

• Look Inside for your Top Management - The study found it is extremely difficult to bring in persons from the outside who can effectively manage a company. Instead, the company should have management development processes and succession plans in place to insure smooth transitions and direction as the company ages. A good example of this is GE, where current CEO Jack Welch started with the company and worked up to CEO. And with GE's management development processes, his retirement should not create a succession problem.

• Constantly Innovate- Without this, the company's products/services become obsolete and lead to a decline. You must constantly keep ahead of the pack, innovating your products to try and keep ahead of the competition. And this involves an investment in innovation that can't be eliminated. Examples given in the text is Boeing. They have consistently created innovative airliners, while McDonnell Douglas had simply tried to keep pace. And in the end Boeing Swallowed up McDonnell Douglas.

• Make the Core Ideology/Values a Reality - It is not enough to simple craft vision and mission statements, they must be put in place so that all persons/divisions of the company known what they are and work together toward those vales and ideals. In other words, get everything aligned on the same plain. One example of how this focus was achieved was in Hewlett-Packard. Both Hewlett and Packard initially avoided any outside corporate debt so its entrepreneurial discipline would not be compromised by the need to maximize profits. In addition to the things Collins and Porras found that made the visionary company, they also found a few things that these companies did NOT possess.

• No Strong Dynamic Leader Necessary. - Many of the companies did not have a well known 'figurehead' in the CEO/COO position. Most top executives were too busy 'building the clock' and innovating to do extensive PR work that would promote themselves.

• No 'Great Idea' Needed to Start a Company. - Many of the companies' founders did not start the company with a set idea. The best example given in the test is Hewlett-Packard. Both of these friends did not have an idea for what their product would be before starting their business. They tried making a few interesting products until they developed a piece of military hardware that caused their business to start growing.

An ABSOLUTE MUST.

2007-10-21T04:11:00.001-07:00

# "Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs"
By Don Tapscott, David Ticoll and Alex Lowy

The industrial-age corporation is crumbling. The new form of wealth creation is the business web, and the new basis of wealth is digital capital.

Schwab, eBay, Cisco, MP3, Linux, and dozens of other companies have transformed the rules of competition in their industries, seemingly overnight. They hijacked long-entrenched industry leaders with revolutionary offerings that surprised and delighted customers. These transformers could not and did not act alone: partners enabled them to move with stealth, speed, agility, and force. Such teams of innovators pioneered the business web, or "b-web", the new platform for competition in the twenty-first century. B-webs partner networks of producers, service providers, suppliers, infrastructure companies, and customers linked via digital channels are destroying the firm as we have known it and generating wealth in entirely new ways.

In Digital Capital, information-age visionaries Don Tapscott, David Ticoll, and Alex Lowy describe and explain the b-web phenomenon and the forces behind its emergence. Drawing on three years of multimillion-dollar research into hundreds of b-webs as diverse as the Microsoft alliance and the automotive industry, the authors illuminate the five distinct types of b-web now in play: Agoras, Aggregations, Value Chains, Alliances, and Distributive Networks. Punctuating their analysis with a rich set of case studies, they provide the definitive guide to business model innovation in the digital economy.

The book includes:

* The untold real story behind the story on successes like eBay, Cisco, Linux, Schwab, and Priceline

* Positioning and analysis of emergent e-businesses like Webvan, OptiMark, AT&T Solutions, and Enron

* A step-by-step process for b-web strategy design

* A new approach to maximizing organizational effectiveness in a multi-enterprise environment

* The "ABCDE's" of marketing—heir to the "four P's" of the industrial age

* Guidelines for deciding whether to hire, buy, or partner a needed capability

* A new set of lenses for viewing the stock market

The authors warn that participation in b-webs is not optional. To encounter and satisfy the digital customer, firms must lead or partner in one or more of these new business networks. While no single path leads to b-web success, businesses will adopt effective b-web strategies-or they will simply fade away.

Sustaining advantage in the digital economy demands more than superficial actions like attracting "eyeballs," launching a hot IPO, following "new rules," building a cool Web site, or even just focusing on customers. In Digital Capital we finally have a book that gets beyond whiz-bang clichés to today's central issues of competitive strategy.

Reviews:

"By far the best work on the new business models required to compete in e-business. Pray that your competitors don't read it!" --J. Bruce Harreld, Senior Vice President of Strategy, IBM

"This dynamic work provides an unprecedented in-depth look at the new economics and the fundamentals driving the digital revolution. Anyone intrigued by the Internet's boundless possibilities will view Digital Capital as an essential guide to innovation and success."-Jeffrey Mallett, President and COO, Yahoo! Inc.

"The seminal book on business webs and how they can help move your business units into the new, new economy. Every business leader should read this book!"-Robert Eaton, Chairman, Daimler Chrysler

A tad jaded..but still very relevant.

# “Never Wrestle With A Pig and Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business and Career” By Mark McCormack

"Mistakes are not like Doritos", "Know your Super Bowl Sunday" and "Never wrestle with a pig!" Each phrase is a clever metaphor with a meaning that reveals how to be a success in contemporary business.

This worthwhile read is a narrative of business lessons developed by McCormack in response to the increasingly fast-paced business of the new millennium. Never Wrestle with a Pig is a metaphor used in McCormack's time management lesson. The lesson's core message is that arguing or wrestling, with an associate who loves to argue, namely a pig, wastes time. The result: both you and the argument-loving associate are placed in a bad light and only the pig enjoys himself. This small, yet true, lesson buried midway through the book was successfully employed as the title in a brilliant marketing move.

Never Wrestle with a Pig contains 91 short lessons which have been proven to enhance professional performances in a new business world where the need for speed often over-rides common sense. This book's lessons range in topic from office politics to setting achievable goals, from networking to hiring and firing. It emphasizes the importance of communication and relationships in the e-mail age.

Got it.

2007-10-14T00:50:00.000-07:00

# "Your money and Your brain" by Jason Zweig

A reporter at Forbes Zweig is as close as anybody’s likely to come to the investment psychology and according to him humans let emotions rule the investment decisions…

He remembers Black Monday, the October Day in 1987 when the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index lost 23 percent, making it the single worst day in the history of American Stock Market.

He explores neuroeconomics, a discipline which combines biology, psychology and economics and tries to understand why we make foolish financial decisions. Neuroeconomics experiments have shown that when people put money in foreign markets, the amygdala-one of the brain’s fear centers- kicks in. On the other hand investing closer to home- or, better yet in the company you are most familiar with, your own- generates an automatic feeling of comfort.

The central finding is that the brain is not an optimal tool for making financial decisions. The part of our brain that tells us to act like rational investors tends to be completely overtaken by much more powerful impulses- impulses that make us human.
He makes the usually overlooked point that our risk tolerance is not a fixed thing, but changes from day today, even hour to hour, depending on our mood.

Despite everything, Zweig remains an investing optimist- he still thinks people can learn to resist their emotions- that is what sets apart investing geniuses like Warren Buffett- their ability to ignore their emotions- or perhaps, to use them differently than the rest of us do.

# 'Blue Ocean Strategy ' by W Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne

Why compete with other firms if you don’t have to?

This book makes a very valid point.

W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborbne advocate a different approach to strategy: try to create new industries that change the competitive landscape completely. By creating such “blue oceans”- uncontested market space, your firm will be industry leader and will make competition irrelevant. There is no sense in operating in competitive war zones- “red oceans” – if you have a choice.

# "How to read a financial report" by John A Tracy

A concise well written guide that enables you to navigate the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement.

Tracy carefully explains how cash statement is developed, how the ststements relate to each other and what each report tells you about the health of the business in question. Be better equipped to understand the financial report of any company including your own.

2007-10-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

MUSTS…

# ‘Fooled by randomness’ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Taleb covers vast range of subjects in an engrossing fashion: statistical theory, economics, philosophy, human psychology and history - and the fact that investors never learn from history. Taleb has written the books based on his own experience as a trader in financial markets and has described the nuances of how the human mind functions in various conditions. He analyses how we react differently when presented the same fact in different ways. He provides a fascinating description of how human mind underestimates risks. The message for investors is to be wary of being over dependent on statistical models in making investing decisions and to be aware of events that have a low probability of occurrence, but which can have disastrous consequences if they do happen. These are what Taleb calls ‘black-swan’ events. A single ‘Black swan’ occurrence is enough to drive one to bankruptcy.

An essential reading for people who want to actively trade in the financial markets.

# "Competitive Strategy" by Michael Porter

If you boil business down to its essence, you are left with two key elements--strategy and execution. Strategy is deciding what direction to go, and execution is how to get there.
Strategy is about competition, and prior to the book's 1980 publication, competition was defined as other companies operating in the same industry. Porter's five forces model created a much richer view, adding suppliers, buyers, substitutes, and new players to the definition.
These added dimensions made Porter's work ground-breaking. Without Porters' model, it is hard to see how PC manufacturers' margins quickly shrank in the 1990's. The cause was not competition among industry players, but the superior bargaining power of their two primary suppliers--Intel and Microsoft.
Shouldn’t miss it. Really !

# "Execution" by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck

In their book, Bossidy, who spent 40 years running industrial conglomerates, Charan, who provides insights as a guru to Fortune 500 CEOs, and writer and editor Burck mapped out "a system for getting things done through questioning, analysis, and follow-through."

Identifying and developing leadership talent lies at the core with the goal not to evaluate people for what they are doing today, but for the positions they will hold tomorrow.

Organizations that understand execution inject a healthy dose of realism into their culture through open, informal dialogue to eliminate false consensus and by making needed changes today rather than waiting for tomorrow for things to get better.

Read. If you want to optimize…

2007-10-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

Hmm..

# ‘The four agreements’ by Don Miguel Ruiz

Don Miguel Ruiz's book, The Four Agreements was published in 1997. For many, The Four Agreements is a life-changing book, whose ideas come from the ancient Toltec wisdom of the native people of Southern Mexico. The Toltec were 'people of knowledge' - scientists and artists who created a society to explore and conserve the traditional spiritual knowledge and practices of their ancestors.

The simple ideas of ‘The Four Agreements’ provide an inspirational code for life; a personal development model, and a template for personal development, behaviour, communications and relationships. Here is how Don Miguel Ruiz summarises 'The Four Agreements':

The four agreements - don miguel ruiz's code for life

agreement 1

Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

agreement 2

Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

agreement 3

Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

agreement 4

Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

BUY IT ! BUY IT !!

# ‘I Am That’ by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Hailed as a modern spiritual classic, I Am That is a collection of the timeless teachings of a great modern day India sage. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was a teacher who did not propound any ideology or religion, but gently unwrapped the mystery of the self. His message is simple, direct and yet sublime. I Am That preserves his dialogues with the followers who came from around the world seeking guidance in destroying false identities.

It is ..interestingly different.

2007-09-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

Something different this Sunday…

# ‘Zorba the Greek’ by Nikos Kazantzakis is inspiring and empowering. It reinforces the importance of having absolute faith in oneself and the miracles of love - how love sets one free.

# ‘Istanbul’ by Orhan Pamuk is an interesting one. It makes one think of their own country..the country’s past..its monuments..its architecture..Pamuk comes across as a melancholic who is very cynical ..about change..one feels like shrugging off lethargy and doing one’s bit for the country..whatever one can..

Don’t tell me you missed these…

# ‘If tomorrow comes’ by Sidney Sheldon

Young , beautiful and intelligent Tracy Whitney winds up in prison framed by a ruthless mafia gang, abandoned by the man she loves..faces 15 years..her journey ..her encounter with Jeff Stevenson, a master con man.

# ‘Angels and Demons’ by Dan Brown

Age old conflict between science and religion has been handled in a very exciting manner.The instances where Robert Langdon is pacing around Vatican City.. a bomb..the use of mysterious ambigrams..the clash between the Roman catholic church and the ancient illuminati.. the charming symbologist..go on stretch your nights.

# ‘A time to kill’ by John Grisham

It explores the stark realites of the modern legal system.A black man, Carl Lee Hailey takes on the system and avenges the brutal rape of his 10 year old daughter Tonya by killing both the rapists. Jake Brigance , a white lawyer, takes up the case. The involvment of the Klu Klux Clan and the stirring courtroom drama with its legal twists ..must read.

# ‘Coma’ by Robin Cook

One of the most spine chilling reads- a medical thriller. Cold, ruthless, chilling side of medical world..organ trade..written in 1977..was made into a highly successful film by Michael Crichton.

Should explore…

# ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier

A superbly chilling and enthralling tale of doubt, suspense and romance told through flashbacks. Suspense pervades through the novel in an impalpable manner. Narrator is Maxim de winter’s second wife; Rebecca was first.She has to deal with Rebecca’s ghost which continues to haunt Manderley, the beautiful de Winter house.

#‘Witness for the Prosecution’ by Agatha Christie

Christie’s grasp of human psyche, lucid descriptions,free flowing style of writing, good humour keeps you gripped.The book has amazing twists and turns in the courtroom.The case of murder of Emily Friend, a rich widow is tried. Leonard Vole, Emily’s friend is arrested for murder- the only person who can provide him an alibi is his wife Romaine.But she decides to turn witness for the prosecution. It takes deductive brilliance of Hercule Poirot to crack this case.Interplay of human relations, trust , suspicion..a compelling read.

2007-09-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

26th Grinzane Cavour Prize for literature announced

INTERNATIONAL FICTION

# Award for International fiction went to ‘Night train to Lisbon’ by Pascal Mercier.

Night train to Lisbon: It is the thriller of the soul, spanning the investigation of an unsolved mystry and a deep soul search by the protagonist Raimond Gregorius on a train to Lisbon.

# ‘Palazzo Yacoubian’ by Egyptian author Ala Al Aswani

It is about the inhabitants of a building in Cairo. Their parallel lives running along length and breadth of the building and the way the building holds the characters together.

# ‘The Whole Night Long’ by Philippe Forest

A heart wrenching read. About Alice who came into the world to suffer and disappear-how bone tumour snatches a life.

Something interesting ...

# ‘The Lollipop shoes ‘ by Joanne Harris.

Set in Montmarte, a sequel to ‘Chocolat’, ‘The Lollipop shoes’ is as delicious. Vianne Rocher, asingle mother of two daughters wants to lead a normal life without resorting to magical powers she and her daughters have. Enter Ms Lollipop Shoes, an irresistible witch and life is never the same again. The book has magic, mystery and pathos.

Self help books: For your shelf

# ‘You can heal your life’ by Louise L Hays

The book talks about mindsets and outlooks that if changed can help you immensely. It helps you see the problem, helps you in acceptance of it and then in dealing with it.

# ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff..and it is all small stuff’ by Richard Carlson

Okay.it has stuff everyone knows..but easy reading, easy to digest, capsuled material makes it a must on your shelf.

# ‘Peace, Love and Healing’ and ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles’ by Dr. Bernie Siegel

Life can be tragic. Medicines, Diseases, Death –coping with the loss. This book helps you get the right perspective and accelerates the healing process.

# ‘The Goose Is Out’ by Osho

A compilation of Osho’s commentary on Zen stories. Very interesting book for the youngsters who search for meanings - of life - of circumstances they find themselves in.

# ‘Natural Mind, Natural Medicine’ by Andrew Weil

A book about natural medicine and all about harnessing the healing powers of nature. A must on the shelves of people who are looking for alternatives.

# ‘Think On These Things’ by J Krishnamurti

A series of question and answers compiled. Krishnamurthy exhorts you to question, to look to seek. This book will change the way you look not only at your personal world but also at things like education and child rearing.

Leaders are Readers

# 'The inner work of leaders' by Barbara Mackoff and Gary Wenet

Inner work basically is the process leaders use to leverage the lessons of past experiences to invigorate their relationship with the present. It is an intimate look at how pivotal events and people shaped the outlook of real life leaders.

This book is recommended for people who are in charge of an organization and for those who want to be. This book demonstrates how to draw upon your life’s rich legacy and to turn the challenges in your work into opportunities for leadership.

The premise of ‘The inner world of leaders’ is that the emotional lives of leaders is cumulative. Relationships and events from the past do translate the present point of view of leaders.

The crux of ‘The inner work of leaders’ is summed up by the scientist ad novelist Aldous Huxley's quote, ‘Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you.’

Must read.

# 'Rules for revolutionaries' by Guy Kawasaki and Michaele Moreno

The capitalist manifesto for creating and marketing new products and services.
In this great how-to, you get common-sense advice about ways to beat the competition. Read chapters titled "Create Like a God," "Command Like a King" and "Work Like a Slave," and move through exercises to reinforce what you've learnt. At the end, you should understand how to catalyze and then market innovation.
Must read.

# 'The Innovator’s Dilemma' by Clayton Christensen

Read this BusinessWeek bestseller to find out how great companies fail by only excelling at commonly accepted management practices. You'll learn a formula that will help you guard against failure, create new markets and find new customers.