Book Description

Lessons from Famous "Invention Factories" Past and Present

Did you know that the incandescent lightbulb first emerged some thirty years before Thomas Edison famously "turned night into day"? Or that Henry Ford's revolutionary assembly line came from an unlikely blend of observations from Singer sewing machines, meatpacking, and Campbell's Soup?

In this fascinating study of innovation, engineer and social scientist Andrew Hargadon argues that our romantic notions about innovation as invention are actually undermining our ability to pursue breakthrough innovations.

Based on ten years of study into the origins of historic inventions and modern innovations from the lightbulb to the transistor to the Reebok Pump athletic shoe, How Breakthroughs Happen takes us beyond the simple recognition that revolutionary innovations do not result from flashes of brilliance by lone inventors or organizations. In fact, innovation is really about creatively recombining ideas, people, and objects from past technologies in ways that spark new technological revolutions.

This process of "technology brokering" is so powerful, explains Hargadon, because it exploits the networked nature-the social side-of the innovation process. Moving between historical accounts of labs and factory floors where past technological revolutions originated and field studies of similar processes in today's organizations, Hargadon shows how technology brokers create an enduring capacity for breakthrough innovations.

Technology brokers simultaneously bridge the gaps in existing networks that separate distant industries, firms, and divisions to see how established ideas can be applied in new ways and places, and build new networks to guide these creative recombinations to mass acceptance. How Breakthroughs Happen identifies three distinct strategies for technology brokering that managers can implement in their organizations.

Hargadon suggests that Edison and his counterparts were no smarter than the rest of us-they were simply better at moving through the networked world of their time. Intriguing, practical, and counterintuitive, How Breakthroughs Happen can help managers transform their own firms into modern-day invention factories.

... Read more

Reviews (10)

The Paradox of Innovation
For many who read this book, it may well be a "surprising truth" that innovation succeeds "not by breaking free from constraints of the past but instead by harnessing the past in powerful new ways." I am among those who agree with the prophet Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun; also with the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who asserted that everything changes...but nothing changes. I also agree with Hargadon's emphasis on the importance of an innovation strategy which seeks to take full advantage of what can be learned from the past inorder to create the future. His core concept is "technology brokering" which he introduces and then rigorously examines in Part I; next, in Part II, he describes the "networked perspective" of innovation, explaining how this strategy influences the innovative process within organizations, regardless of their size and nature; finally, in Part III, Hargadon provides specific and practical examples of how various organizations have designed and then implemented technology brokering strategies. Throughout the narrative, Hargadon explores in depth with rigor and eloquence his core premise: "that breakthrough innovation comes by recombining the people, ideas, and objects of past technologies."

In this context, I am reminded of what Carla O'Dell asserts in If We Only Knew What We Know when discussing what she calls "beds of knowledge" which are "hidden resources of intelligence that exist in almost every organization, relatively untapped and unmined." She suggests all manner of effective strategies to "tap into "this hidden asset, capturing it, organizing it, transferring it, and using it to create customer value, operational excellence, and product innovation -- all the while increasing profits and effectiveness." Almost all organizations claim that their "most valuable assets walk out the door at the end of each business day." That is correct. Almost all intellectual "capital" is stored between two ears and much (too much) of it is, for whatever reasons, inaccessible to others except in "small change....there is no conclusion to managing knowledge and transferring best practices. It is a race without a finishing line."

I think this is precisely what Hargadon has in mind when insisting that the future is already here, that the "raw materials for the next breakthrough technology may [also] be already here [but probably] without assembly instructions," that decision-makers must find their "discomfort zones" rather than remain hostage to what Jim O'Toole calls "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom," and that they should build a "bridge" to their own strengths but also to their weaknesses because, as they perform, so will their organization. I agree with Hargadon that innovation must unfold at the ground level, "in the minds and hearts of the engineers and entrepreneurs who are doing the work." Also, that -- meanwhile -- they and their associates must be guided and informed, not only by their own organization's "beds of knowledge" but also by external sources of information concerning prior successes and failures of the innovation process elsewhere. In the final analysis, there is good news and bad news. First the bad news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone." Now the good news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone."

The Paradox of Innovation
For many who read this book, it may well be a "surprising truth" that innovation succeeds "not by breaking free from constraints of the past but instead by harnessing the past in powerful new ways." I am among those who agree with the prophet Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun; also with the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who asserted that everything changes...but nothing changes. I also agree with Hargadon's emphasis on the importance of an innovation strategy which seeks to take full advantage of what can be learned from the past inorder to create the future. His core concept is "technology brokering" which he introduces and then rigorously examines in Part I; next, in Part II, he describes the "networked perspective" of innovation, explaining how this strategy influences the innovative process within organizations, regardless of their size and nature; finally, in Part III, Hargadon provides specific and practical examples of how various organizations have designed and then implemented technology brokering strategies. Throughout the narrative, Hargadon explores in depth with rigor and eloquence his core premise: "that breakthrough innovation comes by recombining the people, ideas, and objects of past technologies."

In this context, I am reminded of what Carla O'Dell asserts in If We Only Knew What We Know when discussing what she calls "beds of knowledge" which are "hidden resources of intelligence that exist in almost every organization, relatively untapped and unmined." She suggests all manner of effective strategies to "tap into "this hidden asset, capturing it, organizing it, transferring it, and using it to create customer value, operational excellence, and product innovation -- all the while increasing profits and effectiveness." Almost all organizations claim that their "most valuable assets walk out the door at the end of each business day." That is correct. Almost all intellectual "capital" is stored between two ears and much (too much) of it is, for whatever reasons, inaccessible to others except in "small change....there is no conclusion to managing knowledge and transferring best practices. It is a race without a finishing line."

I think this is precisely what Hargadon has in mind when insisting that the future is already here, that the "raw materials for the next breakthrough technology may [also] be already here [but probably] without assembly instructions," that decision-makers must find their "discomfort zones" rather than remain hostage to what Jim O'Toole calls "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom," and that they should build a "bridge" to their own strengths but also to their weaknesses because, as they perform, so will their organization. I agree with Hargadon that innovation must unfold at the ground level, "in the minds and hearts of the engineers and entrepreneurs who are doing the work." Also, that -- meanwhile -- they and their associates must be guided and informed, not only by their own organization's "beds of knowledge" but also by external sources of information concerning prior successes and failures of the innovation process elsewhere. In the final analysis, there is good news and bad news. First the bad news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone." Now the good news: "New ideas are built from the pieces of old ones, and nobody works alone."

Concept of Innovation
I agree with other reviewers, very repetitive, especially in the beginning few chapters. Originally, I thought this book was for other researchers. But it is more for non-researchers and people who have not read much about innovation. Any researcher or anybody who has read a few books about innovation definitely knows that no new creation comes overnight, it's always a product of combining the past with the present for the future. Edison's story has always been told in the 'lone inventor' mode in elementary schools, so every person has that myth in mind. Sure this book proves otherwise. But again, others who have been involved in innovation in some form, knows that innovation is always a compounded sum. When man first used a sharp stone as a tool, it didn't happen in one second from one person, it took many minds and many hundred years. It was definitely a breakthrough back then, gazillion times bigger than the invention of computers or light bulb. [alas, no patenting or internet back then!]
I'd also argue that the same applies to death of any creation/innovation. A successful product that rules the market cannot be killed overnight. [Example: I'd argue that Dinosours did not all get wiped out in a single day due to a meteor hitting Mexico 65 millions years ago. That is the perception we get. It would have taken hundreds, if not thousands of years for that to happen, even if the trigger was the meteor crash]. This is the whole truth about creation and destruction - it is seldom an effect of just one person or one factor that happens in a stroke of luck. Well.. I purposefully made this review repetitive :-).

Don't get me wrong here...this is a decent book.

useful but boring
This is a useful book, but it is quite boring. It could have been written in half the pages. I agree with an earlier reviewer that it is wordy and repetitive. You have to be patient to find a new idea buried under a pile of superfluous and redundant paragraphs. But it is insightful nonetheless. If you work in R&D, then you must read this book to see which model is suitable for innovation.

Fresh thoughts on innovation in a story-telling bottle
Andrew Hargadon is the intriguing intersection of a mechanical engineer, an industrial psychologist and an innovation story-teller. His book "How Breakthroughs Happen" will lead you across the junk piles of the IDEO industrial design firm -- he really worked there! -- gunnery improvements in the US Navy in the early 20th Century, and the origins of cubism. As this eclectic assorment of examples accumulates, a breath-taking theory of innovation begins to emerge, which Hargadon calls Technology Brokering. By the time you reach the more personal epilogue at the end, you realize the man is right. Innovation is an eternal recombining of what already exists. He goes on to outline an eminently practical process which eclipses traditional odes to maverick invention and other empty invitations to revolution or disruption. ... Read more

Book Description

The most trusted names in workouts and turnarounds share their valuable strategies Compiling insights and methods from industry experts, this authoritative and practical guide cuts through the maze of corporate restructuring jargon to give corporate leaders and professionals the proven techniques and clear advice needed to understand today’s corporate turnarounds and workouts. Workouts & Turnarounds II: Global Restructuring Strategies for the Next Century gives detailed coverage of the key issues involved in this process—from both the creditor and company positions. You’ll learn how to identify a troubled company and determine the chances of turnaround, and what management should focus on before it’s too late. One of the leading authorities in financial and operational restructuring services, Dominic DiNapoli has assembled experts from around the country who have provided their insights and years of experience in the various topics covered in this book. From business regeneration tactics, to managing corporate communications, to the roles of lawyers and lender services, you’ll find a wealth of information in this comprehensive reference. In addition, this guide contains case studies of turnarounds in progress, illustrating many of the techniques and strategies currently available. Whether you are a CEO, an attorney, or a lender restructuring or investing in distressed companies, Workouts & Turnarounds II: Global Restructuring Strategies for the Next Century gives you the crucial information you need to make the right decisions today. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not to the point
This book will explain how the rules were created and turned to what they are today. Who cares how they came to be, the only important thing is what you can and cannot do under the circumstances. It will explain what to consider, in general terms, when valuing distressed companies. But what discount rate should you use? How would you value different assets? It doesn't explain. There are no numbers in this book. It's not practical. It's like buying a cooking book and when you want to know how to make a cake the book reads: "use eggs, milk, flower and mix". Ok, thanks.

What to Do...What Not to Do
Every executive should make active use of a basic reference library of about 12-15 business books; Workouts & Turnarounds II should be one them. Edited by Dominic DiNapoli, it consists of 21 different chapters, written (or co-authored) by experts on various subjects. These chapter titles suggest some of the issues which are addressed:

• Trouble-Spotting: Assessing the Likelihood of a Turnaround

• Looming Financial or Business Failure: Fix or File -- A Legal Perspective

• Preparing for Bankruptcy: Building the War Chest

• The Lawyer's Role in Representing the Distressed Company

• The Accountant's Role in the Workout Environment

• Dealing with Employee Issues in a Bankruptcy Situation

• Mergers and Acquisition Strategies for the Distressed Company

At one time or another, all organizations experience serious problems. Many of them eventually recover. The wealth of information and advice provided in this single volume explains HOW. Other organizations, unable to solve their problems, are either liquidated or acquired. This book explains WHY. I know of no other single volume which offers more and better information about workouts and turnarounds, corporate restructuring, and bankruptcy proceedings. This book can be of substantial value to those involved with a distressed organization. It was written primarily for them. However, I think this book can also be of substantial value to those whose organization is (at the moment) thriving and who are determined to sustain that success. Knowing what NOT to do is often as important as knowing what to do. ... Read more

Book Description

dozen years ago, Peters and coauthor Robert Waterman woke up corporate America with In Search of Excellence. Once more the "unconventional" Peters stimulates corporate thought processes. Along with the best of his columns, Peters includes questions and rebuttals that come from readers and listeners, as well as his own candid responses. A "must" read for every business person. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

the amble after the ordinary
This is the abridged version of the review

If 'apple pie' and a business version of 'words to live by from mother', is up your alley, then Tom Peters The Pursuit of WOW!, is the soft cover management book for you!!! Peter's book is an amalgamation of 'everything you were ever taught' and that has slipped your mind, on how to do good business. Primarily aimed at management and entrepreneurs there is a little something for everyone, broken into 210 sections, which are sorted into 13 categories, Peters for the most part, has an informal narrative style that utilises case studies, interviews, personal experience, examples and photographs that are consumer friendly. The end result is that WOW! can be opened at any page or read from beginning to end (although I wouldn't recommend it all in one sitting).

Entrepreneurs' Dream
Another chapter, another group, this time Peters brings together a group of 11 entrepreneurs for "a free-for-all discussion on the perils and joys of starting your own business". The distinct feeling of 'one- up-man-ship' starts to leave a nauseous roiling in the gut, and even Peters himself states "pick your metaphor". Little to no structure is present, while ideas from passion and creativity to staleness and demotion are wildly bounced around.

Attaining Perpetual Adolescence
Peters uses chapter 12 to espouse the value of the 'big concepts' that make a difference (in his humble opinion) to the success of an entrepreneur/manager. Iconoclastic, Inquisitive, Audacious, Crazy, Passionate, Advanced immaturity and Self-improvement, to mention just a few. The problem is, without application, they are just words and words that are hard to spell at that. One gets the distinct impression that he has put the most popular jargon and buzzwords of the moment into a hat and written a sentence on the resulting selection. Hype? Definitely. Practical application? Dicey at best.

In summation, one can't help but be left with the feeling that Peters was beginning to run out of things to write, the format of the chapters became shorter as the book progressed, furthermore the input from him lessened and had less 'wow' the more you read. The knowledge that Peters imparts for most is known, but through laziness, busyness or lack of practicality is not used. Overall the book was generally entertaining, with a sprinkle of enlightenment, and worth a read (if you can get it from the library). Ultimately, the pursuit of 'WOW!' was more like an 'amble after ordinary'.

Timeless ideas for the entreprenuer of today and tomorrow
Tom Peters BASHES the nail on the head TIME after TIME with this indispensible book. The Pursuit of WOW! is written using an easy-to-understand, innovative format to provide highly valuable and extremely powerful advice on creating success in business! Feel your brain expand and fill with great ideas for growing and strengthening YOUR business with each and every page! Mr. Peters uses his delightfully dry wit to pilage and plunder the archaic, die-hard gospel of business gone by. This is a new translation of the business bible. READ THIS BOOK!

Peters & WOW
The Pursuit of WOW should be almost like a bible for conformists wanting to re-engineer their thinking and approach to global business. People are often fearful of not knowing how to. With Peters' insight to how fear can be overcome, more entrepreneurs, and developers should be coming in for a new dotcom renaissance, when applied generously. Open your hearts and jump into the oceans of Life.

Creative and Chaotic, But Possibly Disastrous
Tom Peters is a management prophet with a lot of fascinating ideas. This book is a collection of his thoughts where you'll see a strong emphasis on destroying superfluous hierarchies and worn-out practices. That's the Peters message and it's worthwhile. However, he has an annoying tendency to insist on his own authority that businesses make radical changes lest they perish. In many cases, I wonder why. Peters has no apparent respect for the point of view that tradition represents collected wisdom about things that have worked and may well keep working.

What really ruined the book for me, though, was a panel discussion on diversity in which Peters attributes his own success to being a white male Protestant born in 1942. That kind of racial reductionism is horse-puckey and contradicts his emphasis on self-determination and constant renewal.

I still give the book three stars for entertainment value, a smart format, and general provocation.

Daily dose...
I listen to a little of this tape EVERY DAY on my way to and from work... I've probably listened to the entire program at least 15 times over the last 3 months, and it STILL motivates me and gets me thinking and excited every day. Tom Peters doesn't sugar-coat anything, and although many feel he's opinionatad, his opinions are usually right-on and well supported, either by research or by experience. If you want to start changing your life, or just want to motivate yourself to continue with changes you've already made, then this tape is for you. It's made a difference in my life, and it's made me hungry to read more books and listen to more tapes by Tom Peters. ... Read more

Book Description

Which business structures are best suited to the unpredictable 21stcentury? How can a company, division, or department reconfigure itself withminimum disruption and maximum impact? Every executive grapples with problems ofrestructuring--and most need hands-on guidance to solve them. This eye-openingbook shows business leaders at all levels how to examine their choices byleading them systematically through these fundamental questions:

* Should we restructure to meet our strategic goals? * What are the best structural options to achieve our success? * What lateral processes are necessary to support the new structure? * How do we staff the restructured organization to optimize results?

Based on Galbraith's world-renowned approach, this guide includes examples andworksheets that pilot readers through the essential steps of organizationaldesign. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A managment essential
This book is a basic for those wishing to compose and maintain a dynamic vital organization. Highly reccomended for middle level and upper managers. You will refer to it constantly. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A great book for managing change.
This book is an excellent tool to get people thinking again. Businesses that realize that by embracing change, they can differentiate themselves from their competitors have a distinct advantage. Those that don't or are slow to come around are in deep trouble.
One of the tools in the book that I found very insightful was the Change-Ready Assessment. The Change-Ready Assessment is a survey that every organization should use to evaluate new and old employees' ability to adapt to a culture of change.

Real-life examples make this book a winner!
Robert J. Kriegel is rapidly becoming one of my favorite
business authors . . . I've previously enjoyed two of
his other books, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS
WITHOUT WORKING SO HARD and IF IT AIN'T BROKE,
BREAK IT . . . so I figured it was time to get hold of
one of his earlier efforts, SACRED COWS MAKE THE BEST
BURGERS--written with David Brandt.

I was definitely not disappointed!

Kriegel and Brandt examine why people cling to outmoded
beliefs, practices and processes as if their lives depended
on them . . . but more importantly, they present ways to
inspire a desire to bring in the new.

I particularly liked the use of real-life examples . . . although the book was written in 1996, it is still amazingly current; i.e., most of the ideas the authors present still make sense today . . . also, they can be applied to virtually any size or type of organization.

There were many memorable passages; among them:
* But you'll actually do more and better by learning to slow down when everything around you is speeding up. John Wooden, the great UCLA basketball coach who won an unprecedented 10 national championships, offers this advice: "Be quick, but don't hurry. If you hurry you make mistakes."

* You may not be a beginner, but you can learn how to think like one. Take real estate agent Michael Young, for instance. He was his company's most successful agent in northern California but he couldn't make the leap from
selling houses in [one price range] range to those[in a higher price range]and up.

"I don't get it, " he said. "I'm using the same prospecting strategies, making calls in the evening to people at home, giving them advice and telling them about the market, and I'm in the same marketplace. But it's not working."

"Think like a beginner, forget your old strategies, start fresh," we advised him. "Look at the business like you're a novice. What can you do to break into this market?"

Instead of competing with other brokers, Young spotted an untapped opportunity in the high-end market. He discovered that many listings expire before the house is sold. So he developed a strategy for buying old listings and sharing commissions. The technique brought in so much business that he formed the Michael Young Company in San Francisco. Now brokers
call him unsolicited.

Want to know something? We're all in the same position as Young. You may think your market is the same as it was last year. But it's not. Everything is changing: people's life and work styles, their jobs, their expectations, their attitudes, their family situations-everything. And technological
advances have only accelerated the situation.

With business in a perpetual state of flux, we need to keep reinventing our game plan every six months. To do that we have to look at things through fresh eyes.

* [Sam] Walton had 10 rules of success, most of which revolve around giving great service, top-quality products, and treating you people right. But it's his 10th rule that sets him apart from his competitors. Walton called it the most important one: Break the rules.

If all of your competitors are doing it one way, Mr. Sam used to say, "do it exactly the opposite," and that's where you'll get the edge.

Unfortunately managers haven't read this book
Its very good book and managers should read this book like taking oath before taking management job. No offense, but very few managers have ever read this book or similar book, at least those under whom I have worked for

Involved in Change Control or Project Management? Get This!
Don't let this book's title through you off. Give it a chance, because it does a great job of detailing how an organization can change and make business processes work better.

Kriegel and Brandt show ways in which remaining caught up in a given mode of thinking about one's business can often lead to missed opportunities for growth and success. It offers an interesting array of anecdotes that can assist in expanding one's thinking about the everyday processes we take for granted. An excellent resource for managers and others who feel their organization is caught in a rut and going nowhere.

This book can guide managers in the steps needed to eliminate outdated business practices and routines that drain time and money. It offers ways to redesign the rules of an organization and instill a capacity for change in their management teams and employees. A good resource that shouldn't be overlooked by anyone involved in change control or project management.

Get a life!
The reader from Austin Tx who was offended by the title of this book needs to get a life. Have we become so hyper-sensitive that everything that causes offense. This was a fine book that I would highly recommend to any manager. ... Read more

Book Description

An essential overview of post-deregulation market operations in electrical power systems

Until recently the U.S. electricity industry was dominated by vertically integrated utilities. It is now evolving into a distributive and competitive market driven by market forces and increased competition. With electricity amounting to a $200 billion per year market in the United States, the implications of this restructuring will naturally affect the rest of the world.

Why is restructuring necessary? What are the components of restructuring? How is the new structure different from the old monopoly? How are the participants strategizing their options to maximize their revenues? What are the market risks and how are they evaluated? How are interchange transactions analyzed and approved? Starting with a background sketch of the industry, this hands-on reference provides insights into the new trends in power systems operation and control, and highlights advanced issues in the field.

Written for both technical and nontechnical professionals involved in power engineering, finance, and marketing, this must-have resource discusses:

• Market structure and operation of electric power systems
• Load and price forecasting and arbitrage
• Price-based unit commitment and security constrained unit commitment
• Market power analysis and game theory applications
• Ancillary services auction market design
• Transmission pricing and congestion

Using real-world case studies, this timely survey offers engineers, consultants, researchers, financial managers, university professors and students, and other professionals in the industry a comprehensive review of electricity restructuring and how its radical effects will shape the market. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Decided to keep it
Somewhat similar to Wood and Wollenberg. Not nearly as detailed or rigorous as the other, but more "modern", i.e., market-oriented. 200 pages on using neural nets in price forecasting (probably useful if you believe in nets). Interesting for me were sections on ancillaries, comittment/dispatch and congestion management. For those, authors provide a good introduction: mostly narrative with some formulas to show exactly what they mean.

I loved it
This was one of the best books I read on the subject of power market. ... Read more

Book Description

"Burke manages to integrate the extant theories of organizational change with case examples that make the theories come alive.He skillfully combines his strong interests in the abstract with his four decades of practical, personal experience in facilitating large-scale organizational change efforts.This book is clearly the work of a master at the peak of his career."

Organizations change internally at a much slower pace than the external environments in which they function, and must continually evolve to keep pace. Further, these environments are in constant flux and challenge the assumption of continuity on which organizations are created and developed. Now more than ever, there is a clear need for a greater understanding of how to understand, lead, manage, and change organizations.

Organization Change: Theory and Practice provides an overview of the theoretical and research foundation for our current understanding of organization change, including the nature and types of change organizations experience. The author reviews various models, including a new model developed by Burke-Litwin, and uses cases to demonstrate how these models can be used to diagnose change issues in organizations. Emphasizing planned, revolutionary change over the typical gradual, evolutionary change organizations experience, Burke combines and integrates theory and research with application for insight into all aspects of organization change.

This book will prove invaluable to students and professors of MBA-level courses in organization change, organization psychology, industrial psychology, and organizational behavior. It will also benefit professionals and consultants in need of a reference for analyzing organizations.

About the Author:

W. Warner Burke is Professor of Psychology and Education and coordinator for the graduate programs in Social-Organizational Psychology, in the Department of Organization and Leadership, at Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York. He is also senior advisor to the organization and change strategy practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. 

Reviews (1)

comprehensive text on change
So much of the literature on change is often a simplistic cookbook claiming change can be executed in 7 easy steps. Burke provides the reader with the theoretical background and takes one through the multiple considerations when executing organizational change. I applaud Dr Burke for revealing the complexity of change and providing insights into the practice of change management.This is a primer for all who are engaged especially in large scale transformational change as it clearly provides one the background to help one educate others on why the change agent does what she does. ... Read more

Book Description

Appreciative Inquiry--a book in The Practicing Organization Development Series--is for leaders and organizational consultants who are ready to abandon the familiar tyranny of complex change programs. Recognizing that human systems are constructions of the human imagination and therefore capable of change at the speed of imagination, the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process frees organizations from the restrictive orthodoxy of "deficit based change" and allows them the freedom to mobilize strategic change and focus on the visible and tacit strengths of an organization. AI is capable of engaging whole systems at amazing scales--easily engaging hundreds or sometimes thousands of people, often in a matter of weeks or days, to leverage the positive core of the organization.

Tap into the rich and inspiring "high point" accounts of personal or collective capacity and link this "positive core" to any change agenda. Once you have have determined what is really working, transformations never thought possible are rapidly and democratically mobilized.

"This is a book about the future of organization development. It is a practical guide to appreciative inquiry for organization leaders and organization development professionals and it is a comprehensive explanation at the speed of imagination." --Peter Sorensen, professor and director of the Ph.D. program in organization development and master of science program in management and organization behavior, Benedictine University ... Read more

Reviews (7)

AI is a technique, enveloped by a theory...
Appreciative Inquiry is a method for getting the best, most positive, upbeat, and energizing images of your organization to the fore. AI contrasts to problem-focused inquiry, which usually provokes blame and evasion. A large cadre of Organizational Development and Human Resources types has developed AI, and they swear by its positive effects. The book contains nearly two dozen case examples of AI interventions, ranging from small organization to large multi-national corporations. The authors present a coherent theory (social constructionism) and method to bolster AI's techniques. It has much in common with post-modern psychotherapy, the construction of "magic solutions" ("best practices" in their terms), and centering on the individuals' perspectives (rather than some larger, "objective" truth) about an organization.

It is clear that you have to be sophisticated to do AI interventions. One imagines that you should belong to an AI network, be thoroughly trained, and be supervised. The AI intervention probably does not work without the requisite OD/HR training and perspective. If you are interested, this is your textbook.

I found the book moderately difficult to read and digest, partly because the authors have created such an elaborate theory behind the intervention. The authors are less than candid about "failed" interventions (p. 206), and terms like "co-creating" and "sociotechnical" (what?). I came away from this book believing that AI is something like Public Discourse applied to businesses.

If you want to use this book, plan on studying it in detail and enrolling in AI workshops.

Elegant but with some limitations...
Appreciative Inquiry fits within recent "modern mediation theory" and Public Discourse techniques. I cannot add more to what previous reviewers have said (above), but note only that the techniques are more difficult to apply than the authors indicate and require all parties in the discussion to be committed to the end-result. AI techniques cannot work in groups where there are power vacuums or undisclosed power grabbing and coaltion-formation.

Combining theory and practice with great art
With a growing literature that deals with Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a truly revolutionary way of moving our organization, in their book Magruder Watkins and Mohr have accomplished more to help organization development consultants and managers to understand the potential of AI than any other book currently in print.

Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination covers the subject by alligning both the theoretical concepts to practical applications. It is very well written and presented with a great flow. To the novice to AI it gives all the key elements to get started, for the more seasoned consultant and manager in the field of AI, it gives new ideas and opens up possibilities for further exploration.

It is not be the only book on Appreciative Inquiry but it is at the very top of my reading list on this dynamic subject. When I recommend readings to students of AI, Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the speed of imagination, is the only book they need to read.

Congratulations to Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard Mohr, they have produced the best book on AI that is available today.

Appreciative Inquiry an Orientation Toward Life and Work
Appreciative Inquiry is a way of seeing and being in the world. ... Appreciative Inquiry applied, whether as a planning process or an evaluative process, becomes empowering and life-affirming in any human system. (page 191) The key to sustaining the momentum is to build an "appreciative eye" into all the organization's systems, procedures, and ways of working. (page 152) AI is not simply a tool ... it is a total way of being/working.

As an organization consultant I am interested in three things when learning about and considering adopting an approach or methodology: what are it's theoretical basis, fundamental assumptions and beliefs, basic process, and application to different types of organizational situations. Watkins and Mohr have written a book that offers all three. The opening two chapters ground Appreciative Inquiry in the history of the OD theory and method and clearly explain the core principles and generic processes of AI. The subsequent chapters each focus on one of the five generic processes plus evaluation. Each chapter explains one process in detail, illustrating it with two case examples. The combination of grounded theory and practice facilitates understanding, imagining, and applying. The examples are drawn from different consultants, types of organizations, and focuses of interventions, all of which support a rich understanding of the potential of this approach.

My one wish is that chapter 8, "Finding Innovative Ways to Create the Preferred Future" be expanded. I wanted to read more about an appreciative approach to the Destiny Phase, the most complex part of any change process.

Watkins and Mohr are generous with their knowledge and experience, offering the experienced practitioner enough to begin working from an AI perspective.

This book plus the more academic, Appreciative Inquiry: Rethinking Human Organization Toward a Positive Theory of Change, edited by David L. Cooperrider, Jr. Sorensen Peter F., Diana Whitney, and Therese F.Yaeger, are an excellent package for understanding Appreciative Inquiry: how it developed, its current practice, and directions for future development.

Practical guide to new change management approach
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a fundamentally different approach to problem solving and change management which is gaining worldwide popularity rapidly. While the traditional approach focuses on analysing problems and then fixing what is wrong, AI does just the opposite: it searches for and amplyfies solutions that already exist (in this it is highly comparable to solution focused brief therapy). Quite a lot of good books have been written on AI. The thing I like most about this book by Watkins and Mohr is how practical it is. The authors generously packed it with very useble examples and tools. This makes it very recommendable for AI practitioners. ... Read more

Book Description

The premier authority on organizational transformation takes his classic work to the next level, showing managers how to prevent a company from falling into aperiod of decline.

For three decades, Ichak Adizes, Ph.D., has studied the patterns of organizational growth and changes in businesses worldwide, from Bank of America to Domino's Pizza to small start-ups.In his breakthrough book Corporate Lifecycles, Dr. Adizes traced the typical corporate path from inception to decline.Now, in this long-awaited follow-up, he guides companies on the optimal path--and reveals how to sustain peak vitality.

Courtship, Infancy, the heady Go-Go years, and turbulent Adolescence.These are the stages every company goes through to reach what Dr. Adizes calls PRIME--the ideal stage of balanced creativity and discipline.At every stage, he shows how to anticipate and handle "normal" problems--whether with goal setting or managing employees--then quickly move on and up.Once in the PRIME stage, the author presents proactive measures for maintaining focus and vision, nurturing cohesion, and achieving "predictable excellence."He also offers strategies for avoiding the typical downhill path--starting with the Signs of Aging, such as risk avoidance; moving on to Aristocracy, where power and protocol dominate; and culminating in the final stages of decay:Recrimination, Bureaucracy, and Death.

Easing the pains of growing, MANAGING CORPORATE LIFECYCLES opens the way for every organization to thrive--indefinitely. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Buyer beware
Shame on me for not reading the reviews. The information on the download version is readily available all over the net.

Avoid the e-book version
The hardcover and the e-book version should not be linked together because the e-book version is only 12 pages! Complete waste of money, I wish I could return it. I made the mistake of reading the review of the hardcover version (which is shown on this page too), and since I had already read the original book, I though I was making a bargain. The joke is on me... :-(

Helpful in sorting out a turbulent corporate adolescence
This book (an updated, improved version of Adizes' 1988 "Corporate Lifecycles") has given me an extremely useful framework for thinking about and improving the organization I work with. In the Adizes framework, my organization would be considered in Early Adolescence, and a turbulent Adolescence at that. What Adizes has helped me to more clearly see is that some of our turbulence is predictable and structural, just as each stage in the typical corporate lifecycle features problems that are normal (as well as problems that are abnormal or pathological). Furthermore, Adizes doesn't stop at diagnosis; he offers prescriptions for anticipating and addressing the tensions inherent in moving from one stage in the lifecycle to another. As a founder of more than one company, Adizes is also refreshingly candid about the difficulty founders face in helping their companies move through the stages. ("It's hard to see the picture when you're in it.") Adizes has helped me to articulate critiques and advocate solutions that I have long sensed dimly, but couldn't adequately pinpoint. Here's a great resource for your leadership team to discuss at a retreat or planning session -- and then to act upon. ... Read more

Book Description

The Authoritative Principles for Successfully Integrating Systems Engineering with Project Management
Essentials of Project and Systems Engineering Management outlines key project management concepts and demonstrates how to apply them to the systems engineering process in order to optimize product design and development. Presented in a practical treatment that enables managers and engineers to understand and implement the basics quickly, this updated Second Edition also provides information on industry trends and standards that guide and facilitate project management and systems engineering implementation.
Along with scores of real-world examples, this revised edition includes new and expanded material on:
* Project manager attributes, leadership, integrated product teams, elements of systems engineering, and corporate interactions
* Systems engineering management problems and issues, errors in systems, and standards advocated by professional groups such as the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
* Fixed price contracting, systems integration, software cost estimating, life cycle cost relationships, systems architecting, system disposal, and system acquisition
* Risk analysis, verification and validation, and capability maturity models
Essentials of Project and Systems Engineering Management, Second Edition is the ideal, single-source reference for professional technical and engineering managers in aerospace, communications, information technology, and computer-related industries, their engineering staffs, technical and R&D personnel, as well as students in these areas. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A book that needs updating
This book needs its concepts and focus updated and broaden. I found the book had a very narrow point of view, focusing only on a government perspective of approaching project and engineering management, and providing very little on private industry's management point of view in the book. Even when the book repeats again and again concepts on how government, DoD and NASA do business, the concepts it presents are different (outdated) from how government and DoD do business presently. In short, the book needs to be updated extensively, perhaps a brand new one written altogether.

A grad student's review
Howard Eisner's book is an outstanding work that bridges the gulf between project management and systems engineering. As a 46 year old student of Dr Eisner's, I assert this with 25 years of experience in both disciplines. His book has been a wonderful aid to refreshing and updating my skills. If a section with the answers to the problems had been included, I would have said SIX stars... Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

“In a richly textured way, Howard Aldrich gives the reader a distinctive feel for the subject and a way to think about and understand emergence and change in organizations. This book is informative and engaging. It is playful and rigorous. It is scholarly and quite practical. Aldrich writes with confidence and wisdom. His book makes a fine contribution to the evolving field of organization studies.”
-Peter J. Frost, University of British Columbia

“Organizations Evolving is a gem. . . .This book is an exceptional accomplishment and is compulsory reading for all organizational researchers.”
-Joel A. C. Baum, University of Toronto

“This book pulls together an extensive array of information that focuses on emerging, rather than established businesses. Professor Aldrich presents the unique dilemmas faced by entrepreneurs in the creation of human resource policies and systems in a coherent and useful fashion.”
-Candida Brush, Associate professor of Management at Boston University

“Organizations Evolving is masterful. Aldrich cogently consolidates state–of–the art thinking and research on organizational evolution, a domain of inquiry that he helped pioneer 20 years ago with his classic Organizations and Environments.”
-Joel A. C. Baum, CN Chair in Strategy and Organization, Rotman School of Management,
University of Toronto

Organizations Evolving is a definitive account of organization in contemporary society. The book explains how organizations mirror the contexts or environments in which they are established. In contemporary society this means they come in a bewildering variety of forms reflecting changing boundaries, markets and technologies. In his exhaustive analysis of the multi-level dynamics governing organizations and society Aldrich provides an authoritative exploration of the key variables that shape each. Students and researchers will find here a rich source that charts the development of organizational forms and assesses the impact on these of external innovations such as changing technology and globalization. New theories of knowledge and entrepreneurship are woven into the analysis, together with fresh interpretations of data. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Towards the umbrella framework
Aldrich is a leading figure in organizational sociology. The organization is, with no doubt, a domain of sociology. But organization is not the object only sociology, especially because the company is the dominant form of organization under capitalism. The firm has been the object of various disciplines. Since the firm is an organization, if one studies the company, he participates in organizational studies. Organizational sociology has also zeroed in on the firm, rather than other form of organization. So now organizational sociology is not much discernible from economic sociology in the empirical research. Both have focused on the firm and the market as research domain. Most universities in the States offer both specialties as one course rather than separate course. Moreover, such a blending of field is intensified as more and more researchers from various disciplines take the firm and market as their research agenda. we¡¯ve seen the ascendance of organizational economics over past decades, breaking decades of ignorance of firm in economics. One-of-a-kind move could be spotted even in political science. ¡®Varieties of Capitalism¡¯ (2001), edited by Peter Hall and David Soskice, for instance, is a example of such a trend. In this book they examine the influence of national regulatory system on the business system and competitive advantage. Now the organizational study is increasingly interdisciplinary affair in social sciences. The more come into play, the more divergent the field become. Aldrich identifies seven perspectives in organizational studies: ecological approach, institutionalism, interpretive approach, organizational learning approach, resource dependence approach, transaction cost economics, and evolutionary approach. The diversity of approaches is not only tolerable but also necessary, given the interdisciplinary nature of organizational studies. But seven perspectives in only one field is too much. So Aldrich attempts to launch the overarching framework based on evolutionary approach, while preserving the value of other approach. The advantage of evolutionary approach lies in its simplicity. It consists of only 4 principles: variation, se4lection, retention, and struggle. Each relates to the other with if-then clauses. But they are abstract in nature. The specific accounts of events should be provided by other niche approaches. Evolution is the name of process, not of substance or what takes place in the field. This is the overall architecture of the book. It seems Aldrich succeeds in the ambitious project to provide the umbrella framework linking competing perspectives under one roof. In doing so, he reviews tons of researches to validate the effectiveness of his proposal. It seems to work with empirical studies. But the devil lies in details. He dumps too many into the limited space in cursory manner. So reader has some difficulty in following through the lines. Overall framework of the book is reasonable, and that it must be the breakthrough in organizational studies. But reading through it is another matter. It¡¯s a painful travail.

A tour de force
Howard Aldrich's ORGANIZATIONS EVOLVING is truly a tour de force. Those who know his 1979 ORGANIZATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS are familiar with his sharp insights into the field of organizations and his lucid writing. In ORGANIZATIONS EVOLVING, Aldrich develops a compelling, broadly evolutionary, perspective on organizations that integrates the best ideas from diverse organizational theories. He makes the best, most sophisticated, case yet for an evolutionary perspective on the organization.

this book explains how and why organizations evolve.
this book will revolutionize the way sociologists look at (evolving) organizations...lots of examples and an excellent organization of topics.

A quallity contribution to the field of organization studies
First, I found the book to be highly "readable" in a number of ways, including its integration of literature and examples related to organizations of all sizes and ages. This approach created a dynamic "feel" to the book and a sense that the organizations we study are much more "moving targets" than stationary ones. Second, I confess that I am one of those readers who peruses the last section or chapter of a publication first to see where the author is going. I found that the final "invitation" section piqued my interest on a number of intriguing issues for future scholarly work (e.g., challenges of human resources in emergent organizations; the impact of collective organizational action versus individual organizational action) and I am confident others will find this section useful as well in contemplating future research programs. The "invitation" section also offers useful ideas that appeal to a variety of disciplines...for instance, I am already contemplating how I might collaborate with some of my academic colleagues in human resource mgt. and/or org. behavior. Third, since I am currently working on projects related to organizational legitimacy and legitimacy building, I focused my initial reading on sections related to these subjects, and found that Aldrich has, not surprisingly, extended the literature on legitimacy in some interesting and useful ways. For instance, at one point he discusses the potential for tensions to arise between, on the one hand, individualistic action that builds the legitimacy of a new firm, and, on the other hand, mutualistic or collective action that builds the legitimacy of a new population or community of rganizations. Finally, speaking of legitimacy, his purposeful attention throughout the book to organizations at all stages of development (e.g., emergent and existing) helps further legitimize scholarly interest in smaller and/or newer organizations. This is a quality contribution to the field of organization research.

A masteful contribution
Organizations Evolving is a gem. Writing with grace and clarity, Professor Aldrich establishes how diverse literatures ranging from transaction-cost economics to intepretive theory are premised on evolutionary foundations, and explores their convergences. He deftly synthesizes cutting edge research to illuminate how variation, selection and retention processes unfold at multiple levels within and outside organizations. This book is an exceptional accomplishment and is compulsory reading for all organizational researchers. ... Read more

Book Description

aryl Conner runs the world's premier consulting firm devoted exclusively to change. Here, he coaches middle- and top-level executives in implementing business innovations on time and under budget. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A "Must Read" Book for IT Pros and Project Managers
As an IT consultant and project manager, dealing with change management occurs on an almost daily basis. Sometimes change management works, and works well, but all too often it fails miserably. Here is an author who understands why this happens and how to remedy the problem.

Author Conner runs one of the foremost consulting firms devoted exclusively to change. He is experienced, and has an easy writing style, allowing you to completely focus on what he says rather than hammering through loads of hype, meaningless acronyms and technical gobbledygook. He explains clearly why change initiatives often don't seem to stay in place after the initial implementation of the change. He then offers sound recommendations on the roles and responsibilities required to execute changes, along with the various pros and cons of different infrastructures for those roles.

Conner illustrates that each of us moves through our lives at our own speed of change, and how we have the ability to enhance our skills by understanding the uniqueness of people who have effectively dealt with change. These people have a vast amount of flexibility, differentiated by being extremely focused, highly resilient, well organized, and very proactive. When people like this work within the configuration of change, leading others through the eight models in the organizational change process, constructive results are bound to happen.

This is definitely a powerful, five-star book, and one that I have no hesitation putting on my personal list of the top "must read" books for IT professionals and project managers at all levels.

Nice combination of some standard and some new concepts
Conner has introduced some interesting concepts in addition to a thorough treatment of how to increase personal and organizational "resilience" to change.

Conner explains why so many change initiatives don't seem to "stick" after the initial roll out of the change. He offers some concrete recommendations on the roles required to execute a change, and the pros and cons of different organizational structures for those roles.

Another interesting concept he introduces is that there is an extra cost associated with being "surprised that we are surprised." During the course of a change, unexpected events occur -- if we are expecting to be surprised, we are better able to absorb the events even if we don't know what they are in advance. This is a strong argument for communicating early and frequently to an organization before and during the change process, rather than holding off until every tiny detail of the change has been worked out.

An excellent and easy read on organizational change.
As a Help Desk manager, I deal with change management on a daily basis. Managing at the Speed of Change put in one book everything I have learned in seminars and hard earned experience and more. The author has an easy writing style, allowing you to focus on what he says rather thatn hammering through loads of technical jargon. I would put this on my must read book for Help Desk managers and IT professionals at all levels.

An extraordinary book
This was one of the best management books that I have ever read. A fantastic link between the philosophy and the actionable tasks of change management.

Managing at the Speed of Your Change!
Conner's premise is that all of us move through life at our own speed of change, and that we have the ability to enhance our skills by understanding the characterisitcs of people who have successfully dealt with change. These people have an enormous amount of resilience, characterized by being positive, focused, flexible, organized, and proactive. When these resilient people work within the structure of change, and lead others through the eight patterns in the organizational change process, positive results happen. This book is powerful, and few authors have shared their personal experience with change as openly as Conner, which lends this book a credibility few can match. When read with William Bridges' "Transitions", you have a 1-2 punch in making change your ally. ... Read more

Book Description

Change management is a high priority on every corporate agendathese days. But even the fattest budgets and the most brilliant strategies won'tdo the job if managers don't put the right people in the right positions.

This refreshingly different approach to change management is based on a simpleand eye-opening premise: that organizational change happens one person at atime. Using the author's unique "personal change capacity" model, it showsmanagers how to identify and develop people according to their potential:

* A-players, who thrive in pivotal change positions * B-players, happy to provide support and take on some new challenges * C-players, solid performers, but not comfortable with change * D-players, whose resistance to change is so strong that the company may bebetter off without them.

Based on a proven, battle-tested process developed at major companies, thisdown-to-earth guide is enhanced by useful assessment forms and planning tools.It should be embraced by every manager and human resources professional chargedwith the messy but vital task of choosing the best people to making changehappen. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The ABCs of Personal Change Capacity
The infinite dynamics of change are not readily evident when someone or an evaluation team sets out to forge a series of modifications in an individual, a group or an organization. When charging forward to create a new course-setting direction with fervor, some change agents are driven by tradition, expedience, budget restrictions or just plain misconceptions. The very best of individual and collective good intentions may be interspersed and circumscribed by a host of expected, but not easily attainable, intended outcomes. Small and large businesses, local governments and the most spirited educators are engaged in a never ending surge of personnel change processes that seems to work no catalytic miracles for the changes they are so diligently striving to accomplish. Fortunately, there exists an exciting new way to avoid the pitfalls of recruiting, selecting and appointing an individual to a new station in the organization and then seeing that very person fall from grace because the organization just simply did not put in place the correct strategy to use this vital human resource in the proper way. Dr. Charles H. Bishop has penned a timely treatise on one of the most important topics of our day. Dr. Bishop has brought forth a way to save time and money when organizations need to enact a significant personnel change for the good of the organization. What is the seemingly invisible assay that brings about real change with positive benefits for all? The "it" we are searching for has been refined by a shortlist of brave new world human resource people in some the nation's most progressive corporations. When one of these individuals (that is, Dr. Bishop) began to envision that changing organizations meant that the smallest unit or cog in the wheels of change had to be nourished, tested, refined and mentored by a new set of assumptions, a new distillation of personnel and leadership change factors became self-evident. In a phrase, the answer is "personal change capacity". As an education professor and practicum supervisor for prospective educational administrators enrolled for a northern Virginia private university, I have been reading with great interest the research literature associated with the role, purpose and mission of leaders for some time. When I read "Making Change Happen One Person at a Time", I knew I had stumbled on a set of solid statements related to making practical and proven personnel assessments. A careful study of Dr. Bishop's book began to unravel why some aspiring principals, or any future leader for that matter, seem to catch the vision of their place in schools or in other settings while, in contrast, other equally energetic and enthusiastic neophyte leader candidates faltered, floundered and ultimately failed to reach their leadership potential. Dr. Bishop reveals that when we attempt to place "successful" individuals in supposedly key positions in an unsystematic manner in order to cause positive changes, not only do the chosen ones typically underachieve, their failure sends a very a strong signal that we have inadvertently omitted crucial considerations of that individual's unique capacity to function in a new leadership arena. What are these crucial considerations and how do we put the important factors to use so that we make keener and crisper decisions that result in moving our visions and missions forward? Literally and figuratively, it is as easy as the following the ABCs. Dr. Bishop has formulated a schema that anyone might follow to identify pivotal players in any organization-even a small or large school. The scale of potential leaders begins with the A-players and concludes with the D-players. There are those among us that thrive on challenges and posses the wherewithal to meet and overcome the woes and throes of organizational stumbling blocks. At the opposite end of the leadership spectrum are the resisters who resemble the tares in the wheat field. They appear willing to change, but use a variety of ever-so-subtle tactical means to prevent the organization from reaching its objective. No matter the size and dimensions of an organization, everyone's desire is make the right personnel decisions in an appropriately researched manner. You will find your personnel pathways lined with practical signs and directions in Dr. Bishop's refreshing new take on the change agent's new role of assessing an individual's capacity to greet and welcome the inevitable and rapid changes coming down the organizational and external pikes.

Change is the Only Constant for My Small Business
An invaluable guide and a true eye opening experience. My small business means constant change and knowledge of my people. This book is very helpful and informative. As a small business owner it is critical that I find the right people and that they are in the best roles. This book has changed the way I look at my people and potential hires. If you want to improve your personnel assessment and feel confident facing the challenges of business life this is a must read.

very informative
I found this book informative. It really helped me evaluate each of my staff members individually as well as how they fit within my team.

A Balance Between Pragmatism and Humanism
A wonderful roadmap for anybody that needs to address the realities of accelerated change.

A true understanding that an entity is not merely an organization, but is in fact a living organism that needs nurturing, compassion, understanding, and firmness.

Practical and a great roadmap
This book provides leaders and OD practioners a great framework and practical tools for driving change and topgrading talent in organizations. If you want to drive results this book is a winner. ... Read more

Book Description

Will Your Organization Still Be Here in Ten Years?

It’s a familiar story: A company rises to become an industry leader. Competitors try to emulate it. Analysts rave about it. The CEO’s picture is splashed across magazine covers. Then the company stumbles, profits erode, and the stock plummets. How does this happen? Why do good companies so often go bad? More important, what can you do to prevent it from happening to your company?

In Revival of the Fittest, Donald N. Sull takes a provocative look at corporate failure and proposes a practical new model for effecting change that can vastly increase your organization’s lifespan. Ironically, argues Sull, leaders sow the seeds of failure during a company’s most successful times, when they make a set of commitments—whether to a core strategy, a key customer, or an innovative manufacturing method—that constitute the company’s success formula. Managers become so married to the formula that they can’t divorce themselves from it when the competitive situation changes. They respond to the future by doing more of what worked in the past—a phenomenon Sull calls "active inertia."

Based on extensive global research into successful and failed transformations across many industries, Revival of the Fittest introduces a three-step model for making transforming commitments—actions that prevent managers from reinforcing old behaviors in the face of change. Sull identifies five areas in which transforming commitments can be anchored—strategic frames, processes, relationships, resources, and values—and provides diagnostic tests, hands-on tools, and real company examples to show how managers can:

• Gauge their company’s susceptibility to active inertia
• Determine which commitment is right for a specific situation
• Appoint the best person to lead the charge
• Ensure that the new commitment sticks
• Avoid common mistakes that can sabotage the transformation effort
• Weigh the personal risks associated with leading corporate change

In an unpredictable marketplace, commitments can make and break a company. But Sull shows that corporate demise is not inevitable. Through transforming commitments, revival of the fittest is possible—and managers can make the difference. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

The strong shall become weak, and the weak strong again
At some point in a great battle between good and evil, at least as portrayed in pop culture, we can expect the villain to gloatingly assert: "It is your very goodness that will make you weak and fail." Professor Donald Sull is no super-villain but makes a similar, though rather more developed, claim about the best businesses. Rather than blaming the failure of a previously excellent company on incompetence, corruption, laziness, or lack of imagination, Sull locates the problem of stumbling giants in active inertia: the tendency of management to respond to disruptive changes by accelerating activities that succeeded in the past. In Revival of the Fittest, Sull analyzes this barrier and helps managers tackle the demanding task of overcoming it.

To overcome active inertia, Sull recommends neither evolutionary nor revolutionary change typically prescribed for faltering champions. Instead he explains the power of transforming commitments. Commitments matters, he explains, in that they both enable effective management and can disable it when they no longer fit what is needed. Managers select, make, honor, and less often remake commitments or binding actions by investing capital, making personnel decisions, exiting a business, making public promises, making public promises, forging relationships with resource providers, writing contracts, or by manipulating information. Commitments are a powerful tool for creating the desired future but they also become cognitive, cultural, and structural shackles that prevent a company from changing - even when the need to change is clear to all.

Companies take shape at the beginning of the "life cycle of commitments" through defining commitments consisting of strategic frames, resources, processes, relationships, and values. The character of t