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Posted April 5, 2001 11:13 a.m. by katie
Tom Peters, the Nostradamas of the business world, warned us several years ago: If you think the past three years have been crazy, just wait for the next eighteen months! One only has to look at the change resulting from the recent bevy of mergers, reorganizations, start-ups and shut-downs to see that he was right. Unfortunately, more often than not, widespread corporate change often means ignoring the effect such enormous, and unsettling, changes have on employees. Jeanie Daniel Duck, author of The Change Monster, uses her years with Boston Consulting Group to bring a human face to corporate change. Why is this important, you may ask, when the financial life or death of a company may be on the line? Duck answers this question early in the book, suggesting that [c]hanging an organization is inherently and inescapably an emotional human process. And perhaps more importantly, she adds, If leaders dont take into consideration the emotional data, all the operational information and numeric data in the world wont be enough to turn around a company (14).
To help leaders understand and harness the change monster, Duck introduces her Change Curve, breaking down the change process into five stages: stagnation, preparation, implementation, determination, and fruition. To illustrate these stages, she interweaves the five-step change curve with the real-life story of the turnaround of Micro Switch, a division of Honeywell, and the fictional failure of 2 pharmaceutical companies. In both scenarios, each companys future is in the hands of leaders who have little change management experience, and this enables us, as readers, to witness the entire journey (the good and the bad choices) through the change process.
One of the sections of the book I especially liked was the time she spent diagnosing stagnation. She points out that stagnation can reveal itself in either Depressive or Hyperactive companies. Depressive companies have no energy, no sense of direction, and often are resting on their laurels. Hyperactive companies are pointed in too many directions, and often are staffed with exhausted employees. What makes this discussion about stagnation so crucial is that Duck brings us full circle (full curve?) by the end of the book. She warns that Micro Switch, even after successfully changing their organization, is again in danger of stagnation. A vicious circle to say the least.
What Duck does most successfully, and what all managers and leaders who are about to unleash the change monster need to focus on, is the fact that corporate change affects more than just the bottom line; corporate change affects living and breathing human beings, the core of any business.
Posted April 5, 2001 11:11 a.m. by katie
DAlessandro is the CEO of John Hancock Financial Services and has a notable history as a brand-builder. In Brand Warefare, he shares his knowledge in this absorbing, yet concise, airplane-trip length book.
Beginning with the sumo wrestlers brands like the Big Three networks, AT&T, and Sears, DAlessandro illustrates for us the three factors that helped topple these giants. The first factor was a change in consumer attitude. Historically, consumers trusted big businesses, but then, events such as the Exxon Valdez and Three Mile Island destroyed that trust. The second factor considered was, because of technology and the many media outlets, the cost of getting a new business running and building a brand has greatly reduced. And third, again because of technology, the end users cost and time invested in the pursuit of making an intelligent buying decision has plummeted, which puts the consumer clearly in charge.
Each chapter of Brand Warfare is titled after DAlessandros Ten rules for building the brand. One startlingly sub-chapter title that emphasizes the need to be humbled to customer needs is: When the consumer rules, arrogance kills: Thus, good brands do three things for the frazzled consumer. One: they save time; two: they project the right message; three: they provide an identity. That sure makes sense. My favorite rule is from Chapter #4: If your want great advertising, be prepared to work for it. In this chapter, he tells story after story about some serious flops he has been involved in like the lite Jim Beam whisky. A bit surprisingly, he is adamant that management shouldnt be involved with anything to do with the creation of the advertising spots. Lawyers and upper management are out. Instead, leave the advertising to the professionals. He then details the John Hancock campaign called Real Life, Real Answers as an example of ad spots which focused on reaching out to the consumer and touching peoples hearts. This award-winning campaign was put together by a creative team at the advertising agency who was told to only do a spot that stemmed directly from their own lives because John Hancock wanted commercials that would capture reality and emotions
Ultimately, Brand Warfare is a success on every level, one of the treasures of this genre. It is a serious, yet enjoyable (would I promote anything but?) business book with so much applicable information about a part of our world, branding, that grows increasingly important as the economic times get more difficult.
Posted March 10, 2001 10:08 a.m. by katie
The authors previous book, Repacking Your Bags, was an extremely influential book in my life. It came out at a time that I needed what the authors were talking about. Then I had the honor of having Dick Leider speak at one of the bookstores and then we went to have ribs. Over ribs and beer Dick and I had one of those special evenings. When I heard about his new book, I was very excited.
As the subtitle suggests this is a book about heeding your calling. The authors spent quite a bit of time explaining what a calling is. They explain the four guiding principles of a calling. They are 1 The call comes from a caller The authors explain that the calling comes from a Source that is much larger and more powerful than we are. They explain that heeding the call requires effort on our part. We must listen. 2 The Call keeps calling They say that we move from jobs which pay bills, to careers which help us grow, to callings which give us meaning. 3 The Call is personal The authors illustrate that our calling is our embedded destiny, it is uniquely ours like a signature or fingerprint. 4 The Call is long-distance This is the principle that I have been growing to understand and really appreciate. I quote Its paradoxical but true: we are more likely to receive the satisfaction and fulfillment we seek when we enable others to achieve the satisfaction and fulfillment they seek. For all of you regular readers of JCS, you will remember a book I talked about called Achieving Success with Social Capital. The authors used some of these beliefs to build a social network.
Posted March 9, 2001 10:07 a.m. by katie
I dont know how many people have heard the commercial, but for the past month, I have narrated a spot for Its Not the Big That Eat the Small, Its the Fast That Eat the Slow that ran during the Rush Limbaugh show. The last time I was fortunate enough to merit 15 minutes of similar fame was when our parent company was featured on the cover of Inc. Magazine and my division was highlighted. Both times, the same thing happened: I was inundated with calls and emails by lots of strange people emails about lots of different kinds of books. Now, dont get me wrong, I love strange people. Tom Peters is a strange person, and advocates communing with other strange people. I consider myself a hugely strange person. The great thing about strange people is that they always have great ideas! Almost always, that is. So, after much stewing and distilling, I have skimmed the cream off the top, and, as a result, found a couple that are notable. This is one of those books. Now, this book isnt brand new, but the subject matter is timeless, and I really wanted to bring it to your attention.
As regular readers of JCS have seen, I enjoy business novels or fables. I believe a book is a tool to teach, but I often have a harder time learning from the more erudite business texts. A business fable illustrates the same information found in such texts, but adds a narrative with names and faces to help make theory real.
The best business fable ever written, in my humble opinion, is Eliyahu Goldratts The Goal: A Process for Ongoing Improvement. My only complaint about the book, besides the fact that it is now outdated, is that it presented a premise, but didnt suggest a strategy to implement the improvement process. The authors of Manage for the Long Term Present have written a book that covers many of the same issues Goldratt discussed about dealing with change processes and decision making. This book, however, does not make the same mistake. The book is about a new CEO that has to turn around a company in a short period of time (sound familiar?). Each of the twenty-six chapters deals with a different change scenario that faces the company and its leader. The authors then breakdown the changes into specific actions and give you the tool to accomplish that needed action. Cumulatively, the book offers the most extensive implementation tools I have ever seen that will help you execute the needed changes. In fact, Ive already dug in to some of the exercises suggested in the book, and am going to utilize them in next weeks future planning meeting. Manage for the Long Term Present is essential reading.
Posted March 7, 2001 10:05 a.m. by katie
I must start this JCS review of with a confession: I like this publisher. Yup, Im biased, but not afraid to admit it. Financial Times/Prentice Hall published a book last year that I really like called Funky Business. Sort of a European Tom Peters book. I thought it was neat. I also think that The Financial Times is the greatest business newspaper in the world. FT/PH seem to have developed a knack for putting out some interesting books and then spending the time to create really fun, or should I say, creative designs. Im not sure I get what creative designs are. Cover designs? Visuals in the book? Just creative ideas?
This book is a reprint of a book by the same name originally published in 1996.
Why do you think they decided to reprint it, or is a revision?
The authors have designed the book with some fun and informative parts. Along the outside of the pages the authors leave space for you to make notes and they also have nine different icons for things like a book reference or an exercise which are also in that space. Each of the twelve chapters have, what the authors call, a Tale Piece. They say Each chapter of this book ends with a short work of fiction. This tale in a tail piece is multifunctional. Its there for funwhy notand to aid your creativity. A short burst of fiction will help you to think in different ways. More than that, the content has been chosen to illustrate creativity in different ways
In the introduction, the authors say that to be a real pioneerread person looking for creative solutionsyou need to have a sense humor. A light, flexible touch is needed to progress. A sense of wackiness is essential. The authors have written a book that matches those requirements. Its fun to read, quick to read and you can instant help when your are stuck. Some of the best selling books of all time in business are books on creativity. A Whack on the Side of the Head, Six Thinking Hats, and my favorite Thinkertoys have sold tons. This book could join that rank.
