From the Inside Flap
At the start of the twenty-first century, we've witnessed a shift to a mass customization-driven economy, leaving behind a century focused on mass production. Customers have come to expect immediate and tailor-made responses to their needs, and the businesses that fail to deliver quickly fall behind. How fast does your business move? Are you doing business at the speed of NOW or trailing the pack at the speed of THEN?
Business at the Speed of Now outlines principles and practices that forward-thinking managers can use to enhance customer experience, reduce costs, and drive growth. Three major game changers have accelerated business today. Social media creates vast powerful communities by instantly connecting people inside and outside an organization. Cloud computing provides workers access to the resources they need to resolve issues the moment they arise. And the Millennial mindset demands that it all happens now. Business at the Speed of Now presents systematic advice on how to build an integrated, engaging, and transparent management system, enabled by cloud computing and internal social networks.
Use this comprehensive guide to create a NOW organization where everyone boldly pursues every opportunity every time. Through more than sixty real-world stories of success and failure, this book:
- Demonstrates how to achieve the three goals of the NOW management system: eliminate fear, reduce variation in everything you do, and rapidly overcome constraints that inhibit progress
- Applies speed-enabling technology to the three essential types of work: Fundamentals (routine work that consumes 95 percent of all resources), Breakthroughs (initiatives that can change the game), and Problems (daily challenges and crises that occur in all organizations)
- Provides a wealth of real-world examples, assessments, tools, guidelines, and checklists that enable readers to apply the concepts immediately
- Offers practical tools for building account ability and transparency into every position, thereby eliminating the loose ends that so often cause business execution to stumble
Set your organization free from the old THEN management ways that no longer get the results you need. Adopt the new NOW management thinking and the state-of-the-art tools that will get your organization doing business at the speed of now.
From the Back Cover
Praise for Business at the Speed of Now
"Practical. Useful. Inspiring. Managers and leaders who want to engage the hearts and minds of every employee will find all the tools they need in the pages of Business at the Speed of Now."
—Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times bestsellers Mojo and What Got You Here Won't Get You There
"Mr. Bernard's book achieves a critical first by showing how social media and cloud computing are resetting customer expectations. Then he makes clear why competitive pressures demand that management apply process thinking to management itself in order to ensure everything is in place for employees to meet customer needs in real time."
—Richard Walje, President and CEO, Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp
"Our citizens demand transparency and accountability. Government must achieve outcomes that matter. Business at the Speed of Now is more than thought provoking, it provides answers every leader needs to understand."
—Michael J. Jordan, Chief Operating Officer, State of Oregon
"This book connects dots from the past, present, and future, simplifying complex issues that can appear daunting to today's leaders. Bernard's GPS for navigating today's fast-changing business environment reveals the principles and practices leaders should keep and those they should leave behind to create highly competitive organizations where people fully engage their hearts and minds. Compelling stories and pragmatic tools in every chapter help readers apply those insights immediately."
—Teresa Roche, Chief Learning Officer, Agilent Technologies
"Bernard brilliantly tackles the issues of speed and turnaround that everyone struggles with today. Using engaging stories, new thinking about creating a responsive organization, and case studies that drive the point home, Bernard lays out a game plan for success. If you want to discover the keys to creating a responsive organization that provides customer solutions in 'real time,' you need to read this book."
—Roger Connors and Tom Smith, authors of the New York Times bestsellers The Oz Principle, Change the Culture, Change the Game, and How Did That Happen?
"Required reading for any business owner or manager who wants to grow and profit in the now!"
—Gene Marks, President, The Marks Group, and New York Times columnist
