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Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary

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It's difficult to count the number of books written about leadership, and I think I've read most of them. I tend to relish the books from which I, and my clients, can reverse engineer actionable leadership agendas. That's the benefit of this new book, "Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary." The book is readable, its lessons accessible, and there were times when I had a hard time putting it down. The case studies, stories and anecdotes that illustrate each point show how leaders need to be self-disciplined, thoughtful and strategic, and it argues that many good leadership decisions are not merely intuitive. They require real self-examination and real thought. In the end, this book argues that companies succeed or fail not because of their technology, business plans, or global footprints. Instead, it is the ability to lead through common purpose that makes their leadership outcomes "uncommon." I recommend this book.

In this time when we have just escaped what was the worse depression since the great depression--and could have exceeded it, every one is clamoring for leadership in both government and business. Yet in desperation when we wander into a book store looking for a book to help us out of this morass, we are overwhelmed. There are hundreds of management books.

There may be a number of good ones but pick up "Common Purpose." I guarantee you will find some gems of wisdom.

In this very easy and enjoyable read, leadership guru Joel Kurtzman focuses on those elements that are most closely associated with good leaders and the act of motivating people to follow by illuminating a clear and compelling theme or idea. What makes reading Kurtzman so worthwhile is his ability to simplify complicated and complex management theories into actions to incorporate in our everyday lives.

Joel Kurtzman stresses that the heart and soul of leadership is the creation of common purpose. Leaders are judged both on who they are and what they do.

Mr. Kurtzman points out repeatedly that leadership has to exist at all levels of an organization. Unsurprisingly, the author does not believe in a world divided into leaders and followers. Furthermore, Mr. Kurtzman emphasizes that true leaders have to be part of the groups they lead, build a sense of inclusiveness, and empower their teams. This kind of leadership builds trust and positivity within teams and makes it possible for leaders to have teams that are more productive and responsive to changes in their environment. Mr. Kurtzman reminds his audience that many individuals working within a firm tend to mimic their leaders' best traits and worst characteristics. For this reason, leaders have to be mindful of the types of behavior that they do not want to see replicated.

Furthermore, people often lose sight of the fact that individuals working in an organization are the ones who accomplish goals. Creating a learning organization is an important building block in a common purpose organization. Therefore, removing obstacles is a leader's full-time job. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Kurtzman stresses that when an organization is winning, everybody has to be rewarded in some ways to further foster an "esprit de corps" that is conducive to superior performance. Unfortunately, too many organizations do not practice it.

Mr. Kurtzman notes repeatedly that leaders have to be comfortable with people who disagree with their ideas. Developing independent, trustworthy sources of information, judgment, and advice is key to fostering great leadership. This mindset is also an antidote to insularity and can save an organization from a calamitous fate. The author correctly observes in this regard that the ongoing economic downturn is symptomatic of bad, or even, abysmal leadership within a wide variety of private and public, for profit and non-profit organizations. In contrast, Mr. Kurtzman emphasizes on several occasions that leaders have to be ruthless in dealing with team members who seek to undermine their position, authority, or level in the organization. With this exception in mind, leaders do not have to be ruthless to lead. Mr. Kurtzman reminds his audience that kindness, caring, and empathy are powerful factors for success.

Mr. Kurtzman also recommends that organizations celebrate their leaders in order to retain them. The author suggests, for instance, that leaders be given access to the team at the top, be rewarded with new challenges, not just with more money, and be notified quickly with a counteroffer if they plan to leave. When good people - leaders - leave an organization, they create gaps that can be difficult and expensive to fill.

To his credit, Mr. Kurtzman pillories the exaggerated importance given to "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu in the field of leadership. Great leadership is about making organizations more responsive, flatter, better, and faster at achieving their goals. Great leadership is not about keeping the competitors in one's sight and relentlessly pushing them back.

Mr. Kurtzman notes briefly that great leaders are also mindful of the differences that leaders of different generations exhibit. For this reason, it is important for organizations to stand for more than the bottom line to appeal to Gen X and Y leaders.

Finally, Mr. Kurtzman rightly emphasizes that real leaders need to take in enormous amounts of information and knowledge and to process what they take in from the vantage point of view of their team and from the point of view of their organization and its mission. Thought leadership is not a luxury, but a necessity in a fast-changing world.

In summary, Mr. Kurtzman does a great job in bringing to light the importance of building a superior organization that serves a common purpose.

Why do some companies excel while other's stall? Why is it that companies like GM, declined for decades while stunned observers could only watch. Why, when faced with problems, was Toyota unable to turn itself around?

The answer, according to Joel Kurtzman, is leadership. Companies that were led by individuals and teams that were able to build a sense of common purpose among the work force were nimbler and performed better. They did so by allowing people to take full responsibility for their jobs - to "own their jobs" as Kurtzman puts it -- which allowed them to make better decisions without being second-guessed. Not only were these companies more successful than others, they were more enjoyable places to work.

I enjoyed this book and the way the author presented his message. It was a fun read, loaded with anecdotes and observations, and yet, the author pulled no punches. I recommend it highly.

Rod M. Morrison

As proven as author Joel Kurtzman's (senior fellow at the Milken Institute) leadership track record isn't proof enough, he interviews over 50 leaders and includes research he did while working for The New York Times, The Harvard Business Review, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and more to provide insight and applicable strategies that will help you become a better leader in your organization. Most of us will relate to, and applaud, his advocacy of flat organization structure. Good leaders beget healthy organizations, and we all want to lead and be part of healthy organizations. This book is worth your time. (I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 only because I think the material could have been equally covered in fewer pages.)

Regrettably, the old rules of employment have created in many organizations a serious crisis that is the result of command and control management, hierarchical structure, bureaucratic swamps, and dueling silos. According to Joel Kurtzman, "When an organization inhibits the ability of a group of people to achieve its goals, it must be reformed. When an organization consistently raises up leaders who suppress, demean, or nullify the productivity of others, swift action must be taken to right this situation."

The new rules of employment that Kurtzman endorses are by no means new. Consider these observations by 3M's then chairman and CEO, William L. McKnight, in 1924: "If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need." Kurtzman wholeheartedly agrees, noting that "people have a need to be heard, to be respected, and to control their space." The results of hundreds of major research studies, involving millions of workers throughout the world, reveal that "feeling appreciated" is ranked either #1 or #2 among what is most important to them.

I agree with Kurtzman that common purpose requires common goals as well as leadership (at all levels and in all area) to generate and energize sufficient support to achieve those goals "that are beyond the capability of an individual to accomplish alone. [Structures, strategies, and policies] are methods for aligning groups of people so they can achieve common goals."

In Good to Great, Jim Collins observes that Level 5 leaders are to their companies what Abraham Lincoln was to the nation. The key to a Level 5 is ambition first and foremost for the cause, the company, the work -- not any individual -- combined with the will to make good on that ambition. "In looking at the data, we noticed that leaders in our study had significant life experiences that might have sparked or furthered their maturation...I believe -- although I cannot prove -- that potential Level 5 leaders are highly prevalent in our society. The problem is not, in my estimation, a dearth of potential Level 5 leaders. They exist all around us, if we just know what to look for. And what is that?Look for situations where extraordinary results exist but where no individual steps forth to claim excess credit. You will likely find a potential Level 5 leader at work."

Kurtzman asserts (and I agree) "when it comes to common purpose and resonant leadership, one size does not fit all. People are individuals, and those who thrive in one firm might not thrive in another. Chemistry, fit, values, and many other qualities are in the eye of the beholder." It is important to keep in mind that a common purpose that unites and motivates one group of people may not appeal to - or "fit" -- others. That is why Zappos offers a bonus to all new hires after they complete a two-week training program. They are told, "If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you've worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus." Zappos actually bribes its new employees to quit. Why? Because if you're willing to take the company up on The Offer, you obviously don't have the sense of commitment they are looking for.

It is rare but nonetheless possible for those who comprise a segment within an organization - Disney and Pixar animation teams, Lockheed's "Skunk Works," and researchers at Xerox PARC -- to share a common purpose that can produce "an almost palpable sense" of what defines the entire enterprise. "It is the feeling that we're all in this together and that we all know and understand what to do, why we're here, and what we stand for...Common purpose is the goal of great leaders and great leadership. It is the way a group of free agents is transformed into a cohesive, orderly group - an organization - aligned around a common set of goals in a way that makes defeat almost impossible."

How specifically to achieve and then sustain one? Read the book.

Renowned business thinker Joel Kurtzman offers an excellent primer on modern-day leadership. Kurtzman, a senior fellow at the Milken Institute and former editor in chief of Harvard Business Review, dramatically illustrates that the aloof, insular, condescending leader is a dinosaur from an unenlightened past. To foster organizations that thrive, leaders must guide and empower, not command and control, as Kurtzman explains with precepts you can put directly into action. His thoroughly researched book is packed with case studies of prominent leaders - both the good and the bad. These fascinating, sometimes chatty stories entertain and instruct at the same time. getAbstract highly recommends Kurtzman's illuminating, clearly written book.

"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." -- 1 Peter 3:8-9 (NKJV)

I'm now in my fifth decade as a management consultant. Along the way, I've come to appreciate that almost all organizations are filled with people drawn to their work by a common set of values and desire for certain kinds of shared accomplishments. Direct the organization to draw on those powerful psychic roots, and great results follow. Unfortunately, few leaders ever appreciate what that shared perspective is for their organization, which is why I usually refer to it as the "hidden consensus."

Joel Kurtzman makes the argument that creating a motivating common purpose is an important leadership task. I agree, but I think that in most cases the task is more like archeology (digging it up) rather than creating it from scratch. Regardless of who is right, I'm sure you'll be impressed by the examples of what can be done when people pull together in useful ways . . . almost unconsciously.

The book's main draw back is that the examples and references are so personal that the book often feels more like a memoir than a serious management book.

The content is relatively slim, even for a short book. I suspect that many people would prefer to see the lessons packaged into an article instead.

If you haven't thought about creating or drawing on common purpose as a leadership task, you should definitely read the book. If you have, you can skip this one.

The byline for "Common Purpose" by Joel Kurtzman reads "How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary". The book does justice to this claim. It tells us how great leaders get organizations comprising ordinary people to do extraordinary things and achieve excellence. The crux of it is captured in the title itself - they get people to share a common purpose, in which everyone can find meaning and joy.

The insights that the book gives are very valuable for leaders and aspiring leaders at all levels. It tells how the regime of command and control needs to be replaced with the culture of collaboration. Talking about 'The New Rules of Employment' in Chapter Two, Kurtzman says, "People have a need to be heard, to be respected, and to control their space. Great leaders--common purpose leaders--grant them their space, give them their trust, allow them responsibility, and present them with opportunities and resources to do their jobs. But great leaders also hold people accountable. In other words, great leaders treat the people they work with as adults, which the current employment compact supports." I think this short paragraph itself is worth a thousand pages on leadership. What more is there about great leadership? Respecting people's needs for space and freedom, trusting them as adults, ensuring that they have opportunities, resources and skills to do a great job, and holding them accountable for results.

Kurtzman says, "People watch their leaders in microscopic details." That talks a great deal about the responsibility of senior leaders to model the behaviours that they want to nurture within their organizations. Only leadership teams that are characterized by collaboration and mutual respect can energize the organization and build leaders at junior levels.

Kurtzman gives a number of examples of real-life leaders who model common purpose within their organizations. He also talks about 'toxic CEOs' who intimidate people and set the tone for building a 'toxic culture' within their organizations.

Kurtzman says that leaders who have an excessive preoccupation with competition see other companies as rivals who have to be defeated at all costs. Such leaders lose focus on their customers and employees. A better alternative would be to think and talk all the time about how they could provide better products and services to their customers, and how they could make the work more joyful for their employees. There is never a limit to improvement, and one could think of improving over what one has achieved, or going beyond what the competition has achieved. In such a framework, competition becomes an interesting game, rather than warfare.

Kurtzman tells us how stressed-out organizations fail. "The essential leadership glue of compassion, caring and authenticity gets lost in the shuffle as stressed-out people scramble over each other and confront high levels of organizational push-back to get things done. People cope, but they don't end up leading very well, and the best people depart the organization over time. In organizations like these, the talent pool gets thinned, the ideas diminish, and the organization fails." One of the great tasks of leaders is to have an accurate sense of the type and level of stress in their organizations.

Building on an idea by Michael Maccoby, Kurtzman talks about the need for bringing together the three leadership roles--strategic, operational and bridge-building roles--to create common purpose organizations. Kurtzman says, "Setting a goal (strategic leadership), making certain everything is being done that is needed to reach that goal (operational leadership), and ensuring that everyone is working together to achieve the same aims (bridge-building leadership) are essential to the success of any endeavour." This idea captures the different facets of leadership in a succinct way. It is similar to the Four Dimensional Leadership model developed by Dr.Charles J. Pellerin, the former Director of Astrophysics at NASA, and author of "How NASA Builds Teams".

In Chapter Thirteen, Kurtzman describes how thought leadership matters a lot. "Common purpose begins with good ideas and carries them forward." Further he writes, "Great leaders are constantly reading, constantly replenishing their intellectual capital, constantly generating and developing new ideas." This book by Joel Kurtzman is certainly one that must be read by leaders who are serious about leading well.