The Fiefdom Syndrome: The Turf Battles That Undermine Careers and Companies - And How to Overcome Them (Hardcover)

by Robert Herbold (Author) "THERE IS A potentially infectious condition inside virtually all organizations that can cause more damage than economic downturns, management upheavals, or global business shifts..." (more)
Key Phrases: fiefdoms tend, associate advertising manager, strong fiefdoms, Six Sigma, Bill Gates, Good Foods (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Is your company threatened by turf battles, shut out of key data sources by territorial "lords," or ravaged by hundreds of "micro-companies?" If so, your organization may be suffering from a potentially crippling case of "Fiefdom Syndrome." Robert Herbold, former COO of Microsoft, presents a wealth of case studies from the usual (and always interesting) suspects--IBM, Proctor and Gamble, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart--to illustrate an affliction that affects for-profit and non-profit organizations alike.

Herbold identifies why fiefdoms are a problem, where they typically arise in companies--finance, HR, marketing, IT, virtually in most teams and departments--and offers solutions for preventing fiefdoms from cropping up and how to dissolve existing turf control. In an approachable manner, he demonstrates how discipline, creativity, and enforcement are keys to preventing the spread of fiefdoms: "The basic human tendency to want to control one's destiny or turf runs counter to discipline in an organization. If the CEO or the manager of a unit lets people act on their own, the company will soon fall into disarray."

Like headaches, fiefdoms can become a persistent problem and if left untreated, can send organizations into an endless loop of deteriorating health and repeated investigations into the cause. Prudent companies will take Herbold's advice and learn how to prevent and treat their little fiefdom problem. --E. Brooke Gilbert

From Publishers Weekly
Herbold, a corporate consultant and former COO for Microsoft, finds "fiefdoms"—individuals or groups who control the flow of information out of their offices as a way of gaining agency or power—one of the most dangerous problems a company can face, and he sees them everywhere. Even the collapse of Enron, he argues, can be attributed to the actions of a small cabal in the finance department. The insight isn't quite as groundbreaking as he makes it out to be, however, and the proposed solutions will likely strike readers with even a minimum of substantial work experience as equally obvious. Much of the advice is the sort of boilerplate ("continually strengthen the talent pool") that can be found in nearly all business books, though Herbold's enthusiasm for standardized reporting and evaluation practices is possibly more zealous than his peers'. Illustrative anecdotes drawn from his corporate background do liven things up somewhat, but they also create an emphasis on industries involving product sales. Tantalizing hints about the problems fiefdoms create in other fields, such as NGOs and government bureaucracies, are left largely unexplored, diminishing the potential for generating broader interest.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Business (August 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385510675
• ISBN-13: 978-0385510677
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #751,279 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How turf battles undermine careers and companies, October 24, 2004

By	Michael Erisman (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is a much needed book. The rise of the "individual" above the organization or team has caused more companies to fail to reach their potential than perhaps anything else. The book starts with the premise that there are three basic human tendencies that seem to result in fiefdoms:

1. We have an innate need to control the data or information that reflects on our work.
2. We have a natural desire to be independent and in control of our destiny.
3. We have a natural tendency to exaggerate the quality of our work and its importance to the organization.

I have no reason to doubt these basics of the human condition, and certainly both see this in practice and experience it myself. The rest of the book is then about how to solve for these tendencies and create an organization that is more effective.

He outlines seven disciplines of the well-run corporation:

1. The discipline of creating lean global processes and accessible data company-wide
2. The discipline of standard templates and data
3. The discipline of inspection
4. The discipline of avoiding over confidence
5. The discipline of avoiding fragmentation
6. The discipline of constantly learning new skills
7. The discipline of avoiding bottlenecks

Each of these is described in detail, including examples and pitfalls, and suggestions for improvement. He also discusses 6 disciplines of people development, critical to ensure that the problems that result in fiefdoms are overcome. His comments on the often poor differentiation and reward systems among employees in regards to performance are well documented and laid out.

Overall, the book can be read quickly, and is full of good ideas and suggestions, and most importantly a way to think about the people and the organization that may help create an environment that can lead to better execution and success.

I deducted one star because the book is often dry. The author is a former COO of Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, and therefore most of the examples come from these two companies. The book was often too academic in its prose, which is not to say that the content is not meaningful or relevant, but that it is a more studied approach as opposed to inspirational. Good material and a good message for leaders.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A key book for all organizations..., October 10, 2004

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I recently picked up a book at the library titled The Fiefdom Syndrome by Robert J. Herbold. This is an excellent book on understanding and eliminating corporate turf battles.

Chapter list: Introduction; The Problem With Fiefdoms; Fiefdoms And Human Nature; The Seven Disciplines Of The Well-Run Corporation; The Six People Disciplines; Creativity And Fiefdoms; Balancing Discipline And Creativity; Achieving Discipline; Fostering Creativity; How Fiefdoms Affect Strategy And Execution; How Fiefdoms Hamstring Mergers And Acquisitions; Communication As A Tool To Fight Fiefdoms; Beating The Fiefdom Syndrome; Index

If you've worked in corporate America for any length of time, you've experienced the fiefdom syndrome. A manager runs their department as if they were a wholly separate company, and decisions are made to benefit the department, not the corporation. This type of behavior, if not confronted and eliminated, leads to less than optimal performance for the organization. In extreme cases, it can kill the department AND the corporation. Herbold does a great job of both cataloging the behaviors that indicate the existence of fiefdoms, as well as the steps of well-run organizations that prevent them from forming.

This book should be required reading for management in large corporations, regardless of whether they think they have problems or not (and you probably do have them). Smaller companies would do well to take these lessons to heart in order to successfully grow without sabotaging one's success.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Key Book for Any Organization: The Fiefdom Syndrome, October 7, 2004

By	Tobias B. "Toby" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Well-written, from the standpoint of a well-known COO, Robert Herbold's book is vital for organizations, governments, as well as small-business owners. The temptation to control the flow of information can happen to anyone and it's important to recognize it when it begins to take shape. It's a wonderful tool for people who want to work well with others, overcome the obstacle of fiefdoms, and be successful in almost any job that requires teamwork.