Customer Reviews

Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Get Employees Lead

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The authors, James A. Belasco and Ralph C. Stayer, introduce their book as the "coming together of theory and practice". Dr. Belasco, a Ph. D. and professor at San Diego State University, describes his passion for teaching and research. Dr. Belasco is also a consultant and speaker in the ten to thirty thousand dollar range. In addition to teaching, Dr. Belasco owns and operates several businesses from software to specialty chemicals. Ralph C. Stayer operates a family owned sausage and food manufacturing / distribution business. Mr. Stayer was featured in a Tom Peters video, which launched his consulting career. Both authors speak of their similar beliefs and experiences in which "we became I"; henceforth the basis in which they wrote this book, and presented the topic in the first person.

Belasco and Stayer begin with discussing the need to change the readers leadership paradigm, "Out with the Old, In with the New". They analogize the old leadership style to a herd of Buffalo, with the leader as the head Buffalo and the followers as the herd. The comparison to the Buffalo herd is that they will not act independently without the guidance of the leading Buffalo, therefor the followers will stand idle and be slaughtered if the chief buffalo is killed first. The new and recommended leadership paradigm is analogized to a flock of geese, which has many leaders flying together in a "V" formation, all knowing where each other is going and endorsing the flock. The authors press onward with the "systematic method I developed for transforming buffalo into geese", the Leading the Journey (LTJ) leadership system. The system is based on the following principles:

Transfer ownership

Create the environment for ownership where each person wants to be responsible

Coach the development of personal capabilities

Learn faster and encourage others to do the same

The route the authors first take is a self-analysis of the culture derived from the leader actions, interactions and personal leadership s! tyle. "What am I doing or not doing, as a leader, that prevents them from assuming responsibility and performing at the new level?" Dr. Belasco and Mr. Stayer believe that all people will rise to the challenge, when it is their challenge. In transferring ownership, the authors present that "I am the Problem" in accepting the followers' responsibilities, similar to the Harvard Business Review article "Who's got the Monkey".

Intellectual capitalism is the term they define as the new order of business. The authors rarely use the term culture, yet they clearly describe that leaders must paint a clear picture of great performance for the organization and each individual. Leaders, through discussion, must focus individuals on the few factors that create great performance. In this environment, leaders must align organizational systems and structures to send a clear message as to what is necessary for this great performance to occur. Tapping into followers "Intellectual Capitalism" is great performance for the leader.

"Coaches help people see beyond where they are now." As a coach you help people raise their expectations, to constantly raise the bar towards great performance.

The authors address learning only as a display of experiences, and are negligent on providing any concrete methods such as continuing education or trade group forums.

This leads me to where I believe this book lets you down. While Dr. Belasco talked about his passion for research, however the book provides no theory based, research backed model of leadership. Most of the presentations are reflections of personal experiences by the authors as they relate to their own businesses or consulting jobs they have rendered. The substance of the book tangents off to some very good sales techniques, but does not contribute to supporting their "Lead the Journey" model. At one point in the book, they list seven pages of job classification for Johnsonville's sausage factory, while trying to parallel how the proper compensation syste! m sets the tone for goal orientation and alignment to great performance.

On the positive note, Flight of the Buffalo does attain some very insightful issues that relate to organizational culture. The authors discuss that "Actions must reflect the vision. I learned that the leader must live the vision, or no one else will." "Everything must contribute to creating the picture." "People wanted to see if I really did walk my customer-orientated talk."

To summarize the authors intended direction in the statement: "More than a thousand people work in my company, none of whom I control, but all of whom I have influence on through my leadership as set by the cultural orientation which I set as the Lead goose."

Too many personal reflections, lack of focus towards the topic, and no supportive documentation, dilute a good book with a good topic: Organizational culture.

Flight of the Buffalo discusses the fact that the business world has changed. To stay competitive business leaders must also change and change the way our businesses operate. The only things that are constant are that change will continue to impact the way business is done and the speed of this change will continue to increase. How do you satisfy (retain) that current customer, or acquire that next customer in this continually changing competitive environment? First, as a leader you must learn to learn and learn at a faster rate. The foundation for all change is learning. Second, it is important that changes be made to the organizational culture in order to accomplish the changes required by the organization to allow employees to lead. The culture needs to change to remove the mentality that we are all victims because we have no control over any of the tasks required to make the customer happy, to one in which we all have ownership of the problems our companies/customers face. There are a number of obstacles that stand in our way as leaders. Many leaders within our companies hesitate to empower their employees and give them responsibilities for fear that they will not have anything to do themselves. Anyone who struggles with relinquishing control and trusting their coworkers to share in the responsibilities of the organization should read this book.

Although the book discusses many important aspects of leadership and developing a culture in which employees do lead, the book lacks in two areas. First, many of the concepts presented in the book were repeated numerous times. As I read the book I felt like I had already read that page. Secondly, the book does not do justice to the concept of letting employees lead. It does discuss at detail how the leader's mentality has to change to effectively lead an organization where the employees lead, but it does not discuss when this is appropriate. The book is subtitled "Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead," and it may have been the author's intent not to discuss the ramifications of this change on the employees, but instead focus on the real problem, the leadership, for which the author does an excellent job at detailing. After reading the book I am left with many questions: Does every company need to change to a flock of geese to remain competitive, or are there situations where the lead buffalo is a necessity to running the business? What if employees do not want to take on the responsibilities of leading the organization? Are there changes within the employee reward system to effectively deal with this change in the organization? How do we as leaders handle resistance to this new system? The book only brings us half way in our understanding of how to let employees lead.

Reading Jim Belasco is an exciting voyage to the very core of business. His common-sense leadership lessons have changed the way I lead. He presents an entirely new way to look at people, and teaches you through his inspiring pages how to transform your company into a more dynamic, accountable, enjoyable and profitable, 'live' organization. I have had the rare opportunity of attending a live Jim Belasco seminar, and can say he is not only an outstanding business author, but maybe the most powerful leadership speaker in America. Go ahead and order this great book (an all Jim Belasco's titles). It's a great reading and a terrific, smart use of your time.

The authors really "feel the pain" of the small business owner whose employees just don't seem to accept ownership and concern of the major issues in their areas. Excellent examples are provided of real life business circumstances that most any owner/manager can relate to. The ideas and theory provided is down-to-earth and can apply to most any company. It is also a very motivating book for getting re-focused on your employees, their needs, and motivations.

Unlike most management texts, the Buffalo is written for all employees in any organization. The books's sub-caption is "Learning to let employees Lead" The Buffalo gets that across without ever using the buzzword, "empowerment," and it attacks the employee leadership issue with strong (and inspiring) emphasis on delivering great performance to the customer. The Buffalo also has the marvelous ability to tranform thought and to get those who read it - from CEO to employees on the line - to realize that change must start with them, and to ask themselves, "How and where do I need to change?" This is essential, for as consultants we go into most every company and ask the CEO if these things are happening in his/her company. Inevitably the reply will be, "Yes, Yes, we are doing a, b and c." Then we ask the employees, and they say, "No way, not happening" Both sides really want it to happen, but it seldom happens in companies. Why? First because it really isn't easy, and second because top management is in fact typically trying to "fix" the employees. The employees sense it, don't like it, and believe that "it's top management that needs to be fixed." It is extremely difficult for CEO's or consultants to break this circle, but the Buffalo can be an enormous help - if both top managment and the employees read it -and then teams are organized to address how to implement it. Yet even after top management and the employees have realized that change begins with themselves, to actually achieve employee leadership is still a challenge. Typical business press advice is that "CEO's must give up power." Incorrect and certainly not helpful. Here again the Buffalo shines, as in the second half of the book it provides exceptionally clear and practical examples of how one company did it - the systems they set up, and most importantly, how they measured their progress. Landmark book. Brooks Helmick Managing Director The IML Boston Group

As a manager with a background in Fortune 100 and 500 companies, "Flight of the Buffalo" reaffirms recommended directions and styles to increasing effectiveness in the workplace. Instead of giving a classic response or quickie solution, you are able to hear a wealth of experiences and understand what approaches were used by management, both good and bad. "Flight of the Buffalo" delivers. It empowers the listener. And it is worth purchasing. I wish I'd bought it when it first came out. But better late than never!

If you started a business like I did, with little formal training in management and perhaps some bad examples along the way, you'll find this book to be an exceptionally useful book. The authors have a variety of practical experience behind them in starting and running companies of different size and they share their struggles and lessons learned along the way in a very direct and practical way. I'd highly recommmend this to anyone who wants to move to a participative leadership style and get results.

If you are looking for an exceptional book on management (leadership).....stop looking. Buy this book and absorb it. If you are seeking a textbook, do NOT buy this book. For everyone else, you will find an extremely thought-provoking book that will cause you to examine your management style and help you adjust it. I recommend this book to managers of all experience levels.

I have never been one to highlight parts of a book that provide unique information. I have highlighted over 100 items in this book. It is a must read for anyone who works at a company and wants to know the simple answer of to how to achieve complete success

I rate this as one of the best management books I have ever read. I first read the book four years ago but I continue to go back to it as a reference for problem solving approaches. I give all of my managers a copy of the book and tell them, "This is where I am coming from. 5% is not relevant to our business, 5% I don't agree with. The other 90% I agree with totally and try my best to lead and manage by each day." Finding a management book where 90% of the content is useful is remarkable.