The Future of Staff Groups [Hardcover]

Joel P Henning (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 1576750256 | ISBN-13: 978-1576750254 | Edition: 1st

The Future of Staff Groups confronts the past, faces current bottom-line demands, and describes roles for the future that can effectively reposition staff groups within their organizations. It challenges both executive management and the staff groups in all types of organizations to re-invent their roles. It confronts staff groups with the need to change the relationship they have with their corporate clients and colleagues. It further provides clear-cut steps that staff groups can take to develop new expertise that will have a clear impact on the results of the business. The Future of Staff Groups focuses squarely on the substance and content of staff groups' contribution to the organization. It is a relevant reference for all those who sell professional expertise and care about the impact they make.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a survival manual for all those who fall under the label of being an 'overhead cost.' This book defines in tough and detailed terms the path of accountability and service for people in a staff and expert role. It is emotionally honest and operationally practical. -- Peter Block, author of Stewardship and the Empowered Manager

Compulsory reading for all who are engaged in the business of building competitive advantage, sustaining organizational vitality, and ensuring prosperity in this global arena. -- Lee C. Smith, retired President, Levi-Strauss International

The Future of Staff Groups vividly describes how traditional staff roles are changing, no longer focused on employee alignments, mandates, audits, and caretaking. Henning offers the reader a new and value-adding model for staff groups--one that focuses on issues of personal accountability, contribution to business and partnership. -- Robert J. Hall, Publisher and Chairman, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News

Today's business climate is brutal. Competition is fierce, Change is rapid and unrelenting. Staff organizations are under particular pressure. Our purpose and value to the organization is challenged daily. We question ourselves. What am I doing here? What is my value? How is that value to be realized? To this, Joel Henning speaks simply, courageously, and directly. -- William B. Worthington, Information Technologies Consulting Services, Englehard Corporation

From the Publisher

Questions for Discussion:

1. The author sees staff groups mired in a difficult contradiction; on the one hand, they are essential for business success, yet, on the other hand, they are often misunderstood and their value discounted by their own organizations.

* What forces and attitudes account for this contradiction?

* What are the negative business consequences if it is not resolved?

2. The author puts forward what many might consider radical proposals-defining staff groups was businesses, staff groups taking a stance with clients about how their expertise is used, staff groups advocating for the broad distribution of power in organizations.

* How do these proposals serve the business?

* What do staff groups stand to lose or gain if they embrace what is being proposed?

3. The book asserts that staff expertise-Human Resources, Finance, Information Systems, and others-has frequently been used to create and support a management system that consolidates real power in the hands of a few-those at the top. The business value of this intended or unintended "effect" is called into question.

* How does traditional staff expertise create and sustain "top down" management systems?

* What is the business consequence of this almost "unconscious" support of hierarchy by staff groups?

4. The book argues that preoccupation with "relationship management" overshadows the "content of expertise in too many staff functions. The author points to the absence of promises and guarantees in staff offers as evidence of this.

* If this is true, why do staff groups rely on their relationship skills with clients rather than their expertise for their survival?

* Why are staff groups so reluctant to offer promises and guarantees to clients about results they will achieve?

5. Relevance, Timeliness, and "Fit" are presented as the key issues to test when a staff group is considering work with a client. Particular attention is paid to the "Fit" issue-the willingness of a client to create the conditions that will support the successful use of staff expertise.

* When staff work fails, which of the three-relevance, timeliness, or "fit"-is most likely to be the cause?

* Why are discussions with clients about "fit" so difficult?

6. The author believes that the changes required by staff groups and their clients to succeed in the future will only occur if each individual chooses to embrace accountability for change with passion-and without the guarantee of a pay off in the future.

* What is the personal appeal of this stance-committing without barter and persisting in the face of disappointment?

* What is the compelling business rationale for this position?

Suggestions for Further Reading:

* Block, Peter, Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest * Pinchot, Gifford and Elizabeth, The Intelligent Organization * Halal, William E., The New Management Courtesy of Berrett-Koehler Publishers

BERRETT-KOEHLER STUDY GUIDE

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1st edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576750256
• ISBN-13: 978-1576750254
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,808,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!, October 11, 2002

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Future of Staff Groups (Hardcover)

Joel P. Henning's diagnosis of the growing irrelevancy of business staff groups is right on the money. Simply put, staff members have for too long cozied up to management, ignoring the critical line units that they are supposed to serve. As a result, it's the staff gets laid off first when times get tough. Likewise, Henning's prescriptions for revamping staff groups into effective support units merit careful study. Although sections of this book are thin in substance, we from getAbstract recommend this insightful analysis of corporate structure to all business leaders.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Something New and Practical!, August 29, 2005

By 

Kevin Herring co-author Practical Guide for I... (Ascent Management Consulting, Oro Valley, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of Staff Groups (Hardcover)

In this book, Joel Henning builds on the foundation laid by Peter Block's original FLAWLESS CONSULTING many years earlier and takes the model of effective consulting to an entirely new level.

THE FUTURE OF STAFF GROUPS shakes up HR, IS and other staff groups and challenges them to consider new and more powerful ways to leverage their expertise in the interest of the business--defining expertise in terms of solutions rather than activities. It also confronts staff groups with the risks associated with continuing to operate in traditional ways.

Henning makes a powerful case for making the core business the client and senior management a 'banker' with the relationships centered on compelling offers, promises and guarantees for measurable business results. His explanations of 'stance' relating to the use of one's expertise and RELEVANCE, TIMELINESS and FIT as three essential ingredients for successful consulting are absolute breakthroughs for preventing and solving common problems that often plague consulting engagements.

This book is rich with new and useful concepts that will help any staff person become a substantial contributor to the bottom line. It is also helpful for any individual serving in a supportive or consultative role whether internal or external.

Although I wasn't partial to the venue for carrying the message, the powerful concepts presented by Henning have inspired the work of Peter Block and others and deserve a solid 5-stars!