Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance [Hardcover]

Clinton O. Longenecker (Author), Jack L. Simonetti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0787953881 | ISBN-13: 978-0787953881 | Edition: 1

You have the vision. Now you have the means to achieve it. Written by two experts from the University of Michigan Business School, this book outlines a proven five-step process for achieving the organizational imperatives you want in a systematic fashion you can follow. The authors offer field-tested guidance on how to focus company-wide efforts on desired outcomes, create a positive working environment that encourages achievement, and practice continuous improvement to sustain and improve operating results. Based on extensive research that includes data gathered from more than 2,000 managers, the book includes a wealth of illustrative case studies, vignettes, and self-assessments that will help you see your way to success.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Getting Results hits the nail on the head! It offers concrete advice on how leaders produce sustainable results. Any leader wanting to improve performance will be well-served to use the ideas as well as the tools in this book." (Dave Ulrich, professor of business, University of Michigan)

"Awesome! This book is a great tool that can assure better results within any organization. I've finally found a book that I can honestly recommend to others that provides the knowledge and the guidance to significantly improve performance. This book not only provides the tools of change required for high performance, but it provides a feasible means to achieve significant improvement by the effective leadership of both people and processes. Any business leader who is truly interested in momentous change must read this book with the intention of following its guidance through the issues. Longenecker and Simonetti show how in touch they are with the realities of the workplace of the twenty-first century and provide a specific action plan for performance improvement. Follow the exercises throughout the book and this tool becomes a business plan for improvement for any manager. This is a must read for any manager looking for better performance! This book is not just a what to do, it's a how to do it book. That's what has been missing with much of today's business improvement literature, but this book captures the insight of over two thousand high-performing managers, and their wisdom shows." (Tim Stansfield, Ph.D., president, IET Inc., Toledo, Ohio)

Review

"Getting Results" hits the nail on the head! It offers concrete advice on how leaders produce sustainable results. Any leader wanting to improve performance will be well-served to use the ideas as well as the tools in this book." —Dave Ulrich, Professor of Business, University of Michigan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 195 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787953881
• ISBN-13: 978-0787953881
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid research for the serious manager, June 5, 2002

By 

Peter Lorenzi (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance (Hardcover)

Business is about getting results. And "Getting results" gets down to business in a very direct fashion, using research and the authors' work with senior executives to construct basic guidelines for enabling and empowering managers and organizations. The survey results on the top twenty things a leader needs to do to be effective is probably worth the cost of the book. Some of the ideas and data went straight into my classroom. This might even work for many business faculty as a text for a basic graduate course in management or leadership.

The book lacked a little bit of the 'Tom Peters verve' that wins over large numbers of readers and gets books recognized by business magazines. But serious, thoughtful students of the science (and art) of business will not be disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Practical, January 4, 2002

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance (Hardcover)

This is one of the volumes which comprise the University of Michigan Business School Management Series. According to Longenecker and Simonetti, there are "five absolutes for high performance" and they examine each with both precision and eloquence. Few (if any) are original. The most effective managers probably practice them (and others) to achieve superior results. Whichever "absolutes" are embraced, they are obviously worthless without effective implementation in combination with both a determination and an ability to adjust to circumstances which can change quickly at any time. Here are the five absolutes:

#1 Get Everyone on the Same Page: Focus on the Purpose of Your Organization

#2 Prepare for Battle: Equip Your Operation with Tools, Talent, and Technology

#3 Stoke the Fire of Performance: Create a Climate for Results

#4 Build the Bridge on the Road to Results: Nurture Relationships with People

#5 Keep the Piano in Tune: Practice Continuous Renewal

No doubt each reader can easily rephrase each of the five or at least cluster several synonyms which suggest each absolute's key point. For example, #1 suggests the importance of agreement (or consensus) on which teamwork always depends whereas #5 suggests the importance of constant attention to the progress of any initiatives so that appropriate modifications can be made. The Japanese word "kaizen" means more than continuous renewal; those involved in such efforts must always be aware of maintaining proper balance (or proportion), especially when responding to a crisis of some kind.

For whom will this book be most valuable? The authors wrote it for "managers at all levels who are looking for ways to improve the performance not only of themselves but also of the people they are directly responsible for." I presume to suggest that this book would also be valuable to recent graduates who have only recently begun a business career. Every organization (including non-profits and family-owned businesses) needs to have an easily understood system (as well as sound strategies) by which to achieve the desired results. Longenecker and Simonetti provide such a system in this book. It remains for decision-makers, especially, "at all levels" to modify the system to their organization's specific needs and objectives. In the Afterword, Longenecker and Simonetti suggest how to "get the ball rolling" toward getting results: Always start with the end in mind, build a model of the absolutes to your organization to be effective as a leader, identify the practices that are most critical to your success, and develop the talents needed to implement and sustain the absolutes for high-performance. Heard all this before? Probably. Are you satisfied with the results you and your organization are now achieving? If not, here is a source to help clarify and assist your initiatives in weeks and months to come. Longenecker and Simonetti conclude their book and I conclude this review with an especially appropriate observation by Henry David Thoreau: "This time, like all time, is a great time, if we simply know what to do with it."

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you need to know about management, November 26, 2001

By 

Jonathan B. "Jonathan B." (Toledo, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance (Hardcover)

Gettings Results is an insightful and easy to read book that shows managers how to attain high performance by improving their personal performance and having a positive effect on both their people and processes. It is a cumulation of advice from over 2000 high-performing managers that simplifies a hands-on approach to getting results that all managers can find useful. The book made me ask myself the question: "Am I a result-oriented manager?" and I quickly realized that the answer to this question is "Yes" and "No." I found that I am currently doing many of the key practices mentioned in this book. But, I am not doing them as systematically as I need to and some of the practices simply need a lot of work on my part for me to get better results. The biggest benefit of the book is that it's interactive and makes you compare yourself to the practices of results-oriented leaders, which is an excellent exercise for personal improvement. I found the book easy to read and repletet with lots of examples that I could relate to on both a professional and personal level.
This book is a must-read for anyone who must do more with less and get better results to keep their career on track. I strongly recommend it to my friends.