Mission Possible: Becoming a World-Class Organization While There's Still Time [Hardcover]

Kenneth H. Blanchard (Author), Terry Waghorn (Author), Jim Ballard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 1996

This guide offers a model for improving the present organization whilst designing its replacement - covering quality, strategic planning and empowerment. It supplies advice on surviving and thriving in an era where being successful means continually reinventing the company.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Blanchard, author of the best-selling One Minute Manager (1982), insists that for today's businesses to remain viable, managers must be "working on the present and the future of [their] organizations at the same time." His latest book is built around that central thesis. For managers to put this concept into practice, Blanchard offers three important premises: success in business is based on the creative use of untapped human energy, tapping into this resource requires managers to make partners of the people who work for them, and making people partners requires that they are meaningfully engaged "in either improving the present operation of the organization or creating its future." In elucidating his ideas, Blanchard brings into the discussion numerous specific examples and many words of wisdom from other management gurus. His logic makes sense; leaders need to pay attention. Based on his reputation and heavy publisher promotion, expect high demand. Brad Hooper

Review

"From its opening title to closing references and bibliography, a new book by the eminent business guru Ken Blanchard argues pointedly and optimistically for business to expand, adapt or die, but also to improve what you do best. A modern folk song for the new millenium written persuasively by an author whose message has influence. Mission Possible calls for keeping one foot firmly planted in the present while the other forges boldly ahead." -- Narcusi Dean, Columbus Dispatch, 10/21/96

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 227 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill (September 24, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070059403
• ISBN-13: 978-0070059405
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,701,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Few people have influenced the day-to-day management of people and companies more than Ken Blanchard. A prominent, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant, Dr. Blanchard is universally characterized by his friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate individuals in business today. Ken is one of the most influential leadership experts in the world and is respected for his years of groundbreaking work in the fields of leadership and management.

Dr. Ken Blanchard is the cofounder and Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California. In addition to being a renowned speaker and consultant, Ken also spends time as a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees.

Ken has received many awards and honors for his contributions in the fields of management, leadership, and speaking. The National Speakers Association awarded him its highest honor, the "Council of Peers Award of Excellence." He was inducted into the HRD Hall of Fame by Training magazine and Lakewood Conferences, and he received the Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International. Ken also received The Thought Leadership Award for continued support of work-related learning and performance by ISA--The Association of Learning Providers. Ken has been inducted into Amazon's Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 best-selling authors of all time. The business school at Grand Canyon University bears his name. In addition, Ken teaches students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego.

Born in New Jersey and raised in New York, Ken received a master's degree from Colgate University, and a bachelor's and PhD from Cornell University. An avid golfer, Ken belongs to the Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Attention Survivors!, October 1, 2000

By 

Pepperdine GSEP student (Redlands, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mission Possible (Paperback)

Mission Possible... is a book about surviving today and recreating your organization for tomorrow. The authors use the analogy of a sand castle which faces the incoming tide. Does one leave it alone to face certain destruction and hope that it doesn't happen for a while; or does one take immediate action to build barriers along the beach for protection, which may or may not help; or does one plan for the future by redesigning the structure as well as relocate the castle? People are the key to an organization's success and the way a leader can best encourage them towards this goal is to allow them to become involved in improving the present or inventing the organization's tomorrow. It's all about the journey and the understanding of what is possible.

I used this for a reading assignment for a class and found it to be interesting. It certainly is easy to read and while others may find it's message too simple, I feel that it is the simple message that gets across easily and stays with you the longest.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!, April 17, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Mission Possible (Paperback)

Ken Blanchard, one of the most successful business authors of all time, teams up with Terry Waghorn in this clear, concise guide to surviving and prospering in a time of great change. The authors show you how to guide your business through the present while simultaneously preparing for and implementing changes for the future. This well-balanced book, which focuses as much on vision, intuitive processes and thinking as it does on nuts-and-bolts strategy, is a valuable guide for working and leading in the twenty-first century. We [...] recommend this book for everyone in business, and find it particularly essential for leaders, managers, and business owners.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing. Should have been a lot better., July 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Mission Possible: Becoming a World-Class Organization While There's Still Time (Hardcover)

I've read several books by Blanchard. I like his approach on behavioral side of management. I bought this book, expecting to find just that. Since most of the "visionary" books deal with the organization or system perspectives, I always want to know about the "human" side. But I don't find the answer from this book. The contents are too light to provide any answer to the issue. Unlike some good books on the similar topic such as James Martin's Cybercorp which tells you in very details on how you should prepare for the future, Mission Possible does not give me anything comparable