Customer Reviews

The Pursuit of Something Better

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you think this is a business book, a work on leadership, a management concept, a "self-help" book, a case study in ethics, a case study in corporate culture change, a business biography, or great story, you'll be pleased as it is all of these and then a bit.

In 2000, Jack Rooney became the CEO of U.S. Cellular. At that time, U.S. Cellular could have been the role model for the employer in Dilbert - The Complete Series. Disaffected employees, clueless self-serving managers, and disconnected profiteering executives; all that was missing was the pointy hair on the managers and a female engineer who punched co-workers (or these were left out of the book?). In 2008, against all expectations of 2000, U.S. Cellular is an aggressive competitor in the cellular industry. Jack Rooney's leadership was the driving force behind the complete transformation of the corporate culture that led to this overwhelming success.

The philosophy behind the change is Dynamic Organization (D.O), a statement of behaviors and values expected of every member of U.S. Cellular. What makes this unusual is that the CEO (Rooney) lived the behaviors and values and expected everyone, executives, managers, and engineers as well as store employees and call center workers. To ensure compliance, leaders are rated by their subordinates, and the subordinates rate their bosses' boss. Talk about heresy in corporate America. Needless to say, there were some rough spots between 2000 and 2008.

The D.O. statement itself is not earthshattering or terribly innovative, but competent, proven, and above all, ethical guidelines for conduct and teamwork. The enablers to make this succede are all communications. A direct line to the CEO open to *any* employee, annual surveys on leadership and corporate culture, the assessments of supervisors by subordinates, and other lines of communication allowed the propagation of the new values and reporting on individuals who failed to comply with the new standards.

Rooney wasn't perfect, and the writers admit his mistakes in more than one instance, but he was persistant and consistent in his drive to raise the ethical climate of U.S. Cellular. What makes this a great story is the presentation of the eight years of effort to effect the culture change, with conflicts and victories at every level of the organization. Striking the balance between the "what" of profitiability and the "how" of the ethical and behavior standards of D.O. was painful, but makes for some great drama. This is not the usual fair for a book on business leadership, ethics, and corporate climate.

There were a number of surprises about this book. The most salient was that this is something of a biography of Jack Rooney. And unlike the self-aggrandizing corporate leadership Americans have come to loathe and expect, he really lives the value of selfless service. Note well that on the back cover blurb, his name is two thirds of the way down rather than in the first line of every paragraph. And if even for the single lesson learned when the first Leadership Forum was held in downtown Chicago (p. 19, second paragraph, last sentence... I can't do it justice without a spoiler), this book is well worth the price and would compliment Leading the Charge: Leadership Lessons from the Battlefield to the Boardroom by General Zinni because of the similarities in issues and approaches.

And a caveat; the authors have been associate with Jack Rooney for more than ten years and were instrumental in the implimentation of the D.O. model. I wouldn't use this as the only source in research on Rooney or U.S. Cellular, despite their candor and willingness to discuss potentially embarassing incidents.

From someone who takes no pleasure in "business" books, this was an excellent read.

E.M. Van Court

This review is based on a copy provided at no cost by the publisher.

The story that this book should be concentrating on is the story of Jack Rooney and the transformation of US Cellular. But often the writing gets in the way.

Note to consultants who want a book about your successes. Either write the book in the first person or hire someone to write the book about you.

Here, the authors are also characters in their own book. They write about themselves in the third person. When you see a reference to "Kruger," you can be sure of two things. The person referred to is author Myra Kruger, describing herself in a kind of literary out-of-body experience. And she will be doing something wonderful, never something ordinary.

In most cases, that would be reason enough to recommend that you simply pass the book by. But there's a lot of value here, even if you have to slog through the mud of self-aggrandizement and muddled prose to fish it out.

First there is the basic story of Jack Rooney and the transformation of US Cellular. When he took over at US Cellular they were a small, mostly rural cell phone company that made most of their money by charging roaming fees when customers of their larger rivals strayed into their service area.

When Rooney took over at US Cellular in 2000 it could have been a poster child for everything you've ever hated about every cell company you've ever had. He came to the job with a good track record, especially at Ameritech.

Within four years, things had changed. That was when local number portability first allowed cell customers to switch carriers and keep their phone number. The analysts figured that smaller carriers, like US Cellular would suffer the most.

Most of them did. US Cellular was an exception. The new US Cellular, working on Rooney's own concept called the "Dynamic Organization" gained more customers than it lost.

The Dynamic Organization, like many good strategies, is both simple and rooted in common sense. Rooney thinks that customer satisfaction should be the main goal of a business. He thinks that satisfied workers and effective leaders are the way to achieve customer satisfaction.

The company puts it this way: "effective leaders create satisfied associates, who in turn deliver outstanding customer service that produces profitable business results. Leaders provide the tools and training to our front-line associates, who are empowered to make the best decisions on behalf of our customers. We're guided by our core values of customer focus, respect for associates, ethics, pride, empowerment and diversity."

It seems to be working. US Cellular is now the fifth largest mobile phone company is the US. It consistently shows well in both call quality and customer satisfaction surveys.

The story of how Rooney and US Cellular got from there to here has lots of value for any businessperson contemplating or in the midst of a corporate culture change. There's also value in the details about the transformation process, Rooney's own leadership style, communication, rewards, dealing with recalcitrants, and more. You'll get lots of small take-aways, as well as the big picture.

The problem with the book is that it's harder to mine that value than it should be. This is clearly a "we're great, hire us" book published by the authors to grow their business. That's not a problem in itself. There are lots of high value books out there written by consultants who share their triumphs.

But this book is not worthy of the story of US Cellular or even of their part in the triumph. It's slap-dash. Sometimes the authors write about the past in the present tense. Sometimes they use the past tense. Sometimes there's enough consult-speak to gag a goat. Sometimes the story moves right along.

Things like that bother me because I write a lot. They may or may not bother you.

The big problem is that this story should be about US Cellular and Jack Rooney. It's a good story and worth telling. But on far too many occasions it seems like the story of the consultants and their magical powers.

Bottom Line: Buy The Pursuit of Something Better if you want insight into a significant corporate change. Buy it if you want to know more about how supporting your people can improve service and results. Just be prepared to work a little to get the value from your purchase.

Business in the twenty- first century hasn't been pretty. Enron, Worldcom, and other large businesses ended up collapsing due to ethics violations charged to the companies' senior leadership. This led to cynicism on the part of the public and greater regulations on businesses as governmental bodies looked for ways to prevent another serious corporate scandal from occurring again. In the middle of all of this turmoil, there still existed some ethical businesses and one of them is the subject of this book. The company is U.S. Cellular and this book is dedicated to this cell phone service provider and its corporate transformation; a change of both culture and business practice that led U.S. Cellular to the success and admiration that it enjoys today.

Business has always been in a state of change, but the information age has increased the speed and need for change to levels never before seen in history. Some companies are mired in their ways, with employees that are resistant to change every step of the way. This was, in a nutshell, the type of company that Jack Rooney inherited when he took over as CEO of U.S. Cellular in 2000. The company was going nowhere fast and its employees were underdeveloped, lacked focus, and didn't necessarily know how they could or should perform. Rooney knew he had a challenge in front of him, and he accepted it with vigor and determination. He helped to change the business from top to bottom, improving not only the bottom- line numbers but also improving the individual lives of employees.

The Pursuit of Something Better, in many ways, reads like a typical business success story. Here, you have a business stuck in the doldrums; anemic at its core and in need of quick resuscitation if it hopes to survive. Then, in walks a corporate knight who helps to change the business one department, one employee at a time. Sales and profits improve, and Rooney receives some much- deserved credit for these improvements. But The Pursuit of Something Better is more than just a numbers game. Changing corporate culture can often prove to be an even more daunting task than strengthening the financial statements and at U.S. Cellular, the corporate culture was changed for the better, in spite of the resistance of some employees. Not only did Rooney successfully change the morale and the way employees felt about U.S. Cellular as a business, he also changed individual lives outside of the workplace. The book includes several examples of U.S. Cellular employees who give Jack Rooney credit for making them better parents, spouses, and friends. They took the U.S. Cellular formula for success and applied it to their own lives outside of the workplace. Before they knew it, their lives had improved in ways they never thought possible.

Companies could all benefit from stronger leadership and The Pursuit of Something Better is one book with a positive story to share about leadership and success. U.S. Cellular was stuck in a corporate rut and had little direction or hope for a better tomorrow until a strong leader by the name of Jack Rooney took over the helm and initiated the necessary changes that led to the success that U.S. Cellular enjoys today. This book is multi- dimensional in that it speaks of more than simply increases in corporate profits. It also talks about ethics, social responsibility, and other important aspects of the modern corporation. It's an inspirational story and most any employee of any business could benefit from reading it and taking its message to heart.

This book is an account of how U.S. Cellular, under the leadership of Jack Rooney, went from ordinary to extraordinary by developing a culture which made it both more flexible and more resilient. The book is a case study of ethically-led organizational change.

In 2000, when Jack Rooney became CEO of U.S.Cellular, the company was ranked eighth in its industry and was apparently in danger of extinction. By 2008, U.S Cellular was a leader in its field but is facing another significant challenge. Who will replace Jack Rooney? How much of the U.S. Cellular transformation is imbedded in the organisation? Will it survive a change of leadership?

Jack Rooney's philosophy involves a statement of behaviours and values expected of all members of staff (called associates). His business model (the Dynamic Organization) has five core values: customer focus; respect for associates; empowerment; ethics; and pride. These words are not unique: many organizations include such ideals in their strategic business plans and statements of value. What makes Rooney's Dynamic Organization different is that he demonstrated the values through his own leadership. Importantly, he invested in staff within the organization to try to ensure cultural fit. This investment for the future is part of the success of U.S Cellular in 2008. It remains to be seen whether the support for changes is sufficiently part of U/S Cellular's culture to survive both a change of leader and the current turbulent economic times.

Much of what is covered here would be of value to other organizations - but only if they have a leader with the courage to lead fundamental transformation. Effective change is a process of transformation, not of transplantation. I hope U.S Cellular continues to thrive. I also hope that those interested in organizational change and ethical leadership behaviour read this book.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I liked this book. I did not find it to be a masterpiece, but it's a worthy read for an executive or wanta-be executive who wants to read a story about change-management. The story took place over the past 10 years at US Cellular, a mid-sized wireless communications provider, aka a retail company with a widely dispersed employee base. The book has an introduction and the following 10 chapters:

0. The search for something better
1. Snapshots: Now & then
2. Jack Rooney & the dynamic organization
3. Anatomy of the dynamic organization
4. First things first: The customer
5. The leadership factory
6. Do the right thing
7. Moving the big rocks
8. The perennial pulls of the ordinary
9. Inside out: What you see is what you are
10. Epilogue

After reading the book I got the impression that when a company is doing poorly, then it must be the fault of a lousy corporate culture and probably a lousy CEO. What we learn about in the book is how a guy named Jack Rooney took the helm at US Cellular when it was doing lousy in most respects. Mr. Rooney did some strategic planning and determined that customer service had to improve, and it had to improve in such a way that the customers didn't think the company was being fake or insincere in providing great customer service. The authors were consultants to Mr. Rooney during the metamorphisis the company went through. And in my humble opinion this book felt a little like a bragging piece the authors put together to congratulate themselves on a consulting job well done.

I think US Cellular is basically a sales organization that sells cell phones and provides customer service for the use of those phones. If your company is a sales organization, or you oversee a sales group or department within an organization, then this book should probably be required reading for you. You should strive to create a culture where the customers are happy, the sales reps (or associates as they are called in this book) are happy, and the shareholders (owners) are happy. Such a mix typically creates company growth and great profits - the secret to successful business.

However, the message presented in this book is not one that works universally in all company types nor in all economic environments. So I'm not sure this book will be particularly helpful to someone operating a business that is not full of sales associates. For example, this will not work for a company like a large law office or large CPA firm where the associates are mostly just worker bees and have no hope of providing superior customer service that will directly translate into more compensation for them. And when the economy becomes poor and employees get laid off in order to keep the company afloat it is difficult to create the kind of company culture described in this book. 4 stars!

If you have followed my blog (Survival Leadership) for a while, you're aware that I review leadership books that I believe would help not only my executive clients but any other leaders. Most of the books I review are from mainline publishers. This book is a self-published book by two very smart consultants. And, what actually made me read it was a quote on the back cover of the book by Jim Kouzes (of the famous leadership research team of Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner).

My indirect, albeit, personal connection with Kouzes and Posner was that I sat on the nominating committee for the American Society for Training and Development, which tapped the team to receive the Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance Award for their body of work over the years, which has had an impact on learning and performance in the workplace. In short, these guys know what they're talking about. Here's what they said about In Pursuit of Something Better: "This book teaches, inspires, and entertains, and it should be required reading in every business school, boardroom, and consultancy seminar."

I strongly agree and have already recommended it to executives, academics, and consultants. It's a real winner and guaranteed to change your perception of how to transform an organization. A "must read" for leaders who aren't fully satisfied with the level of success they want for their organizations.

For most people who are familiar with the foibles of corporate America - its bureaucracy, its humorless approach to business, its morale killing micro-management and backstabbing - Dave Esler & Myra Kruger have documented an inspiring case history of US Cellular, as it emerged from its mediocre and listless existence from a decade ago to become one of the most innovative and successful organizations on the planet today.

The transformation wasn't easy, and it didn't happen overnight; but thanks to a concerted effort throughout the organization to breed a winning corporate culture, "the pursuit of something better" became a reality. How did they do it? The key to the turnaround hinged on creating strong core values of honesty, integrity, an unrelenting dedication to customer service, opportunities for employees to advance based on merit, as well as a commitment to social responsibility. When all that comes together, the results are usually astounding; that was certainly the case with US Cellular.

Sadly, most corporations only give lip service to this winning approach to business; they don't get it; they often become narrow-minded hierarchies filled with greed and hubris, cultivating a culture of fear throughout the organization. That's no way to run a business, and that's no way to engage its employees to work hard to achieve "something better".

For any CEO trying to discover the winning formula for lasting business success, this book would be a great place to start; but you'd better hurry. Chances are your competitors will be taking similar measures.

Recently at the 2009 Chicagoland Learning Leaders Conference, Dave Esler, co-author, shared his new book, The Pursuit of Something Bette; it tells U.S. Cellular's story of becoming a Dynamic Organization. This book is well written explaining U.S. Cellular transformation journey from under-performing to a customer-focus, growing organization.

I found the writing approach for this book you used to capture key components of the challenges & successes to be insightful & refreshing. I haven't read a business book before told as a story mostly through annual survey data from all the employees. Data is very powerful, but unfortunately rarely used to its fullest (as the authors pointed out this sad reality too). By sharing successes & failures to pass on lessons learned, readers are given practical advice they can bring to their organization's change initiatives - one of my favorites you shared is having executives where "Ask Me a Question" buttons ... and U.S. Cellular associates started asking upper management more questions.

In hindsight, if we would have known about The Pursuit of Something Better earlier, it would have been an excellent book to be featured as for our Chicagoland Learning Leaders Conference book signing. I do not plan to keep my copy since I prefer to pass my copy on to a senior CLO/CTO Group member so they can give me and our community more feedback.

For me it helped hearing Tom Griffin's keynote CLO presentation where he shared some first-hand experiences (albeit challenging and scary at the time) AND reading The Pursuit of Something Better. We have some great video of Tom sharing his U.S. stories & experiences which we share on Chicagoland Learning Leaders website.

I received this as a review copy. On the surface, the subject of creating a corporate culture at a telecommunications company was not the most pressing thing I wanted to read. However, once I began reading it, I found that it was not only relevant but important, especially in light of the both financial scandals and catastrophes that have gripped the world in the last decade.

The vision of a Dynamic Organization at U.S. Cellular belonged to Jack Rooney, the CEO. When he took over the company in 2000, U.S. Cellular was eighth in its industry and generated the bulk of its revenue not through its customers but through roaming charges. Employees (later called associates) were poorly paid, and investments in communications and infrastructure were just as miserly. It was a company only loosely united, and most expected that they would be bought out. Worst of all, their customers were a captive audience and were treated as such.

It was Rooney's belief, revolutionary in 2000, that the way to grow their business, even in this rapidly growing industry, was to develop customer loyalty. Instead of constantly rotating gimmicks, he wanted to do it the old-fashioned way: attentive customer service, reliable products and doing the right thing. It was also Rooney's belief that he wouldn't be able to achieve any of those customer-focused goals if he didn't change the culture of his company as well.

Surprisingly, there was resistance to a culture built on ethics. Many people felt they were already acting ethically, and resented being told that they weren't doing it well enough; others felt that the rules were different in business, especially sales. Overall though, the positive thrust of Rooney's initiative was enough to begin snowballing into early successes that inspired more of the same.

This does not come automatically, however. Almost every year, they encountered pockets of resistance, both holdovers from the old company and misinterpretations of directives. The Dynamic Organization required continuous, dynamic action. Each time, the key to addressing each crisis was through persistent, committed leadership. As of today, U.S. Cellular remains a success.

What struck me about this was how dysfunctional modern business, indeed, our modern economy has become. It is as if everyone has taken to heart the maxim that the buyer should beware and approaches every transaction trying to squeeze the other party for everything they possibly can. Legally, politically and even culturally we have accepted this. Some argue that we should let such behavior run without check, because eventually "the market" will correct things eventually, while others argue that we have to regulate every possible permutation of business activity. A lot of ink, energy and money has been spent on these topics. I'm sure I'm not the only one fatigued by all of these things. Reading this book, I longed for a world where instead of counting on being squeezed we could instead count on everyone, including ourselves, doing the right thing. What might that look like?

While I found the book both easy to read and provocative, I did find it awkward that the authors were in the story a few times but in the third person. That took me out of the story, so to speak.

Overall, interesting and thought provoking, and anyone who has ever had to work and interact with people will find much of this rings true.

I have always believed that people make the difference in any business. I have also believed that with the right people and the right business philosophy extraordinary success is a natural result. I have been involved in enough businesses to understand that all organizations have a culture and changing that culture is an enormous challenge. It is simply not possible to change the culture without an extremely strong commitment from the CEO. Even with a strong commitment, changing a company culture is a long and difficult task.

I have always felt that if you align the interest of all stakeholders, the employees at all levels, the customers, the shareholders and the vendors, a business could achieve extraordinary results. Until now, this has always been theory. I have never had the benefit of working with an organization that would buy into the feel good philosophy of doing the right thing - no matter what.

So for me this was a wonderful experiment which started at U. S. Cellular in 2000 and has proven beyond a doubt that if you adopt the right business philosophy and stand behind it through all the trials and tribulations, you will come out the clear winner. That is exactly what happened with U.S. Cellular.

They give the name of this movement Dynamic Organization. There are five core values: Customer focus, respect for associates, empowerment, diversity and pride.

This was not an easy or straight line ascent to the goal. There were many times that the movement ran into problems. It was difficult to get everyone to buy into the new business philosophy. But because Rooney believed so strongly and he assembled an outstanding team behind him, eventually they "changed the people or changed the people."

One of the most notable benefits of Dynamic Organization was the personal growth of all those who fully engaged.

This should be the business model for all businesses. However, it takes a total commitment and a long term outlook.

You know that if more businesses were run this way we would totally eliminate the Enron, MCI-World Com and all the other corporate messes we have had to deal with in the last few years.

This is a great read and should be studied by all serious students of business leadership. I felt like the story could have been tightened up just a bit, but I am perfectly willing to overlook that.

Should be a must read for everyone involved in managing business on any level.