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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anatomy of Change for High-Performance Organizations, January 6, 2006
This review is from: Results: Keep What's Good, Fix What's Wrong, and Unlock Great Performance (Hardcover)
I wasn't going to review this book, because I have a connection to it. I am the editor-in-chief of strategy+business (http://www.strategy-business.com), where an adaptation of part of Results appeared. But the first review, while complimentary, seems to have its own axe to grind, and someone should put Results in perspective.
This is a book about leverage for changing organizations into a high-performance, employee-energizing, model. There are a lot of books on that subject, but Results is distinguished by three things. First, it's theoretically rich. Drawing on both economic organizational theory and the authors' own extensive global surveys (still going on at www.orgdna.com), it has a coherent theory of the "building blocks" that leaders can either design effectively or not. These levers include decision rights, information flows, incentives, and other practices that are usually tackled piecemeal. Results shows how to put them together.
Second, Results is distinguished by the way it labels organizations. The link between the combinations of "building blocks" and the perceived personalities (resilient, passive-aggressive, military, and so on) is remarkably consistent, and it helps people see the nature of the organizations they work for - and the reasons why they got that way.
Third, Results is distinguished by its writing style. It's accessible, but not glib. The examples are substantial, and worthy of attention, like Caterpillar, whose story represents one of the most genuine transformation stories I know of -- from a company on the point of stagnation to an extremely successful high-performance global enterprise.
I spend a lot of time trying to make sense of the entity called "organizations," which are so influential - and so difficult to influence. I find myself continually returning in my mind to the stories and the building blocks of Results. It's a very pragmatic book, targeted directly at people who want to make useful change in organzations and not waste their time. It's deceptively simple on that level, but it's not superficial at all. It's not the only book a change-oriented manager might read -- there's a lot of organizational learning material that would represent a good complement to it -- but it has at its heart one of the critical things that an organizational leader needs to know: The way the tangible policies and practices of a company or enterprise shape the human culture of that company or enterprise, and the aspirations and sensibilities of the people inside it.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-Done!, March 17, 2006
This review is from: Results: Keep What's Good, Fix What's Wrong, and Unlock Great Performance (Hardcover)
Obviously, all human effort produces results, including no change of the status quo. What Neilson and Pasternack are talking about are efforts which sustain what is both effective and efficient, repair or eliminate what isn't, and thereby result in ("unlock") great performance. They identify four separate but interdependent "building blocks" (decision rights, information, motivators, and structure) on which to establish a program to achieve whatever the desirable results may be. Perhaps to manage growth. Perhaps to rightsize. Perhaps to introduce a new product or service and/or to penetrate a new market.
In Chapters One through Nine, they examine several different types of organizations:
Passive-Aggressive: "Everyone Agrees But Nothing Changes"
Fits-and-Starts: "Let 1,000 Flowers Bloom"
Outgrown: "The Good Old Days Meet a Brave New World"
Overmanaged: "We're from Corporate and We're Here to Help"
Just-in-Time: "Succeeding by the Skin of Our Teeth"
Military Precision: "Flying in Formation"
Each of the first six types has specific characteristics, most (if not all) of which are perversions of what would otherwise be desirable. For example, most executives would agree that an organization's operations should be disciplined, consistent, and lean; also, that there should be a well-defined chain of command. However, in a Military Precision organization, there can be serious problems which result from "command and control" management which discourages (if not punishes) principled dissent and individual initiative. Almost everyone involved awaits "orders" to be followed without question or hesitation. As I read Chapter Eight in which Neilson and Pasternack discuss the Military Precision organization, it struck me that it could run off independent thinkers and develop within those who remain a passive-aggressive attitude which results in subversive behavior. However, there are at least some organizations on which the appropriate emphasis should be on everyone knowing his or her role and implements it diligently, producing fluid and consistent execution of its policies and procedures.
As Neilson and Pasternack suggest, "7-Eleven exemplifies the Military Precision organization because it is top-down with a twist. It takes its direction from above, but its intelligence lies in the field...and it recognizes that. it's an organization bent on providing a consistent, quality customer experience to the thousands, often millions, that pass through its doors every day."
As for the Resilient organization, which Neilson and Pasternack describe as the "healthiest" of all, it also has several organizational traits which include entertaining the inconceivable ("seeing" what isn't yet...but could be); building a culture of commitment and accountability; "moving the goal post...every three years" at least; at all times and in every way demonstrating the "courage of its convictions"; recovering from adversity and then moving on; thinking horizontally (i.e. rather than in terms of hierarchies); Self-correcting (i.e. having mechanisms which identify small problems before they become major crises; listening to complainers to identify patterns and trends of dissatisfaction enterprise-wide; linking motivators to what is most important; and realizing any "success" is transient ("a little paranoia is good for you"). I presume to add one point: Today's Resilient organization can very quickly become one of the other seven. That is to say, each of the ten positive traits which Neilson and Pasternack identify, if taken to an extreme, defining characteristics of an "unhealthy" organization.
According to Neilson and Pasternack, the symptoms of a Passive Aggressive organization include smiles which conceal dissent, "shopping for decisions" (i.e. seeking until finding decisions preferable to those of one's supervisors); hoarding of resources which creates a "Bermuda Triangle" of information flow; "mixed message motivators" which create confusion and dissonance; and widespread use of the CYO strategy in anticipation of unfavorable consequences. These symptoms obviously suggest often deeply submerged feelings of dissatisfaction and perhaps even hostility.
What makes this volume so informative, indeed valuable is the fact that Neilson and Pasternack identify all manner of causes of dysfunctional organizations, suggest how those causes can be avoided or eliminated, and then explain what a "healthy" organization is but also how to establish and then sustain one. It occurs to me that most organizations proceed through phases during any one of which they exemplify one of the seven types. Therefore, some of the attributes of one type (e.g. Passive-Aggressive) should be replaced by some of those of another (e.g. Military Precision). It remains for decision-makers to understand which of the seven types best describes their organization and then, guided and informed by what Neilson and Pasternack provide in this volume, make whatever corrective or preventive adjustments may be necessary.
To Neilson and Pasternack, I now offer "Well-done!"
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24 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Basic business advice but misses the mark on company personalities., December 4, 2005
This review is from: Results: Keep What's Good, Fix What's Wrong, and Unlock Great Performance (Hardcover)
Results makes a solid case for building blocks that a good Business 101 textbook would tell you make up a company's likelihood for success, but Results misses the mark on identifying or leveraging company personalities.
The term `company personality' is misused. Instead of a company 'personality', the authors appear to be more accurately describing the maturity or efficacy of a company ~ which is a VERY different realm. Said another way, the survey tool (and the book) do not describe a company's personality, they describe a company's level of dysfunction. Results illustrates a preferred end of the efficacy spectrum labeled Healthy in which companies are said to have mature capacities for what we know are best practices for decisions, org charts, metrics, and performance infrastructure. On the Unhealthy end are companies that have not developed similar capacities. Results would then have us believe that all companies should aspire to become the same personality. Herein lies the misnomer of the term `personality'. The Healthy-Unhealthy spectrum of dysfunction offers a simplistic explanation of what makes a company 'work', but it is only two-dimensional. A company's personality is THREE dimensional. A company's personality is also founded on its core values, core beliefs, signal behaviors, its attitudes, and its vision.
If you are looking to leverage success through understanding your company's personality, read Companies are People, Too (Fekete, 2003) instead. This book (and tool set) offer a well rounded approach to understanding company personalities and provides a way for all company personalities to have their place - and still be successful! Intuitively, it makes more sense to assert that all company personalities are necessary to create a diverse and creative market. For leaders within a company, it is imperative to identify (and identify with!) the unique and salient strengths of their company's personality. Only armed with this information can a company distinguish itself from its competitors.
We can initiate change in business practices, but we can not inherently change a company personality - nor should we try! The idea of changing the personality of a company would be like trying to beat gravity! Results does offer sound, basic business lessons regarding infrastructure necessary for business success, but it does not fulfill on the promise of understanding and leveraging a company's personality to get there.
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