RoadMap: How To Understand, Diagnose, and Fix Your Organization [Paperback]

N. Dean Meyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1997

People want to do a good job. But much too often, the organizational environment they work in gets in their way. At a minimum, this wastes people's talents and energies, and puts impossible loads on executives. At the worst, it induces people to perform poorly, work at cross purposes, fight with one another, and burn out.

Meanwhile, organizations are facing tough challenges from their competition and a volatile, complex business environment. If everyone in an organization isn't doing everything possible to assure its success, the organization is doomed to mediocrity or even failure.

This book describes a straightforward approach to building healthy organizations -- ones in which everybody's talents are fully engaged and their independent actions are well orchestrated.

It is a handbook for executives who are disappointed with quick fixes, jaded about management fads, and fed up with solving the same problems day after day...for leaders who are tired of fighting alligators and ready to drain the swamp.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Executives really want to build effective organizations. They care about their organizations' success and about the people who work for them.

This is why they repeatedly try new ideas: T.Q.M, B.P.R., empowerment, flattening, self-directed teams....And repeatedly they are frustrated when nothing seems to make much of a difference.

Meanwhile, people get cynical when their leaders experiment with a seemingly disjointed series of changes, each of which is implemented half-heartedly and does little good.

RoadMap has helped many leaders document why changes are needed; describe a vision of the end-point; define a clear, comprehensive path forward; and explain where each initiative fits within a broader plan.

This book is for executives who have the vision, patience, and commitment to look past the fads and quick fixes, and solve organizational problems once and for all with lasting, systemic change.

About the Author

N. Dean Meyer -- recognized as one of the foremost authorities on organizational transformation -- has made organizational health his life's work. He has been teaching, lecturing, and consulting since 1968. He founded NDMA Inc. in 1982 to focus exclusively on organizational issues.

Widely published, Meyer is coauthor of the book, The Information Edge, originally published by McGraw-Hill and now in its sixth printing. Meyer is also the author of the new paperback book, Structural Cybernetics: An Overview. His extensive original research and practical experiences are documented in two major studies: Structural Cybernetics, and The Internal Economy, A Market Approach.

Meyer is known for his systematic approaches to difficult leadership issues, and has implemented organizational transformations in dozens of diverse corporate and public-sector organizations throughout North America.

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: NDMA Publishing; 1 Ed edition (January 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964163527
• ISBN-13: 978-0964163522
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, straightforward and on the mark!, June 1, 2004

By 

Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: RoadMap: How To Understand, Diagnose, and Fix Your Organization (Paperback)

I recently finished reading (and reviewing) Nicholas Carr's insightful book titled, "Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage" (ISBN 1591394449). In that book Carr accurately identified common problems with IT, but offered no real solutions. I next read this book and, much to my surprise, it set forth a clear, straightforward roadmap for rectifying nearly all of the problems Carr cited in his book.

What you'll find:
- a path to transforming your organization into one in which leadership and an empowered workforce are critical success factors
- an innovative perspective on resource management based on the concept of an internal economy
- realistic methods with which to align IT (or any internal service unit) to business

Meyer makes a clear distinction between leadership and management, and this distinction is one of the keys to understanding how to go about transforming an organization into one that meets the needs of its internal customers. The 'internal economy' paradigm proposed in Chapter 12 is clearly explained; however, I recommend augmenting this chapter with another of Meyer's books titled, "The Internal Economy: How to Apply Market Principles within Organizations" (ISBN 1892606186) because that book goes much deeper into details.

Throughout the book I encountered ideas, definitions and advice that changed my views on a number of topics. For example, I am an advocate of benchmarking. After reading some of the reasons why this can work against you I modified my views. The same with metrics. I am a strong proponent of metrics, but realized after reading Chapter 14 (Metrics and Rewards) that in many cases I was using the wrong metrics - or the right metrics for the wrong reasons. This information alone made this book valuable to me.

Other features I like about this book is the way Meyer uses realistic stories and scenarios as a lead-in to concepts and methods. I especially liked the way he drills down into common problems in Chapter 15, using a pattern that cites the problem, then discusses dimensions (culture, structure, internal economy, methods & tools, and metrics and rewards). This approach provides a multi-dimensional template for approaching any problem in a consistent manner and ensures that you are looking at all relevant facets of a problem. His approach to identifying root causes is equally powerful.

In 141 pages that comprise this excellent book Meyer provides a sensible prescription for curing problems that I've encountered in one consulting engagement after another. While this prescription is straightforward, it is not easy to implement unless two key elements are present - leadership and management commitment to perform. If you have those, get this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to High Performance, August 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: RoadMap: How To Understand, Diagnose, and Fix Your Organization (Paperback)

Dean Meyer has an easy to understand roadmap that can be followed to become a high performing organization. Whatever your organization does it will become better by following his clear steps. No other method comes close in providing practical guidance that is easy to understand and implement.