The Shape Shifters: Continuous Change for Competitive Advantage [Hardcover]

John L. Mariotti (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471292540 | ISBN-13: 978-0471292548 | Publication Date: September 26, 1997 | Edition: 1

The Shape Shifters Continuous Change For Competitive Advantage John L. Mariotti Only by developing a core that shifts constantly to deliver best value to customers will your company survive and succeed in the coming era of breathtaking change. In the pages of this revolutionary approach to building a "shape-shifting" company from the ground up, you'll learn to:
* Get closer to your customers and develop a clear understanding of their mental picture of "value."
* Institute company-wide, integrated improvements -- not just piecemeal patches.
* Understand the difference between shape-shifting and popular trends such as reengineering.
* Develop "new partnerships" by combining teamwork, human insight, and new technologies.
* And much more!
The day of the rigid, bureaucratic organization is waning, and a new day of learning and adapting is dawning. With the help of T## exciting new era! Mariotti's new book focuses us on what matters most in business..growth and all of its positive implications. A truly refreshing read after so many years of stultifying "reengineering." --Michael Harris, Partner, The Sequoya Group, Inc. I had said "Wow" out loud twice in the first 30 pages. Many lights went off in my head as I read The Shape Shifters.This is more than a book, it's an opportunity to rethink the existing customer strategies of your company, your division, or your departments. --James B. Swartz, President, Competitive Action Group I have already used John Mariotti's shape shifting construct.This is a very valuable tool with which to coach an organization in developing winning strategies. --Fred S. Grunewald, President and Chief Operating Officer, Overhead Door Corporation

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Shape Shifters Continuous Change for Competitive Advantage John L. Mariotti What kind of shape is your company in? Are you and your organization flexible, adaptable, ready to capitalize on change, and assume any form required to succeed? This is the ever-shifting challenge for organizations to survive and succeed in our hyper-competitive global landscape. Like the Star Trek character, or those from ancient Indian folklore, today’s companies must become "shape shifters." In The Shape Shifters, John L. Mariotti tells you how to create a powerful competitive advantage, by continuously changing to create and deliver what customers consider best value, both now and in the future. Want to get on top? Stay on top? Put aside your old arsenal of "quick fixes," patchwork programs, management fads, buzzwords, and banners. The Shape Shifters explains how to understand value better than your competitors and then use your core competencies to create and deliver that value. You’ll learn what the "shape of value" really means and how to measure and picture it. You’ll understand what comprises the "shape of a business" and why it is so important. You’ll become comfortable with how the structure, processes, culture, relationships, and purpose of a business, lead to the value in the form of quality, service, speed, cost, and innovation. Plus, you get real-life examples from scores of companies who have "shape-shifted" to stay prosperous, including IBM, GE, Chrysler, HP, Huffy, Sears, Microsoft, and many more. Once you commit to the idea of the shape-shifting organization, Mariotti explains how to implement it smoothly, without resorting to radical downsizing or painful reengineering. To use Mariotti’s effective approach to teamwork, collaboration, learning, and rapid change calls for new organizational structures. But now that you’ve "shifted," where do you go from here? Mariotti gives plenty of guides to keep you on your path to success. Not only does the shape-shifting organization adapt to events; it can also proactively shape them. You can develop your goals first, define a playing field that suits your talents, and devise the strategies to give your organization an ongoing competitive advantage! The key is to take the shape necessary to provide your coustomers with the best value by using the powerful ideas and techniques you’ll find in The Shape Shifters.

About the Author

About The Author: John L. Mariotti is President and CEO of The Enterprise Group, his own consulting firm, and former President of Huffy Bicycles and Rubbermaid's Office Products Group. He is the author of The Power of Partnerships and a contributing editor, management columnist, and conference moderator for Industry Week magazine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 26, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471292540
• ISBN-13: 978-0471292548
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,442,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Mariotti is an award winning business author and an internationally recognized executive, consultant, keynote speaker. Mariotti started his career in the telecommunications industry, and was deeply involved in governmental affairs during parts of his career. He has written hundreds of articles and columns and nine non-fiction books. In "The Chinese Conspiracy" he merges an exciting fictional thriller with a factual reality of America's risk from Cyber-Attacks. His last business book, "The Complexity Crisis" was chosen as one of 2008's Best Business Books and also one of 2008's Best Books for Small Business.

John led major businesses first as President of Huffy Bicycles, which was the world leader in bikes, and then as Group President of Rubbermaid Office Products, when Rubbermaid was America's Most Admired Company.

In the 1980's and 1990's he was also Chairman of the Board of the Productivity Communications Center, Board Chairman of Goodwill Industries of Dayton (OH), and President of the Bicycle Institute of America, for which he represented the U.S. Bike industry in Washington with the International Trade Commission, the U. S. Trade Representative, the U. S. Customs Office, and members of Congress, dealing with Legislative, Trade and Product Safety issues.

Since founding The Enterprise Group in1994, he has served on multiple corporate boards and has advised leading American companies such as Emerson, Scotts, Titleist, DirtDevil, CharBroil, Hills Pet Nutrition and many others. More recently, he was non-Executive Chairman of World Kitchen, Inc., on whose board he still sits.

John is Founder of the Reunion Conference series, now in its 14th year. Since 2001 he has published THE ENTERPRISE, a weekly on-line newletter and web-blog. He holds a B. S. M. E., from Bradley University and an M. S. M. E. from the University of Wisconsin. He lives in the Columbus, OH area. John can be reached at www.mariotti.net or www.thechineseconspiracy.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of The Top Ten Books for Leaders in 1997, January 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shape Shifters: Continuous Change for Competitive Advantage ((Business Technology Ser.)) (Hardcover)

THE 1997 "INNOTHINK AWARD WINNER" A lot of writers talk about change, but very few write about it with the authority and vigor of Mariotti, who has been an executive in four consumer products companies in four different industries: this book really has the "voice of experience" behind it. Moreover, if you have followed his thinking in IndustryWeek magazine the last few years, you know that you will get much more than broad concepts in this book. He gives the reader techniques and tools for "reshaping" the value behind a company's core assets: what it makes and sells. Are you in shape? Then perhaps it's time to shift!

5.0 out of 5 stars One of 1997's Ten Best, and our InnoThink Award Winner, February 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shape Shifters: Continuous Change for Competitive Advantage (Hardcover)

A lot of writers talk about change, but very few write about it with the authority and vigor of Mariotti. He has been an executive in four consumer products companies in four different industries: this book really has the "voice of experience" behind it. Moreover, if you have followed his thinking in IndustryWeek the last few years, you know that you will get much more than broad concepts in this book. He gives the reader techniques and tools for "reshaping" the value behind a company's core assets: what it makes and sells. Are you in shape? Then perhaps it's time to shift! Transforming. [Read His MG Ezzay]