Soaring with the Phoenix: Renewing the Vision, Reviving the Spirit, and Re-Creating the success of your company [Hardcover]

Jerre Stead (Author), Belasco (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

In the corporate world, companies that are complacent run the risk of extinction. In this exciting guide, James Belasco and Jerre Stead propose that management must identify and focus on long-term future goals now to propel any business into the future or turn a failing business into a success. Using a proven, systematic methodology which is consumer-focused, knowledge-based, and accountability-driven, this surefire roadmap to prosperity clearly demonstrates techniques for revitalizing employees, streamlining technologies, and satisfying clients.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Revivolution" is the term coined by San Diego University management professor James A. Belasco and 30-year technology-industry veteran Jerre Stead to describe the process of "renewal through revolution" that they believe is mandatory for those hoping to compete successfully in a corporate universe where monumental change is now the rule rather than the exception. Soaring with the Phoenix is the pair's call to action, in which they spell out their provocative prescription for maintaining equilibrium and achieving gains amidst a rapidly shifting economic reality that could otherwise wreak havoc on the unprepared. "Tomorrow arrives too quickly for most of us," they write. "Stuck in the mire of today's rules that no longer work, we flail around in our search for security. But the answer is right before our eyes. Invent a new tomorrow and change the rules!" Basing their advice on five overarching principles (create your own future, utilize your connections, help others learn, help others succeed, and take ownership of your company and your life), Belasco and Stead offer readers a way to use these strategies to revitalize themselves and their organizations. --Howard Rothman

From Library Journal

More management stuff, this time on getting you and your company back into the rat race?with a vengeance.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044652400X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446524001
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,088,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Effort!, May 7, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Soaring with the Phoenix: Renewing the Vision, Reviving the Spirit, and Re-Creating the success of your company (Hardcover)

James A. Belasco and Jerre Stead use the metaphor of the mythological phoenix to underline the need for a leader to embrace change. They suggest using the phoenix to create a new vision for yourself and your company. Their "phoenix principles" include personal renewal, recognizing your connection with others and promoting their successes, committing to learning and to taking "ownership" of your life and your company. While the book is easy-to-read, and uses a nifty new metaphor, the ideas are a familiar restatement of Principles of Marketing, Management, and Organizational Behavior 101. We [...] recommend this book to those who haven't taken the basic course lately, or to those whose spirit needs a little old-style renewal dressed in fancy feathers. If you have employees whose focus is flagging, give them a flight on the phoenix.

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't just change the present, create the future, February 27, 2006

By 

Louise McCauley (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Soaring with the Phoenix: Renewing the Vision, Reviving the Spirit, and Re-Creating the success of your company (Hardcover)

More often not, companies launch series after series of change initiatives which result in greater and greater failures. Why do these change initiatives fail? The authors of this book argue that it is because companies attempt to make a series of small changes. They see these series of small changes as simply tweaking hey present and therefore doomed.
The authors argue that in the new economy, companies are faced with radical and constant global, technical, social, and for many, personal change. With these sweeping changes, the authors argue that a company must also make drastic changes or encounter the failures of those that have opted for small incremental changes. How does a company make these sweeping changes? Can it be done?
The authors are consultants that had great success reviving the NCR division of AT&T. They draw on the knowledge gained from their success to deliver a step-by-step guide to what they call "revivolution," the process to renew in a revolutionary way the management, team, or organization.

The steps are grounded in the following principles for the "revivolution:"

· Self-renew is Job 1.
· We are all part of interconnected, interdependent networks
· Create successes for all of your connections
· Learn more in order to contribute more to others' success.
· Take ownership of your company and your life.