SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard Business School professor Kanter (Confidence) offers cutting-edge insights on corporate competitiveness in this timely and captivating assessment of what it takes to succeed in the face of rapid technological, cultural and economic change. Asserting that globalization increases the likelihood for shorter organizational life cycles, Kanter argues that companies must be more nimble than ever to survive. Drawing on stories of such businesses as Proctor and Gamble, Digitas and Cemex, she describes how vanguard companies exploit their strong cultures to adapt and innovate, often harnessing the momentum of change to capture market share or squash competition. Those companies that will thrive in the future, maintains Kanter, have stamina, energy, long lists of contacts, an appetite for communication, comfort with ambiguity, and a belief that the company's values and principles mean that they are part of something bigger than just a job. This dense work may be demanding for many, but the opportune lessons within are worth the effort for readers seeking to compete in a global marketplace that is changing more rapidly than ever before. (Sept.)
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Review

-Rosabeth Moss Kanter puts a new and welcome human face on the many ways companies can serve a public purpose while also prospering financially and building an enduring culture of success.-
-Andrea Jung, chairman and CEO of Avon Products

-A brilliant report from the front lines of companies creating the future by accomplishing the seemingly impossible.-
-Daniel Vasella, chairman and CEO of Novartis

-Rosabeth Moss Kanter . . . breaks new ground in SuperCorp by envisioning the corporation of the future that creates long-term value through breakthrough strategies that help solve intractable social problems.-
-Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic and author of True North

-This is the book that the world has been anxiously waiting for, perhaps Kanter-s most notable, certainly one of the most important books of this decade.-
-Warren Bennis, University Professor at the University of Southern California and author of On Becoming a Leader

-Kanter makes a compelling case about the role played by corporate culture, values-based decision making, and larger societal issues in the creation of sustainable success.-
-Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon

-Innovative insights on how companies-and their leaders-can be at the vanguard of the twenty-first century. . . . Timely, informative, and uplifting-all of the qualities of a great read!-
-David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst and White House counselor to four U.S. presidents

-Kanter-s careful analysis goes beyond the platitudes by offering solid examples and important insights.-
-Samuel J. Palmisano, chairman, p­resident, and CEO of IBM

-Unless your business is also serving a social purpose you miss an opportunity for innovations that bring profits. Rosa... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307382354
• ISBN-13: 978-0307382351
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,578 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant analysis of companies at the forefront of social purpose and profitable enterprise, September 29, 2009

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In recent years, Rosabeth Moss Kanter has written several books in which she focuses on individuals as well as groups that consistently produce peak performances. She understands and appreciates how difficult it is to become #1 in the given competitive marketplace and how even more difficult it is to maintain that ranking. As Tom Peters and Robert Waterman as well as Jim Collins and others have noted, that is true of major corporations and it is also true of athletic teams. In Confidence, Kanter correctly praises women's varsity basketball coach Pat Summit at the University of Tennessee. Since 1974, her teams have won eight national championships and twice won consecutive championships (1996-1998 and 2007-2008) but Tennessee is one of very few that have ever done so. Eight of the last ten NFL Super Bowl champions failed to make the playoffs the following year and only two teams during the same period won consecutive titles, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots. Thirty-eight of 43 other winners couldn't repeat.

My point is, that becoming a "SuperCorp" (however defined), especially in the current economy, is an admirable achievement but does not necessarily ensure a permanent position. That is why Reggie Jones selected Jack Welch to succeed him as CEO and then told him to "blow up" GE. That is why Toyota continues to generate so many suggestions to improve its incomparable production system and incorporated more than two million of them last year. That is why not once or twice but at least three times thus far, Tiger Woods has made radical changes in his swing (i.e. grip, stance, take-away, and/or follow-through) because he competes only against himself, no one else, and realized that improvements were needed. I suspect that, not having won a major this year, he continues to make additional refinements.

I have read and reviewed all of Rosabeth Moss Kanter's previously published books and consider this one to be her most informative, hence most valuable thus far. In it, she focuses on a number of "vanguard" companies and explains how each literally leads the way in terms of demonstrating how" vanguard companies create innovation, profits, growth, and social bond. The "supercorps"include Banco Real, CEMEX, IBM, ICICI Bank, Omron, Procter & Gamble, Publicis Groupe, and Shirshan Bank. All of them have been literally "in the forefront of an action, an example of change to come" in terms of both social purpose and profitable enterprise, not either/or. To a much greater extend than ever before, Kanter provides within her lively narrative reader-friendly check lists that facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of key points later. For example:

Four general forces to which vanguard companies respond (Pages 46-47)
Six advantages created with strategic use of values and principles (58-60)
Five advantages when social purpose is at the forefront (111-113)
Nine tenets of innovation initiatives that make a difference (211-212)
Seven guidelines that summarize vanguard practices (231-232)
"Ten Things That Anyone Can Do to Be in a Vanguard" (259-260)
Five characteristics of vanguard leadership (261-262)

Unlike most other business books whose authors heavily rely on lists of hollow bullet points, Kanter's checklists include detailed annotations. For example, "Relationships: Persuasion and diplomacy" is one of the characteristics of vanguard leadership. Kanter suggests that such a leader "Can communicate, listen, and inspire. Likes to connect, to collaborate, and to find solutions that are good for many people. Can enlist people in projects and motivate volunteers. Is partnership oriented, seeing opportunities to leverage resources by tapping networks. Work as an effective, enthusiastic mentor." However different they may be in most other respects, all of the CEOs of vanguard companies she discusses in this book - Fabio Barbosa (Banco Real), Lorenzo Zambrano (CEMEX), Sam Palmisano (IBM), K.V. Kamath (ICICI Bank), Hisao Sakuta (Omron), A.G. Lafley (Procter & Gamble), and Maurice Lévy (Publicis Groupe) -- possess highly-developed skills for establishing and nourishing relationships within and (especially) beyond their organization. Their effectiveness is explained by ability to see things in context and understand complex interactions between and among many variables. They have a bias for action and are results-driven when seeking solutions for their own organization as well as for the clients it is privileged to serve. They have what Daniel Goleman correctly describes as "emotional intelligence": exceptional self-awareness (of weaknesses as well as strengths), empathy, respect for individuality and principled dissent, and a sincere delight in others' achievements. They are also values-driven, take very seriously their fiduciary responsibilities as a steward of resources, and recognize, indeed embrace a higher calling than merely making money.

In vanguard companies, Kanter points out that competences and capabilities such as these are by no means limited to CEOs or only to executives at the C-level. On the contrary, they are developed in those who occupy positions throughout the enterprise, at all levels and in all areas. Kanter concedes that the vanguard model "turns organizations upside down and inside out. They become less hierarchical and more driven by flexible networks. They become more open and transparent to the outside world while bringing society and its needs inside. As an ideal and an aspiration, the vanguard model attempts to reconcile contradictions: to be big but human, efficient but innovative, respecting individual differences while seeking common ground, global in thinking but concerned about local communities." Given what Kanter characterizes as the "inexorable march of global change," organizations really have no choice but to adopt and then adapt the vanguard business model. The bad news is that that process will be immensely complicated and very, very difficult to complete. The good news is that it can be done, as the exemplary companies in this book clearly indicate.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vital read, August 25, 2009

By	NYC Mom (NYC) - See all my reviews

This is an exceptionally valuable and vital business read. It ties together many heretofore unconnected concepts in useful and usable ways. It makes sense of the past five years and points to a path for the next five.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Corporate Blueprint for Success, October 6, 2009

By	Larry Underwood "Author, 'Life Under the Corp... (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

I haven't been this enthusiastic about a "business book" since reading Paul Herr's Primal Management: Unraveling the Secrets of Human Nature to Drive High Performance several months ago. This time, Dr Rosabeth Moss Kanter took several years, travelled the world conducting hundreds of interviews, and came up with what is essentially a blueprint for any corporation to use to become a "Super Corp". Even Kryptonite won't stop this corporate powerhouse.

What makes Kanter's book so compelling is the emphasis she places on social responsibility; the "vanguard companies" realize that taking care of people (employees, customers & the general public) goes a long way towards taking care of the bottom line. Also, like Paul Herr suggests, it's time to turn the typical hierarchial organization upside down, to create a more responsive and innovative workplace. This tends to improve communication within the organization, while creating a more positive environment for all the employees. The inevitable result: A highly engaged group of employees, with high morale & high productivity.

As we all know, the vast majority of corporate America has not been successful in achieving that sort of environment for quite some time; hence, poor productivity & lousy profitability.

Help is on the way. This book (hopefully) is destined to be widely read, even by the pompous CEOs in corporate America. The case studies of the successful corporations, like IBM & Proctor & Gamble are very real; the blueprints for success are tangible and not difficult to follow. The opportunities for struggling companies to turn things around are attainable, as long as the leadership is willing to accept positive change.

Let's hope they're listening this time around.