Building the Awesome Organization: Six Essential Components that Drive Business Growth (Paperback)

~ (Author), Jana B. Matthews (Author), Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Lead (Author) "Typically a business doesn't move in a straight line; there are lots of turns in the road, lots of unexpected obstacles that you come up..." (more)
Key Phrases: awesome organization, indicate considerable strength, awesome employees, Overview Quiz, Establish Your Infrastructure, The Catlin Group (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Building the Awesome Organization discusses the eight components of an awesome organization. This book will help you to realize the core competencies for growth. It describes the processes, policies and systems that support growth. Find out how to attract and retain awesome peoplea and develop an environment that motivates and empowers people to achieve extraordinary results. Explore the responsibilities of the leader and the expectations others have of the role that the leader of an entrepreneurial company will play.

From the Inside Flap

"One of the most practical guides to the nuts and bolts of building an organization that I have ever read." —Patrick Lencioni, Author of The Five Temptations of a CEO An awesome organization is what every business aspires to be: profitable, growth-oriented—the kind of company where the most talented people want to work. But how do you build an awesome organization? This book provides the answers. Drawing on the resources of the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and more than 500 successful entrepreneurs, authors Katherine Catlin and Jana Matthews explain how to assess the overall health of your company with an overview quiz. Then, they detail the six components you need to develop in order to create an awesome organization— and show you, step-by-step, how to implement them in your company. You'll find out how to:

Develop an innovative culture for growth—an empowering, motivating environment that attracts awesome people

Hire and retain awesome people whose know-how, skills, insight, imagination, and ideas give your company a competitive edge

Create your plan for growth—a written, yet flexible, blueprint that defines requirements for growth and innovation

Prime your top team for growth by making sure they all share the company vision and understand their leadership roles

Establish your infrastructure for growth with the right organizational structure and three key sets of processes

Become the awesome leader of growth by communicating a sense of purpose and aligning people with the mission, vision, and valuesComplete with detailed SCANs (quizzes) to help you benchmark your company's performance and real-life stories of what successful CEOs did to build their companies, as well as action plans and lists of "Red Flags" and "Vital Signs," Building the Awesome Organization is your indispensable road map for entrepreneurial growth.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (February 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076455400X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764554001
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #572,972 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner, May 27, 2002

By	Terry Gold (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Building the Awesome Organization is the second in a series from Katherine Catlin and Jana Matthews. The authors understand that finding the right people and treating them right is the key to business success. This book isn't full of theory and platitudes - it has concrete steps to grow a healthy company.

So you've survived the start-up phase and now you find yourself in the position of "leader". Ever wonder if you're cut out for it? Ever wonder if you know what you're supposed to do? Page 220 has the answer.

The book has an interesting format. Lessons are built around stories from real entrepreneurs and leaders. Most chapters have surveys that can be used to gauge your organization's health and your progress as a leader. This won't be a book that you read and then put away - it is more of a guide that you'll refer to as you grow your company.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Needed now more than ever!, March 8, 2002

By A Customer

We are now working our way out of a recession brought on in part by new economy companies who strayed as far as possible away from the fundamentals needed to create a profitable business. This is perfect timing for a book that should serve as the bible for anyone who wants to build a truly great organization that will stand the test of time...and of profitability. A simple and quick read, this book covers the stuff that entrepreneurs ignore at their own peril, such as the vital importance of culture, the value of making planning more than just an exercise in numbers, and how focusing on your infrastructure can make it easier to get the real work done. Catlin and Matthews have done entrepreneurs everywhere a huge service with this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars the encyclopedia of organization building , August 24, 2006

By	Daniel Ginensky (Bet Shemesh Israel) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book contains some very useful information. For example, I found the chapter on developing processes (Chapter 8) very insightful. However, the book includes over a dozen suggested actions per page, over 5,000 in the book. This book is not a program in any meaningful sense, because there is just too much of it.

To illustrate this point, here are the verbs from a single page chosen at random (page 91):

develop a mentoring program...,
encourage employees...,
hold mentors accountable...
enable people...
encourage everyone...
discuss questions...
provide opportunities...
develop ways to...
hold coaching sessions...
provide feedback...
help them set goals...
encourage them to...
understand the goals...
provide coaching to...
learn new skills,...
eliminate bad habits...
change their roles...
stay balanced...
etc...

It's the same with all the other pages, all 245 of them. Bear in mind this book only deals with organization building, and doesn't even touch on marketing, operations, finance, etc. The essence of leading a business is setting priorities, and that is entirely missing from this book.