Total Alignment (Paperback)

~ Riaz Khadem & Linda Khadem (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

BUILD A WORLD-CLASS ORGANIZATION

Imagine a business system that alerts leaders and managers to problems long before they become difficult to solve. Or a system that allows all employees, from top to bottom, to fully understand what they are accountable for and gives them tools to do the best job possible. Or a system that aligns vision, strategy, and execution so seamlessly that it reduces confusion and stress, creating a culture of teamwork and high productivity. That is the system depicted in TOTAL ALIGNMENT.

Written in the form of a fast-paced business novel, TOTAL ALIGNMENT presents concepts that have been thoroughly field-tested by authors Riaz Khadem, PhD. and Linda Khadem, J.D. and their colleagues at Infotrac, an international consulting firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. When you achieve Total Alignment, say the authors, you create a strong, highly successful and efficient organization with a culture of empowerment, collaboration, problem-solving, and learning.

About the Author

Riaz Khadem, Ph.D. is an expert in alignment and integration within organizations. He was educated at Harvard and Oxford and is president of Infotrac, a consulting firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. He has advised companies around the world, including Kodak, Coca-Cola, Avery Dennison, Bellsouth and GE Capital Mortgage.

Linda J. Khadem, J.D. is the co-developer of the concepts in Total Alignment, and vice president of Infotrac. She has degrees in sociology and law from the University of Illinois, and Emory University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: Infotrac, Inc; 1st edition (March 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979572207
• ISBN-13: 978-0979572203
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.5 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.com Sales Rank: #1,214,995 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for community library business collections, June 8, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

When something becomes a problem, it has already done an untold amount of damage to one's business. "Total Alignment: Integrating Vision, Strategy, and Execution for Organizational Success" is a guide for business managers to transform their companies into tip top machines, solve problems before they become serious problems, encourage employee responsibility on all levels, and point the company as a whole in the right direction. Written in a fast paced style that avoids the droning style of most business books, "Total Alignment: Integrating Vision, Strategy, and Execution for Organizational Success" is highly recommended for community library business collections and for any manager wanting the best approach possible.

5.0 out of 5 stars How dysfunctional leadership creates and then sustains a dysfunctional organization, May 30, 2008

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

With Linda Khadem, Riaz Khadem offers in this "business novel" (actually a novella) a wealth of practical advice on how to "integrate vision, strategy, and execution for organizational success." Here's the fictional situation: Brian Scott is the CEO of the XCorp Group and encounters a number of serious challenges after the acquisition of TechCorp, especially after its CEO, Peter Bergman (once a friend of Brian's) becomes very unhappy about the acquisition and resigns. "As he left the company, he vowed to take revenge on Brian and to regain the control he felt had been taken from him." In weeks and months to come, pressures increase on Brian to deliver the results he had promised to his board when recommending the acquisition of TechCorp. All manner of problems worsen. Eventually....

Of special interest to me is how effectively Khadem uses The Infoman, a mysterious character who, "several years earlier, had introduced [Brian] to concepts that were key to XCorp's turnaround." He seems to reappear at opportune moments and does so again. Obviously, his relationship with Brian is comparable with Khadem's relationship with his reader: a means by which to provide observations and recommendations concerning various business issues, especially problems. Brian certainly has more than his fair share and must assume at least some of the blame because there are lessons he needs to learn if he is to salvage his career. With due respect to the value of The Infoman'sinsights, as well as Khadem's for that matter, Brian personifies the executive who must proceed through a process of self-discovery, what Warren Bennis and Bill George (among others) characterize as a "crucible" of personal experience, before he can adjust his thinking and modify his behavior. Only then can his values, ambitions, and initiatives be in "total" (or at least close) alignment with his obligations to others with whom he is involved.

The material is carefully organized within three Parts: In Chapters 1-4, the focus is on the need for alignment, measuring the vision, what a "strategy tree" is how best to use one, and inclusion of accountability in any plan for action; in Chapters 5-11, the focus shifts to a system for alignment, effective use of information, metrics for competency, the complexities of culture, evaluating team performance, use of a "vertical review," and guidelines for compensation; then in Chapters 12 and 13, narrative concludes with Brian's return to the XCorp Group.

My guess (only a guess) is that the material in this book will be of greatest value to those who have only recently been promoted to what Scott Eblin describes as "the next level" for executives, one that requires courage and confidence to let go of some of the beliefs that brought them there. Peak performance at that level demands that they identify and rely on the characteristics that describe them at their best. "Knowing what to do is important, but knowing how you are at your best and creating the conditions to perform from that state are more important...Operating from that base of confidence in yourself will enable you to have the clarity of thought needed to make smart strategic choices about what you need to pick up - and what you must let go - as you advance into the unchartered terrain of the next level of your career." That is precisely the process of self-discovery to which I referred earlier.

Those who share my regard for this book are urged to check out Khadem's previously published One Page Management. Also Patrick Lencioni's three "leadership fables" (i.e. The Five Temptations of a CEO, Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars, and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive) as well as James O'Toole's The Executive's Compass, Ram Charan's Know-How, Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis' Judgment, Bill George's Authentic Leadership, Scott Eblin's The Next Level, and Ron Heifetz's Leadership Without Easy Answers and Leadership on the Line co-authored with Martin Linsky.