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The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things [Hardcover]

George Labovitz (Author), Victor Rosansky (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Misaligned companies, like cars out of alignment, can develop serious problems if not corrected quickly. They are hard to steer and don't respond well to changes in direction. This groundbreaking book shows you how to get —and keep —all the vital elements of your organization aligned and headed in the same direction at the same time.

Managers must now keep their people centered in the midst of change, deemphasize hierarchy, and distribute leadership by distributing authority, information, knowledge, and customer data throughout their organization. Alignment is a response to the new business reality where customer requirements are in flux, where competitive forces are turbulent, and where the bond of loyalty between an organization and its people has been weakened. The old linear approach to management has given way to one of simultaneity —to alignment.

As pioneers of the alignment concept, the authors have developed this unique approach based on their work with leading companies throughout the world. The Power of Alignment is packed with war stories and the firsthand perspectives of industry leaders. You'll learn how world-class organizations, including Federal Express, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Columbia/HCA Healthcare, Citizens Utilities, AirTouch, and UNUM achieved extraordinary business results. Now, through the authors' expertise, you'll see how alignment can work for your organization.

In essence, alignment links the five key elements of an organization —people, process, customers, business strategies, and, of course, leadership —to obtain breakthrough results, chief among them, sustained growth and profit, loyal customers, and a high-performing work force. The Power of Alignment:

  • Offers a clear framework for aligning and linking the crucial elements that build and sustain a company's success
  • Provides self-assessment tools as well as benchmarking measures for evaluating an organization's critical competencies
  • Enables managers to create a work force where each employee can relate his or her activities to the goals and strategic objectives of the company
  • Helps a company determine when and where it is out of alignment, and gives descriptions of such common company pathologies as "The Phantom Limb Syndrome," "Strategy Interruptus," and "Dead Man Walking"
  • Prescribes specific steps for getting an organization back on track toward a single, shared vision of its goals

Essential reading for all managers and executives, The Power of Alignment offers a new way to reestablish focus and sustained energy, and is a dynamic approach for staying balanced and achieving extraordinary levels of performance.

"This book is savvy, detailed, timely, and clearly written. I highly recommend it for any leader facing the challenges posed by global business today." — Dana Mead Chairman and CEO, Tenneco Former Chairman National Association of Manufacturers

"It's not only the stars that have to be in alignment to reach your destination, it's all the internal processes, rewards, and drivers. Read The Power of Alignment, and while you may not unlock the secrets of the universe, you will overcome the barriers to corporate success." — William L. Boyan President and COO John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.

"This important book goes beyond TQM and reengineering by creating a new approach called Alignment. The authors show that great companies manage to link strategy and people and integrate customer needs with continuous improvement processes." — Peter Augustsson President and Group Chief Executive AB SKF.

"The Power of Alignment gets to the heart of a critical element of organizational leadership, namely focus. Every leader who reads it will undoubtedly do some serious soul-searching about the consistency of corporate vision, goals, management systems, and incentive mechanisms." — Louis E. Lataif Dean Boston University School of Management.

"Alignment has been a key ingredient in Fluor Daniel's ability to identify and deliver services that meet our customers' value requirements." — Les McCraw Chairman and CEO Fluor Corporation

From the Publisher

Presents a breakthrough concept in clear and applicable terms, with an abundance of perspectives and examples from the field. The authors detail how to use alignment to simultaneously link the elements core to your business in a much more focused way and revitalize your organization's strategy, operations, and results. ODI has identified 5 key elements that exist in every company and provides a specific framework for refining and linking these elements for organizational growth and sustained success. Enables managers and their reports to understand their role in the organization on a personal level, because the strength of this approach lies with the individual and the ability to create a single voice within the organization.
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (May 19, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0471177903
  • ISBN-13: 978-0471177906
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #139,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

George H. Labovitz
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
"The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing!" Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
alignment diagnostic profile, total customer focus, critical success indicators, employee satisfaction index, target excellence, distributed leadership, horizontal alignment, customer voice, operating effectiveness, vertical alignment, stretch goals
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aligning Activities, Ships Passing, Staying Centered, Fred Smith, Jim Orr, Citizens Utilities, Fluor Daniel, Lee Cox, Baldrige Award, Federal Express, Wall Street, Alignment Diagnostic Profile, Dennis O'Leary, Sam Walton, General Motors, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southwest Airlines, Genoa Shepley, Jim Barksdale, Organizational Dynamics
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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This book cites 6 books:
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things
97% buy the item featured on this page:
The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things by George Labovitz Hardcover 4.7 out of 5 stars (13)
$23.10
Total Alignment
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Total Alignment by Riaz Khadem & Linda Khadem Paperback 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems
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Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems by Barry Johnson Paperback 4.4 out of 5 stars (10)
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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful information for all business leaders., February 9, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things (Hardcover)
The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things by George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky, ***** What follows is an excerpt of an article written by Steve Gibbons of The Principal Financial Group for the National AQP periodical: "The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing!" We've heard it before and it makes sense. But, in today's busy world where the leader's job looks more like a juggling act - it's hard enough identifying the main thing, let alone keeping it the main thing. Well, help is out there in form of an insightful, well-written book by George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky - The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things. This book cuts through the consultantese and helps the reader understand alignment and why it is critical to organizational success in a straightforward easy to understand manner. The first things I discovered in reading the book was how freely the authors share good usable information. The book is full of best practices you can read one day and put to use the next. For every concept they share - there's an anecdote to illustrate it and specific practices or tools to effectively implement the concept. The book's premise is based on the belief that for a business to be successful it must, "align the four essential elements that together create growth and profits: strategy, customers, people, and processes." It is only through an approach that aligns all four elements that organizations achieve long term success. The authors lay out the fundamentals of alignment, how it's created and maintained, and creating a self-aligning organization. Favorite new terms: Vertical alignment - Vertical alignment brings together the strategy of the organization and its people, allowing them to take effective action. How many times have we heard about a wonderful strategy that failed because it was never effectively deployed? The authors believe, "When strategy is created with the involvement of employees and customers and deployed rapidly and well, it releases the untapped energy of employees and aligns activities and intentions." Horizontal alignment - Horizontal alignment is about the connection between customers and the organization's processes. To be a successful market driven company, it is critical to understand customer needs and expectations and align processes accordingly. The authors state, "...horizontal alignment infuses the concerns of customers into everything the organization does. Horizontal alignment links the company's actions with customer needs in ways that delight and create loyalty." The message from this book I'll remember 10 years from now: "The activities and behaviors of people at every level must be aligned with the main thing." Organizations must understand what the main thing is that drives success and focus on it. Lack of focus creates an organization that wanders, employees that aren't focused and ultimately unhappy customers. Favorite quote from this book: "Strategy is often like desert rain. Before the raindrops hit the desert floor, they evaporate, creating little or no effect below." It's not about creating a wonderfully worded strategy and assuming people will understand and embrace it- it's about deployment and hard work. Second favorite quote: "Horizontally aligned companies use the customer voice as a beacon and a driver for the way the company thinks, works and is managed." The customer as a beacon guiding our actions rather than always right - what a refreshing thought. Advice for Leaders: "Distributed leadership is the glue of alignment." Leadership must be distributed throughout the organization and at every level. It is created when people are both empowered to act and have the knowledge to take the right actions. So, how do we create distributed leadership? Sure enough, the authors share the following handy guide: * Keep people continually connected to the environment in which they operate. * Help people think holistically. * Keep people connected to the main thing of the larger business. * Reward and recognize people for working toward the main thing. * Use the review process to carry the message to employees. * Create opportunities to interact. Special Feature: The appendices are wonderful. They're full of tools and ideas that illustrate key points in the book and guide the reader's learning. They include an alignment diagnostic profile instrument, dynamics of the self-aligning organization, chairman's review questions, a customer focus audit, and more. The appendices alone may well be worth the price of the book. The Power of Alignment, is a must read. It's well written and loaded with examples and tools that can be put to work immediately. Every leader should be armed with the information is this book. The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky, 1997, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., NY, NY, ISBN 0-471-17790-3,
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A framework for understanding how to run a business, January 1, 2001
This review is from: The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things (Hardcover)
After reading this book you will a have a greater understanding of how you s-h-o-u-l-d run your business. It does not go into proper detail on how to do this (they only supply you with a limited framework - the rest you have buy directly from them. Their theory is a framework in which you can put all other management theories and practices. So if you feel lost in the world of ever growing management practices, this book will make you more comfortable!

They use a pilot's cockpit view as a metaphor for describing their theory and practice. Once in balance, the plane is aligned vertically and horizontally with the runway during approach. It is in center. The center is the main thing. Your focus. There are four elements in this model: Strategy, customers, people and processes. You must strive for aligning the strategy with your people (vertical), and your internal processes with your customers (horizontal). In other words, the people that work for you must understand what they are about to encounter so that they can make the product that customers want, thus altering processes along the way. Using this model you can easily see what elements are misaligned. The authors gives you several pathologies on misalignments. The model can also be used separately in each department, division, project, and so on.

They also let you in a little bit on the secrets of how to do this by telling you about critical success indicator and stretch goals, and how you must plan actions, etc. In my opinion, not to adequate for businesses in the high turbulence area.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, January 4, 2000
This review is from: The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things (Hardcover)
As a university professor and consultant, I have read a lot of material on strategic planning. This book is one of the best. It is all about getting focused and centered as an organization. It goes beyond the theory and gives practical advice on just how to do that. I am considering making it required reading for my graduate students.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic, But Fine For A Quick Refresher
This book is dated and probably not worth your time but if for nothing more than a refresher, it's also not terrible. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Jay Friedman

5.0 out of 5 stars As significant today as it was when first published
After reviewing several books on Strategic Execution, I was continuously left with the feeling that the authors had ommitted a key ingredient. Read more
Published on August 25, 2007 by Ian D. Campbell

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is a Great Resource!
I'm always looking for visual ways of understanding critical elements of strategy. The Power of Alignment offers a very helpful way of thinking about four important ingredients in... Read more
Published on July 10, 2007 by Mark C. Howell

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Sure That Everything You Do Points To Success !
Great book! The basic premise is that once a business has a raison d'etre, or a 'main thing', that profits are maximized by the alignment of four key business areas: Strategy,... Read more
Published on May 3, 2006 by R. Peter Valentine

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Organizational Focus
Quite simply, this book was one of the best business management and leadership books I have ever read. Read more
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4.0 out of 5 stars Alignment is Key Essential Usually Overlooked
I found this book easy reading, concise, and presented it's basic premise well with specific examples and good suggestions for creation and implementation. Read more
Published on July 13, 2001 by Theodore D Mills

5.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered
The book was required reading in one of my graduate management classes. I found the information immediately usefull and am presently integrating much of the material into my... Read more
Published on June 20, 2001 by Richard G. Ayala

5.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered
The book was required reading in one of my graduate management classes. I found the information immediately usefull and am presently integrating much of the material into my... Read more
Published on June 20, 2001 by Richard G. Ayala

5.0 out of 5 stars no nonsense theory
This is the best book that I have ever seen about how's a company staying centered. I think this is the essence of business for any firms in order to survive. Read more
Published on April 9, 2000 by zonesala

5.0 out of 5 stars no nonsense theory
This is the best book that I have ever seen about how's a company staying centered. I think this is the essence of business for any firms in order to survive. Read more
Published on April 9, 2000 by zonesala

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