Designing Dynamic Organizations: A Hands-On Guide for Leaders at All Levels a Hands-On Guide for Leaders at All Levels


Jay Galbraith - 2001
    This eye-opening book shows business leaders at all levels how to examine their choices by leading them systematically through these fundamental questions:* Should we restructure to meet our strategic goals?* What are the best structural options to achieve our success?* What lateral processes are necessary to support the new structure?* How do we staff the restructured organization to optimize results?Based on Galbraith's world-renowned approach, this guide includes examples and worksheets that pilot readers through the essential steps of organizational design.

A CEO Only Does Three Things: Finding Your Focus in the C-Suite


Trey Taylor - 2020
    Many owners and CEOs think they have to be involved in every aspect of their business. They spend valuable brainpower on low-priority decisions. Before long, they're overworked and burned out.Instead of doing everything, it's time to focus on the right things.A CEO Only Does Three Things zeroes in on the three pillars of business: culture, people, and numbers. Steeped in twenty-plus years of practical knowledge, training, and consulting with some of the world's largest companies, this indispensable guide shows how to articulate the right culture for your business, hire people with the right mindsets, and inspire your teams to produce optimal results.Hundreds of CEOs have used Taylor's methods to create fulfilled, efficient, professional lives, and you can join them. Learn how to focus on the work you love-and avoid CEO burnout.

The Connected Company


Dave Gray - 2012
    When your customers are delighted, they can amplify your message in ways that were never before possible. But when your company’s performance runs short of what you’ve promised, customers can seize control of your brand message, spreading their disappointment and frustration faster than you can keep up.To keep pace with today’s connected customers, your company must become a connected company. That means deeply engaging with workers, partners, and customers, changing how work is done, how you measure success, and how performance is rewarded. It requires a new way of thinking about your company: less like a machine to be controlled, and more like a complex, dynamic system that can learn and adapt over time.Connected companies have the advantage, because they learn and move faster than their competitors. While others work in isolation, they link into rich networks of possibility and expand their influence.Connected companies around the world are aggressively acquiring customers and disrupting the competition. In The Connected Company, we examine what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and why it works. And we show you how your company can use the same principles to adapt—and thrive—in today’s ever-changing global marketplace.

HBR's 10 Must Reads 2017: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (with bonus article “What Is Disruptive Innovation?”) (HBR’s 10 Must Reads)


Harvard Business Review - 2016
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Ownership Thinking: How to End Entitlement and Create a Culture of Accountability, Purpose, and Profit


Brad Hams - 2011
    It's infecting the very roots of business performance, and it's spreading fast. It isn't the recession, market volatility, scandal, or greed. It's entitlement.And it may be killing your business. In myriad ways, entitlement has been cultivated for decades. As a result, too many employees today believe that they are entitled to a paycheck simply because they show up. Brad Hams has proven that we are not doomed to a path of entitlement and dependence. After more than 15 years working with hundreds of companies, he knows that the vast majority of employees addicted to entitlement actually want to engage, want to contribute, and feel much better about themselves when they are in an environment that requires them to do so.Now, with Ownership Thinking, Hams shares his strategy that will increase your company's productivity, employee retention, and profitability:The Right Education: Teach employees the fundamentals of business and finance, how their company makes money, and how they add--or take away--value.The Right Measures: Identify the organization's Key Performance Indicators and teach employees to forecast results in an environment of high visibility and accountability.The Right Incentives: Create incentive plans that are self-funding and clearly align employees' behavior to the organization's business and financial objectives.Your employees will learn to think and act like owners and will become active participants in the financial performance of the business. They will gain the self-esteem that is only possible through achievement and will reap rewards that are in alignment with the success of their organization. Meanwhile, you will enjoy your role more, sleep better at night, and leave a legacy that is far more inspiring and significant than you dreamed possible.Praise for Ownership Thinking"You would have to read a dozen other books to even come close to Ownership Thinking--a systematic and practical process for getting your employees to give that extra effort and brain power we know they possess."--Verne Harnish, CEO, Gazelles; author, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits"Brad Hams tells it like it truly is: transparency creates trust; trust creates engagement; engagement creates a healthy enterprise. This thoughtful and practical book shows you how to achieve all of these things and more."--Chip Conley, founder and executive chair, Joie de Vivre; author, Peak"Comprehensive and marvelously clear, Ownership Thinking's techniques for creating change are focused, direct, and motivating. This is a wise book, unusually useful, and I recommend it most highly."--Judith M. Bardwick, Ph.D., author, Danger in the Comfort Zone and The Psychological Recession"Brad Hams is one of the most persuasive and creative thinkers I know. His book is a specific guide you can (and should) implement now."--Corey Rosen, founder, National Center for Employee Ownership"Hams is masterful at outlining the engagement practices that inspire people to care and to be deeply vested in business results."--Jim Haudan, CEO, Root Learning; author, The Art of Engagement"Hams' book is like a candid conversation with a wise friend. . . . A 'must read' for any business leader wanting to create a culture of ownership."--Dean Schroeder, author, Ideas Are Free

The Diary of a West Point Cadet: A Graduate's Captivating and Hilarious Stories that Teach Vital Leadership Lessons from the US Military Academy


Preston Pysh - 2010
    Many leadership books can be boring. Instead of reading another repetitive book about 100 leadership essentials by a corporate CEO, search no more for the perfect leadership book. In "The Diary of a West Point Cadet," by Captain Preston Pysh, the author teaches essential West Point leadership through the most fun and unique reading of any book in its class. If you are an aspiring cadet, a small-group leader, or even an emerging leader in corporate America, this book is for you. Each intriguing firsthand account of Preston's most memorable stories from attending West Point will capture your interest and imagination. At the conclusion of each gripping story, Preston efficiently summarizes how the experience taught him lessons about leadership, which later prepared him to be a combat commander. If you like twists and turns while reading and learning, you are in for a treat. Prepare to be glued to your seat and the text as you experience unforgettable stories and lessons from "The Point."

Man Up: How to Cut the Bullshit and Kick Ass in Business (and in Life)


Bedros Keuilian - 2018
    . ." "There's no way . . ." "It's impossible . . ." Enough. Get off your ass make your "someday" goals a priority—today. After years of coaching and consulting hundreds of startup rookies as well as seasoned entrepreneurs, executives, and CEOs, Bedros Keuilian realized that most people who want to start a business, grow an existing business, author a book, make more money, or make a bigger impact usually take the long, slow, painful way to get there . . . and more than 80 percent of entrepreneurs never get to their desired destination or achieve their full potential in business. They treat their dream as if it were merely a hobby and dip their toes in the water, but they never commit to diving in—you get the idea. It's time to cut the bullshit excuses. Everyone has a gift, a purpose. It's your duty to figure out what your gift is and how you're going to share it with the world. Man Up: How to Cut the Bullshit and Kick Ass in Business (and in Life) is your guide to doing exactly that. Keuilian, founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp and known as the "hidden genius" behind many of the most successful brands and businesses throughout multiple industries, will show you how to break out of the sea of mediocrity, get singularly focused on your purpose, and do what it takes—not only to achieve but dominate your goals. With Keuilian's no-nonsense approach in both business and personal spheres, you'll be able to define your purpose and have clarity of vision—and a plan—to make the quantum leap. Whether it's creating and growing a company, leaving a legacy, making a difference, or launching a new brand, you will discover how to use your passion, purpose, and sheer grit to overcome any adversity that attempts to derail your progress. If there's an area of your life in which you need to man up, this book will get you there.

Organization Change: Theory and Practice


W. Warner Burke - 2002
    As the title indicates this book combines theory and practice making clear how effective organization change, that is, application is grounded in sound knowledge about human behavior in the workplace.

Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results


Victor Prince - 2015
    In doing so, these otherwise well-intentioned leaders are working harder than they should while not getting all they could out of their teams.Lead Inside the Box gives leaders a way to get the best out of their teams by focusing their energy where it will make the biggest difference. It teaches leaders how to:Figure out where they are currently investing their time and energy across their teamsIdentify the unique leadership needs of each team memberMake smarter decisions about how and where to invest their time and energy to get the best results out of everyoneThrough simple frameworks brought to life with stories from the trenches, leaders will be able to see their own teams--and themselves--from a new perspective. Paradoxically these methods will enable leaders to improve their team's performance exponentially while expending half the effort.

Surfing the Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business


Richard Tanner Pascale - 2000
    It offers a bold new way of thinking about and responding to the personal and strategic challenges everyone in business faces these days.

HYPERGROWTH: How the Customer-Driven Model Is Revolutionizing the Way Businesses Build Products, Teams, & Brands


David Cancel - 2017
    The key to achieving HYPERGROWTH is being customer-driven. So if you’re ready to start putting your customers first, keep reading... What You’ll Learn: A New Approach to Product Management and Developing SaaS Products People Love Today, there’s no excuse for not communicating with customers on a daily basis. Messaging has exploded, new generations are focused on 1:1 communication by default, and artificial intelligence is finally coming so we can deliver 1:1 at scale. So why would you build a product, or a company, without leaning into the advantages of that ecosystem? In his new book, HYPERGROWTH, serial entrepreneur and Drift co-founder/CEO David Cancel shares a modern approach for building products and structuring teams that makes customer communication a central priority. The book tells the story of how Cancel’s customer-driven approach started out as a test with a product team (Performable), transformed an entire organization (HubSpot), and sparked a new movement (Drift). What’s Inside: Practical Advice and Frameworks for Becoming Customer-Driven and Growing Your Business Responsive Development (RD): a new approach to building products that adds the customer back into the equation The Burndown Framework: a framework for implementing Responsive Development that’s faster and more flexible than Agile. The Three-Person Team: the customer-driven way to structure engineering teams. Each team consists of a tech lead who manages two other engineers. Getting Rid of Roadmaps: through building a culture of transparency and accountability and working closely with internal customers, you can release product updates more rapidly and iteratively. The Spotlight Framework: a framework for helping you focus on the right parts of customer feedback so you can take the appropriate next steps. The framework breaks feedback down into three main categories: user experience issues, product marketing issues, and positioning issues. Who This Book Is For: Entrepreneurs, Startup Founders, Product Managers, Product Teams, Marketing Teams … Entire Companies! Every part of your business can benefit from being customer-driven. With the rise of SaaS and the on-demand economy, customer expectations have changed. Customers expect their voices to be heard. They find value in being part of a community, and being part of that journey of creating the product. So stop running your business like we’re still living in the 2000s. It’s time to take a customer-driven approach. Here’s what people are saying about the book: “David Cancel is one of the best when it comes to building products that customers love. And now he’s sharing his wisdom and writing the book explaining how he does it. This is a must read for any entrepreneur or business owner.” -MARK ROBERGE Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School, Former SVP of Sale and Services at HubSpot ”When it comes to building business software, there’s no one better than David Cancel, and I saw fi

The 24-Carrot Manager


Adrian Gostick - 2002
    Providing strategies and solutions for the managers of today, this book offers answers for improving employee commitment and profitability by strategically acknowledging employee effort. How is it done? The deceptively simply answer: with carrots.

Do Better Work: Finding Clarity, Camaraderie, and Progress in Work and Life


Max Yoder - 2019
     Share before you’re ready. Get more agreements. Have difficult conversations. These are a few of the practical but profound ideas Lessonly CEO Max Yoder shares in Do Better Work. No matter your rank or role, if you want to see more understanding, accountability, and progress on your team, these stories and examples are for you. Praise for Do Better Work: “Devastatingly effective, and a must-read for business leaders with a soul. Do Better Work is the modern manual for how to align company success and personal growth.” Jay Baer, New York Times bestselling author of Youtility and co-author of Talk Triggers “The best books pop lightbulbs over our heads that feel so obvious we wonder why we didn't realize them all along. This book does that. An essential read for any 21st-century leader." Coco Brown, CEO and founder of The Athena Alliance “Our world needs a style of leadership that puts people at the center, and I can think of no better guide than the lessons contained in this book.” Scott Dorsey, former CEO of ExactTarget/Salesforce Marketing Cloud “Practical advice with a soul and a deep understanding of how humans connect and work together.” Nataly Kogan, founder of Happier @ Work and author of Happier Now

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations


Ori Brafman - 2006
    But if you cut off a starfish’s leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.What’s the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and women’s rights movements? What fundamental choice put General Motors and Toyota on vastly different paths? How could winning a Supreme Court case be the biggest mistake MGM could have made?After five years of ground-breaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom share some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely connections. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships.The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed). It reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Intuit to the US government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. The book explores:* How the Apaches fended off the powerful Spanish army for 200 years* The power of a simple circle* The importance of catalysts who have an uncanny ability to bring people together * How the Internet has become a breeding ground for leaderless organizations* How Alcoholics Anonymous has reached untold millions with only a shared ideology and without a leaderThe Starfish and the Spider is the rare book that will change how you understand the world around you.

Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness


Frederic Laloux - 2014
    Deep inside, we sense that more is possible. We long for soulful workplaces, for authenticity, community, passion, and purpose.In this groundbreaking book, the author shows that every time, in the past, when humanity has shifted to a new stage of consciousness, it has achieved extraordinary breakthroughs in collaboration. A new shift in consciousness is currently underway. Could it help us invent a more soulful and purposeful way to run our businesses and nonprofits, schools and hospitals?A few pioneers have already cracked the code and they show us, in practical detail, how it can be done. Leaders, founders, coaches, and consultants will find this work a joyful handbook, full of insights, examples, and inspiring stories.ADVANCE PRAISE"Congratulations on a spectacular treatise! This is truly pioneering work. In terms of integral sophistication, there is simply nothing like it out there."--Ken Wilber, from the Foreword"The most exciting book I've read in years on organization design and leadership models."--Jenny Wade, Ph.D., Author of Changes of Mind"A book like Reinventing Organizations only comes along once in a decade. Sweeping and brilliant in scope, it is the Good To Great for a more enlightened age. What it reveals about the organizational model of the future is exhilarating and deeply hopeful."--Norman Wolfe, Author of The Living Organization"A comprehensive, highly practical account of the emergent worldview in business. Everything you need to know about building a new paradigm organization!"--Richard Barrett, Chairman and Founder, Barrett Values Center"Frederic Laloux has done business people and professionals everywhere a signal service. He has discovered a better future for organizations by describing, in useful detail, the unusual best practices of today."--Bill Torbert, Author of Action Inquiry"As the rate of change escalates exponentially, the old ways of organizing and educating, which were designed for efficiency and repetition, are dying. Frederic Laloux is one of the few management leaders exploring what comes next. It's deeply different."--Bill Drayton, Founder, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public