Jamie's Blog

Notes on:
Kotter, J. P. (2007). “Leading change: why transformation efforts fail.” Harvard Business Review, January 2007, 96-103

• Transformation efforts go by many names
  • TQM
  • Reengineering
  • Rightsizing
  • Restructuring
  • Cultural change
  • Turnaround
• Key general lessons
  • Change involves series of steps. Do not skip the steps!
  • Mistakes in any phase can have devastating effects
• Errors
  • Lack of urgency
  • No guiding coalition
  • No vision
  • Lack of communication about vision
  • Leaving obstacles for new vision
  • Lack of quick wins
  • Predeclared victory (“Mission Accomplished!”)
  • Lack of anchors for change in culture

Notes on:

Ghosn, C. (2002). “Saving the Business Without Losing the Company.” Harvard Business Review, January 2002, p 37-45.

• Intro
  • Renault Nissan Merger
  • Ghosn natural candidate
    • Cleaned up failed merger with Volvo
  • Nissan unprofitable for 8 yrs
  • “do-or-die situation” (p 38)
  • retain self-esteem of employees
  • Plan
    • involve Nissan’s own managers
    • Cross-functional teams
    • company culture important
    • develop new culture
• Breaking with Tradition
  • Historically, product dev lessened to save money
  • No seniority rule
  • Sometimes younger managers suffer
  • New performance-based compensation
  • historically, loose areas of responsibility
    • positions with no responsibility
• Mobilizing Cross-Functional Teams
  • Dramatic changes
  • Went against some norms of Japanese society
  • Cross-functional teams were primary part of plan
    • Given 3 months to come up with turnaround recommendations
    • Came from company’s middle managers
    • Each CFT had subteams
    • Executive sponsors from different business areas
    • Pilots with frontline experience and credibility with rank and file
    • Challenge to reduce costs by 20%
    • Identified many small changes to reduce costs
    • Nissan Revival Plan, developed by Nissan’s own executives
      • Plan was about braking, and accelerating the company
• The Importance of Respect
  • Uneasy public
  • Employees trusted Ghosn b/c of respect he showed
  • “careful to protect Nissan’s identity and its dignity as a company” (p 44)
  • Renault did not try to renegotiate terms
  • Nissan’s culture more impt than Japanese culture

Notes on

Fischer, B. & Boynton, A. (2005). Harvard Business Review, July-August 2005, p 116-123

• Intro p 117
  • Whiz Kids – saved Ford
  • Seymour Cray – first commercial supercomputer
  • Virtuoso teams – composed of elite experts
  • Unique in ambition, intensity,  esprit, results-driven
  • Risks considered high
  • Default mode = mediocrity
  • V-teams use different rules
  • Examples of v-teams accomplished goals and changed business and industry in process
  • collaboration impt for leaders of v-teams
• Assemble the Stars p 118
  • People who are able are assigned to teams
  • In v-teams, “thinking is more impt than doing” p 119
  • v-team members push each other
  • they love challenge
  • v-teams must be composed of great people
  • Your Show of Shows’ staff greatest comedy staff of all time
    • high-energy contests
    • tension among group members
  • “Nasty tugs-of-war”
• Build the Group Ego p 119
  • Traditional teams are cooperative
  • v-teams are individual-based
  • v-teams transform into powerful team with shared identity later
  • Kjell Sunde assembled best technical people
    • Goal was to understand and prevent Bloc 34
    • Each technologist was confident
    • Sunde celebrated selected v-team
    • gave access to resources
    • Introduced teamwork pattern
    • Split group into half solving problems
    • transformed into “one great totality” p 120
• Make Work a Contact Sport p 120
  • traditional teams distant
  • v-teams need physical contact
  • passionate dialogue impt
  • experimentation/rapid-prototyping
  • pressure-cooker
  • dedicated team room
  • informal atmosphere
  • beware intense pressure vis-a-vis project duration
• Challenging the Customer p 122
  • v-teams believe customers want more
  • West Side Story risky
    • success = vindication
  • Norsk Hydro
    • customers were equity market analysts
    • thoughtful explanations minimized market erosion
• Herd the Cats p 122
• traditional team leaders want consensus and compromize
• v-team leaders must be def and forceful
• cannot constraint expresiveness
• must trust talents
• balance individual attention with demands and timelines of projects
• be a perfectionist
• Robbins pushed the WSS cast
• foster individual and creative freedom
  • contests of ideas
  • exploit time
  • deadline pressure requires focus
• stamp out mediocrity

Notes on:

Moving Mountains. (2003). Motivating People. Harvard Business Review, January 2003, p 41-47.

Interviews with people about how to motivate others.

• “Start with the Truth” (p 42)
  • Carly Fiorina, chairman and CEO of HP
• “Appeal to Greatness” (p 42)
  • Christopher Bangle, BMW global chief of design 
• “Make them Proud” (p 43)
  • Chauncey Veatch, 2002 National Teacher of the Year
• “Stick to your values” (p 43)
  • L.M. Banker, Jr., chairman of Wachovia
• “Be a broken record” (p 44)
  • Robert A. Eckert, chairman and CEO of Mattel
• “Build Trust” (p 44)
  • Susan Butcher, four-time winner of Iditarod
• “Encourage Risk” (p 45)
  • Ross J. Pillari, president of BP America
• “care for the Little Guy” (p 45)
  • Herb Baum, chairman, president, CEO of Dial
• “Ground without grinding” (p 46)
  • Mario Mazzola, chief development officer at Cisco Systems
• “Leap First, Ask Later” (p 46)
  • Robert D. Ballard, director of Univ Rhode Island’s Institute for Underwater Archeology
• “Set Different Incentive Levels” (p 47)
  • Liu Chuanzhi, chairman of Legend Group of Beijing
• “Work Quickly Through Pain” (p 47)
  • Hank McKinnell, chairman and CEO of Pfizer

Notes on:

Kellerman, B. (2007, December). What Every Leader Needs to Know About Followers. Harvard Business Review, December 2007, p 84-91.

• Modern leadership
  • Stress leaders rather than followers (amorphous)
• Followers matter!
  • Not obvious who is leader and who is follower
  • New typology for followers
• Who are followers?
  • “Low in the hierarchy and have less power” (p 86)
  • Free-agents (p 86)
    • Demise of communism
    • Dissolution of corporate oligarchies
  • Knowledge can be more important than position
• Types of followers
  • Zaleznik – level of dominance, level of activity
  • Kelley – level of independence, level of activity
  • Chaleff – level of leader support
  • Why segment?
    • impose order
    • determine individual motivations within group
• New Typology
  • Based on engagement level
    • This determines relationship with superiors
  • Provides immediate information for leaders
  • Isolates – don’t know, don’t care
  • Bystanders – know, but don’t care
  • Participants – some engagement
  • Activists – engagement and feelings for leaders/org
  • Die-hards – prepared to give everything
• Good and Bad Followers
  • Good followers have interests of org over superior
  • Bad followers have interests of self or superior over org