Big Ideas to Big Results: Remake and Recharge Your Company, Fast

by Michael T. Kanazawa and Robert H. Miles

Book Overview

Today, your business has immense new opportunities to disrupt markets and delight customers. But truly impactful innovation and business transformation is as brutally difficult as ever. In BIG Idea to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0132344785
• ISBN13: 9780132344784
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: FT Press
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Practical Advice for Business Alignment

This book had a unique attraction for me, since I worked with Mike and Bob on one of the transformations they discuss in the book (it was called "Taking Charge" and is referred to at various points throughout the book, but specifically summarized on page 118 & 119). Mike and Bob have worked together on a number of corporate transformations, and they share their experiences to help us minimize the chances that we'll run the "typical" course: some lame, corporate feelgood program that achieves nothing. I've been there and it is not a fun fate. Beware of zombies The authors do a nice job of keeping things interesting by telling colorful stories to illustrate their points. One I enjoyed is Michael Kanazawa's discussion of "Zombie Projects" which he encountered, ironically, while working in the same area as Dilbert's creator Scott Adams. "Zombie projects" are those projects that refuse to admit they're dead - which means they suck resources and motivation from the rest of the organization, causing "drag" on the business. The authors discuss the reasons these projects are allowed to exist and most of the book deals with how to ferret out and get rid of these kinds of useless activities. Set the right drumbeat Another interesting topic covered in the book deals with how leaders can make or break their team's success through the "drumbeat" they establish. Examples of leaders who to force too much "sense of urgency," which often has the opposite effect; rather than getting people to work harder or faster, their "urgency" shuts down debate and makes people feel anxious or frustrated. They offer some powerful tips for how to manage your team's "sense of time" so that people use their times productively, without panic, and without feeling like they'll slow down progress by injecting their opinions or challenging things that are happening. Engage the masses One of the things that comes out strongly in the book (and one of the most memorable aspects of the Taking Charge project I was part of) is that the authors have developed a true methodology for engaging people across a company and focusing them on a specific set of outcomes. Their construct called "Tablework" is a big part of encouraging innovative thinking and microcollaboration among small teams, which is then reconnected back into the company's larger objectives. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of their approach is the drive to create "leaders at all levels" - crucial in creating a self-sustaining, effective business that can scale. A big part of that is letting people throughout the organization own various aspects of strategy and execution - and holding them accountable. But one other vital aspect of this is making sure people feel recognized for their part in the company's success, and helping them discern the difference between things they must do and things they must strive for. They present the latter using a concept I really love - the distinction between "promises" (absolute goal

Launch, Execute, and Renew - Time Tested Wisdom On Organizational Transformation

Today's global competitive landscape is characterized by speed-of-change and increasing complexity. Organizations to survive must adapt or die. Authors Michael Kanazawa and Robert Miles, PH.D., in "Big Ideas to Big Results," have given us a proven, scripted game plan for managing an organization through a needed transformation or a shift its strategic direction. In the book, Kanazawa contributes a blend of operating and consulting experience from Silicon Valley start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, while Miles adds his academic (Yale and Harvard) and consulting experience as a thought and practice leader in the fields of corporate transformation and executive leadership. The book is the result of the authors' collaboration in the development of ACT, Accelerated Corporate Transformation, a streamlined approach ("Launch, Execution, and Renewal") to transformation. The program centers on the development of the "big idea," the clarification of strategy for clear communication, the identification of "Quick Start" initiatives to build momentum, the development of checkpoints allowing for accountability and adjustments, and a "Renew" phase to stretch an organization beyond its initial one-year timeline. "Big Ideas to Big Results" offers an integrated approach including elements often ignored when using common reengineering tools - TQM, Six Sigma, Process Reengineering, et al - that result in over-engineering and gridlock: * The reality of the current business environment * Focus on THE few, critical priorities * Alignment of the entire organization into a single set of initiatives * Engagement of the full organization which becomes responsible for the translation of the initiatives into operational tactics and job-level objectives * Rigorous follow-through providing for feedback * Leadership development at all levels "Big Ideas to Big Results" was written for all managers of organizations who must address the demands of a global economy, demands that require constant re-invention and transformation. The book includes a framework any one can follow, cases, and, most importantly, the time-tested wisdom of the authors.

"Vision without execution is hallucination." (Thomas Edison)

First some background. More than 25 years ago, C-level executives from major corporations (individuals as well as members of a management team) gathered for two weeks at the Harvard Business School, met with members of its faculty, and helped each other to formulate a game plan to respond effectively to their respective organization's most formidable business challenge. Within a year, they reconvened to share what happened, after the game plan had been implemented. What worked? What didn't? Why? How could the game plan be improved? During the years that followed, as other C-level executives convened at Harvard, "a clear pattern emerged. The biggest and most common problem facing executives was in leading different types of corporate transformations. They had trouble getting their organizations to execute on their stated strategies quickly." Co-author Robert H. Miles, who chaired the Harvard. "Managing Organizational Effectiveness" Program, distilled a wealth of real-world information and began to devise what he eventually called the Accelerated Corporate Transformation, or ACT process." What we have in this single volume is a rigorous and comprehensive explanation of what the ACT process is...and isn't. Co-authors Michael Kanazawa and Miles briefly examine the typical stages of a cycle of failure, then shift their attention to the ten stages of a business success cycle and devote a separate chapter to each, providing at its conclusion a checklist of "Tips" that summarize key points. Keep in mind that ACT is a process rather than a project, best viewed as a journey rather than a destination. However, for a variety of compelling reasons that Kanazawa and Miles acknowledge, ACT requires a timeframe if the desired results (whatever they may be) are to be achieved. Appropriately, they share this caveat with their reader: "Unfortunately, there is not one `silver bullet' that will unlock success. There are a lot of moving parts. However, [ACT] is a surprisingly simple architecture and process that you can put in place to bring all of the critical principles into play." In this context, change agents would be well-advised to keep in mind advice from two other sources. Charles Darwin's made three basic declarations: Species always breed beyond available resources; those with favorable variations have a greater chance of survival and pass along their variations to their offspring; and, adapted species force out weaker ones, producing whole new species. In other words, given the process of natural selection in the business world, companies must adapt or perish. Peter Ducker is the other source, stressing the importance of knowing where you are, where you want to go, and how to get there. In 1963, Ducker also observed "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." Presumably at least a few of those who read this review would appreciate having a representative selection of brief excerpts. I h

An innovative organizational process that produces results year after year

Leaders of organizations would be wise to follow the advice of Michael Kanazawa and Robert Miles in their excellent new book entitled Big Ideas to Big Results. The book lays out their ACT process for organizations that want to implement three to four major initiatives each year. The authors developed the process to combat corporate ADD and employee disengagement when it comes to executing organizational initiatives. Based on my more than 25 years experience in business as well as my expertise in employee engagement, I completely agree that these are major problems in organizations today and the solution the authors propose will go a long way toward solving them. The ACT process is also entirely consistent with the employee engagement research we have conducted at E Pluribus Partners and presented in Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team's Passion, Creativity, and Productivity. Kanazawa and Mile's ACT process works in part because it helps meet universal human needs for respect, recognition, belonging, autonomy, personal growth and meaning. When these needs are met, people thrive, individually and collectively. Strong leaders will recognize many of the best practice steps that are a part of ACT. What makes this book valuable is the way the authors integrate the best practices into a step-by-step process and add ideas of their own. I especially liked their descriptions of annual high employee engagement cascades with tablework and quarterly mini-cascades. It's worth buying the book just to learn more about these practices alone. Big Ideas to Big Results will be popular with corporate leaders. It's a quick and easy read with a process that is practical to implement and will help move organizations from identifying big ideas to producing big results. Congratulations to Kanazawa and Miles for developing an important new contribution to process innovation and describing it in an accessible way.