Power of Alignment

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Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Dana Mead

This book is savvy, detailed, timely, and clearly written. I highly recommend it for any leader facing the challenges posed by global business today.

Les McCraw

Alignment has been a key ingredient in Fluor Daniel's ability to identify and deliver services that meet our customers' value requirements.

More Reviews (3) Fewer Reviews

Louis E. Lataif

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.

Peter Augustsson

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.

William L. Boyan

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780471177906
Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
Publication date: 6/1/1997
Edition number: 1
Pages: 256
Sales rank: 640,629
Product dimensions: 6.32 (w) x 9.31 (h) x 1.12 (d)

Meet the Author

GEORGE LABOVITZ, PhD, is the Chairman of Organizational Dynamics, Inc., a Boston-based international consultancy, which has been named one of the top quality consultancies in the world by both BusinessWeek and IndustryWeek. Dr. Labovitz is also a professor of management at Boston University's School of Management. Coauthor (with Victor Rosansky) of Making Quality Work (Wiley), he has also published articles in Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Quality Progress, and Quality Digest.

VICTOR ROSANSKY is Organizational Dynamics's Executive Vice President and coauthor of Making Quality Work. In constant demand as a speaker and consultant, Mr. Rosansky has advised organizations throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe.

	Acknowledgments
	Preface
1	Getting to the Main Thing	1
2	Staying Centered: What Alignment Is All About	19
3	Organizational Pathologies	49
4	Aligning Activities with Intentions: Vertical Alignment	71
5	Ships Passing in the Night: Getting to Horizontal Alignment	105
6	The Self-Aligning Organization	141
7	Distributed Leadership	167
	Appendices	195
	Notes	235
	Index	239

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Power of Alignment

Overview

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Related Subjects

Editorial Reviews

Dana Mead

Les McCraw

Louis E. Lataif

Peter Augustsson

William L. Boyan

Product Details

Meet the Author

Table of Contents

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