Stragility: Excelling at Strategic Changes

by Ellen R. Auster, Lisa Hillenbrand

Overview

Success in business demands an organization that is agile, innovative, and alert, capable of reinventing itself to handle whatever comes its way. Yet most attempts at transformational change fail, hamstrung by poor strategy, office politics, stakeholder resistance, and the pressures of constant transformation.

In Stragility, Ellen Auster and Lisa Hillenbrand provide a powerful, practical, action-oriented approach that equips leaders at all levels to navigate these challenges while building skills and capabilities for the next strategic change. Filled with great examples of leading edge companies, and jam-packed with concrete tips, action steps, and tools, Stragility offers indispensable advice on how to make continuous strategic changes, navigate the politics and emotions of change, and inspire and engage leaders and stakeholders.

Building on a field-tested framework the authors have applied in Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and social sector organizations, Stragility provides the tools for creating a thriving, high-energy organization that will excel at strategic change – again and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442648050
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	03/14/2016
Series:	Rotman-UTP Publishing Series
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ellen R. Auster is a Professor of Strategic Management at Schulich School of Business at York University.
Lisa Hillenbrand is the founder of Lisa Hillenbrand & Associates and former Harley Procter Global Marketing Director at Procter & Gamble.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Stragility - Strategic, Agile, People-Powered Change

Chapter 2. Redefining Strategy to Win: From Lock and Load to Sense and Shift

Chapter 3. Building Support: From Poisoned by the Politics to Embrace Our Inner Politician

Chapter 4. Fostering Ownership and Accountability: From Tell and Sell to Inspire and Engage

Chapter 5. Creating Successful Change Again and Again: From Change Fatigue to Change Fitness

Chapter 6. Putting Stragility into Action

What People are Saying About This

Chris Hood

“In today’s business world, if you’re not leading change, you’re not leading. Stragility expertly tackles the wicked challenge of how to orchestrate change in a way that leaves the organization and business results stronger.”

Paul Polman

“Stragility is an immensely practical resource to turn change strategies into action. Lisa and Ellen’s book will help you reconnect to a sense of purpose, choose metrics that matter, use mantras and stories to inspire action, and invest in people to allow them to grow and make a time-lasting difference.”

Mansi Tripathy

“What inspired me about Stragility is that it not only introduces the new paradigm of agility in strategic interventions but also provides a trajectory on how to make it sticky for the organization while creating passion and commitment within and outside of organization for the needed changes.”

Craig Kielburger

“As an organization, we’ve spent the last twenty years learning and adapting the way we create social change. Stragility brings the tools and expertise I wish we had access to all those years ago. With incisive strategies and practical how-to’s, Ellen and Lisa identify pain points and rethink how we approach change in the twenty-first century. At the heart of this book is the answer we knew, but didn’t always know how to act on – that people are key to the way we change and grow.”

Dina Howell

“Auster and Hillenbrand offer actionable advice on creating a clear call to action, anchoring change in company culture, listening and empowering people to take action, and embedding the changes in systems, work plans, and performance measures. I highly recommend it.”

Editorial Reviews

Stragility is an immensely practical resource to turn change strategies into action. Lisa and Ellen’s book will help you reconnect to a sense of purpose, choose metrics that matter, use mantras and stories to inspire action, and invest in people to allow them to grow and make a time-lasting difference.”

—Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever

“As an organization, we’ve spent the last twenty years learning and adapting the way we create social change. Stragility brings the tools and expertise I wish we had access to all those years ago. With incisive strategies and practical how-to’s, Ellen and Lisa identify pain points and rethink how we approach change in the twenty-first century. At the heart of this book is the answer we knew, but didn’t always know how to act on – that people are key to the way we change and grow.”

—Craig Kielburger, Co-founder of Free The Children and Me to We

“Auster and Hillenbrand offer actionable advice on creating a clear call to action, anchoring change in company culture, listening and empowering people to take action, and embedding the changes in systems, work plans, and performance measures. I highly recommend it.”

—Dina Howell, Worldwide CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi

“What inspired me about Stragility is that it not only introduces the new paradigm of agility in strategic interventions but also provides a trajectory on how to make it sticky for the organization while creating passion and commitment within and outside of organization for the needed changes.”

—Mansi Tripathy, Chief Marketing Officer, Shell India

“In today’s business world, if you’re not leading change, you’re not leading. Stragility expertly tackles the wicked challenge of how to orchestrate change in a way that leaves the organization and business results stronger.”

—Chris Hood, President, Kellogg Europe

From the Publisher