From Booklist
Consultant Want tells us that since radical change is the only constant in today’s business world, a company must have a highly performing culture in order to be competitive. He defines corporate culture as the reflection of the “behaviors, values, dreams, assumptions, hopes, commitments, performance, knowledge, competence, recognition and rewards systems, performance, innovation and communications that exist within a company.” Culture is reflected in a company’s leadership and management effectiveness; its communications and decision making; its organizational behaviors (such as its ethical conduct); and its tolerance for risk. We learn that a culture singularly focused on making money at any cost is often dominated by fear, poor morale, bad customer relations, reduced innovation, and inconsistent financial performance. Studies conclude that there is a direct connection between a high-performance culture and strong financial results. As Want quotes Louis Gerstner, former chairman of IBM, “corporate culture is not one thing a CEO does–it is everything he does.” This is an excellent book. Mary Whaley
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No subject is more important to the success of today’s business organization than Corporate Culture. After so many years of failed fads and fix-its, such as business-process reengineering, outsourcing, downsizing, flawed go-for-growth strategies, and outrageous cases of corporate lawlessness, Dr. Jerry Want brings clarity and direction to the one subject that is most critical to the success and very survival of today’s corporation- corporate culture.Corporate Culture: Illuminating the Black Hole is the definitive source of knowledge for understanding and building the new type of business culture that is required in this age of radical business change. Through dozens of real-life examples drawn from his many years of consulting and corporate experience, and unique tools such as the proprietary Hierarchy of Corporate cultures ranging from Predatory through Bureaucratic to high-performing New Age cultures, Dr. Want shows concretely and clearly how a company’s culture permeates everything it does, and how to revitalize the culture in order to grow and perform to maximum capability. Case studies show how corporate culture has contributed to the success of such companies as Nucor, Harley-Davidson, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Cisco Systems, among others. The book also examines how flawed corporate cultures have contributed to the failure or near failure of former industry leaders such as SmithKline, Motorola, Arthur Andersen, Xerox, and Polaroid, among others.
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