The power of strategic commitment: achieving extraordinary results through total alignment and engagement

286 Pages·2009·1.02 MB·English

by  Josh Leibner

THE POWER OF STRATEGIC COMMITMENT
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THE POWER OF
STRATEGIC COMMITMENT
Achieving Extraordinary Results Through
Total Alignment and Engagement
Josh Leibner
Gershon Mader
Alan Weiss, Ph.D.
American Management Association
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leibner, Josh.
The power of strategic commitment : achieving extraordinary results through total
alignment and engagement / Josh Leibner, Gershon Mader, Alan Weiss.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-8144-1374-6
1. Organizational effectiveness. 2. Strategic planning. 3. Management. I. Mader, Ger-
shon. II. Weiss, Alan, 1946– III. Title.
HD58.9.L545 2009
658.4'012—dc22
2009004734
© 2009 by Josh Leibner and Gershon Mader
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division
of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Sammy—in my heart, always and forever. Mom, Laurie and
Shoshana—thank you for your love and support. Dad, you would
have enjoyed the read.
—Josh
For Na’ama, Ongi, Eden, and Osher, thank you for your unwavering
love and support.
—Gershon
For Maria and another wonderful forty years . . .
—Alan
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
Chapter 1: Why Commitment Trumps
Compliance 1
Why Commitment Is More Important Than Ever
Even the Most Successful Organizations Don’t
Operate at Their Full Potential 1
It’s a Question of Now or Never 5
Most Leaders Confuse Compliance and Commitment 10
Generating Commitment Requires Great Courage 14
Chapter 2: What Is Strategic Commitment? 19
If It’s So Important, Why Don’t I Know About It?
There’s Commitment and There’s Commitment 19
What Drives True Commitment? 21
The Heart of Strategic Commitment:
Content and Context 22
The Drivers of Context 25
The Characteristics of a Strategic Commitment
Environment: Why Should You Care That
They Don’t Care? 32
You Might as Well Find Out Where You Stand
Before Reading On 37
vii
viii THE POWER OF STRATEGIC COMMITMENT
Chapter 3: Working Back from the Future 39
How to Generate Strategic Commitment
We’re Not Here to Stick Our Toe in the Water,
We’re Here to Make Waves 40
Barriers to Assessing the Current Reality 43
What Are the Warning Signs? 45
Diogenes Searching for the Honest Man 52
The Picture Emerges from the Mosaic 55
Are You Your History or Your Future?
You Really Have a Choice 57
Crafting a Bold and Compelling Future 58
Chapter 4: Pushing Through the
Thermal Layer 65
How to Engage Middle Managers in Strategic
Commitment
You Can’t Lead Without Light 65
Avoid Strategic Limbo 67
Offer to Listen, Then Demonstrate
That You Have Listened 71
Involvement Is Magic 74
Why Slow Is Fast 77
Chapter 5: Leading from the Front 81
“Follow me!” (Not, “I’ll Be There in a Minute . . .”)
The Résumé of the Senior Leadership Team:
Ten Essential Leadership Competencies and Qualities 85
How Leadership Behavior Has Changed
to Less Leadership 97
Why the Trusted Few Can’t Be Trusted 100
Cold Cruel World: Commitment from Key Outsiders 103
Chapter 6: Taking a Stand—The Key to
Strategic Commitment 107
Why the Aztecs Put a Stake in the Ground
Putting a Stake in the Ground Means No Retreat 108
People Are Not “Goaled,” They’re Committed 110
Contents ix
When the Going Gets Tough, You’re Finally
Making Progress 112
Success and Failure Ebb and Flow,
but Courage Cannot 117
Dedication for Him Isn’t Necessarily So for Her:
Tailoring Commitment 120
Chapter 7: Building and Restoring Trust 127
Essential Competencies for Generating Strategic
Commitment
What Is Trust, Anyway? 127
The Real Question: How Is Trust Built? 135
The “Building Trust Dialogue” 136
Five Steps to Recovering and Building Trust 137
Moving Forward 142
Chapter 8: Return on Strategic Commitment 145
On Competitive Edge and Profi t Margins
Financial Performance 145
Customer Service, Satisfaction, and Loyalty 146
Quality 148
Safety 149
Innovation 151
Cross- Functional Collaboration 152
Integration of Cultures (Mergers and Acquisitions) 153
Employee Morale, Loyalty, and Satisfaction 155
The Drivers Working Every Day 156
When Strategic Planning Meets Strategic
Commitment 157
A Strategic Plan Fit for Strategic Commitment 159
Doing It Right 163
Chapter 9: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the
Way—HR at the Crossroads 165
The Role of HR in Generating Strategic Commitment
To Be or Not to Be: Can Your Human
Resources People Actually Help? 166