Accelerating Performance: How Organizations Can Mobilize, Execute, and Transform with Agility

PRAISE FOR ACCELERATING PERFORMANCE

"It is absolutely true that ′the soft stuff is the hard stuff′ and that most HR departments need less PowerPoint and more Excel. Accelerating Performance offers a sharp analysis of how successful companies ′crack the code′ to build a winning culture and drive sustainable growth and do it faster than their competitors."
Jim Smith, president and CEO, Thomson Reuters

"In a continually disrupted marketplace, companies live and die by their ability to accelerate their performance. The genius of this book is its rigorous analysis of the blockers to acceleration and how to remove them and its insights into the agility required to transform a business. It is eye–opening stuff."
Mark Wilson, group CEO, Aviva

"Using a deeply analytical and forensic approach, the authors tease out why some companies have avoided the drag of underperformance. Their detailed analysis of these ′superaccelerators′ reinforces some deeply held beliefs but also uncovers crucial insights about what it takes to succeed. Filled with insights, action points, and wisdom this is a must–read for any leader tasked with building a high–performance organization."
Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice, London Business School, and coauthor of The 100–Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity

"Health care is delivered in teams. Whether it′s in the operating theater, the hospital, or in the community, it is how we work together that determines ourability to save lives. Accelerating Performance sheds light on the practicesthat constitute great teamwork."
Lord Ara Darzi, Paul Hamlyn chair of surgery, Imperial College London, and former U.K. health minister

Foreword

Introduction

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Section 1: Move Fast or Die Faster

Chapter 1: The Soft Stuff Really Is the Hard Stuff

Chapter 2: How to Increase Your METAbolic Rate

Chapter 3: A Learning Laboratory

Chapter 4: Our Journey to META

Chapter 5: What s Your Current Pace?: A Diagnostic

Section 2: The Acceleration Imperative

Chapter 6: Accelerating Strategy: Less Plan, More Planning

Chapter 7: Accelerating Organizations: Turning Drag into Drive

Chapter 8: Accelerating Teams: Capability Equals Ability Minus Ego

Chapter 9: Accelerating Leaders: The Leader Sets the Pace

Section 3: How to Start

Chapter 10: Finding the Right Recipe

Chapter 11: The ABC of Behavior Change

Chapter 12: Change the People or Change the People

Chapter 13: The Board as Catalyst

Section 4: The Four Key Skills

Chapter 14: Ripple Intelligence: Join the Dots

Chapter 15: Resource Fluidity: Match Resources to Opportunities

Chapter 16: Dissolving Paradox: Reframe the Issue

Chapter 17: Liquid Leadership: Connect Beyond Hierarchy

Chapter 18: Conclusion: It s More than a Program

Research Appendix

Index

COLIN PRICE is an executive vice president and the global managing partner of the Leadership Consulting Practice at Heidrick & Struggles. He has advised many of the world′s largest companies, as well as a number of national governments and charitable institutions. He is the coauthor of several books, including Beyond Performance.

SHARON TOYE is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles′ London office and a member of the Leadership Consulting Practice. An organizational development expert, qualified psychotherapist, and skilled consultant, she has more than 20 years of experience as an executive and topteam coach.