Geary A. Rummler And Alan P. Brache On How To Improve Performance

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After my reading, the following are my takeaways:

‘The silo culture forces managers to resolve lower-level issues, taking their time away from higher-priority customer and competitor concerns. Individual contributors, who could be resolving these issues, take less reponsibility for results and perceive themselves as mere implementers and information providers.’

‘If a function serves external external customers, it should be measured on the degree to which its products and services meet those customers’ needs. If a function serves only internal customers, it should be measured on the way it meets those customers’ needs and on the value it ultimately adds to the external customer.’

‘If executives do not manage performance at the Organization Level, the best they can expect is modest performance improvement. At worst, efforts at other levels will be counterproductive.’

‘An organization is only as effective as its processes.’

‘Talented and motivated people can improve organization performance only as much as the business processes allow.’

‘Over the long haul, strong people cannot compensate for a weak process.’

‘A reorganization serves no purpose if it doesn’t improve the process performance. Jobs should be designed so that people can best contribute to process outputs. Automation is a waste of money if it calcifies an illogical process.’

‘Each primary process and each support process exists to make a contribution to one or more Organization Goals.’

‘When we establish functional goals that bolster processes, we ensure that each department meets the needs of its internal and external customers.’

‘The quality of outputs is a function of the quality of inputs, performers, consequences, and feedback.’

‘If jobs are not designed to support process steps, and if job environments are not structured to enable people to make their maximum contributions to process effectiveness and efficiency, then Organization and Process Goals will not be met.’

‘The purpose of Job Management is to put capable people in an environment that supports their accomplishments of Job Goals.’

A solid strategy is only half the battle. … the majority of strategies that have never come to successful fruition have failed not because they lack a clear, viable vision; rather; they are gathering dust because they have been poorly implemented.’

‘Line managers rarely know what action they need to take to address a performance improvement.’

‘An adaptive structure helps an organization thrive in a environment of continuous change.’

‘To ensure that we don’t limit our creativity or build in an Organization Design disconnect, the first iterations of the ‘SHOULD’ process should focus on what should be done, not on who should do it.’

‘What’s most important is how the organization is structured ‘at the bottom’ where work gets done.’

Source

Geary A. Rummler and Alan P. Brache (2013). Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart

How ‘To Lift Your Leadership To New Heights’

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‘If we don’t stop, reflect, and alter our behavior, we may find that this gap- between the desired self and the true self- is widening beyond our imagining.’

‘Once you have compiled your entourage, it is always with you, wherever you go.’

‘Practices are what will connect your reflection to your actions.’

Douglas Conant & Amy Federman

‘To practice well, you can’t just do the same thing over and over again. While practice sometimes requires repetition, repetition alone is not practice; repetition and practice are not the same thing.’

‘If you are repeating a behavior without intention, and you’re not reflecting on how effective your behaviors are, your practice may actually be counterproductive.’

‘Deliberate practice requires dedication and smart application.’

‘People who think they can get better often do. Just by acknowledging that progress is possible, you are already one step ahead.’

‘You can’t become a world-class leader without being anchored in the fundamentals of your craft, the craft of leading people.’

‘Leadership is the art and science of influencing others in a specific direction. … Leadership is about influencing people in any direction- up, down, or sideways.’

‘Leadership is all about the people. Leaders need followers. Followers are earned; they’re not guaranteed on the merit of your title alone.’

Source:

Douglas Conant & Amy Federman (2020). Get Unstuck: The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights