Synopses & Reviews
The Shape Shifters Continuous Change for Competitive Advantage John L. Mariotti What kind of shape is your company in? Are you and your organization flexible, adaptable, ready to capitalize on change, and assume any form required to succeed? This is the ever-shifting challenge for organizations to survive and succeed in our hyper-competitive global landscape. Like the Star Trek character, or those from ancient Indian folklore, todays companies must become "shape shifters." In The Shape Shifters, John L. Mariotti tells you how to create a powerful competitive advantage, by continuously changing to create and deliver what customers consider best value, both now and in the future. Want to get on top? Stay on top? Put aside your old arsenal of "quick fixes," patchwork programs, management fads, buzzwords, and banners. The Shape Shifters explains how to understand value better than your competitors and then use your core competencies to create and deliver that value. Youll learn what the "shape of value" really means and how to measure and picture it. Youll understand what comprises the "shape of a business" and why it is so important. Youll become comfortable with how the structure, processes, culture, relationships, and purpose of a business, lead to the value in the form of quality, service, speed, cost, and innovation. Plus, you get real-life examples from scores of companies who have "shape-shifted" to stay prosperous, including IBM, GE, Chrysler, HP, Huffy, Sears, Microsoft, and many more. Once you commit to the idea of the shape-shifting organization, Mariotti explains how to implement it smoothly, without resorting to radical downsizing or painful reengineering. To use Mariottis effective approach to teamwork, collaboration, learning, and rapid change calls for new organizational structures. But now that youve "shifted," where do you go from here? Mariotti gives plenty of guides to keep you on your path to success. Not only does the shape-shifting organization adapt to events; it can also proactively shape them. You can develop your goals first, define a playing field that suits your talents, and devise the strategies to give your organization an ongoing competitive advantage! The key is to take the shape necessary to provide your coustomers with the best value by using the powerful ideas and techniques youll find in The Shape Shifters.
Synopsis
The Shape Shifters Continuous Change For Competitive Advantage John L. Mariotti Only by developing a core that shifts constantly to deliver best value to customers will your company survive and succeed in the coming era of breathtaking change. In the pages of this revolutionary approach to building a "shape-shifting" company from the ground up, youll learn to:
- Get closer to your customers and develop a clear understanding of their mental picture of "value."
- Institute company-wide, integrated improvements not just piecemeal patches.
- Understand the difference between shape-shifting and popular trends such as reengineering.
- Develop "new partnerships" by combining teamwork, human insight, and new technologies.
- And much more!
The day of the rigid, bureaucratic organization is waning, and a new day of learning and adapting is dawning. With the help of T## exciting new era! Mariottis new book focuses us on what matters most in business.
growth and all of its positive implications. A truly refreshing read after so many years of stultifying "reengineering." Michael Harris, Partner, The Sequoya Group, Inc. I had said "Wow" out loud twice in the first 30 pages. Many lights went off in my head as I read The Shape Shifters
This is more than a book, its an opportunity to rethink the existing customer strategies of your company, your division, or your departments. James B. Swartz, President, Competitive Action Group I have already used John Mariottis shape shifting construct
This is a very valuable tool with which to coach an organization in developing winning strategies. Fred S. Grunewald, President and Chief Operating Officer, Overhead Door Corporation
About the Author
About The Author - John L. Mariotti is President and CEO of The Enterprise Group, his own consulting firm, and former President of Huffy Bicycles and Rubbermaid's Office Products Group. He is the author of The Power of Partnerships and a contributing editor, management columnist, and conference moderator for Industry Week magazine.
Table of Contents
WHY?
Value--The New Mantra.
Genesis: The Shape of the Future.
Status Quo Is Not Good Enough.
Visualizing the Shape of Value.
Understanding Value Attributes.
The Best Shape-Shift Faster.
WHAT?
What is Value?
Shape-Shifting to Integrate and Revitalize the Business.
The Conditions of Shape-Shifting.
Assessing Shape of Value for Customers.
Comparing Shape of Value to Competitors.
HOW?
Shape-Shifting--New Partnerships.
Compensating Shape-Shifting.
The Power of Partnerships.
Changing the Shape of the Business.
Organizing to Shape-Shift.
The Future Shape Of Work.
Predict the Future by Creating the Future.
WHERE NEXT?
The Natural laws of Business.