Synopses & Reviews
The corporate ladder has been the prevailing model for how companies manage their work and their people since the beginning of the industrial revolution a century ago. The ladder represents an inflexible view in which prestige, rewards, access to information, influence, power, etc. are tied to the rung one occupies. The problem is, the authors argue, we no longer live in the industrial age.
The pace of change is faster. Work is increasingly virtual, collaborative, and dispersed. Organizations are flatter. Companies are much easier to see into. Careers zig and zag. Work is done wherever, whenever. And information flows in all directions. The result? The ladder model along with the outdated norms and expectations that defined it is collapsing.
In their best-selling book, The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work, author Cathy Benko and co-author Molly Anderson define the emerging Corporate LatticeTM model and argue convincingly that a lattice is better suited for todays global business environment. They describe the shift across three dimensions:
--How careers are built: From straight up to zigzag. Rather than a series of linear career paths, lattice organizations offer customized options for growth and development. Lattice ways to build careers attract and engage the best talent and create versatile employees well suited to respond to change.
--How work gets done: From where you go to what you do. Rather than expecting people to sit at their desks clocking face time from 9 to 5, lattice organizations offer options for when, where, and how people do their work. Lattice ways to work increase productivity and retention while increasing strategic flexibility in business operations.
--How participation is fostered: From top-down to all-in. Instead of directed, top-down communications, lattice organizations nurture transparent cultures, providing multiple ways for people to share ideas, learn, and team. Lattice ways to participate tap the power of an inclusive workplace to drive innovation, growth, and agility.
Offering much more than theory, the authors illustrate the lattice model using rich, in-depth case studies of exemplars including Cisco, Deloitte LLP, and Thomson Reuters. They also explore the changing role each individual plays in directing his or her own lattice journey.
Review
FROM THE BACK COVER:
Cathy Benko and Molly Anderson have produced a landmark book that should be read and reread by anyone who cares about improving corporate performance. It argues persuasively that the old corporate ladder metaphor is dead. What has emerged in its place is the corporate lattice, which is flatter and more collaborative and in tune with the changing workplace and workforce. You will find yourself nodding in agreement with the analysis of this new world and taking notes on what to do about it. This is a book that will have a profound and positive impact. I recommend it highly.”
-- Anne Mulcahy, Chairman, Xerox Corporation
The right model for the times. Lattice takes on worn-out corporate ladder assumptions and convincingly argues that the workplace must adopt more nimble ways to engage its people. This book illuminates a much-needed path forward, showing organizations how to tap into each individuals performance power to achieve exceptional bottom-line results.”
-- Marshall Goldsmith, world-renowned executive coach and New York Times best-selling author
The war for talent will never end. Victory will go to those organizations that solve the high performance and career-life quagmire. This book, a sequel to Mass Career Customization, moves beyond theory to everyday practice. It describes how the lattice has been made to work in real companies with great success. Anyone responsible for driving results should read this book.”
-- Shelly Lazarus, Chairman, Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide
Read this book immediately if you want to crack the code on how to build and sustain a truly engaged, diverse workforce. A fascinating read with stunning data; its chock full of pragmatic ideas and evocative examples.”
-- John Seely Brown, former Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation; co-author of The Social Life of Information and The Power of Pull
REVIEWS:
As a follow up to her book, Mass Career Customization, Cathleen Benko and Molly Anderson have teamed up to present The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work.
As outlined in MCC, the world of work is changing, not only for companies, but also for individuals: personal values, diversity, and skills are being viewed differently than they once were, and its changing the structure of peoples lives. Because of these factors, more people arent necessarily climbing the ladder” like they once were. Theyre working from home and available 24/7 (as opposed to 9 to 5), theyre looking for challenges, and they want to learn new things. Thus, the old corporate model also needs to adjust, and The Corporate Lattice provides the framework to make changes.
As Shelly Lazarus, Chairman, Ogilvy and Mather, states on the back cover: Anyone responsible for driving results should read this book.” Its true. Whether youre an employee, looking for ways to advance your skill set and achieve more, read this book. Or, if youre a manager and want more from your team, read this book. For both, its a clear guide on how to find, or provide, an environment that builds engagement and that engagement provides both sides a wealth of value.
-- 800-CEO-READ; The Daily Blog
I highly recommend the landmark and must read book The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work by Cathleen Benko and Molly Anderson, to anyone seeking a more in depth understanding of the transformation of the modern workplace from a traditional, hierarchical ladder concept to that of a more diverse, and multi-directional corporate lattice framework. The book contains the blueprint to guide corporate leaders and employees toward a more participatory and collaborative company where work and life are better balanced, employees are more engaged and productive, and where the corporate bottom line is improved as well.”
-- Blog Business World
Also recommended is Cathleen Benko and Molly Andersons THE CORPORATE LATTICE: ACHIEVING HIGH PERFORMANCE IN THE CHANGING WORLD OF WORK. Changes in the definition and strategies of the corporate world are also changing definitions of work and how the corporate ladder may be climbed: this book creates a model for allowing companies to create more cost-effective approaches to work, from managing real estate and technology to engaging high-performing workers. Businesses need this model of success for the new corporate environment.”
-- The Business Book Shelf; Book Review
Synopsis
With roots planted firmly in the industrial age, the corporate ladder has been the metaphor used to describe the prevailing one-size-fits-all model for success. At its heart, the ladder is derived from inflexible, hierarchical, organization models in which prestige, individual rewards, information flow, power and influence are tied to the rung each employee occupies.
Yet the workplace as we know it is in transition -- evolving away from the linear, one-size-fits-all model of the corporate ladder toward a multidimensional approach that Cathy Benko calls the corporate lattice.
This book will serve to widen an organization's strategic lens, representing a fundamentally new way to work and run a company. It offers a framework to help senior leaders and HR directors harness the talent in their company in a way that provides a strategic advantage, not only for recruiting but also for achieving and maintain better individual performance.
In the bestselling book Mass Career Customization (Harvard Business Press/2007), Cathy Benko and Deloitte provided the breakthrough MCC dashboard for understanding the important variables of individual employees' career-life profiles, but she also coined a new metaphor -- the corporate lattice -- as a way to think about the changed career landscape. This book delves much deeper into the power of the lattice for organizations, fully exploring its contours and applying it to real-life practice throughout a company.
It explores how the corporate lattice model creates value by:
1. Ensuring a flow of talent into and through the organization.
2. Increasing the efficiency of and return on organizational investments.
3. Improving financial and operating results through greater employee engagement.
The three-part framework of the book presents specific ways managers and organizations can use The Corporate Lattice to manage talent, measure results, collaborate across teams, engage employees, and reor"
Synopsis
The workplace isnt what it used to beand neither is the workforce.
Todays companies have fewer hierarchical layers. The nature of work is also more virtual, collaborative, and transparent than at any previous time. Information flows move every which way, shifting from top-down to all-in. And the workforce is forever altered too. Sweeping changes in expectations across backgrounds, experiences, generations, and gender are challenging long-held, inflexible beliefs of the relationship between work and lifeand the very meaning of success.
These transformations, observe Cathy Benko and Molly Anderson, are also upending the ways people advance along their career paths. Careers zig and zag. Work is what you do, not where you go. The traditional corporate ladder, firmly rooted in the industrial era, proffers a one-size-fits-all view of the world of work. In this book, the authors argue convincingly that a lattice model is better suited for todays global business environment.
The Corporate Lattice provides a framework to scale options for how careers are built, how work is done, and how participation is fostered. The corporate lattice model offers leaders a strategic approach to making the most of the shifting landscape by:
Recognizing that there is no longer a universal view of success but rather a multiplicity of ways to grow and contribute.
Challenging traditional models that pit high performance and careerlife fit as opposing forces.
Providing a cost-effective, systematic method to deliver more individualized and engaging work experiences.
Offering much more than theory, the authors illustrate the lattice model using rich, in-depth case studies of exemplars including Cisco, Deloitte LLP, and Thomson Reuters. They also explore the changing role each individual plays in directing his or her own lattice journey.
As businesses are challenged to scale economies of innovation and flexibility, investing for the future using yesteryears corporate ladder blueprint is futile. The Corporate Lattice teaches organizations how to adapt to the changing world and reveals why lattice organizations are both more productiveand profitable.
About the Author
Cathy Benko is the Chief Talent Officer responsible for driving the Deloitte?s strategy to attract, develop and advance a highly skilled workforce. She is also leading a pioneering approach to employee engagement called Mass Career Customization, a signature initiative of the Deloitte U.S. Firms' Talent agenda. Cathy coauthored the best-selling book Mass Career Customization: Aligning the Workplace with Today's Nontraditional Workforce (Harvard Press, September 2007) and is the author of Deloitte's Change at Work blog which covers life, work and everything in between.
A respected and accomplished strategy consultant, Cathy specializes in driving transformational change. She is also active in the marketplace as the lead client service principal for an Office of the Chief Executive Officer (OCEO) client. Prior to her appointment as chief talent officer, Cathy led Deloitte Consulting LLP's (Deloitte Consulting's) high-technology industry sector and previously held the position of global e-Business leader for Deloitte Consulting. She previously coauthored Connecting the Dots: Aligning Projects and Objectives in Unpredictable Times (Harvard Press 2003).
In recognition of her professional skill and achievement, Cathy has been named one of the "25 Most Influential Consultants" as well as a "Frontline Leader" by Consulting Magazine. Cathy is also the recipient of Consulting Magazine's inaugural "Leadership Achievement Award for Women Leaders in Consulting." She has also been recognized several times by both Women in Technology International (WITI) and The SF Business Times, which named her as one of the most influential women in the Bay Area for the past five years. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Deloitte U.S. Firms and the Deloitte Foundation Board, as well as Catalyst's West Coast Advisory Board and the Board and Executive Committee of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Northern California.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The Corporate Lattice 1
Chapter 2 The Changing World of Work 18
Chapter 3 Lattice Ways to Build Careers 37
Chapter 4 Lattice Ways to Work 58
Chapter 5 Lattice Ways to Participate 73
Chapter 6 Lattice Journeys 89
Chapter 7 The Individuals Guide to the Shifting Landscape 111