Book Review on 'Leadership That Matters '

Book Review on 'Leadership That Matters '

The book I am presenting is called ‘Leadership That Matters’ and was written in 2003 by Marshall Sashkin & Molly G. Sashkin. As the title already suggests, it brings leadership closer to the reader, bringing one special kind of leadership to the fore: Transformational Leadership. As the authors emphasize, in the 21st century there is more to being a leader than just improving productivity and performance – leaders who matter have the ability to transform their organizational members from dutiful followers into self-directed leaders – they facilitate change rather than exercising it themselves. Same as we Imagineers do…

Sashkin & Sashkin conducted a lot of research on leadership approaches. In total they took out seven approaches that had common elements and synthesized those into their own approach: Leadership That Matters. The three most important parts of this approach are:
1. the leader’s personality (characteristics),
2. his/her behavior and
3. the situational context of leadership (organizational context or culture).
The book is divided into thirteen chapters which logically build upon each other. Though, it is not always as easy to read because of constant repetitions which cause confusion from time to time. Anyway, the following lines will hopefully give you an insight into the book’s main thoughts.

What is it, leadership?
The first two chapters build the introduction which depicts the ‘puzzle’ of leadership which is put together by several approaches. According to the Sashkins, many of those definitions contain essential elements, but after all they miss the combination of the most important ones in order to describe leadership correctly. That’s what the Sashkins thus did and called it Leadership That Matters.
Already in the beginning they make an important differentiation between ‘leaders’ and ‘managers’: leadership (in contrast to management) does not only imply the usual job definition, it also explains WHY the job is being done – it goes beyond the obvious. Transformational leaders (in addition to managers) ‘develop a compact between themselves and their followers’ (p.37). They create meaning for both parties, their leadership thus matters. Translating this idea into Imagineering terms, transformational leadership facilitates symbolic value co-creation which results in individual transformation.
A term that is introduced here is also already known from Imagineering: the ‘paradigm’ of Thomas Kuhn. Though, in the area of leadership, James McGregor Burns was the introducing person of the new leadership paradigm. In order to understand the new things, the old have to be set into perspective. Sashkin and Sashkin hereby make the difference between transactional (trading) and transformational (bonding) leadership. The authors also refer to examples out of history, like Gandhi as best example of transformational leader.


Leadership Skills and Behaviors
After having conducted some research about the behaviors and skills used by transformational leaders, Sashkin and Sashkin came up with their own definition of the most important behaviors:
• skilled communication
• trust-building
• expression of care and respect for others and
• creating empowerment opportunities.
These behaviors are merely the result of transformational leadership, not its cause or source. Additionally, they can only be applied effectively when a leaders possesses the personal characteristics summarized as ABC (affect/emotions, behavioral intent/confidence to act and cognitive capability/basis for shared vision) that are discussed in the following chapters.

What else does it take to call someone a leader?
The authors argue that just focusing on behaviors does not lead to effective conclusions about leadership, there has to be more. So they go over to their second element, characteristics.
In this context they mention the research from Robert House, who brought in a new important aspect of transformational leadership when stating that leadership had something to do with the character of the leader (‘charismatic leadership’). However, the authors argument that charisma and behavioral skills alone do not define effective leadership. They even argue that charismatic leadership has to be separated from transformational leadership because it can be dangerous when being used in a manipulative way. What is important here is that both forms have the same basic source: the leader’s need for power and control. So the need for power is an essential part of the leader’s character, but is also important for the follower as a guideline.
Another important aspect for influencing followers is the leader’s self-confidence. The authors use an example of actor Will Smith, who was building a wall in order to extend the father’s shop space. Will thought he and his brother would not make it, it took them ages to finish. When it was done, their father told them “Never believe that there’s anything you can’t do!” (p.85). Here they also mention the principle of self-fulfilling principle, referring to the belief that you can do something is often enough to encourage you to try. Transformational leaders encourage their followers, as will be stated later. Empowering people is set into perspective with taking risks and control from the leader’s side, and relates to the degree of self-confidence. The more control the leader wants to keep, the less self-confidence he has and the higher the risk he runs to be a bad leader because the resources and the trust that are necessary for the follower are not provided. Control and self-confidence are thus two of the three important characteristics a transformational leader should have. In addition, the way of empowering people is summarized in the ‘vision’ which is the cognitive capability of leadership approaches. Sashkin and Sashkin do not agree with usual definitions of vision, such as ‘an image of an ideal future condition’ – they state that the future is a place that is created. The activity of making the paths to it changes both the maker and the destination.
Here we find back the co-creational part of making meaning, as it is done in Imagineering.
The personal characteristics are not necessarily inborn traits but can be developed. “If you do not have the skills, learn and practice them.” (p.108)

Culture is the key
The third and last element they discuss is the situational context, or as they call it as well, the culture. Culture is the key to organizational functioning. As the authors state, there are four key functions that create organizational context:
• Change (dealing with things outside the organization to attain goals)
• Goals (produce outcomes/achieve goals)
• Culture (define and support values and beliefs)
• Teamwork (coordinating the ongoing work of individuals and groups).



The Leadership Profile (TLP) as Measuring Instrument
The entire book is set up in a way that one can understand this kind of leadership better, but also practice it for own use by means of self-assessment materials spread over the chapters. The very key element of this book is the TLP which is an instrument that measures transactional and transformational leadership. It is a complete leadership model including 10 dimensions that are differentiated again in 50 specific behaviors. Taking the survey takes approximately 15 minutes – not only leaders assess themselves, but some of the ‘observers’ (usually 5) do the same test in order to compare results. The TLP is a 360-degree-measuring instrument and contains the 5-point Likert-type scale, answers are given in a range from 1-5.
The ten dimensions are listed below:

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP

1. Capable Management: This person makes sure people can have the resources they need to do a good job.

2. Reward Equity: This person recognizes good performance with rewards people value.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS

3. Communication Leadership: This person grabs people’s attention, focusing on the important issue in a discussion.

4. Credible Leadership: This person acts in ways consistent with his/her work.

5. Caring Leadership: This person respects people’s differences.

6. Creative Leadership: This person designs situations that permit people to achieve their goals.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS

7. Confident Leadership: This person makes a difference.

8. Follower-centered Leadership: This person seeks power and influence to attain goals people agree on.

9. Visionary Leadership: This person has plans that extend over a period of several years or longer.

10. Principled Leadership: This person encourages others to act according to the values ad beliefs we share.

Conclusion
As Sashkin and Sashkin already said at the end of their book, leadership is a management game. It is about communicating the right things to the right people and make the game work together. Several factors have influence and I think that the authors did a great job in synthesizng all academic information and made it their own. Though, sometimes it is hard to stay on track because they repeat a lot, which is exhausting when they summarize it differently all the time. Loss of information or lack of understanding follow easily.

Transformational Leadership vs Imagineering?
There is definitely no ‘vs’, for me both go hand in hand. I came across some elements that are related to Imagineering, or rather say that match the mindset of an Imagineer. I thought about Hostmanship as a connected approach to leadership that matters because it also rather invites people to co-create instead of delegating. A certain set of characteristics and behaviors are important here, as we also learned with identity marketing. Another statement that reminded me of our last block of Imagineering is ‘Leadership is about knowing how to follow.’ Shari Duron told a lot about leaders and followers, and that the best thing to do was being a follower once yourself in order to understand the expectations that are connected to the role of a follower. Appreciative thinking plays a big part here as well.
In general I liked the book and I think I can use it for my BTR because it comes along with new and refreshing insights about managing, leading and being inspirational in a way that matters.

Enjoy reading. Cheers,

Jenny

Linchpin: Are you Indispensable?

Linchpin: Are you Indispensable?

Seth Godin (Author)

“Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It’s time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must.” Seth Godin

Linchpins? That’s a term Seth Godin uses for anyone within an organization that makes himself indispensable, people that invent, lead, connect, figure out chaos and make things happen, no matter what their title or level in an organization is.

Introduction

Seth Godin is a well known Marketing guru, that I personally enjoy reading, famous for books such as the Purple Cow and All Marketers are Liars. In his books he talks about making remarkable products, products worth talking about and taking advantage of the connected world to engage with consumers. His approach on Marketing is in my opinion as close to Imagineering as it gets.

In his previous book, Tribes, he already takes a different direction from his pure Marketing books and writes about something different, it’s about the great opportunity that the connected world brings for anyone with the courage to lead, given the fact that a tribe is a group of people connected to each other by an idea, interest, belief or leader, it’s not that tribes are new in this world it’s just that today’s world brings the opportunity to connect to more people, faster, cheaper and easier than ever before. So this book is encouraging people to take on this opportunity to lead and challenge the idea that leading is just for CEO’s or celebrities or politicians. Not anymore.

I mention his previous book, because I think that whereas in Tribes his approach is on encouraging people to be brave enough to start their own enterprise in something they believe in, for Linchpin he focuses on employees, just remarkable people within organizations that can make a difference where they are.

The book?

For starters, I really appreciated the first chapters of the book in which he describes the New World, where we were, how we got here, changes in the economy and specially the implications for the world of Work.

The entire system we built our lives around tried to get the genius, the artistic nature, the creativity out of us. The Economy, the schools, all the great MBA´s wanted us to fit in, to think in a certain way or even to not think at all, if we could fit in, the system would take care of us.

We lived in a world built around factories (Old logic), factories that needed workers, the key to win in the old world was productivity, make the most you can with as little costs as you can, this meant that for it to work it needed low-paid, replaceable workers doing short-easy tasks, making automated decisions, people willing to trade their dreams and art and creativity for a weekly salary and stability. And it worked for a long time.

The problem is that this factory “system” is upside down, the economic crisis has hit hard and the deal is not working anymore, stability can’t be provided today. The old ways of fitting in with hard-work, with being on time, being discreet and quiet and not challenging managers with your own “crazy” ideas is no guarantee of stability, not anymore. The situation demands a new type of workers, people that can lead, communicate, make connections, create value, defy the status quo, artists. Today’s organizations require a different style of working (New Logic).

And this is where the Linchpins come in, the new deal requires employees that become irreplaceable, that put their personality, passion, art and soul into their work. Not only because it’s important for them but because companies need it, even if they don’t realize it.

The next “Big Idea” within a market will most likely come from outside the industry, by a small or even unknown company, with fresh and different ideas. And if within a company you limit your employees just to work and think in the way the CEO or the Directors think they are limiting their chances even more.

“Old Logic” Companies are struggling and strangely companies that embrace a new style of working are doing great, Apple, Google, Red Bull, Nintendo…

This book encourages people to take a stand, lose the fear, be willing to give up on the fake idea of stability, and start working with their own, personal roadmap.

Today’s world is a connected world, and a Linchpin has to be a “connected” individual, within their work unit or company but also outside, connections are key to make things happen, that’s why social skills are very important. In today’s world personality and attitude are sometimes even more important than the work itself.

Linchpins and Imagineering

It was very easy to see the connection, although the book is directed towards employees, giving them a push to work with more creativity, art, passion and joy, to become indispensable for a company by generating value, and in return getting the best jobs and more freedom to do it. As Imagineers we can use the elements in the book not necessarily to become Linchpins but to help design the new organizations in which Linchpins should be the essential building blocks.

We can refer to the theories we have studied about the “new” Leadership and Followership, and this one is a bit about both, it’s about creating value for yourself as well as the organization by being brave, smart and unique.

Linchpins are not Imagineers but I’d say that they are employees that embrace Imagineering within a company and that are not only unafraid but excited about change and new ways of working.

Loved the book, easy-reading, relevant and it really challenges people to become a part of change rather than fearing it. Insightful! A must-read for Imagineers!

Xavier Cortina

Implementation - the playground in practice

Dutch title: Implementeren: het speelveld in praktijk Authors: L. Pater, S. Roest, S. Dubbeldam & M. Verweijen Year: 2003 Publisher: Lemma BV, Utrecht

Change management traditionally refers to managing the roll-out of a changed strategy inside an organization and is a process which only starts after a senior management team have walked out of the boardroom with a clear-cut plan. At that point the new strategy is already determined and managers only have to figure out a way to roll it out and get people to join. Pater et al. (2003) speak of a 3x3 grid, that senior managers like to follow. First, they spend 3 weeks with the executive and leadership team, developing, building and shaping their strategy and plans. Then, they spend 3 days with middle management, discussing the new strategy and their ideas on how to align line management and push it out through the organization. Finally, they spend 3 hours with frontline staff, informing them on the new situation...

I found this video to illustrate what responses will follow this style of top-down strategy roll-out.


(Da Ali G Show, Channel 4)

Even though the presenter shows the audience how his invention works, lets them experience the benefits personally, and presents a revenue prediction, it is hard to imagine he will get any commitment at all. Now, however ridiculous the product and the marketing strategy might seem, the responses by his audience are typical for presentations like this.
Let me take you through the video again. The first person we see responding has a different notion of what is relevant (music instead of ice cream). Trying to understand the issue, he comes up with a solution he thinks is best. After the presenter tells him about his own idea, he says it “sounds like a good idea”, but walks off thinking the presenter has totally lost it. The woman we see a bit later responds to every phrase with “sure” and “alright”, but one can tell she is in fact not at all with him, and is not likely to buy in either. On top of this, the revenue calculation looks impressive, but is incomprehensible and does not convince any of the investors at the table.

Now, back to the book. Implementation, according to Pater et al. (2003), is the process of making a proposed change bring the intended result. It embodies the entire change process, starting from the first notion that something needs to change. This is where the book deviates from traditional discourse, since the desired change is not necessarily determined in advance. The essence of implementation is that changes are not only triggered, and not only represent the difference between the old and the new, but that the intended result is actually achieved. The proposed change in the organizational process has to really be used. It needs not only function, it needs to work. Implementing is about making it work.

The book offers four universal strategies for the implementation of organizational changes, and explains the approach and implications of the ‘seven aspects of implementation’: • Results (what do we want to achieve?)
• Planning and control (how will we get it done?)
• Design and order (how do we arrange it?)
• Communication (how do we involve everyone?)
• Training (how do we learn to deal with it?)
• Anchoring and improvement (how will we keep it working?)
• Wrap-up and evaluation (what has it brought?)

I will not go in-depth on these aspects, but will leave you with the knowledge that for each implementation strategy the balance and interaction between these aspects is slightly different, and matches a certain type of change. Below, I will present a brief explanation of the four strategies.

Executive strategy
Focus on: Doing.
When: The goals are clear and acceptable for everyone involved, and the change process is obvious.
Points of attention: Clear and tight planning, alignment between project group and departments, clear communication on successes as well as setbacks. Example: The introduction of a new product in an experienced organization.

Participation strategy
Focus on: Competences and attitude.
When: Goals are not challenging, but not supported by everyone.
Points of attention: Create commitment, don’t rush it, start a training programme, convince people of what’s in it for them, create quick wins.
Example: Introduction of a quality control system.

Design strategy
Focus on: Co-creating the content.
When: Goals are vague, everyone knows something has to be done, although nobody knows exactly what.
Points of attention: Working together, frequent measurements and redirection where needed, active participation of line management, a clear ending to the change process to prevent the discussion from going on forever.
Example: Expansion of a physical business to include online activities.

Growth strategy
Focus on: Gradual change and inspiring.
When: Complex changes, goals are not clear at the start, and the change is hard to realise due to the necessary technology or design.
Points of attention: Divide the process into small parts that are developed consecutively, see what it brings and if it works, before continuing to the next part. Lots of dialogue, careful communication and inspiring leadership are needed. All stakeholders should be involved in determining shared goals.
Example: Mergers.

Discussion
Pater et al. have developed a nice guide for change implementation in all sorts of organizations. They have made some progress in the development of change management theory, and the book can prove quite valuable for managers in more traditional organizations. However, imagineering is already far ahead of this. The first two strategies can still be considered top-down change management as discussed in my introduction, only with a bit more attention for the social side of business. The last two strategies are closer to Imagineering theory, but there are still some significant differences. The ‘design’ strategy is about designing a strategy and organizing the organization together with line management, and in the growth strategy even more stakeholders are involved. This is a little bit like Appreciative Inquiry theory, used in Imagineering. However, perhaps the most important stakeholder in Imagineering theory is the customer, who has no say at all in any of the strategies by Pater et al. All strategic innovation is based on the input of stakeholders inside the organization, while co-creation in Imagineering especially refers to the active participation of the customer. In the traditional understanding of implementation, the way strategy was designed was not relevant, since implementation started afterwards. By stressing the definition of implementation to include the design of strategy, however, Pater et al. commit themselves to include it in their book. By stating that “It is necessary to ensure that the project does not yield something that does not meet the expectations of the line organization”, Pater et al. show that their vision is still too much like the traditional meaning of implementation.
Another aspect in which Imagineering is ahead of the theory presented in this book, is the duration of the process. Imagineering is about making an organization more creative, transparent and communicative as a whole. Creative processes and dialogue should continue and organizational strategy itself should be innovative. Pater et al., however, state that the change process should have a distinct and absolute end, to prevent endless discussions. And exactly this continuing dialogue with staff and consumers is what is so important today.

Niels van der Haven

LOVEMARKS – Kevin Roberts

What do Amazon, Apple, The Body Shop, Coca-Cola, Disney, Google, Harley-Davidson, Levi’s, Nelson Mandela, Nike, Pampers, Red Cross, Toyota and Virgin have in common?

Yes they are popular brands, but they are so much more than that. According to Kevin Roberts (2006) from Saatchi & Saatchi, these brands are Lovemarks. He writes: “Businesses have always assumed that people see the brands the same way they do. This is why they can get it SO-O-O-O wrong. But some special brands don’t seem to make that mistake. They are so far out in front that they seem to have evolved into something else. They are what inspired Saatchi & Saatchi to develop Lovemarks as the future beyond brands.”

To test whether a brand belongs amongst the Lovemarks, the ‘Love/Respect Axis’ has been created. Products such as sand and iron, that are not desired by people are commodities and are low on love and respect.

Products that are low on respect but high on love are ‘fads’, also known as ‘cool right now’, but can be replaced at any time. Roberts mentions Hula Hoops and ‘Survivor’ as fad examples.

When products have earned high respect but little emotion or love is involved, they are ranked as ‘brands’. Competition is tough.

Lovemarks, on the other hand, are high on respect and on love. This table demonstrates the difference between ordinary brands and Lovemarks.

“Lovemarks are not owned by the manufacturers, the producers, the businesses. They are owned by the people who love them.”

“Lovemarks are personal. And they can be anything – a person, a country, a car, an organization. Lovemarks are the charismatic brands that people love and fiercely protect. You know them instantly.”

On my personal Lovemark list you can find Louis Vuitton; the always fashionable and everlasting bag with its unmistakable monogram pattern; the Middle East with its mysterious but colourful culture; and my family (of course) for being the greatest support and source of inspiration.

Try making your own list of Lovemarks. They should match up to the following statements:

- Lovemarks connect companies, their people and their brands
- Lovemarks inspire. Loyalty beyond reason
- Lovemarks are owned by the people who love them

The book is not only beautiful and fun to read/ scan/ flip through: the message Roberts conveys is very relevant to Imagineering. He says: “As the mass market geared up, businesses lost their way. They became detached from personal relationships,” meaning that businesses should practice customer intimacy at a far deeper level. This not only means that they get to know their customer better, but rather show a genuine interest in their desires, and then cater to those needs and wants.

“The deciding factor is about what the consumer needs in his or her life.”

Saatchi & Saatchi are a world renowned advertising agency, so one could argue that they are masters in selling products. They are. What makes them so good at it is their hunger for understanding the customer, or rather ‘guest’. Just like Imagineers, they value stories a tremendous deal, and the employees of Saatchi & Saatchi have become skilled listeners.

“Stories have a huge value in business because they look in the right direction. At people. You cannot tell a story without characters and emotion and sensory detail. Even the dumbest road-crossing-chicken jokes have it. And they capture us faster than the most elaborately produced annual report. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but terrific stories are right up there with them.”

Lovemarks is a valuable display of how a design approach can be optimalised for co-creation. Nothing Saatchi & Saatchi does is without the co-operation and consent of the customer and should bring mutual benefits. Their research goes further than questionnaires and even interviews. Saatchi & Saatchi employees are encouraged to go out and spend time or even live with the ‘customers’ to gain a deeper understanding and therefore build a more effective advertising campaign and eventually a Lovemark. This even goes beyond Imagineering research methods and resembles anthropological research.

“If you want to catch a fish, first learn to think like a fish.”

For everyone who enjoys looking at stunning graphics, likes diversity, and is looking for a great example of a truly customer oriented company, I would recommend Lovemarks in a heartbeat. The book can be read in one breath, but can also be left on the coffee table for the occasional impressive flip-through. The book is easy to read, but often requires you to flip the book 180 degrees, lift inserts or even play the CD-ROM that is included. Roberts even gives the reader advice on ‘things to do’ at the end of each chapter. Though mainly directed towards managers, the book is easily comprehendible, and captures the essence of Imagineering. Even though Lovemarks is hardly related to my thesis topic concerning Veteran care, it does show how even organisations as the Red Cross can obtain iconic status through the people that spread the word on the organisation’s good deeds. On the Lovemarks website: http://www.lovemarks.com/ you can find testimonials on the Red Cross by people from all over the world, alongside a list of all Lovemarks, video’s, links, communities to join and learn from, user polls and much more.

List of references:

Roberts, K. 2006. Lovemarks. The Future Beyond Brands. Saatchi & Saatchi Designer Edition, Brooklyn, NY, Powerhouse Books

www.lovemarks.com
http://socialmediasoapbox.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/lovemarks-standard.jpg

http://www.saatchikevin.com/Downloads/ book review Lovemarks in PDF

A take on “The Future of Competition", written by C.K. Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy (Joep Peeters)

C2B2C. A term that might bring up a few flashes from one of the star war movies. It also catches the essence of the change in reasoning society has made, and is often still going through. Prahalad and Ramaswamy describe a-what we imagineers like to call- a paradigmatic shift in society. C2B2C: Consumers to Business to Consumers

According to Ramaswamy and Prahalad the role of the consumer is changing. C2B2C challenges the traditional role of value creation. Namely that value is created through the product offered by the supplying company. Examplified in the book, a camera used to be the vessel of value according to the logic many companies used to and still operate on. The book refers to these companies as so called A-type companies. Ramaswamy and Prahalad argue that the creation of B-type firms, new energetic “dot.com” firms, will not necesarily be the answer either. However this does not mean that although both the traditonal A type firm nor the enhanced “dot.com” B-type firm will dissapear. It will be the creation of the entirely new C-type firms, base on the logic that value is co-created through interaction between company and consumer , that will modify and change the A and B-type firms to what is required by society today.

Perhaps one could compare this change in business logic, with a more tangible and illustrative example on product level. Fundamental innovations are often created by other industries than the one creating the traditional format. An example: Take the music industry. One can see the tapedecks as a methapor for an A-type company, the cd-players as a B-type company, where the Ipod is somthing completely different and can be seen as a C-type company. As a result the I pod has forced the A and B-type companies to change and modify.

Therefore I found that this books goes one step further than “Blue Ocean Strategy”. The previous book I presented. The blue ocean is an A-type company, the Red ocean the B-type. But we need a C-type company to take us a step further. In my eyes this is the “new way of Swimming” . Not moving from one product to another, but changing logic.

This C-type in busines logic is based on the changing role of the consumer. Consumer to Business to Consumer. According to Ramaswamy and Prahalad the new role of the consumer manifests itself in the following ways.

· Information Access: With access to unprecedented amounts of information, knowledgeable consumers can make more informed decisions.

· Global View: Consumers can also access information on firms, products, technologies, performance, prices and consumer actions and reactions from around the world.

· Networking: “Thematic consumer communities,” in which individuals share ideas and feelings without regard for geographic or social barriers, are revolutionary

· Experimentation: Consumers can also use the Internet to experiment with and develop products, especially digital ones.

· Activism: As people learn, they can better discriminate when making choices; as they network, they embolden each other to act and speak out.

Perhaps another example to illustrate is the example of health care addressed in the book. Where we were used to just going to the doctors, blindly trusting whatever he described, the world has become immensely more complex. We now have so much choice between different treatments, and the possibility of researching ourselves what we prefer, that healthcare has become a deliberate choice in many cases. There are many paths to Rome, perhaps too many.

A similar development can be seen in business in general. That is, the enormous increase in the complexity of things. To relate to an example where we as Imagineers are more familiar with: If 20 years ago you would touch the first marble in a row of marbles, it would have a predictable effect on the next in line. Today that marble finds itself in a group of marbles, interconnected in so many ways that it has become nearly impossible to predict the following effects.

The complexity has caused an explosion of choices for consumers, yet yield less satisfaction. Managers have more strategic options, yet they yield less value.

One could therefore say it is not the offering of new choices(A-type), not the offering of co-creation by companies(B-type), but managing the experience of co-creation(C-type) that creates unique value to consumer and company. C2B2C.

Ramaswamy and Prahalad provide the DART-model in their book. This model consists out of four building blocks preparing companies for co-creation.

· Dialogue encourages not just knowledge sharing but even more important, qualitatively new levels of under- standing between companies and consumers. It also allows consumers to interject their views of value into the value creation process.

· Access challenges the notion that consumers can experience value only through ownership. By focusing on access to experiences at multiple points of interaction, as opposed to simply ownership of products, companies can broaden their business opportunities.

· Risk assessment assumes that if consumers become co-creators of value with companies, then they will demand more information about potential risks of goods and services — but they may also bear more responsibility for dealing with those risks.

· Transparency of information is necessary to create trust between institutions and individuals. Companies have traditionally benefited from an information advantage in the marketplace, but that asymmetry between the firm and the consumer is rapidly disappearing.

Based on the building blocks of the DART-model Ramaswamy and Prahalad have formed four dimensions of consumer wants and needs towards co-creation

· Consumers want the freedom of choice to interact with the firm through a range of experience gateways. Therefore, the firm must focus on the co-creation experience across multiple channels.

· Consumers want to define choices in a manner that reflects their view of value. Therefore, the firm must provide experience-centric options that reflect consumer desires.

· Consumers want to interact and transact in their preferred language and style. They want quick, easy, convenient and safe access to experiences. Therefore, in consummating individual choices, the firm must focus on the co-creation experience through transactions.

· Consumers want to associate choice with the experiences they are willing to pay for. They want the price of these experiences to be fair. Therefore, the firm must focus on the totality of the price-experience relationship in the co-creation.

To me personally this books deals with many of the fundamentals of Imagineering and co-creation as such. However, I would like to add one dimension. Ashraf Ramzy, guest lecturer at the Imagineering academy, summarizes the entire stream of thought to a great extend in my opinion. We want, we need, we long for a story. A story is what brings meaning to our lives, a story is what binds us to our roots, to our soccer team, to our country, to what we are. As a company and as a consumer we play our roles in many different stories. In order to participate, in order to co-create, in order to create meaning, we need to have something relevant to tell.

In a continuously increasing complex world it are the stories that create meaning. I specifically like the concept of storytelling so much because it humanizes business. I strongly belief that a business should be run like you position yourself as a human in the world. Or from a different perspective as a consumer. How do you create value to other in the social networks you live your life in. Change the scope. C2B2, a company is a consumer and a consumer is a company. Together we write the story.

A relevant read. New to Imagineering? Absolutely. It inspires and introduces you to many fundamental thoughts.

To Imagineers? Absolutely, not because it brings so many new thoughts to the table, but because it is a tool for dialogue.

Regards,

Joep Peeters

References:

-C.K. Prahalad,Venkat Ramaswamy(2004)The Future of Competition

-http://www.narrativity-group.com/

Complexity, Management and the Dynamics of Change

Our planet was not designed using command and control principles, yet they still underpin much of today's management practice. This approach is now 300 years behind the times! – Elizabeth McMillan

When I was searching for books in the theme of complexity science I stumbled upon this amazing book! As soon as I started reading it I could not stop… which is kind of rare when reading a book that is no novel or thriller.  This book is a definite recommendation. It offers a great foundation for Imagineering and other perspectives on the paradigm shift, which we have been discussing multiple times last year.

I present you:

Complexity, Management and Dynamics of Change

Challenges for practice

Author: Elizabeth McMillan

McMillan starts with a very clear introduction in which she explains the reason for writing the book and her view on the world and its organizations nowadays.

This book seeks to build a practical bridge between the world of science and the world of management. In McMillan’s opinion far too many books are based on a way of thinking that does not reflect the way the world actually works. This mindset (way of thinking) is especially unhelpful in the fast-paced globalized world of the twenty-first century. Books with those mindsets draw their materials on current best practice- and so they are only able to reflect what is already out there and happening. McMillan also states that these books have their roots in a worldview that developed over 300 years ago.

The historic timeline of organizations also provides the connecting thread throughout the book in which she explains why science became such a big deal and why control and command used to be the focus of organizations.

McMillan states ‘ So if there are few organizations out there that are truly successful when it comes to managing change, authors and managers are not left with many role models to consider and possibly emulate. Is there a danger that we may be endlessly repeating ourselves?’ You could say McMillan here states the emerging themes of Kim and Mauborgne. Blue ocean strategy for seeking new markets instead of existing, repeating markets. However, even in change, it is hard not repeating other successful companies in change.

What is in the book?

Complexity science is a new science that only emerged during the last half of the twentieth century and although it is now well accepted in the scientific community it had taken longer for it to make into the thinking and practice of other non-scientific communities, including business and management. Complexity science-derived ideas can impact upon the way you work on a daily basis and the way that organizations function and survive, and expect to function and survive.

What theme’s are in the book?

·      The outline of the historical relationship between science and organizations

·      Reviewing current perspectives on organizational change and best practice

·      Citing real-life examples of the use of complexity science ideas

·      Discussing issues, which may arise when using ideas from complexity

Keywords: Chaos theory, fractals, the butterfly effect, non-scientific, strange attractors, the edge of chaos, change models, single loop- double loop, self-organizing

Chapters:

·          The Clockwork manager

·          Complexity science

·          Change and the dynamics of change

·          Complexity in practice

·          Complexity in action: a case study of the open university

·          Self-organizing change dynamics

·          Essential principles

·          New perspectives, opportunities for innovation

The content:

McMillan is taking us to the historic Newtonian-Cartesian view of the world in which some organizations are still stuck, although they sometimes believe they are not. Too many managers and writers on management are still influenced by old ways of thinking. These ways of thinking are essentially laboratory based and while very useful for the hard sciences and the creation of new technologies, they are extremely unhelpful for dealing with the real, very volatile world of people and organizations that exists ‘outside the lab’.

Change is the underlying essence of life…

Sometimes we may thing that the world is a stable place but that is because we are not observing the implicate order, only the explicate order. The planet is, in fact, in a state of permanent change.  If we would think like Chinese and Greek philosophers then we would appreciate that nothing is fixed, nothing exist forever in a permanent state of being. Paradoxically, the only permanent thing in the universe is change.

We are human ‘becomings’ rather than human ‘beings’…

Doing things differently and introducing change, using complexity based principles. McMillan also provides the reader with a lot of extra interesting articles and books to read.  (See extra information).

Companies like Oticon, SEMCO, Sears, 3M, St. Luke’s and many other organizations are presented in the book.

How to change?

A manager considering change from a complexity standpoint will realize that it is pointless to attempt to control all the key variables in a given situation and will instead focus on what it is possible to know and understand. You will need to reflect ultimately on how they may best engage with the human dynamics of the organization and all their many complexities and nuances.

The practical side of complexity theory is also discussed in the last part of the book. Models that were used, workshops, frustrations of involved people and much more very insightful information are explained. It provides you with ideas, models and very use full information to analyze you own organization. It helps u to get to the ‘structured spontaneity’.

McMillan ends the book with very useful insights on leadership, Human Resource Management, innovation and the future of organizations.

Review: this book is very closely related to the Imagineering perspective. It covers the paradigm shift, chaos theory, leadership and self-organizing systems.

Pro: the book is an easy reader and is especially great if you need a basis for your organization to understand the dynamics of change.

Book reviewer Clint Witchalls wrote the following about this book; the problem with complexity science is that it spans a number of fields, including chaos theory, fractals, strange attractors and emergence. The mathematics is often abstruse, although, to McMillan’s credit, she gets these difficult ideas across without resorting to a single equation. But her advice to ‘practitioners’ is complexity-lite and often vague.

Con: I agree with this review of Clint and I think you should read this book to have your story complete and clear. For methods and theories that will help you further with the actual transformation within an organization or city you need to read extra books that match your situation and organization. Of course there is no holy grail on organizations and the world. Many other writers have other views and theories, which also need to be taken into account.

Remark: I was able to explain the book to my grandmother on the contrary had difficulties putting it into 1000 words. I am convinced this is partly because I am excited about the book, but mainly because Elizabeth writes to us in non-scientific words which makes it a lot easier to understand the complexity of the world and her organizations. Service-dominant logic has Vargo and Lusch, complexity theory has Elizabeth McMillan!

Speaking of the butterfly effect and self-organizing systems. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41QKeKQ2O3E&feature=related

Enjoy,


Carlijn

References:

•    McMillan, E. 2008. Complexity, Management and the Dynamics of Change.
•    Book review: Can science save the day? By Clint Witchalls: http://www.spectator.co.uk/books.
• Extra
•  http://www.elizabethmcmillan.co.uk/
• Article: Allen, P.M. (2001) ‘ a complex systems approach to learning in adaptive networks’.
•  Knowles, R.N. (2002) The leadership dance: Pathways to Extraordinary organizational effectiveness.
• McMillan, E. (2004) Complexity, Organizations and Change.

Bookreview: Leadershift

Details

Book title: Leadershift
Tagline:Reinventing leadership for the age of mass collaboration
Author: Emanuelle Gobillot

Previous book: connected leader

Leadershift is the follow up of the book "The connected leader". I found a great video of about 45 minutes of Emmanuelle Gobillot speaking to Google about leadership about the content of his previous book:

Content

In the book Leadershift Emanuelle Gobillot asks the question: “If mass collaboration changes everything, how does it change the way we lead?”. He argues leaders have to led go the concept of them having the experience, expertise and control to bring a group to great end results. Compared to hierarchical leading, leadership in communities is intrinsically linked to narrative, task and contribution rather than power, role and accountability. No longer in charge of direction, the role of the leader is to help the community find its voice. From there their communities will find their own direction and narrrative as they set out to succeed.

The book is written in spoken language and is easy to understand with its rich and entertaining examples towards the concepts it presents. An example is the beginning of a chapter: “This supposed to be the future, so where is my jetpack?”.
Emmanuelle describes four mayor societal trends that bring down the walls of hierarchic leadership:

1. the demographic trend: we have multiple generations working alongside eachother where everybody has preference of their own methods of getting work done


2. the expertise trend: expertise is now to be found as much outside as inside the organisation


3. the attention trend: organisations have to fight harder than ever to capture the attention of employees and customers as information and interaction sources are now abundant and lay claim to the time available.


4. the democratic trend: It is not likely leaders still have direct control over their resources like they used to as people work more and more in all kind of different teams with different leaders claiming the same resources.

These four societal trends make room for new ways of practicing leadership. Emmanuelle describes four shifts in leadership style that are needed to lead in these new times:

1. from clarity to simplicity: clarity within a project is giving you clear tasks, but does not ensure you understand why you need to do the task. Simplicity makes your tasks clear, but lets you understand why you need to these tasks and generates meaning. Simplicity ignites your participation but also actively lets you think about the intentions of a project and how your tasks fit into that wished for end result.


2. from plans to narratives: plans are constantly changing and are not likely to be followed while a narrative will inspire people and is more flexible to changes. Projects nowadays are more influenced by new insights the networked society provides, providing the need to change plans but keep the narrative alive.


3. from roles to tasks: roles define formally where you stand in an organization, but do not define what tasks your will and can perform


4. from money to love: money does buy you time to allow another to keep motivated, but does not ensures mental involvement. Money is therefore a hiegene factor, but does not ensures full commitment.

Imagineering relevance

Emmanuelle explains implicitly why Imagineering is important in the new economy. Some parts of an alinea that connects strongly with the convictions of Imagineering:

• We must “reestablish a sense of meaning in the economic activity”


• “By forcing our organizations to rethink their very essence they will become stronger”


• “It is easier for meaning to be shared when it is co-created”

Imagineering is focussing on collaboration and organisation by dialog and is learning a Master in Imagineering student how to lead this process. This book is focussing on how we need to lead in an age of mass participation. These concepts are strongly correlated I believe.

How to use this book?

Leadershift is a refreshing book that confirms parts of what we’ve been learning at the Imagineering Academy, referring to the networked economy, motivation, societial trends and others. However Emmanuelle presents the material in a very understandable argumentation that makes sense to current leaders in the field and is therefore an excellent tool to convince CEO’s and other deciders upon the relevance of Imagineering. I think this book is explaining in a very accessible way what leadership could look like in a changing society.

Conclusion

I did like to read this book because of the accesible style it is written in, together with the humor the writer uses, the book is entertaining while giving a clear view on how essential leadership qualities are changing. Let’s categorize this book edutainment :-). A must-read for CEO's that want to work with Imagineering and understand why they need to work with Imagineers

Book review Sanne Knitel: ''Who moved my cheese?''

Book review

Title: Who moved my cheese
Author: Spencer Johnson, M.D
Student: Sanne Knitel (093415)

Overview main argument
The book tells the story of two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two little people (Hem and Haw) captive in a labyrinth. In the book ‘’Who moved my cheese” is cheese a metaphor for everything you want in life. In real life everything what mice want is really cheese but for the two little people cheese is a metaphor for security, success, happiness and financial safety. If we find ‘’our cheese’’ we prefer to cling to the cheese. The cheese-stock is exhaustible, a company reorganises, a partner can leave us, in short uncertainties robbery us. The labyrinth in the story represents where we spend time to look for what we want in life. It can be in your relationship, the organization you work and more.

What's very important in the story that the mice and the little people find at one day cheese in the Cheese Station C. They are all very happy with the finding and day after day they come back to the Cheese Station C to get the cheese. There are differ between the mice and the little people: the mice always explore their surrounding when they are in the neighbourhood of Cheese Station C. The little people where very comfortable with the whole situation and this feels like security, success, happiness and financial safety.

Then the story turns: the cheese disappeared from Cheese Station C. The mice and the people react very differently.

Mice: Sniff and Scurry
The mice are surprised but they choose a new direction to find new cheese. They didn’t analyse the situation because change happens. When change happens they know how to deal with it and they immediately start a search for a new Cheese Station. And after a few days they find the new Cheese Station with cheese that was even better than the old cheese.

The little people: Hem and Haw
The little people react very emotional, because Cheese Station C felt like their home. They were shocked, outraged, scared and don’t know what to do. In their comfort they didn’t notice that the cheese was reducing. They felt that the situation was unfair, they stayed in Cheese Station C and hoped that the cheese come back. But the cheese was gone.. After a period Haw felt weak and decides to look for other cheese. He was very afraid of what might happen to him, he was afraid of the unknown. During his seek he was writing life lessons on the walls of the labyrinth like ‘’ Çhange happens, Anticipate Change, Enjoy Change’’. Him stayed in Cheese Station C, it is not clear if he ever reach the new Cheese Station.

The first part of the book former classmates talk about a class reunion about change and how to deal with them in their lives. The second part is the story about the mice and the little people and how they react on the changes in their lives. The third part of the book brings you back to reality in a playful way. It gives you insights in how change processes work at people

Reflection
I like the book because of it’s simple language, it’s metaphors. The book is easy to read and makes you think about yourself and the way you behave and react in change situations. The book deals with fear and show you how to deal with it to overcome yourself. The changes can give you also new opportunities, both businesslike as private. For me sometimes change is scary but the book shows you that change can also be fun. The book gives seems very simple but there are a lot of things in life we do not see anymore. We take it for granted. A few things were very important insights for me after reading this book:
1. If you don’t change you ‘’die’’.
2. If you keep an eye on the little changes you are able to accept the bigger changes more easy.
3. Old beliefs doesn’t lead you to the new ‘stuff’’.
4. If you let go of the fear you will be free
5. In a change situation you have to find new paths for everything you want in life.

For me reading the story was perfectly timed because I just lost my job and I was in a change process myself. The book helped me to view the situation with a helicopter view and I could see the change process in perspective. The book made me smile because of the metaphors and the simple way the author wrote about these difficult and complex change processes.

Value of the book for Imagineering
Imagineering is ‘’a design approach to value co-creation making use of imagination. It’s a way to create a new appealing ‘’lens’’ to find ‘’a blue ocean of uncontested market space’’ that inspires all stakeholders to co-create’’ (Nijs, 2009). Imagineering is a way to approach organisation transformation. As Imagineers we use the Roadmap (Inspiration phase, Creation phase, Exploration phase and Organisation phase) to realise transformation in organisations. Changes are in every part of the Roadmap during the transformation. Alexander de Vries mentioned in one of his lectures: ‘’You have to be in a nothing to loose modus, then you are free’’.This is exactly the lesson I learned from this book. You don’t need control, you need trust for transformations. When you are still in control, you are not driving fast enough. Trust make people grow, but trust is scary for a lot of people. So you need guts to create trust. Trust starts with purpose. Why are we here? Imagineering is a construct which also is able to construct trust.

As an Imagineer / change leader you first have to know yourself to reach something. The book helps you to understand how you react on changes, you are able to compare yourself with the mice and the little people. From a Imagineering point of view it is important to start from a positive thing in change. If we look to the story ‘’Who moved my cheese” the mice are positive to the change and the little people are scared. So in this story we can learn a lot from the mice.