Although I am not involved in this book, I am passing along the information
FYI:
Predator's Game-Changing Designs: Research-Based Tools
Edited by George Graen (U. Illinois) & Joan Graen
When the tried and true formula for an organizations performance (its game
plan) begins to fail, it must change its game or become obsolete. Publicly
recognizing that the old formula is becoming less useful and a new formula
must be developed and implemented is difficult for most stakeholders, but
for survival the stages of grief must be endured and the conclusion
accepted. Moreover, the romance of the grand old formula must be overcome
by the realization that a new and more attractive formula must be invented
or found to replace it. The fate of thousands of organizations that did not
change their games when WalMart came to town bears witness to the Iron Law
of Capitalistic Markets: Change your game when necessary to remain
competitive. As Mr. Sam Walton told my son, Mike, stay the course as long
as you can, but be willing to change it when its not working. Clearly, Mr.
Sams protégés got the message.
This book describes game-changing designs using the latest research-based
strategies for inside organizational participants from CEOs, Boards of
Directors, top, middle and lower managers and participants, and those people
outside with a stake in its continued performance.
We have had the unique opportunity to understand from the inside-out both
Mr. Sam Waltons miracle at WalMart and the great turnaround at Cincinnatis
Procter and Gamble over the last 15 plus years. We conclude from these
studies that Mr. Sam has become a modern patron saint of American
game-changers. WalMart has been seen by most business reviewers as a clear
business case study of a stay the course formula of lowest price for the
customer, but our research shows that Mr. Sam created a game-changing
design culture. Yes, Mr. Sam began to build his juggernaut using a lowest
price strategy that changed the game by shock and awe strategies in small
markets. Moreover, Mr. Sam next changed the game by employing advanced
information technology to reduce supply chain costs and go international.
Later, Mr. Sam changed the game again by partnering with his reluctant
vendors and requiring that most large suppliers maintain a permanent WalMart
team near WalMart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Later, Mr. Scott,
the CEO successor to Mr. Sam, changed the game again by going green. In
addition, the effective integrative partnering with originally adversarial
supplier teams by Mike Graens coaches set of new standard for
inter-organizational cooperation. Mr. Sams legacy continues to inspire new
game-changing designs across many different kinds of organizations in
America and beyond. Once CEOs understand that their competition is as bright
and hard working as they and they need to leap-frog to new games, Mr. Sams
examples of carefully designed and implemented game-changing research-based
innovations become their bible. As our domestic and international markets
have become increasingly discontinuous and what worked yesterday doesnt
work today, our CEOs should look to Mr. Sams approach that changed the game
before his competitors many times.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword. Preface. What Is a Game-Changing Design? Miriam Grace. Strategic
Development of Network Structures That Support Learning and Adaptation,
Deborah Gibbons. Strategic Development of Competence Networks to Implement
Adaptation, George Graen. Game-Changing Leadership Through Social Networks
in Complex Systems: An Inquiry Into the Mechanisms of Individual Influence
on Social Process and Structure, James Hazy. Middle Managers as Game
Changers: Strategies for Reducing Resistance and the Role of LMX, Stacie
Furst. Fluid Change Leadership: Navigating Organizational Change in Dynamic
Contexts, Luis Martin. The Coevolution of Friendship and Leadership Networks
in Small Groups, Ajay Mehra, Josh Marineau, Alex Lopes, and Ted Dass.
Emotional Intelligence: What Does it Measure and Does it Matter for
Leadership? John Antonakis. Agency Beliefs About Chinese Leaders and
Followers: A Comparison of Historic Chinese Leadership Philosophies, Chao
Chen. CEO Summary: Find-Design-Capture Comparative Advantage, George Graen.
About the Authors.
http://infoagepub.com/products/Predators-Game-Changing-Designs