by: Michael Kanazawa (note: picture source from Lisa Haneberg’s Management Craft blog)

Just recently, Lisa Haneberg had me join her for a “Fireside Chat” podcast for her popular management blog, Management Craft. During the interview she started talking about her favorite sentence in the whole book, and I knew just what she was talking about. The sentence is, “Denial is the opium of losers.” In the podcast we talk about what that means and how to avoid the problems it can cause. She also pointed out several other real keys to the book with amazing accuracy. Although we don’t quite solve every business problem in the world, we do talk about a new mantra to live by that should replace the old and ineffective phrase, “do more with less.”

You can listen to the podcast and read her post about the podcast or just listen to the podcast here.

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By: Michael Kanazawa 

One of the biggest challenges in driving strategic change is in following through on execution. On March 31, 2008, Lindsay Edmonds Wickman, associate editor for Chief Learning Officer Magazine, wrote an article titled Making Change Meaningful. In it, she cites BIG Ideas to BIG Results and points out one of the biggest problems in running a failed change program is not the just the missed opportunities for business improvement, but creating a jaded and cynical workforce that won’t respond over time. There is a strategic role that CLOs are well positioned to play in integrating business strategy and leadership to accomplish breakthrough resutls and avoid the common pitfalls of in strategy execution. There has long been a gap between business operations and leadership development, so as Scott Adams’ book title aptly points out, be cautious of where and how you step forward in exapanding the CLO role to be more strategic. (more…)

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By: Michael Kanazawa

In the March 17th edition of BusinessWeek, on page 20, there is a picture of our book with Good to Great. And in that article you can see Jim Collins’ name appear with just two other authors being mentioned, Michael Kanazawa and Robert Miles. Not bad company for a book that has sold 3.6 million copies. It was truly exciting to be in such good company.

The article is based on the idea that top selling business books have something specific in common. They have red covers. But beyond the covers, the two books also drive for the same type of greatness in organizations. Jim Collins’ Good to Great identified the key ideas and principles through historical research. BIG Ideas to BIG Results shows exactly how to put a process in place and how to lead a great company. (more…)

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By: Robert H. Miles, Ph.D.

A recent article in the Theory & Practice section of The Wall Street Journal raised the issue of the importance of Speed in management. Titled “Speed is Key Question as New CEOs Remake Team,” the piece reported that while management churn can be a problem, many CEOs wish they had moved faster in removing dysfunctional or non-supportive executives from their team.

This finding squares with my experience over many years from my corporate transformation practice, but it the tip of the iceberg, Speed a much bigger, more pervasive challenge to that the singular aspect highlighted in the article. It is multidimensional in its impact on the ultimate success or failure of corporate transformation attempts.

So multidimensional is the speed factor in execution that I call it the “New Management Discipline,” a theme that comes through strongly in my new book with Mike Kanazawa, BIG Ideas to BIG Results: Remake and Recharge Your Company, Fast. (more…)

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By: Michael Kanazawa 

Bob is co-author of BIG Ideas to BIG Results. Early in his career he taught at Harvard Business School, the Yale School of Management and the Stanford Executive Institute, was Dean of Faculty at the Emory School of Business, has written several books on corporate transformation, and is the father of the management area called macro-organizational behavior. For me, he has been a consultant, advisor, mentor and now a business partner and collaborator. But, some people don’t know Bob, at least as well as I do.  But don’t go out and Google him. Let me tell you about Bob, who now serves as Chairman of Dissero Partners.

By the way, if you do Google Bob Miles, the first three hits are for a marine plumber, a musician and a realtor. Robert H. Miles will get you a lot of professional information about him, but let me tell you about the real Bob here instead - you won’t find this on the Internet. (more…)

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By Michael Kanazawa 

In the January 2008 edition of Harvard Business Review, two feature articles make a clear case for BIG Ideas to BIG Results and specifically the use of the ACT (Accelerated Corproate Transformation) process for driving breakthrough corporate performance.

In one article, titled “Transforming Giants”, Rosabeth Moss Kanter states, “The key, I’ve concluded, is that a decisive shift is occuring in what might be called the guidance systems of these global giants. Employees once acted mainly according to rules and decisions handed down to them, but they now draw heavily on their shared understanding of mission and on a set of tools available everywhere at once. This shift is often heralded, and in most of these companies it has been a long time coming. But now it is happening with dramatic effects.”

Our ACT process has been honed, accelerated, and streamlined for 25 years as a way for companies to focus, align, and engage entire organizaitons quickly. It becomes a system where accountabilities are strong, but at the same time provides for true engagement of the workforce. In fact, out of the 350 executive interviews Kanter and her team conducted, one person cited in the article is Sam Palmisano of IBM. Back in the 1990s when IBM made the dramatic shift to a services business model, the ACT process was used to engage the biggest part of the new IBM Global Services business unit in the transformation of IBM. The results were remarkable. (more…)

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By Michael Kanazawa

Just yesterday I received an email from our publisher that our first book review on BIG Ideas to BIG Results had come in. As I clicked the email link to read the review I felt like Charlie as he unwrapped that last chocolate bar, hoping so much to see the golden ticket enclosed. But for me the golden ticket would be positive words, encouragements, and appreciation for the book. We got it!

Now I know it is just the first one and there may be others that aren’t so golden. But it’s great to start with a check in the win column for sure and coming from the main source that people in the publishing world read, that means a lot to me. Here is the review…

Publisher’s Weekly: January 28, 2008

Big Ideas to Big Results: Remake and Recharge Your Company, Fast
Michael T Kanazawa and Robert H. Miles. Pearson/FTPress, $27.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-13-234478-4.

“It takes more than a vision to launch a successful corporate strategy. It takes engagement on the part of employees at all levels. Establishing such engagement is at the heart of this punchy, dynamic book by Kanazawa and Miles—the CEO and chairman, respectively, of DisseroPartners, a strategic advisory firm. Fewer than half of employees, according to a quoted poll, understand their company’s strategic goals and only 43% think there is ever any follow-through on planned strategy shifts. This is why, the authors assert, so many corporate initiatives fail. After seeing the process break down countless times, Kanazawa and Miles developed a step-by-step guide to harnessing the energy that companies usually waste when introducing initiatives. By creating more of a “buy-in” throughout the organization and ensuring execution through accountability, employees become committed to company goals, they claim. Their clear and hands-on approach is useful for anyone whose livelihood is tied to the successful execution of business initiatives. (Mar.)”

As a second set of wins for us, I think we also may have the only book that has received advance praise from CEO’s of F500 companies, CFOs, executives of operations, HR, marketing, IT, and strategy, Harvard Business School professors, and private equity investors, including a partner at Kleiner Perkins Kaufiled and Byers. It demonstrates that we have a book that will help you make money, grow your business, is academically sound, operationally practical, and good for start ups and large companies alike.

Bob and I are very excited about the launch of the new book and hope you can share in that with us by following along and contributing to this blog and of course…here comes the shameless plug… buy the book. It is available now for pre-purchase on Amazon and B&N and will be shipping in February. Also, if you would like a signed book with an additional video, still at a discounted price, we have an exclusive special with 800CEORead (ask for Jon Mueller at 800-CEO-READ), and orders must be for multiple books and completed before Feb 19, 2008.

Michael Kanazawa: chief executive of Dissero Partners, co-author of BIG Ideas to BIG Results
If you would like me to speak at your company or association, please contact the BrightSight Group

Note: Image from CNN.com

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By Michael Kanazawa

Some people think the blog world is all give and take, as in I don’t ‘give‘ a _______ about this and ‘take‘ this and ________.

Well, it is about sharing opinions, but it’s not about ranting. What makes blogging interesting is knowing the people behind the comments they make. You don’t see the disclaimer ”these views are not representative of this blog, the management of the blog or any affiliates therof.” Owning your comments as an individual is what makes blogs different and unique.

So, I just got tagged by Phil Gerbyshak, from Slacker Manager with a game going around the blogging community where you are asked to share six things that people don’t know about you. It’s a push to share something new about yoursef and then you get to “tag” three more bloggers.

Six things on me…

1) One of my early management  jobs put me in cubicle 4S450N (doesn’t that just feel inspiring), just down the hall from cubicle 4S750R, the home of Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert. It was a real learning opportunity for sure! 

2) Sailing in the SF Bay is rough and cold, and for all of my sailing friends in the Bay Area, I say “bring it on,” give me 20 knots, chop and sea spray any day. Although I confess here that I really enjoy a long smooth broad reach off of Malibu with warm weather, a gentle breeze, long rolling waves, and the Eagles on the cockpit speakers. 

3) Playing rock guitar has been a life long passion. Rock On!

4) My kids and I have made a few really silly movies using their stuffed animals, stop-motion and our voice overs for filming…but we haven’t had the nerve to put them up on YouTube (yet).

5) My name gets misspelled all the time.My favorite was in Germany where the hotel staff were expecting a German man by the name of Mike Kanesauer (as opposed to Kanazawa) and were quite surprised when I arrived

6) I have a son who just started high school and the song that played at my high school graduation was from Styx. No need to do the math.

Now, as to the rules of this game: You must:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So my next three are:

The Daily Challenges of an Entrepreneur

Guy Kawasaki - How to Change the World

Rajesh Setty - Life Beyond Code

And one I’d love to see personally…

Scott Adams - The Dilbert Blog 

(note: picture from www.dolphinlandings.com)

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By Michael Kanazawa

Remember when you used to dream about what wishes you would make if a genie showed up? Wasn’t the first one always, “I wish I had 1,000 more wishes.” That is absolutely the best one you could ever make, right?

On top of all New Year’s resolutions lists is there an equivalent must-have item? No, it’s not to get yourself a Wii. Here is our suggestion…

#1  Turn my Big Ideas into Big Results

New Year’s resolutions, company priorities, strategic imperatives and operating goals are all just lists of things to get done. But even as we create those lists at the beginning of each year, are we really committed to seeing them through? Promise to make your big ideas into big results first, then whatever you put on your list after that will get done. You will produce results, which is really the only reason for making a list in the first place.

Go ahead and put that resuloution on your list, but now how will you follow through? This year we have just the thing to help. As you work through setting goals and direction for yourself, your team, your division or your company, the new book BIG Ideas to BIG Results (FT Press/Pearson Hall) is just what you need to ensure you have the streamlined process, tools and knowledge to follow through and drive results.

Bob and I wrote this book based on our years of experience in helping leaders through the challenges of taking charge, focusing companies for dramatic growth, and engaging their organizations for breakthrough results. Our desire in writing the book was to bring valuable solutions, that were once only available through the Harvard Business School MOE program and then only to top executives at global companies, into the hands of leaders at all levels in all types of companies.  

We’re looking forward to having a great 2008 with you! No matter what your aspirations for 2008, if you make turning your Big Ideas into Big Results your number one commitment, you’ll be sure to see success on all your other commitments throughout the year.

Photo source: www.timessquarenyc.org

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By Michael Kanazawa

This last week the team at 800CEORead hosted their second annual Pow Wow. It is a gathering of business book authors and other publishing industry leaders. I didn’t know what to expect when I agreed to go and walking into the lobby of the Catalyst Ranch, which had wild paint on the walls, a small spring loaded rocking horse that they said was adult sized, and retro furniture looking like a Lucy and Ricky Ricardo garage sale only added a few more questions in my mind…like what the heck am I doing here?

Although in reality, the other Pow Wow attendees I had met the night before the event at dinner had already convinced me that the whole trip to Chicago had been worth it. And now days after the event, I’m still just starting to really undertand the astounding generosity of knowledge, genunine and authentic connections and inspiration that was happening between all of us at the Ranch.

No matter how well we can chat up people through our bluetooth headset, connect ourselves together indefinitely through LinkedIn and write on each others’ blogs…there is still no substitute for face-to-face, real-world meetings. There is a great post on relationships on Tom Peters’ blog that talks about the power of relationships, even to the point of saying that more than logical thinking, the relationships between people is what has allowed man to win out over the beasts. (more…)

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