Corporate DNA explores what happens when managers think about and run their companies as if they were living things. An organic model is at the heart of the transformation of companies like AT&T and EDS, working to redesign the bureaucracies that they were built upon. This book addresses the frustrations felt among corporations by focusing on the role of the organizational models in the transformation process. The book's key perception is that the choice of a mechanical or organic model results in an organizations developing either mechanical or organic structures. Those structures, in turn, lead to certain types of behavior. Corporate DNA provides tools with which managers can replace their old mechanical models with organic ones. Readers will discover how living things use information to create work; how they learn, develop, and govern themselves; and how prototype organic corporations such as 3M and Federal Express apply organic models to their operations. Ken Baskin, Ph.D., is a consultant on communicating quality and culture change. In addition to his own public relations business, he has worked for the US Department of Energy, the New Jersey Department of Education, and Bell Atlantic, including speech writing for CEO Ray Smith. Ken leads workshops on ¦Creating Competitive Advantage in a Market Ecology¦ and ¦Using the Principles of DNA for Problem Solving,¦ among others.

"Corporate DNA" explores what happens when managers think about and run their companies as if they were living things. The book's key perception is that the choice of a mechanical or organic model results in organizations developing either mechanical or organic structures. Those structures, in turn, lead to certain types of behavior.

When the world emerges from the current recession will you be the poorer for lack of experience?Having gone though your perceived necessary downsizing, have you left yourself wide open for experience-poor competitors to step into your experience-rich shoes? And if creeping uncompetitiveness is not to overtake you, from where will your next round of productivity gains come?Could it be that the developed world is wrecking its future for the lack of attention it is giving to preserving and applying its hard-won and expensively-acquired organisational memory (OM)? Without its tried and tested experience, the corporate body can't learn incrementally. The result? Having to re-invent the wheel, risk repeating mistakes and even not learning from successes. Corporate amnesia is the symptom. Experiential non-learning is the problem.And is not the current credit crunch a prime example?Identifying some gaping holes in the way modern walkabout managers are taught to make decisions, Corporate DNA outlines both the size of the problem and a solution - and surprise, surprise, it's not rocket science or expensive.

Of the 200 largest organizations in the world, more than 80% currently have a corporate code of conduct. An ever larger number of smaller organizations also have a code or are in the process of developing one. While in the 1970s and 1980s companies had to explain why they had a code, today they are cross-examined if they don't have one. A company has to have very good arguments to convince stakeholders that they can do without a code.A business code is a measure for success: success as manager, employee, team and for the organization as a whole. Unfortunately, many codes are underutilized. And many simply fail, with serious repercussions for the organization.This short and accessible book presents a model to create, develop and embed business codes. The validated model enables managers and organizations to better manage their codes as well as their performance. The author articulates why a code of conduct is necessary, what it should cover, as well as demonstrating through practical tips and examples how to make full use of it. What is required to breathe life into a code and keep it that way? How can you live your code? Illustrated with results from an empirical study of the "Fortune" Global 200, the ideas developed are based on the worldwide experience of the consultancy firm KPMG. The author works in the field of developing, implementing and monitoring of codes, as well as conducting intensive academic research in the last 15 years in his capacity as (associate) professor of business ethics.The Living Code is a unique book and will be essential reading for those that want to make a success of their code or are considering developing one. Readers will learn just how rich and threatening a code is and what it could mean for their organization, their team and themselves.

Die Informationstechnologie ist eine wesentliche Voraussetzung für die Unternehmensentwicklung. Nur diejenigen Unternehmen, die heute in IT investieren, investieren in ihre Zukunft. Alle übrigen bleiben auf der Strecke. Dieses Buch diskutiert die entscheidenden Auswirkungen der IT auf die Beschleunigung des globalen Kampfes um Marktanteile. "E-Darwinism" beschreibt auf treffende und gleichzeitig provozierende Art die harte Realität des neuen "Informations Darwinismus", wie Autor Eric Marks es nennt. Marks untersucht, wie das Internet die Unternehmens-, IT- und Produktionsstrategie von Produktions- und Serviceunternehmen revolutionieren wird, und warum künftige Führungskräfte in der Lage sein müssen, die Vorteile von IT und Internet voll auszunutzen. Denn das Prinzip des "Informations Darwinismus" besagt, dass nur diejenigen Unternehmen in der heutigen Wettbewerbs- und Marktumgebung überleben werden, die sich am schnellsten an aktuelle Technologien anpassen können.

The best managers ensure that the decisions and actions taken by their business are all connected to the same overall strategy. Managers who fail to do so squander time, money, and resources on unimportant tasks, then try to correct the problem with new plans and methods. Some of these solutions are worthwhile in their own right, but they too will inevitably fail if they’re not connected to the organization’s other decisions and actions. Strategic DNA helps readers build the vital connections their business needs to bring its strategy to life. Author Lawrence Hobbs explains how to unite managerial activities and focus strategies for maximum effect using alignment-building methods that retain the discipline needed to stay on course. Crammed full of insights and tricks of the trade, Strategic DNA is an invaluable guide to making management investments pay off in a strategy that works -- and keeps working.

A new classic, cited by leaders and media around the globe as a highly recommended read for anyone interested in innovation. In The Innovator’s DNA, authors Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and bestselling author Clayton Christensen (The Innovator’s Dilemma, The Innovator’s Solution, How Will You Measure Your Life?) build on what we know about disruptive innovation to show how individuals can develop the skills necessary to move progressively from idea to impact. By identifying behaviors of the world’s best innovators—from leaders at Amazon and Apple to those at Google, Skype, and Virgin Group—the authors outline five discovery skills that distinguish innovative entrepreneurs and executives from ordinary managers: Associating, Questioning, Observing, Networking, and Experimenting. Once you master these competencies (the authors provide a self-assessment for rating your own innovator’s DNA), the authors explain how to generate ideas, collaborate to implement them, and build innovation skills throughout the organization to result in a competitive edge. This innovation advantage will translate into a premium in your company’s stock price—an innovation premium—which is possible only by building the code for innovation right into your organization’s people, processes, and guiding philosophies. Practical and provocative, The Innovator’s DNA is an essential resource for individuals and teams who want to strengthen their innovative prowess.