Entire service businesses have been built around the ideas of Heskett, Sasser, and Schlesinger, pioneers in the world of service. Now they test their ideas against the actual experiences of successful and unsuccessful practitioners, as well as against demands of the future, in a book service leaders around the world will use as a guide for years to come. The authors cover every aspect of optimal service leadership: the best hiring, training, and workplace organization practices; the creation of operating strategies around areas such as facility design, capacity planning, queue management, and more; the use—and misuse—of technology in delivering top-level service; and practices that can transform loyal customers into “owners.” Looking ahead, the authors describe the world of great service leaders in which “both/and” thinking replaces trade-offs. It's a world in which new ideas will be tested against the sine qua non of the “service trifecta”—wins for employees, customers, and investors. And it's a world in which the best leaders admit that they don't have the answers and create organizations that learn, innovate, “sense and respond,” operate with fluid boundaries, and seek and achieve repeated strategic success. Using examples of dozens of companies in a wide variety of industries, such as Apollo Hospitals, Châteauform, Starbucks, Amazon, Disney, Progressive Insurance, the Dallas Mavericks, Whole Foods, IKEA, and many others, the authors present a narrative of remarkable successes, unnecessary failures, and future promise.

The authors of Great Leaders Grow use a fable to lay out what is the secret to great leadership in this internationally bestselling guide. It’s a question that everyone in a position of authority—whether in a multinational corporation or a local volunteer group—wonders sooner or later. Here Ken Blanchard, whose books on leadership have sold over twenty million copies, and Mark Miller, who worked his way up from line worker to vice president of Chick-Fil-A, one of the largest fast-food restaurant chains in the country, uncover the secret that great leaders already know and detail what you need to do to truly inspire and motivate others. The authors get at the heart of what makes a leader successful using a classic business fable. Newly promoted but struggling young executive Debbie Brewster asks her mentor, “What is the secret of great leaders?” His reply—“great leaders serve”—flummoxes her, but over time he reveals the five fundamental ways that leaders succeed through service. Along the way, Debbie learns: • Why great leaders seem preoccupied with the future • How people on the team ultimately determine your success or failure • What three arenas require continuous improvement • Why true success in leadership has two essential components • How to knowingly strengthen—or unwittingly destroy—leadership credibility This new edition includes a leadership self-assessment so readers can measure to what extent they lead by serving and where they can improve. The authors have also added answers to the most frequently asked questions about how to apply the SERVE model in the real world. As practical as it is uplifting, The Secret shares Blanchard and Miller’s wisdom about leadership in a form that anyone can easily understand and implement. “You don’t have to be older to be a great leader. The Secret shows how to lay the foundation for powerful servant leadership early in your career to maximize your impact.” —Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Head of Corporate Innovation and Philanthropy at Twitter, Inc. and author of Twitter for Good and Hope Runs “When you learn The Secret, don't keep it to yourself. Share it and use it with your people. It will make a difference in their lives and their performance.” —Donald G. Soderquist, former Vice Chairman, Wal-Mart, and founder of the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics, John Brown University “If you know The Secret, both relationships and results will prosper. It's a perfect move in your life from success to significance.” —Bob Buford, author of Halftime

In this book the authors cover every aspect of optimal service leadership: the best hiring, training, and workplace organization practices; the creation of operating strategies around areas such as facility design, capacity planning, queue management, and more; the use - and misuse - of technology in delivering top-level service; and practices that can transform loyal customers into "owners." They describe the world of great service leaders in which "both/and" thinking replaces trade-offs. It's a world in which new ideas will be tested against the sine qua non of the "service trifecta"--Wins for employees, customers, and investors. And it's a world in which the best leaders admit that they don't have the answers and create organizations that learn, innovate, "sense and respond, " operate with fluid boundaries, and seek and achieve repeated strategic success. --

Successful leaders don't rest on the laurels. Leadership must be a living process, and life means growth. "Great Leaders Grow" shows leaders and aspiring leaders precisely which areas to focus on so they can remain effective throughout their lives.

MAKE YOUR LEADERSHIP EFFORTS STICK Every day, thousands of people put great effort--and money--into becoming more effective leaders, through seminars, personal coaching, and employee development plans. These undertakings can do wonders to help leaders of all stripes improve their effectiveness. But not every leader finishes what he or she starts--and many revert back to less effective habits, often without even realizing it. How can you ensure that you stick with all the positive changes you have made? How do you make sure you don’t slip back into your old ways? Answer: Leadership Sustainability Dave Ulrich--the man BusinessWeek referred to as the "#1 Management Educator and Guru"--teams up with leadership expert Norm Smallwood to go where no leadership guide has gone. This dream team provides sophisticated, proven leadership sustainability ideas and tools that you can put to use immediately. Leadership Sustainability helps you turn good intentions into effective actions by mastering seven critical disciplines: Simplicity: Focus on the few key behaviors that will have the most impact. Time: Allocate your time so your calendar matches your intentions. Accountability: Take personal responsibility for doing what you say you will do. Resources: Support your leadership with effective, ongoing coaching and HR systems. Tracking: Develop metrics for measuring your leadership improvement. Melioration: Learn from your mistakes and demonstrate resilience. Emotion: Draw on deep personal values to keep yourself motivated. The journey to great leadership doesn't end with learning and implementing effective new skills. Great leadership is about consistency, and the drive for consistency is a never-ending process. Use Leadership Sustainability to ensure leadership greatness today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life. PRAISE FOR LEADERSHIP SUSTAINABILITY: "Dave and Norm propose a practical approach to solving the problem of leaders turning what they intend into what they do. The seven principles provide a simple and practical way to get things done." -- Ram Charan, coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Execution "Dave and Norm do a great job about teaching leaders not just what to do, but how to make sure that they do it. The ideas in the book are insightful, specific, and actionable." -- Gina Qiao, SVP Human Resources, Lenovo "Finally, a 'how-to' book that is grounded in the real-world dynamics of leading organizations!" -- Dixon Thayer, CEO, HealthNEXT "Dave and Norm provide both an in-depth understanding of why we often fall short and a set of tools for getting on with it." -- Morgan W. McCall, Jr., Professor, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, and author of High Flyer "Leaders all over the world will celebrate Dave and Norm’s powerful new gift: the concept of Leadership Sustainability and its seven disciplines." -- Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO, The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute "Finally, we have two scholar-practitioners who correctly address evidence that one of every two leaders fails and offer solutions about proper execution that leads to sustainability." -- W. Warner Burke, Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University "Dave and Norm understand that one of the keys to success is disciplined continuity and sustainability--which constitute a required core competency among leadership." -- Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Chief Human Resources Officer, Walgreen Co.

Teams are critical to the success of every organization. Departmental, interdepartmental, cross-functional, ad hoc, task-specific—teams do everything from planning the office party to setting the annual budget to establishing performance goals. But what separates the teams that really deliver from the ones that simply spin their wheels? What is the secret of high-performance teams? As he did in The Secret, Mark Miller uses a compelling business fable to reveal profound yet easily grasped truths that can dramatically transform any organization. Debbie Brewster, the heroine of The Secret, has been promoted and is now struggling with taking her new team to the next level. Her old mentor, Jeff Brown, the company’s CEO, sends her out to find the secret of teams. On her journey she learns from three very different teams—the Special Forces, NASCAR, and a local restaurant. Debbie and her team discover the three elements that all successful teams have in common. But that’s just the beginning. The devil is in the details, as the story of Debbie’s efforts to actually implement the three elements shows. You’ll learn how to change entrenched ways of thinking and acting, what you have to do to optimize each of the three elements of a successful team, how to measure your progress, and more. Creating high-performance teams does more than just give your organization a competitive advantage. It can be a performance multiplier that significantly improves results while honoring and developing people. It may be the ultimate win-win-win that your organization is seeking.

Revealing hidden secrets about leadership, offers a five-point plan based on examples from the world's most effective leaders--all of whom led by serving others, in a revised edition that includes a self-assessment and FAQs.