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Beyond Performance: How Great Organizations Build Ultimate Competitive Advantage
The secret of achieving and sustaining organizational excellence revealed In an ever-changing world where only a third of excellent organizations stay that way over the long term, and where even fewer are able to implement successful change programs, leaders are in need of big ideas and new tools to thrive. In Beyond Performance, McKinsey & Company's Scott Keller and Colin Price give you everything you need to build an organization that can execute in the short run and has the vitality to prosper over the long term. Drawing on the most exhaustive research effort of its kind on organizational effectiveness and change management, Keller and Price put hard science behind their big idea: that the health of an organization is equally as important as its performance. In the book's foreword, management guru Gary Hamel refers to this notion as "a new manifesto for thinking about organizations." Ultimately, building a healthy organization is an intangible asset that competitors copy at their peril and that enables you to skillfully adapt to and shape your environment faster than others—giving you the ultimate competitive advantage.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2011
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779 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 25, 2012
I loved each and every page of the book.The authors have not only given a framework but have provided a plan of execution for achieving excellence.The concepts and principles given in this book not only apply to the organization but also can be applied to achieve excellence in one's personal life.Would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the DNA of organizations which achieve continuous growth and excellence.The strength of the book lies on the fact that so many case studies have been cited about why organizations fail and why do they succeed.The concept of organizational heath and performance was a fresh way of holistically looking at the way an organization performs and the strategy it should persue if it wants to have continuous growth.Enjoyable and enlightening.
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May 20, 2016This is my favorite business book. Love the search for finding out the secret to sustainability, and determining that focusing on organizational health is as important as focusing on results for long-term excellence. Doesn't hurt that I read the book a full year before the issues that they predicted with Toyota manifested themselves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2019
A great Meta-Model
This book does not really bring any particular new insight in the realm of management (or change management as it is presented). However it does connect many focused research insights and practices that put together provide a consistent framework to approach what I would call complex organizations and not necessary change management. The only caveat is a shy (poor) adaptation of Theory U, for the rest at least the tip of iceberg of each framework and theory interwoven in this meta-model is perfectly placed to help you achieve better results.
This book does not really bring any particular new insight in the realm of management (or change management as it is presented). However it does connect many focused research insights and practices that put together provide a consistent framework to approach what I would call complex organizations and not necessary change management. The only caveat is a shy (poor) adaptation of Theory U, for the rest at least the tip of iceberg of each framework and theory interwoven in this meta-model is perfectly placed to help you achieve better results.
January 26, 2019
Like many business books, this feels like it oversells the certainty and then underdelivers on the tactics/tools to achieve the purported results. Despite that issue, there is a compelling case made for the use of stories and modeling behaviors, and structured approach to rollout of new behaviors in an organization.
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October 23, 2025The secret of achieving and sustaining organizational excellence revealedIn an ever-changing world where only a third of excellent organizations stay that way over the long term, and where even fewer are able to implement successful change programs, leaders are in need of big ideas and new tools to thrive. In Beyond Performance, McKinsey & Company's Scott Keller and Colin Price give you everything you need to build an organization that can execute in the short run and has the vitality to prosper over the long term. Drawing on the most exhaustive research effort of its kind on organizational effectiveness and change management, Keller and Price put hard science behind their big idea: that the health of an organization is equally as important as its performance. In the book's foreword, management guru Gary Hamel refers to this notion as "a new manifesto for thinking about organizations."The authors illustrate why copying management best practices from other companies is more dangerous than helpfulClearly explains how to determine the mutually reinforcing combination of management practices that best fits your organization's contextProvides practical tools to achieve superior levels of performance and health through a staged change process: aspire, assess, architect, act, and advance. Among these are new techniques for dealing with those aspects of human behavior that are seemingly irrational (and therefore confound even the smartest leaders), yet entirely predictableUltimately, building a healthy organization is an intangible asset that competitors copy at their peril and that enables you to skillfully adapt to and shape your environment faster than others—giving you the ultimate competitive advantage.
February 15, 2021
Book 12 of 40. I’ve just finished ‘Beyond Performance 2.0’ by Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger, I give it four stars.
It’s a thorough book that could be likened to a textbook. I recommend this for people that work in a Change Management Office (CMO) or are in a Senior Leadership position.
I don’t just make this recommendation because I feel you need to be at that level to either understand or implement the frameworks, but change initiatives with Senior Executives backing and modelling the changes are over 5x more likely to succeed.
The book guides you to balance change management through Performance and Health KPIs, idealistically separated as Operational KPIs and Human KPIs. Keep KPIs simple, only 29% of regular KPIs are listed in the Change Management Plan...how much are you tracking today that has no impact?
Other than ‘be the change you want to see’, I really liked that the statement that ‘the desk is the worst spot to view the world from’ (...along those lines) as you need to be out with the people to drive the change home, it can’t be done from the desk.
Whilst it’s an exhaustive read, given the Authors have worked for McKinsey, you can expect quality.
It’s a thorough book that could be likened to a textbook. I recommend this for people that work in a Change Management Office (CMO) or are in a Senior Leadership position.
I don’t just make this recommendation because I feel you need to be at that level to either understand or implement the frameworks, but change initiatives with Senior Executives backing and modelling the changes are over 5x more likely to succeed.
The book guides you to balance change management through Performance and Health KPIs, idealistically separated as Operational KPIs and Human KPIs. Keep KPIs simple, only 29% of regular KPIs are listed in the Change Management Plan...how much are you tracking today that has no impact?
Other than ‘be the change you want to see’, I really liked that the statement that ‘the desk is the worst spot to view the world from’ (...along those lines) as you need to be out with the people to drive the change home, it can’t be done from the desk.
Whilst it’s an exhaustive read, given the Authors have worked for McKinsey, you can expect quality.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2019
Interesting, but I only scan-read it because it was something on my shelf from my previous career which I hadn't gotten around to reading. Likely to be useful for people in organisational transformation roles.
January 19, 2020
El libro es repetitivo, afirma reiterativamente lo seguro de su metodología, que por cierto no es novedosa, es una recopilación de diversas fuentes de otros autores actuales, y pasados.
La tercera edición que promueve desde ahora, no parece que vaya introducir nada nuevo.
La tercera edición que promueve desde ahora, no parece que vaya introducir nada nuevo.
February 27, 2024
As with any typical business book, it includes some theories and frameworks together with lots of anecdotes and concrete cases that make up most of the book.
Not worth reading the whole book, just skip to check the frameworks - they are very useful by the way.
Not worth reading the whole book, just skip to check the frameworks - they are very useful by the way.
February 7, 2020
Good overview of why organizational health makes good business sense. A lot of empirical data. Maybe too much but makes clear a lot of research went into book
March 6, 2020
В целом есть определенный инструментарий, готовый к применению.
January 13, 2021
Ikke meget nyt. Læs John Kotter I stedet for hvis du ønsker hjælp til forandringsledelse.
September 13, 2021
a Rare Gem for Business Strategy scholars and managers..
November 9, 2025
Iako sam naucio par kvalitetnih i korisnih stvari i dobio ideje za jos par, knjiga je mogla biti napisana sazetije, konkretnije i zanimljivije
May 6, 2023
Book of the Day – Beyond Performance 2.0
Today’s Book of the Day is Beyond Performance 2.0, written by Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger in 2019 and published by John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Scott Keller is a consultant, an author, and a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Southern California office, leading their global CEO and Board Excellence service line. He studied as Mechanical Engineer and has been consulting companies on business strategy, psychology, social science, and human potential development. He is also a co-founder of Digital Divide Data, a multi-award-winning social enterprise.
Bill Schaninger is a Senior Partner at McKinsey, a renowned international speaker, author, researcher, and consultant for senior executives. He is an expert in designing and managing large-scale organizational transformations, using enhanced culture, values, leadership, and talent systems.
I have chosen this book because having read the original Beyond Performance and looking for a refresher on some ideas I am working on, it seemed quite a good option.
Beyond Performance 2.0, I have to start from this, is a must-read book for anyone who is interested in learning how to improve the performance and the achievement rate of an organization. The authors share with the readers a comprehensive, effective, and practical approach to help leaders successfully and sustainably improve their companies, businesses, and organizations.
As said, the book is a sequel to the original Beyond Performance, and it obviously builds on the framework introduced in the first book, by expanding it and even improving it from most points of view. The authors argue that these components are interdependent and must be addressed together to achieve sustained high performance.
Beyond Performance 2.0 is built around 5 interdependent principles that must be addressed together to achieve sustained high performance. The book provides clear and structured info about these “Five Frames”:
Aspirations – setting clear, shared, and ambitious goals for the organization, ensuring that they are fully aligned with the organization’s purpose and values.
Behaviors – defining specific behaviors needed to achieve the organization’s goals, ensuring that these behaviors are consistently modeled, verified, and fostered by leaders and then spread throughout the organization.
Culture – creating a culture of performance, in which every employee is encouraged to take responsibility and ownership of their work and feels empowered to make decisions that will help drive the organization forward.
Governance – establishing the right governance structure that will support this high level of performance, including clearly understood decision-making processes, effective performance control and management systems, and correct and quickly stepping-in risk management practices.
Leadership – developing leadership capabilities in the organization which will help it during the pursuit of sustained high performance, inspiring and motivating employees, creating a sense of belonging, purpose and direction, and steering change effectively.
One of the strengths of this book is how authors use their direct knowledge and experience to bring case studies that brilliantly and clearly illustrate the principles they advocate. These case studies are drawn from a broad range of industries thus providing practical examples of how their method can be successfully and easily applied in practice.
A thing I absolutely appreciated and fully agree with in this book is the idea that sustained high performance requires a holistic approach. When organizations and managers just focus on one or two aspects, they fail to achieve the level of performance they are capable of.
Overall, Beyond Performance 2.0 is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in improving organizational performance. The authors provide a clear and practical framework that can be applied in a wide range of contexts, and the case studies and examples provide valuable insights into how the framework can be put into practice.
So, it’s pure evidence that shows that leaders can improve their organizations if they embrace holistic change, share their goals across the organization, and keep their purpose and values always in mind.
Keller and Schaninger’s work is based on an almost scientific rigor behind their method. They used over 5 million data points drawn from 2,000 companies globally over a 15-year period. Beyond Performance 2.0 invites managers to avoid copying what works in other organizations and instead guides them into making bold choices specific to their unique context, purpose, and goals.
Overall, Beyond Performance 2.0 is an excellent resource for everyone looking for practical, easy-to-follow, and inspirational ways to improve their performance. The proposed framework can be applied in a wide range of contexts. Absolutely recommended.
Today’s Book of the Day is Beyond Performance 2.0, written by Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger in 2019 and published by John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Scott Keller is a consultant, an author, and a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Southern California office, leading their global CEO and Board Excellence service line. He studied as Mechanical Engineer and has been consulting companies on business strategy, psychology, social science, and human potential development. He is also a co-founder of Digital Divide Data, a multi-award-winning social enterprise.
Bill Schaninger is a Senior Partner at McKinsey, a renowned international speaker, author, researcher, and consultant for senior executives. He is an expert in designing and managing large-scale organizational transformations, using enhanced culture, values, leadership, and talent systems.
I have chosen this book because having read the original Beyond Performance and looking for a refresher on some ideas I am working on, it seemed quite a good option.
Beyond Performance 2.0, I have to start from this, is a must-read book for anyone who is interested in learning how to improve the performance and the achievement rate of an organization. The authors share with the readers a comprehensive, effective, and practical approach to help leaders successfully and sustainably improve their companies, businesses, and organizations.
As said, the book is a sequel to the original Beyond Performance, and it obviously builds on the framework introduced in the first book, by expanding it and even improving it from most points of view. The authors argue that these components are interdependent and must be addressed together to achieve sustained high performance.
Beyond Performance 2.0 is built around 5 interdependent principles that must be addressed together to achieve sustained high performance. The book provides clear and structured info about these “Five Frames”:
Aspirations – setting clear, shared, and ambitious goals for the organization, ensuring that they are fully aligned with the organization’s purpose and values.
Behaviors – defining specific behaviors needed to achieve the organization’s goals, ensuring that these behaviors are consistently modeled, verified, and fostered by leaders and then spread throughout the organization.
Culture – creating a culture of performance, in which every employee is encouraged to take responsibility and ownership of their work and feels empowered to make decisions that will help drive the organization forward.
Governance – establishing the right governance structure that will support this high level of performance, including clearly understood decision-making processes, effective performance control and management systems, and correct and quickly stepping-in risk management practices.
Leadership – developing leadership capabilities in the organization which will help it during the pursuit of sustained high performance, inspiring and motivating employees, creating a sense of belonging, purpose and direction, and steering change effectively.
One of the strengths of this book is how authors use their direct knowledge and experience to bring case studies that brilliantly and clearly illustrate the principles they advocate. These case studies are drawn from a broad range of industries thus providing practical examples of how their method can be successfully and easily applied in practice.
A thing I absolutely appreciated and fully agree with in this book is the idea that sustained high performance requires a holistic approach. When organizations and managers just focus on one or two aspects, they fail to achieve the level of performance they are capable of.
Overall, Beyond Performance 2.0 is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in improving organizational performance. The authors provide a clear and practical framework that can be applied in a wide range of contexts, and the case studies and examples provide valuable insights into how the framework can be put into practice.
So, it’s pure evidence that shows that leaders can improve their organizations if they embrace holistic change, share their goals across the organization, and keep their purpose and values always in mind.
Keller and Schaninger’s work is based on an almost scientific rigor behind their method. They used over 5 million data points drawn from 2,000 companies globally over a 15-year period. Beyond Performance 2.0 invites managers to avoid copying what works in other organizations and instead guides them into making bold choices specific to their unique context, purpose, and goals.
Overall, Beyond Performance 2.0 is an excellent resource for everyone looking for practical, easy-to-follow, and inspirational ways to improve their performance. The proposed framework can be applied in a wide range of contexts. Absolutely recommended.
November 1, 2020
This book actually has too much content. So many books these days are one big idea fluffed into a book length. But each chapter of this book could have been a book. That's awesome, but it also doesn't give the time to fully unpack all of the ideas, either. It's like reading a book on getting physically healthy that includes chapters on cooking, sleep, marathon running, genetics, weight lifting, and mental health, with each chapter a survey of the best books and tools that others have created for that area of health.
As a practitioner of the same kind of consulting, I can say that the ideas they share are really good. I've read almost all of the books they reference and even use some of the same tools that they mention. So this book turned out to be a great way to discover other resources (the books I haven't read that they summarized). Plus, there are a lot of shameless plugs for McKinsey consulting products.
That would have given it 4 stars from me, but it's written in a very formal style, with corporate lingo and even a ton of acronyms. It made it a bit of a slog to get through.
Bottom line: If purpose of the book was to show you that change management is complicated--and that the solution is just to hire McKinsey and all their tools, then it's a success. But if it's actually supposed to give you more clarity and more tools, then it actually overshot it's mark, in my opinon.
As a practitioner of the same kind of consulting, I can say that the ideas they share are really good. I've read almost all of the books they reference and even use some of the same tools that they mention. So this book turned out to be a great way to discover other resources (the books I haven't read that they summarized). Plus, there are a lot of shameless plugs for McKinsey consulting products.
That would have given it 4 stars from me, but it's written in a very formal style, with corporate lingo and even a ton of acronyms. It made it a bit of a slog to get through.
Bottom line: If purpose of the book was to show you that change management is complicated--and that the solution is just to hire McKinsey and all their tools, then it's a success. But if it's actually supposed to give you more clarity and more tools, then it actually overshot it's mark, in my opinon.
August 3, 2019
실제 조직을 운영하는 데 필요한 전략을 매우 실전적으로 정리해준 것이 인상깊었다. 실제로 여기서 제안하는 내용이나 질문들을 업무에도 활용하기 좋을 것 같다. 다만 너무 전략적이고 자세해서 마치 전공서적을 읽는 것 같은 느낌을 주어서 끝까지 읽는 데 시간이 많이 걸렸다. 조직을 운영하는 전략을 세워야 할 때 두고두고 여러번 읽으면서 참고할만한 서적이다. 안타까운 점은 이책에서 웰스파고를 매우 좋은 케이스로 한장에 걸쳐서 설명하고 있는데..책이 출간된 2011년으로부터 5년이 지난 2016년 웰스파고가 내부직원들에 의한 유령계좌이슈로 건강하지 못한 기업의 상징이 된 것이다. 이 부분이 전체 책의 설득력에 많은 영향을 주는 것 같아서 아쉬웠다. (https://namu.wiki/w/Wells%20Fargo?fro...)
하지만 2019년 내에 개정판이 나오나 부다(https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Perform...). 번역서가 빨리 나왔으면 좋겠다.
하지만 2019년 내에 개정판이 나오나 부다(https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Perform...). 번역서가 빨리 나왔으면 좋겠다.
January 7, 2014
Some of the ideas in this book are inspiring, but the concepts are for the leaders of large organisations. The book lacks simple solutions, fast wins and "street smarts", it is too much sophistication, there are tens of models to be implemented and it is quite technical. Generally good for strategic consultants but I am not sure if the concepts are actionable enough.
January 8, 2012
The 5-A framework (Aspire, Assess, Architect, Act, Advance) and emphasis on both performance and health for organization change management are great. Highly recommended to leaders and whoever wants to get their bosses' buy-in.
October 10, 2015
Very very good - the only thing that is not covered is cross-cultural specifics of change management and organizational health management - but anyway it is very well written piece of structured approach to improve organizations. For me, as an org consultant, it was not that new but I liked it.
November 12, 2012
Very interesting book. Heavy reading! Opens up new areas of thinking...
December 9, 2015
Boring to read, really. Manual or textbook kind of book.
December 23, 2015
A compelling and evidence based hypotheses which resonates strongly with my own CEO experience; looking forward to using it in a new environment
November 19, 2019
Read it
July 26, 2020
I should stop trying reading this childish nonsense, full of cult-like words.
January 24, 2022
Very good
April 21, 2023
Good framework for thinking about change. Need to incorporate health monitoring with performance metrics. Has a sales pitch for the McKinsey tools but still useful context.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews