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The Catalyst: How You Can Become an Extraordinary Growth Leader
How ordinary managers in any economy
can do extraordinary things to build
sustainable growth engine
The Catalyst speaks to all managers who have ever been handed ambitious growth targets but little guidance on how to hit them. Managers like you who, year in and year out, face “the terror of the plug.” The boss expects you to deliver a daunting revenue target but offers little advice on how to get there. Even worse is “growth gridlock,” when your company won’t support your great ideas until you prove they’re good–which is impossible since you can’t get the proof until you’ve tried them out first. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, you spend your time persuading with PowerPoint presentations instead of pursuing opportunities.
What does it take to overcome such seemingly insurmountable roadblocks? How can you crack the code to discover and pursue new opportunities? How can smart organizations recruit growth leaders, train them, and learn from them instead of getting in their way? These are the questions explored in The Catalyst . Based on years of research, this inspiring book reveals that the most potent drivers of growth are unsung heroes who often go ordinary middle managers who do extraordinary things.
Intrigued by how some people were able to consistently deliver the numbers–despite both internal obstacles and highly challenging conditions in the marketplace–the authors discovered not only how they did it, but also the personal and psychological characteristics of those who succeeded. They distilled the lessons into practical tools, including :
• Turn lemons into How what may appear to be flat or dead-end businesses can be turned into growth-oriented enterprises that create cool new products and tap new audiences.
• Get a bigger How not to just “think outside the box,” but create a bigger box by being wired for opportunity.
• Get rid of the Why the real monkey isn’t Corporate on your back, but Corporate in your head.
• It could be staring you right in the The hidden secret of growth is not relying only on development of dramatic new products or technological breakthroughs, but finding opportunities already there that are overlooked by the
competition.
• Do It. Now!: Breaking through growth gridlock comes from “learning by doing,” not through detailed analysis and planning.
The Catalyst is for people in the middle looking to free themselves from the shackles of business as usual–and deliver the organic growth that’s demanded of them. But it’s also for CEOs and CFOs who want to release the creativity lying dormant within their businesses.
From the Hardcover edition.
can do extraordinary things to build
sustainable growth engine
The Catalyst speaks to all managers who have ever been handed ambitious growth targets but little guidance on how to hit them. Managers like you who, year in and year out, face “the terror of the plug.” The boss expects you to deliver a daunting revenue target but offers little advice on how to get there. Even worse is “growth gridlock,” when your company won’t support your great ideas until you prove they’re good–which is impossible since you can’t get the proof until you’ve tried them out first. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, you spend your time persuading with PowerPoint presentations instead of pursuing opportunities.
What does it take to overcome such seemingly insurmountable roadblocks? How can you crack the code to discover and pursue new opportunities? How can smart organizations recruit growth leaders, train them, and learn from them instead of getting in their way? These are the questions explored in The Catalyst . Based on years of research, this inspiring book reveals that the most potent drivers of growth are unsung heroes who often go ordinary middle managers who do extraordinary things.
Intrigued by how some people were able to consistently deliver the numbers–despite both internal obstacles and highly challenging conditions in the marketplace–the authors discovered not only how they did it, but also the personal and psychological characteristics of those who succeeded. They distilled the lessons into practical tools, including :
• Turn lemons into How what may appear to be flat or dead-end businesses can be turned into growth-oriented enterprises that create cool new products and tap new audiences.
• Get a bigger How not to just “think outside the box,” but create a bigger box by being wired for opportunity.
• Get rid of the Why the real monkey isn’t Corporate on your back, but Corporate in your head.
• It could be staring you right in the The hidden secret of growth is not relying only on development of dramatic new products or technological breakthroughs, but finding opportunities already there that are overlooked by the
competition.
• Do It. Now!: Breaking through growth gridlock comes from “learning by doing,” not through detailed analysis and planning.
The Catalyst is for people in the middle looking to free themselves from the shackles of business as usual–and deliver the organic growth that’s demanded of them. But it’s also for CEOs and CFOs who want to release the creativity lying dormant within their businesses.
From the Hardcover edition.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2009
4 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Jeanne Liedtka
14 books28 followersِAn American strategist and professor of business administration at the Darden School of the University of Virginia, particularly known for her work on strategic thinking, design thinking and organic growth.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 23, 2011
I loved this book and started to write a review. Admittedly, I found the following Amazon review much better and more comprehensive than anything I could have put together. If you are looking to encourage change and innovation in your organization this book will provide significant insights.
"Jeanne Liedtka, Robert Rosen, and Robert Wiltback completed a three-year study sponsored by the Batten Institute at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business. They share what they learned in this volume. Their research focused on better understanding the role of operating managers in achieving organic growth. Eventually they assembled a pool of 255 candidates, then selected 25 to be interviewed in depth, later increased the number to more than 50, and by the time they concluded their study they had accumulated more than 3,000 pages of transcripts of their conversations with the managers. They also asked them to take several psychometric instruments, and interviewed their subordinates.
As Liedtka, Rosen, and Wiltback explain, "We wanted to know, first of all, if these leaders could be identified by a particular set of traits that would help C-suite executives identify and recruit them. Even more important, we wanted to know if the behaviors that these people exhibited could be learned by other managers...What we wanted to find out was whether their techniques and strategies could be [begin italics] taught [end italics] to other managers...What we learned exceeded our wildest dreams." The title of their book was a word that they chose very carefully to describe their exemplary leaders. "Catalysts drive action. But there's more. In science the term catalyst refers specifically to an agent that is [begin italics] required [end italics] to activate a particular chemical reaction. In other words, chemical catalysts don't just make things happen; they make things happen that wouldn't happen at all without them. They accomplish this by reducing the barriers that would, under normal circumstances, prevent a reaction. That is exactly how the growth leaders - our corporate catalysts - overcame growth gridlock [i.e. an entrepreneurial initiative is neutralized by administrative skepticism] and the terror of the plug [i.e. an arbitrary, often unrealistic revenue target] in their organization."
After first identifying the "what" of leading extraordinary growth, the authors devote most of their attention throughout the book to explaining the "how" and "why" of it. There is minimal provision of theory and hypothesis in their narrative. (However, they do offer some excellent advice about translating a sound business idea into a sound hypothesis on Pages 209-213.) Wisely, they focus on real managers in real-world situations, allowing their core concepts and insights to develop and emerge organically. Their material provides answers to questions such as these:
Why do most growth initiatives fail?
What are the "unnatural acts" that Catalysts commit?
Which is the best "path" to producing growth?
What is the "virtuous cycle" and why is it important?
What are some of the myths about entrepreneurs and why are they wrong?
How do Catalysts test their new business ideas?
What are the seven formulas for reframing and how to apply them?
Why are learning launches so important? How to achieve success with one?
How to lead a high-performing growth team with "pragmatic idealism"?
How do Catalysts use speed effectively to achieve high-growth?
These are but a few of the questions that Liedtka, Rosen, and Wiltback address. They even provide a Postscript, "Advice to the C-Suite on Growing Leaders." Once again, the material is rock-solid and presented with uncommon clarity. Of special interest to me are a set of goals and "a kind of manifesto" of six strategies formulated by 45 senior managers in Westinghouse Electric's Engineering Services (WES) division, now owned by Toshiba. The goals and strategies are best revealed in context, within a frame-of-reference, and can be found on pages 228-230. The importance of the WES example is that it suggests what almost any organization can do to help individual leaders to create top-line revenue growth. The WES example also suggests some "interesting directions for senior executives thinking about kick-starting the growth engine in their business." Liedtka, Rosen, and Wiltback identify six initial steps to accomplish that worthy objective on pages 240-242.
In "the best of all possible worlds," an organization will have Catalysts at all levels and in all areas of operation who achieve and then sustain extraordinary growth. Even in an ideal world, however, not everyone involved at any one time will be a Catalyst. Hence the importance of a workplace culture that attracts high-potential Catalysts and in which it then "grows" them, with Catalysts serving as mentors centrally involved in that developmental process. I really do believe that there are many such organizations now at various stages of an admittedly long and perilous journey to fulfill all of their potentialities. Will any reach that destination? Perhaps not but at least everyone involved will have achieved personal as well as well as organizational goals that would not otherwise be possible. Those thinking about "kick-starting the growth engine in their business" and are in need of guidance and encouragement would be well-advised to read this book and do so with appropriate care. The value of what Jeanne Liedtka, Robert Rosen, and Robert Wiltback offer is incalculable. "
"Jeanne Liedtka, Robert Rosen, and Robert Wiltback completed a three-year study sponsored by the Batten Institute at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business. They share what they learned in this volume. Their research focused on better understanding the role of operating managers in achieving organic growth. Eventually they assembled a pool of 255 candidates, then selected 25 to be interviewed in depth, later increased the number to more than 50, and by the time they concluded their study they had accumulated more than 3,000 pages of transcripts of their conversations with the managers. They also asked them to take several psychometric instruments, and interviewed their subordinates.
As Liedtka, Rosen, and Wiltback explain, "We wanted to know, first of all, if these leaders could be identified by a particular set of traits that would help C-suite executives identify and recruit them. Even more important, we wanted to know if the behaviors that these people exhibited could be learned by other managers...What we wanted to find out was whether their techniques and strategies could be [begin italics] taught [end italics] to other managers...What we learned exceeded our wildest dreams." The title of their book was a word that they chose very carefully to describe their exemplary leaders. "Catalysts drive action. But there's more. In science the term catalyst refers specifically to an agent that is [begin italics] required [end italics] to activate a particular chemical reaction. In other words, chemical catalysts don't just make things happen; they make things happen that wouldn't happen at all without them. They accomplish this by reducing the barriers that would, under normal circumstances, prevent a reaction. That is exactly how the growth leaders - our corporate catalysts - overcame growth gridlock [i.e. an entrepreneurial initiative is neutralized by administrative skepticism] and the terror of the plug [i.e. an arbitrary, often unrealistic revenue target] in their organization."
After first identifying the "what" of leading extraordinary growth, the authors devote most of their attention throughout the book to explaining the "how" and "why" of it. There is minimal provision of theory and hypothesis in their narrative. (However, they do offer some excellent advice about translating a sound business idea into a sound hypothesis on Pages 209-213.) Wisely, they focus on real managers in real-world situations, allowing their core concepts and insights to develop and emerge organically. Their material provides answers to questions such as these:
Why do most growth initiatives fail?
What are the "unnatural acts" that Catalysts commit?
Which is the best "path" to producing growth?
What is the "virtuous cycle" and why is it important?
What are some of the myths about entrepreneurs and why are they wrong?
How do Catalysts test their new business ideas?
What are the seven formulas for reframing and how to apply them?
Why are learning launches so important? How to achieve success with one?
How to lead a high-performing growth team with "pragmatic idealism"?
How do Catalysts use speed effectively to achieve high-growth?
These are but a few of the questions that Liedtka, Rosen, and Wiltback address. They even provide a Postscript, "Advice to the C-Suite on Growing Leaders." Once again, the material is rock-solid and presented with uncommon clarity. Of special interest to me are a set of goals and "a kind of manifesto" of six strategies formulated by 45 senior managers in Westinghouse Electric's Engineering Services (WES) division, now owned by Toshiba. The goals and strategies are best revealed in context, within a frame-of-reference, and can be found on pages 228-230. The importance of the WES example is that it suggests what almost any organization can do to help individual leaders to create top-line revenue growth. The WES example also suggests some "interesting directions for senior executives thinking about kick-starting the growth engine in their business." Liedtka, Rosen, and Wiltback identify six initial steps to accomplish that worthy objective on pages 240-242.
In "the best of all possible worlds," an organization will have Catalysts at all levels and in all areas of operation who achieve and then sustain extraordinary growth. Even in an ideal world, however, not everyone involved at any one time will be a Catalyst. Hence the importance of a workplace culture that attracts high-potential Catalysts and in which it then "grows" them, with Catalysts serving as mentors centrally involved in that developmental process. I really do believe that there are many such organizations now at various stages of an admittedly long and perilous journey to fulfill all of their potentialities. Will any reach that destination? Perhaps not but at least everyone involved will have achieved personal as well as well as organizational goals that would not otherwise be possible. Those thinking about "kick-starting the growth engine in their business" and are in need of guidance and encouragement would be well-advised to read this book and do so with appropriate care. The value of what Jeanne Liedtka, Robert Rosen, and Robert Wiltback offer is incalculable. "
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January 13, 2010Performance engine vs. Innovation Initiative
"This book was written not for those in the C-suite, but for middle managers who have to carry out the often-thankless work of running a business. Acknowledging the tension between innovation (important but uncertain) and stability (important but ultimately stifling), the authors persuasively describe the need for businesses to nurture internal catalysts—folks who can overcome internal gridlock to promote sustainable growth. With smart tips, solid advice, and useful examples, this book feels particularly timely, given the sorry state of the economy."
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/...
"This book was written not for those in the C-suite, but for middle managers who have to carry out the often-thankless work of running a business. Acknowledging the tension between innovation (important but uncertain) and stability (important but ultimately stifling), the authors persuasively describe the need for businesses to nurture internal catalysts—folks who can overcome internal gridlock to promote sustainable growth. With smart tips, solid advice, and useful examples, this book feels particularly timely, given the sorry state of the economy."
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews