To the Desert and Back: The Story of the Most Dramatic Business Transformation on Record

by Philip Mirvis, Karen Ayas, George Roth

Dove, Lipton, Knorr, Ben & Jerry's, and Slim*Fast are a few of the brands that are part of the $66 billion global empire known as Unilever. When the story opens, one of its divisions is in deep trouble-- declining volume, eroding margins, critical quality problems-- and is close to being sold off. Then Tex Gunning, its visionary new division chairman, takes the stage, an expanding circle of young leaders takes charge, and once-skeptical workers embrace a challenging message of growth. The result? The division grows by double digits, year in and year out, and energizes Unilever's path to thrive around the globe."To the Desert and Back" tells the inside story of the transformation in the words of the people in all quarters of the company who made it happen. It documents five years of personal soul-searching, teamwork, companywide learning conferences, memorable journeys to the mountains and desert, and inspired promotions that show how these efforts produced a remarkable top-to-bottom turnaround. This story delivers authentic and convincing proof that a revitalized business is about personal growth.

The lessons learned from this dramatic business turnaround provide unexpected insights and encouraging inspiration for other companies and leaders ready to embark on their own remarkable journey of transformation, growth, and success.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2002

Reviews

[Shirin Attia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Experiential learning of change management couldn't have been staged any better. From the start of Unilever staff's journey to the unknown destination, which turns out to be their company's warehouse, staff is shocked by the traumatic scenes of stocked pallets, waste and nauseating stench of perished products, thus triggering the sense of urgency and calling for change.

Then on, the teams start their pathway to cultural change, sharing their personal lifelines and vulnerabilities, building on their trust for each other, revealing their humane aspect and the importance of interdependence and positive people relations to place the corporate's business and culture on the right track.

Lovely read and highly recommended for those preaching change management..

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this if you're interested in corporate change and culture
Ideal for those who need to realise institutional change can be achieved in ANY organisation (if a global company with 300,000+ people can do it, your company can do it).



So I came across this book several years ago when we at McKinsey’s Sydney office were cleaning out the cupboards. Since then it lived on my shelf and looked at me.

I've found management and leadership books are heavy on the philosophy, theory or learnings behind business improvement; because essentially that’s what these books promise to attract your custom. To the Desert & Back: The Story of One of the most dramatic business transformations on record (2003, Jossey Bass Publishing) does the opposite, at least in my eyes. It’s a refreshing, humble and ‘how did they do it?’ look at the problems, people and processes this simply ginormous global entity (being Unilever) took to overhaul its ailing practices, and reinvent itself in the seemingly traditional space of food product manufacturing. And don’t think you need to be an Exec or work for some large, lumbering global business to reap benefit from this book - ‘career-fledglings’ or those of you in small firms stand to garner from the content too!

Why do I use the verb ‘refreshing’? Because rather than focus on information and technology, (which companies have relentlessly employed and, sadly, often failed at), Unilever truly drove down the road to improve its people, its people and its people. Instead of a one-dimensional ‘people and values’ drum beating (which is a tired addition to every company’s annual report or website), they brought their disparate teams together...yes, physically, together. From the top-down, and bottom-up, ‘To the Desert…’ spoke of how the then Group President Tex Gunning, had his team engaged in self-reflection, ambitious goal setting and used powerful, physical, special events to create a sense of humanity, excitement and self-belief.

It’s not until the final 10 pages the authors drop in management-speak or resort to org charts. My favorite line was the following:

“Only in a safe environment, where leadership at every level is sincere and professional, can people really be themselves, challenge issues and take initiative. This brings out the best in people”. Pp 82.

[Dave Applegate · Rating 3 out of 5]

-A novel like business book describing the constant organizational change a series of companies went through as they continued to grow and merge.
-Not very applicable to start-ups other than Mirvis does an excellent job making the business case for a keeping a fun hyper-motivated culture.