Speed Lead: Faster, Simpler Ways to Manage People, Projects and Teams in Complex Companies [Kindle Edition]

If you are serious management you HAVE to read this. It is not just clever, it contains practical tips to improve team working

According to Kevan Hall, "the book is about how to simplify the way we work together in complex companies to increase speed, make them easier and cheaper to operate, and provide a more satisfying place to work." Obviously, these are highly desirable objectives but seldom easy to achieve...especially now in what James O'Toole and Edward Lawler characterize as a "crazy-quilt world of work." In The New American Workplace, they share the results of their research and identify "some clearly identifiable developments":

Insufficient creation of "good jobs"
Increased choice and risk
Increased influence of competitive and economic drivers
Increased tension between work and family life
Mismatch between skills and business needs
Increased social stratification based largely on educational attainment
Changing nature of careers
Reduction in community and commitment
Shortcomings of the healthcare system
The boomer demographic imperative
Unrealized opportunities to make more effective use of human capital

These and other developments suggest a context, a frame-of-reference, for the material that Hall provides in Leading Speed. He focuses on what he calls the "4Cs": Cooperation, Communication, Control, and Community. None is a head-snapping revelation and I would have included Collaboration. However, this is Hall's book, not mine. He is to be commended for identifying the most serious efficiency and productivity problems in the workplace, and, common causes of each. He then proposes practical solutions to those problems.

I presume to suggest to those about to read this book that they first formulate a list of their organization's 3-5 most serious problems and be as specific as possible. Next, review the Contents (Pages v-vii) and see what each of the eight chapters covers. For example, are there problems with cycle time (e.g. preventable delays) or first-pass yield (i.e. quality of work the first time around)? Are there too many meetings that accomplish little (if anything) of value? Is too much time spent on what is urgent and not enough time spent on what is really important? How about communication, cooperation, and collaboration between and among departments, divisions, business units, etc.? Does the organization have silos, bunkers, castles, moats, drawbridges, hermits, snarling dogs, etc.? I then suggest to those about to read this book that they lock in on those sections that seem to be most relevant to the given organizational needs.

Of special interest to me is Hall's emphasis on the need for what he calls "selective decentralization" when identifying simpler ways to manage people, projects, and teams, especially in (but not only in) complex companies. He also stresses the importance of simplicity throughout his narrative, agreeing with Einstein that policies and processes should be "as simple as possible but no simpler." Hall has no illusions whatsoever as to how difficult it is to overcome all manner of barriers (especially cultural barriers) in complex organizations. In this context, I am also reminded of Oliver Wendell Holmes observation, "I wouldn't give a fig for simplicity this side of complexity but I would give my life for simplicity on the other side of complexity."

Here is a selection of brief excerpts that are representative of the flavor and thrust of Hall's insights:

"The essence of a team is that [its members are] interdependent. A team is a tool you should use when a complex task requires people with a range of skills and points of view to cooperate to get the work done over a period of time." (Page 13)

"The idea behind best-practice reviews is to transfer learning...Sometimes the best practice comes from outside the team or from a specialist function or head office...People will only be receptive to learning [from a best practice] if they have a need for it and an interest in it. If not, then best-practice reviews are largely a waste of time." (Page 48)

"Companies need control to make sure they are efficient, legal, and predictable. Too much control, however, particularly from the center, can slow things down and undermine local responsibility...[Control] should be a finger on the pulse, not a grip on the jugular." (Page 106)

"The principle of building a sense of community at the right level is simple: Align the keys to community to your objectives...The more you need loyalty, the more you need to take control of line management processes, rewards, and career development. However, the more you need to build community, the more time and expense it will take [because] loyalty is naturally local." (Page 149) Those who read this book will also appreciate Hall's skillful use of several devices in most of the chapters. The checklists either summarize key points ("Top Tips in Designing for Participation" in team meetings) or suggest next steps (e.g. "Putting this chapter [on meetings and conference calls] into practice in your organization"). Hall clearly agrees with Jason Jennings and others that, more often than not, "less is more."

C-level executives obviously have more authority and influence to leverage than do those who report to them but that fact remains that almost anyone who reads this book and then effectively applies material in it that is most relevant to the given needs and objectives also can derive substantial benefit from Hall's book. If not planning and conducting a meeting, she or he can at least be a more productive participant in it. If not heading a team that has been charged with completing due diligence for (let's say) an acquisition prospect, he or she can at least be a more productive contributor to the team's initiatives. Corporate agility is by no means easy to establish and then sustain. Kevan Hall suggests how managers (not only C-level executives) at all levels and in all areas can create that decisive competitive advantage by working effectively with their associates to produce more and better work faster in less time and at a substantially lower cost.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out O'Toole and Lawler's aforementioned book, The New American Workplace as well as Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood's Leadership Brand: Developing Customer-Focused Leaders to Drive Performance and Build Lasting Value, Dean Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure and Drive Organizational Success, and Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution co-authored by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson.

Anyone who works in a large(ish) company will enjoy and benefit from this book -- it is well worth reading. Its basic premise is that traditional management practices no longer work in the complex world that most business people inhabit.

The author points out various problems that I'm sure are common to many other companies especially in other major multinationals. Two that really caught my attention were too many bad meetings and too many pointless e-mails. Provocatively (but in my experience rightly) he says that in companies there is too much Co-operation, Communication, and Control (these are the first three sections of the book) but not enough "Community" (a sense of Trust and Team Spirit)which comprises the fourth section.

The book doesn't stop there but tells you what you can do about it. It is logical, easy to follow, and is full of simple practical insights, tips and tools to help you solve these issues. So there are lots of practical things to take away. Of course if you don't have these problems you won't need this book.