Operational Leadership (Strategic Management Collection)

Customers are increasingly demanding higher levels of speed and quality, yet leaders often focus mainly on reducing the costs of operations. Confronted by current and anticipated business challenges, incremental improvements to operations, while still important, will no longer be sufficient to gain advantage. This book outlines the needed evolution in leadership attitudes and behaviors in the key operational areas such as new product development, sales, operations, customer service, human resources, finance, and information technology. Relying on concepts introduced by Dr. John Kotter, Dr. G. Rummler & Alan Brache, Dr. Tom Davenport, and Dr. Michael Hammer, this new book updates this body of knowledge and presents a framework for action in an easy to read, actionable format. It's an outstanding title that provides details on the demand for the new operational leadership mindset and paradigm which enables both breakthrough change and the discipline of continuous improvement in operations. This will involve not only the design of new work practices, but also the implementation and sustainability of fundamental change encompassing the complex interdependence of human, organizational, and technological factors. In spite of the proliferation of various methods to improve operational performance, leaders have not become more adept in their roles due in part to a traditional functional bias. This book helps!!