Profit from Experience

Profit from Experience: The National Semiconductor Story of Transformation Management by Gil Amelio I have read this wonderful book around the mid-nineties. In a nut shell, it contains a first-hand account of "people leadership" as well as "business leadership" inside an industry giant, within the context of a corporate transformation that eventually achieved profitability growth, enthusiastic employees & happy customers. I remember I had bought it because of my personal interest in strategic visioning. Also, I was attracted by a few of the tools as outlined in the book: - 6 core issues critical to business success; - 10 personal attributes to strive for; - 6 steps to empowerment; - attributes to look for when selecting, developing & keeping people; The most interesting parts of the book are where the authors tell the reader how to create a powerful vision, chart out a course with a viable action plan, heighten commitment in the ranks (especially their desire to contribute), establish operational excellence as the standard by developing measurable metrics & benchmarks for success, & make the customer the best friend. I remember I was transfixed for a while by a particular passage, on page 22, under the paragraph heading of 'Visualising the Dream.' Here the authors relates how they had recognised that a twenty-two page white paper, as part of the preamble to the Leading Change process, was too long for people to grasp readily. They then brought in David Sibbet of Grove Consultants. Sibbet & his team translated the Leading Change sessions (first for top-level managers throughout the world & subsequently moving down throughout the organisation) into creative visual rendering - sort of an artistic conception of the corporate vision. Some seven hundred people had participated. This eventually evolved into a single-page symbolic represention in the form of 'Spaceship National Semi-Conductor' vision poster. In reality, it had captured the thoughts & aspirations of all the employees within the industry giant. Every employee in the organisation had a miniature copy of the vision poster to signify his/her contribution & commitment to the corporate vision. That's empowerment, at & across all levels! The book did not fail at all in my expectations of the book. I have enjoyed it very much - & it's fun to read, too. Besides the strategic visioning, understanding the six critical business issues & empowerment aspects, I feel the personal attributes to strive for, as outlined by the author, are also real gems & are worth reproducing here, for the benefit of readers: - be a role model, not a victim; - know yourself; - strive for balance; - know how to deal with ambiguity; - get out of your comfort zone; - understand how to steadily raise the bar; - pursue lifelong learning; - be a good communicator; - practise situational leadership; - acknowledge mistakes & correct them quickly; To conclude this review, this book, packed wit

I was amazed that there are no reviews on this book. Perhaps it's because it was written so long ago and appears dated. Make no mistake though that the steps that are in the book are timeless. This is a book that anyone at any level can apply in day-to-day situations. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It's not 'faddish' but is truly 'nuts-and-bolts'. If you want to know how to get things done, this book will be most helpful.