8 Practices of Exceptional Companies

I feel the book hits you in the gut so to speak. Needing to internalize what it is that is causing harm within you and your company. Really teaches you how to utilize the resources within your company. His 8 practices are a simple approach to get you company into shape, starting with you. Reminds me of turning service workers into knowledge workers from a Drucker standpoint, and utilizing your core competencies from a Hamel standpoint.

"Although best practices and benchmarking have become intertwined topics for some people, this book is not a discussion of benchmarking. Instead, it is a discussion of our findings and opinions based on research into how effective companies manage the 'human asset'-the people whose efforts are the basis of any organization's success...This book is designed to serve two purposes. The first is to present the best human asset management practices that my organization, the Saratoga Institute, uncovered during a four-year study of over 1,000 companies. We learned that what constitutes best practice is an interactive set of eight organizational characteristics...My second objective is to expose the wasteful and misleading practices that cause three out of four improvement projects to fall short of their goals" (from the Introduction).In this context, in Chapter 1, Jac Fitz-enz identifies the eight driving forces that make up the context from which the best human asset management systems (BHAMs) and processes are derived: an interwoven human-financial value focus, commitment to a long-term core strategy, linkage of culture and systems, massive multidimensional communications, partnering within and outside the company, collaboration within functional groups, innovation through well-planned and managed risk taking, and a competitive passion that is never satisfied with less than constant improvement. Hence, throughout the following chapters, he explains each driving force and presents case studies of BHAM companies both in the U.S. and abroad. And, at the end of each chapter, he gives a short checklist. He says that "build your best practices by answering to those questions, you will have the blueprint for being one of the best human asset management organization." Finally, he writes, "Wouldn't it make more sense to accept the fact that complex problems can't be solved by simplistic programs or popular panaceas? Instead, take the time you might put into chasing the newest miracle cure and put it into:* Focusing your organization on value* Making a long-term commitment to a core strategy* Linking your culture to your systems* Communicating everything that people should know * Partnering* Being mutually supportive* Innovating and taking well-considered risks* Never getting complacent."Highly recommended.

This is a dangerous book. Why? Because those who make a total, long-term commitment to the eight practices will create great turbulence which must be overcome. Most of the wounds which organizations experience are self-inflicted...including the damage caused by ignorance and arrogance. Perils are inevitable whenever bold initiatives are undertaken. For those unwilling and/or unable to make a commitment to achieving and then sustaining excellence, their cause is hopeless. Fitz-enz insists that the best organizations are led by those who effectively nourish as well as manage human assets. Organizations grow only to the extent that those who comprise them grow. As he correctly points out, "In a knowledge company, people are the only profit lever."One final point: The best practices for any organization are often found within that organization. As a recruiting slogan for the U.S. Army suggests, "Be all that you can be." Stop looking for THE BIG ANSWER elsewhere. Look within yourself and within your own organization. Discover how to implement the eight practices in ways and to the extent that are most appropriate. Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Fitz-enz would perhaps accept a paraphrase of that: "We have found ways to be the best...and they are in us."ÿ