Value Leadership: The 7 Principles That Drive Corporate Value in Any Economy

It has been my experience that most business leaders are smart, thoughtful, competent and ethical people. I have also met those who `live and die by the numbers' or conversely see their major responsibility as building a `culture where the business can thrive'. Both sides of this leadership spectrum have great value but when a leader chooses to focus on one side it is at the expense of the other.Peter Cohan, in his book Value Leadership, brings together the numbers people and the culture people with a rationale and clear treatise. He then offers an effective tool to measure the results of this balanced and effective leadership stance. He takes the traditional business analyst's quantitative factors (market share, revenues and profit, balance sheet strength and more) and combines them with critical qualitative factors (quality of communications, employee satisfaction, customer service and more) to create a numeric score which can be used to assess current business functioning and to plan for strategic and tactical improvements. This measure alone is a great tool for business leaders and their managers, but it is what is measured that defines this books common sense standard. Mr. Cohan has created a way for business leaders to understand and measure their business' value. For anyone who has bought, sold or merged a business, or who invests in stocks, knows that the most elusive question is "what is the value of this business?" Mr. Cohan's "Value Quotient" is the most complete answer to the value question that I have seen. It works well for active business managers and for investors.It is my belief that "value' will emerge over the next ten years as the most important factor in determining a business leader's success. Value encompasses the quantitative and qualitative factors that often appear to be at war with each other. How do you run a highly profitable business while also maintaining an effective culture? Short-sighted business leaders who are under performance pressures often boost their numbers at the expense of their people, while the great business leaders can effectively manage both their numbers and their people. In my new book Corporate MVPs I had the opportunity to talk with many great business people who spoke of the importance of building and conserving their most valuable performers. These business leaders focus on building value as their prime responsibility. Peter Cohan's Value Leadership is the book that will help all business leaders build the value of their businesses and of themselves.

Often, CEOs feel their executives do not share the same understanding of the critical drivers of their business's performance. Cohan's book is a useful tool for getting a management team "on the same page" and enabling them to clearly define the key levers that contribute to their business's success.Cohan's framework makes it easy for managers in even the most complex companies to identify where their weaknesses are and address them. The book lays out a detailed, step-by-step guide that walks managers though all the activities and tactics that need to be considered in order to noticeably impact their company's bottom line. As a former general manager in a software company, I feel that sections of this book, such as "experimenting frugally," can really inspire a company to be more creative in identifying profitable paths to growth which it might not otherwise consider.The book is invaluable as it enables managers to rise beyond the daily responsibilities of their jobs to identify levers that can have a truly significant impact on their companies.

"Value Leadership" by Peter Cohan is a great business book because it provides a practical framework for companies to follow. It also contains many real-world examples that show how companies benefit from the principles he discusses. As Cohan points out, his Value Quotient model reflects his background as both a management consultant who focuses on strategy and operations and a financial analyst who looks at quantitative measures. The resulting insight is both fresh and powerful.Chapter Five, in particular, which deals with trust, should be required reading for all business leaders.

Trust between leaders and their people has eroded steadily from the days of Watergate to Enron. Questionable accounting, fraudulent disclosures and excessive executive pay are symptoms of the problem, while glossy codes of ethics booklets and more stringent corporate governance regulations are mere bandages. What's needed is a seismic shift in executive attitude. Leaders need to embrace core values in their practice of management and hold themselves up to higher standards.In Value Leadership, Peter Cohan makes the link between values-based leadership and superior economic performance. Cohan's pedigree as a strategic thinker includes tenure with James A. Champy, author of Reengineering the Corporation, and Michael E. Porter, author of Competitive Advantage.Value Leadership is one of the best books on leadership I have ever read because it addresses all stakeholders -- from employees and customers to board members and investors. His seven principles of value leadership are guideposts to good management, and his "Value Quotient" provides a pragmatic framework for leaders who want to achieve that goal. If I wererunning a corporation today, I would adopt his philosophy and process.-- William T. Redgate, Founder and Executive Director, The Center forValues-Based Leadership, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Conn.,

The premise is that superior profits flow to companies that outperform competitors in creating value for employees, customers and communities. Seven principles that constitute Value Leadership correlate with such success criteria as market share. These principles are: value human relationships; foster teamwork; experiment frugally; fulfill your commitments; fight complacency; win through multiple means (use strategy to sustain market leadership); and give to your community. Chapters include worksheets (an assessment questionnaire or Value Quotient [VQ] Tool) for measuring how well an organization adheres to Value Leadership principles. Guidelines are provided for implementing change. Includes a VQ selection interview guide and some examples from successful companies. In a nutshell, Cohan provides excellent ideas, and presents them clearly. This is a top-notch book for any leader seeking to strengthen his or her organization's performance and its ability to deliver value, and consequently reap a healthy ROI.