Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change: Strategies for Success from America's Best-Run Companies. - Brief Article - Review - book review

HR Magazine, Jan, 2001

Michael Mercer

Castlegate Publishers Inc., 2000, 256 pages,

ISBN: 0-938901-21-4

List Price: $24.95

Organizational change doesn't produce results by magic, says author Michael Mercer, Ph.D. Mercer, a speaker and consultant with The Mercer Group Inc., in Barrington, Ill., is the author of four other books, including Hire the Best--and Avoid the Rest. To ensure that change brings the desired business result, he examines how 10 companies and one municipality transformed their organizations with winning results.

In Chapters 1 through 4, Mercer introduces his "three-ingredient" approach for executives and managers who plan and implement effective change:

* Leading the change--adapting organizational change to corporate culture; creating a "big, exciting" vision; setting goals; and promoting teamwork and interdepartmental cooperation.

* Managing employees' problems, such as resistance and rebellion.

* Managing their own emotions and attitudes--as leaders--during the change.

In these chapters, he relies on tests he has developed at Mercer. He also offers insights into how to hire employees who will lead the charge and examines the personalities and intelligence of leaders who can effect change. In Chapter 5, he offers examples of how successful organizations planned and carried out change.

Chapters 6 through 16 provide examples of the implementation of Mercer's three-ingredient method at Outback Steakhouse Inc., Egghead.com, Ritz-Carlton, IBM, VR Corp., Intuit, Excell Global Services, Washington Mutual, the Robert Mondavi Corp., Harley-Davidson and the city of Indianapolis. For example, Outback Steakhouse revolutionized its business by limiting service to dinner hours only--instead of trying to squeeze marginal dollars out of the lunch crowd. Instead of having general managers who are employees, Outback has "proprietors" of each restaurant. The company gives the proprietors almost total control of daily operations and a 10 percent ownership of their local restaurant in exchange for a $25,000 investment. Outback's goal is to be a longtime restaurant chain, and its very high sales volume and low turnover suggest that it's on the way there.

Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith set out to make dramatic changes in how the city delivered services. He eliminated hundreds of job descriptions and regulations and focused on a team approach, pulling employees from various departments to work on specific projects. Perhaps one of his most compelling ideas was to encourage "thoughtful risk-taking." If a staff member made a mistake, the mayor's response was, "Make a new mistake next time." Like the corporate examples in Mercer's book, Goldsmith began with a vision statement describing his goals for the city to become the nation's best in terms of safe streets, strong neighborhoods and a thriving economy. By most measurements, he succeeded.

Mercer ends the book with "Secrets of Absolutely Fabulous Leaders." The lessons to be learned from the "amazing qualities" of these leaders, he says, include: aim breathtakingly high, remember that speed is vital, persist and then persist even more, nourish your creativity, celebrate your victories and grasp how imperative it is to make improvements

"Now," he closes, "it's your turn.