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INTRODUCTION
Оглавление| “Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good.” Hall of Fame Football Coach Vince Lombardi, Opening Remarks to his team as the new head coach of the Green Bay Packers (Five NFL Championships, Two Super Bowls) |
Most of us have worked in successful as well as unsuccessful organizations. Why does one succeed, the other fail?
There is an old saying, “Lead, follow or get the hell out of the way” that literally provides us the answer. In today’s global and highly competitive marketplace, the successful organization must follow that old saw. This book is about creating an organization where things get done, where anything is possible. This book is about excellence and success!
To succeed, you are compelled to have an organization that is well led and peopled by principled and competent individuals that foster teamwork. To do otherwise, you place limitations on your organization and subsequently fail or do not realize your full potential.
This book represents an integrated leadership and management process that provides the reader with a proven and practical approach to success. It focuses on the positive – on what works. I call it practicing the art of the possible; creating an organization with no limitations.
The Art of the Possible is applicable to start-ups as well as established organizations challenged with change. It integrates seven key best practices in leadership and management into a step-by-step approach. It merges the ideal with the pragmatic. It offers guidelines, checklists and self- assessment tools to facilitate application of those best practices.
Best practices are defined as those processes, approaches and practices that have been successfully applied in a particular area of business or activity. A best practice is a proven approach to performance that, when applied in a consistent manner in similar activities, should produce successful results.
In an organization with no limitations, anything is possible; that is why we call it the art of the possible. It represents an organizational mindset and culture with an attitude where anything can be done, where anything is possible. Embrace and apply the art of the possible; it will work in any type of business or at any level in an organization.
For the past 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with a number of successful businesses, government agencies, professional and charitable non-profits and civic organizations. Conversely, I’ve observed or worked with many more that were dysfunctional and subsequently unsuccessful. Many of those that were once the best lost the magic, many of those that were the worst became better. Why does one succeed, the other fail?
The answer comes from a number of sources I have researched, interviewed or worked with during those 30 years. It always boils down to one irrefutable factor, the leader.
Certainly nothing is new or earth shattering in that discovery. Many successful leaders inspire us. Each has his or her own style and approach to leading. However, when examined closely, there are common practices and certain consistencies that appear quite regularly in the actions and approaches of leaders in successful organizations (best practices).
Of course the leader isn’t the only factor contributing to success, but the successful leader creates an environment where all of the other factors have an opportunity to surface, be nurtured, and applied. These seven best practices create that environment; that culture.
What separates this book from other tomes on leadership is the step-by-step integrated approach that facilitates the creation of an organization with no limitations.
A brief look at several of the successful leaders referenced in this book who practice the art of the possible will give you some insight into what is in store for you when you read the rest of this practical guide to success in any organization.
They include: the late David Packard, co-founder and Chairman of Hewlett-Packard Corporation; Colonel Steve Perry, U.S. Army; Dan Bannister, former Chairman of DynCorp; and, John Welch, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric.
Also included are: Elizabeth Hanford Dole, former President of the American Red Cross; Charles Schwab, Chairman and CEO of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; and, Beverly Milkman, former Executive Director of the President’s Committee on Purchasing from the Blind and Severely Disabled.
David Packard co-founded and grew Hewlett Packard into Silicon Valley’s most admired organization and when called to chair a presidential advisory committee, he irrevocably changed the way the federal government conducts business.
Steve Perry, a young Army career officer, was given command of a dysfunctional organization with a critical national mission and resolutely turned it into a high-performance team.
Dan Bannister, faced with losing his company to corporate raiders, seized the day and led an employee buyout that turned DynCorp into a world leader in information and technical services.
Jack Welch, recognized as perhaps the greatest CEO of the last century, took over a very profitable but hidebound General Electric and turned it into one of the world’s most valuable enterprises with a $300 billion-plus market capitalization.
Elizabeth Dole assumed leadership of The American Red Cross after distinguished service as Secretary of Labor and Transportation. Instead of coasting through her tenure as president of the venerable non-profit, she chose to awaken the slumbering bureaucracy of 30,000 full-time employees and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. In the process, she saved the organization more than $140 million in operating costs in less than two years.
Charles Schwab sold his company in 1984 to Bank of America. Unhappy with what he saw them doing with his company – they literally changed the character and culture – he bought the company back. Today, Charles Schwab & Co. is the largest discount brokerage firm ($300 billion) in the nation.
Beverly Milkman ran one of the U.S. Government’s smallest executive agencies (19 full-time personnel), but one with a significant and challenging mission, The President’s Committee for Purchasing from the Blind and Severely Disabled. She personifies the new breed of government leaders and has led award-winning changes at the Committee.
A brief example of success stories, but common to all is that mindset, that attitude – it can be done, anything is possible. They created organizations with no limitations; they practice the art of the possible.
I’ve taken the best practices used by those and other leaders and integrated them into a comprehensive guide to facilitate creation of your own organizational culture with no limitations – an organization that practices the art of the possible.
It’s my sincere hope that this book will move you to action. In any event, lead, follow or get out of the way!
Daniel M. Jacobs
Washington, D.C.
