Speed Lead: Faster, Simpler Ways to Manage People, Projects and Teams in Complex Companies

(Hardback)

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Today's managers waste an estimated 40 per cent of their time on unnecessary cooperation, communication and control. Old-fashioned management skills are too expensive and slow to use in today's complex companies. When great companies grow they become more complex. This complexity starts to undermine what made the company successful: the organisation slows down, it is more difficult to get things done and it becomes a less satisfying workplace.

In his work with talented people from hundreds of the world's leading companies. Kevan discovered that they spend over 80 per cent of their time on cooperation, communication and control - and that up to 50 per cent of that time is wasted. Organised around 4 Cs - Cooperation, Communication, Control and Community - Speed Lead distills the experience of more than 35,000 people in over 200 of the world's leading companies. The resulting radical view has enabled organizations to unravel the spaghetti of complexity, reduce project cycle times, build closer business relationships and curb the costs of unnecessary travel.

Contrary to current leadership wisdom, Speed Lead advises to: celebrate the end of teams where you don't need them; abolish meetings of the bored; take control of the "crack-berry" and don't be a 24-hour control freak; expect more from your people and lead a lot less; make "good-enough" decisions; and, don't let diversity be a diversion - share practices, not values.

Reviews

"Intensely practical. Hall's book is a highly stimulating guide to creating a more efficient business. Any global firm would benefit from the chapter on managing across time zones by organising continuous 24-hour working." Carol Kennedy, Director "An eminently practical book, good at giving pragmatic, realistic tips that can help the reader to reframe and reflect on one's practice, and change behaviour without the guilt from being "stuck" in an outdated managerial mindset. This is a well-organised and enthusiastic synthesis of good managerial practice." People Management "Organizations are getting ever more complex. Globalization, technology and scale can lead to growth and success, but they also bring dysfunctional baggage. Kevan shows how to get off the organizational "hamster wheel" and focus on what is important." Geoff Armstrong, Director General, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development "We all want our companies to be faster, simpler and easier to run - this refreshing blend of challenging ideas and practical tools shows us how." Karl Kahofer, Group President Rubbermaid / IRWIN Group Europe & Asia Pacific "Great management and leadership includes application of a lot of common sense. This book contains the sort of practical help and guidance that you can dip into and refresh your common sense quotient. Keep it close!" Christine Betts Senior Director, Audience Marketing, Microsoft "A much needed new look at managing and leading in complex modern organisations. Practical tools you can implement to speed up your company." Bob Morton, Head of People Development Competence Centre, Europe - MEA. Ciba Specialty Chemicals "Speed is the key word for companies in Asia Pacific Rims; China, Japan and Korea. Kevan's remarkable new book SPEEDLEAD comes from his long practical experience and is based on Creativity & Innovation, Simplicity, and easiness of applicability for managers of global companies. New tools and techniques from this book can be applied in many different countries without any cultural difference." Professor Jae Ho Park, Chairman, Department of Psychology of Yeungnam University, South Korea

Author Bio

Kevan Hall is the founder and CEO of Global Integration Ltd, a consultancy specialising in skills required to work in complex, international organizations. He works with companies worldwide, including Microsoft, Cisco, Nokia, JP Morgan, GlaxoSmithKline and Vodafone. He has practical experience in line management, manufacturing operations, HR, training, and strategic and market planning in the Telecoms & FMCG sectors. He has lived in the UK and France, manages his own cross-cultural and remote organization and is a regular speaker at international conferences. His website is www.global-integration.com.