What Matters Now

This is not a book about one thing. It's not a 250-page dissertation on leadership, teams or motivation. Instead, it's an agenda for building organizations that can flourish in a world of diminished hopes, relentless change and ferocious competition. This is not a book about doing better. It's not a manual for people who want to tinker at the margins. Instead, it's an impassioned plea to reinvent management as we know it-to rethink the fundamental assumptions we have about capitalism, organizational life, and the meaning of work. Leaders today confront a world where the unprecedented is the norm. Wherever one looks, one sees the exceptional and the extraordinary:* Business newspapers decrying the state of capitalism.* Once-innovative companies struggling to save off senescence.* Next gen employees shunning blue chips for social start-ups.* Corporate miscreants getting pilloried in the blogosphere.* Entry barriers tumbling in what were once oligopolistic strongholds.* Hundred year-old business models being rendered irrelevant overnight.* Newbie organizations crowdsourcing their most creative work.* National governments lurching towards bankruptcy.* Investors angrily confronting greedy CEOs and complacent boards.* Newly omnipotent customers eagerly wielding their power.* Social media dramatically transforming the way human beings connect, learn and collaborate. Obviously, there are lots of things that matter now. But in a world of fractured certainties and battered trust, some things matter more than others. While the challenges facing organizations are limitless; leadership bandwidth isn't. That's why you have to be clear about what really matters now. What are the fundamental, make-or-break issues that will determine whether your organization thrives or dives in the years ahead? Hamel identifies five issues are that are paramount: values, innovation, adaptability, passion and ideology. In doing so he presents an essential agenda for leaders everywhere who are eager to...* move from defense to offense* reverse the tide of commoditization* defeat bureaucracy* astonish their customers* foster extraordinary contribution* capture the moral high ground* outrun change* build a company that's truly fit for the future Concise and to the point, the book will inspire you to rethink your business, your company and how you lead.