Book review “The Leader’s Dilemma” by Hope, Bunce and Röösli
The authors of this inspiring book show that management is by far more than just preparing a budget and controlling the organization to keep to that budget. And if you've been working in, for and with big organizations for quite some years, you'll surely appreciate this approach (I definitely do). You know how much more inspiring and motivating it is if you're working for a leader and not for an accountant. You know, how hard and often impossible it is to make the only reasonable decision, if it's not in line with the budget. And you know how frustrating and paralyzing this situation can be for the individuals as well as for the whole organization.
The three authors have more than 30 years of experience in consulting and research. They analyze the principles, that made outstandingly successful companies – well: outstandingly successful. Based on this research, they support other companies in implementing these principles and writing their own track record.
The twelve principles
You'll find twelve principles described in the book. The implementiation of these principles will definitely make your company a better place and most certainly more successful. (I just copied these principles from the short description of the book)
- Values: Bind people to a common cause, not a central plan
- Governance: Govern through shared values and sound judgment, not detailed rules and regulations
- Transparency: Make information open and transparent, don′t restrict and control it
- Teams: Organize around a network of accountable teams, not centralized functions
- Trust: Trust teams to regulate and improve their performance; don′t micro–manage them
- Accountability: Base accountability on holistic criteria and peer reviews, not on hierarchical relationships
- Goals: Set ambitious medium–term goals, not short–term negotiated targets
- Rewards: Base rewards on relative performance, not fixed targets
- Planning: Make planning a continuous and inclusive process, not a top–down annual event
- Coordination: Coordinate interactions dynamically, not through annual budgets
- Resources: Make resources available just–in–time, not just–in–case
- Controls: Base controls on fast, frequent feedback, not on budget variances
Structure of the chapters
I really liked the structure of the chapters. In the beginning of every chapter, there is one example of a successful company, for which the principle has become an outstanding feature. Then, the principle itself, its effects and its implementation are described. In that description, you’ll find more examples out of the industry. And after that, there is the most important part: The authors describe ways to implement the principle in your own organization. And they show the obstacles you might face in doing so. At the end of the chapter, the key point are summed up in one or two pages. That way, it's easy to grab a short refresh after some time.
My conclusion
I know, that I'd like to work for an organization that implemented the principles described in this book. And that’s my main reason to recommend this book to every manager and entrepreneur. It’s not important if your company has 100 or 100'000 employees. These principles are a food for thought, everyone can benefit from.
And why do we need a fresh mindset?
Here's a (probably completely fictitious) anecdote, that shows the risks of the budget-only thinking in an impressive way:
The CFO of a company asks the CEO: “What happens, if we invest in developing our employees and they’re leaving next year?” and the CEO answers: “What happens if we don’t and they stay?”
