2004 Q3 Book Review
What Really Works
by William Joyce, Nitin Nohria and Bruce Roberson
With hundreds of well-known management practices available to companies, the authors explore those that contribute most to the success of a business. Based on the Evergreen Project, a massive five year study in which consultants and business school professors at top universities around the country analyzed ten years of data on 160 companies and more than 200 management practices, the authors discovered that all successful companies simultaneously master six specific management practices.
The 4+2 formula divides the practices into four primary practices, all of which must be followed, in the areas of strategy, execution, culture and organization. In addition to the primary practices, any two of four secondary practices must be followed involving talent of employees, leadership and governance, innovation and mergers and partnerships.
In What Really Works, the authors present their findings through case studies focusing on companies that they have designated Winners, Climbers, Tumblers or Losers depending on their performances over the ten-year period studied. The book is worth reading, especially if you are experiencing a situation in your organization where growth and performance is less than desirable.