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The Plugged-In Manager: Get in Tune with Your People, Technology, and Organization to Thrive
A game-changing approach to managementToo often discussions of management practice focus exclusively on managing people and organizational issues. Rarely, however, do they incorporate a discussion about technology or address all three dimensions in a balanced way. When they do, the result is game changing. In our hypercompetitive environment, those managers who are outstanding at being plugged into their people, technology, and organizational processes "simultaneously" excel at coming up with effective business solutions.
"The Plugged-In Manager" makes the case that being plugged-in--the ability to see choices across each of an organization's dimensions of people, technology, and organizational processes and then to mix them together into new and powerful organizational strategies, structures, and practices--may be the most important capability a manager can develop to succeed in the 21st century. Step by step Griffith shows you how to acquire this ability.Shows what it takes for business managers to succeed as technology and organizations become more and more complexProfiles exceptional leaders and organizations who are plugged-in, such as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.comOffers a fresh look at management issues
Filled with compelling case studies and drawing on first-hand interviews, "The Plugged-In Manager" highlights this often neglected managerial capability and the costs of only focusing on one dimension rather than all three.
"The Plugged-In Manager" makes the case that being plugged-in--the ability to see choices across each of an organization's dimensions of people, technology, and organizational processes and then to mix them together into new and powerful organizational strategies, structures, and practices--may be the most important capability a manager can develop to succeed in the 21st century. Step by step Griffith shows you how to acquire this ability.Shows what it takes for business managers to succeed as technology and organizations become more and more complexProfiles exceptional leaders and organizations who are plugged-in, such as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.comOffers a fresh look at management issues
Filled with compelling case studies and drawing on first-hand interviews, "The Plugged-In Manager" highlights this often neglected managerial capability and the costs of only focusing on one dimension rather than all three.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2011
5 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Terri L. Griffith
2 books10 followersTerri Griffith helps people and organizations accelerate performance and prepare for the futures of work. Through her speaking, writing, teaching, and research, Terri brings energy and evidence-based leadership and innovation to organizations spanning high tech, education, and global agribusiness. She inspires and coaches groups on how to negotiate change and uniquely mix existing and new capabilities and would love to talk to you about your AI or automation plans.
BACKGROUND:
Her award-winning book, The Plugged-In Manager: Get in Tune with Your People, Technology, and Organization to Thrive, offers clear examples and frameworks for succeeding now and in the future -- not just leadership, not just technology, but a powerful combination that leverages all your resources. For over 25 years she has offered programs and projects for companies and associations including Oracle, IBM, Cisco, ESADE, Sonera, SIM APC, and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. She serves on advisory boards for startups and advisory groups and was honored as a 2012 Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Terri shares her strategies and networks from her role as the Keith Beedie Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business. Following two decades in the Silicon Valley as a Professor, Department Chair, and Associate Dean at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, Terri recently accepted the honor of this endowed chair and the opportunity to learn from entrepreneurs in Vancouver.
Through her blog, Technology and Organizations, and freelance work (Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review Blog, Women 2.0, MIT’s Sloan Management Review), Terri follows organizational trends and the leaders who bring them to life. Her academic work is published in top journals such as: Organization Science, Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, IEEE – Transactions on Engineering Management, and the Academy of Management Review. Some of this research has been funded by the National Science Foundation. She is a past editorial board member of IEEE – Transactions on Engineering Management and Group Decision and Negotiation. Terri also served as senior editor for Organization Science and associate editor for MIS Quarterly. Her undergraduate degree is from UC Berkeley; her MS and Ph.D. are from Carnegie Mellon.
BACKGROUND:
Her award-winning book, The Plugged-In Manager: Get in Tune with Your People, Technology, and Organization to Thrive, offers clear examples and frameworks for succeeding now and in the future -- not just leadership, not just technology, but a powerful combination that leverages all your resources. For over 25 years she has offered programs and projects for companies and associations including Oracle, IBM, Cisco, ESADE, Sonera, SIM APC, and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. She serves on advisory boards for startups and advisory groups and was honored as a 2012 Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Terri shares her strategies and networks from her role as the Keith Beedie Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business. Following two decades in the Silicon Valley as a Professor, Department Chair, and Associate Dean at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, Terri recently accepted the honor of this endowed chair and the opportunity to learn from entrepreneurs in Vancouver.
Through her blog, Technology and Organizations, and freelance work (Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review Blog, Women 2.0, MIT’s Sloan Management Review), Terri follows organizational trends and the leaders who bring them to life. Her academic work is published in top journals such as: Organization Science, Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, IEEE – Transactions on Engineering Management, and the Academy of Management Review. Some of this research has been funded by the National Science Foundation. She is a past editorial board member of IEEE – Transactions on Engineering Management and Group Decision and Negotiation. Terri also served as senior editor for Organization Science and associate editor for MIS Quarterly. Her undergraduate degree is from UC Berkeley; her MS and Ph.D. are from Carnegie Mellon.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 26, 2012
Griffith clearly (and fairly concisely) talks about how to become a "plugged-in manager." In this case, that means how to make sure you understand all of the inputs and stakeholders before making a decision.
In a lot of ways, this is just project management. She has a section on business objectives that basically says you need to define what you're doing, why you're doing it, and who/what it will affect. Pretty straightforward stuff. She does add a bit of technology bits in there, but I really would've liked this to be a bigger part. It was like the same old stuff you read in any management book with examples slightly more focused on 21st century technology.
Griffith's writing style was easy to understand, but she wasn't that entertaining. The examples she provided were, for the most part, not earth shattering. They were normal, every day examples. You can find these examples in companies around the world. This is great for relatability, but not so great for keeping your reader engaged.
The best part of the book was the section called "How Plugged In Are You?" Griffith offers a series of examples where you rate the provided solutions, then she discusses which are the "plugged-in" solutions and why. I thought this part was a lot of fun; however, it doesn't make any sense for it to be at the end of the book as it is. By this point, we already know what answers are the "plugged-in" ones, so we know which answers we're supposed to pick. This would be much more effective at the start of the book--readers could learn what they need to work on early and focus on those areas while reading.
Overall, this is a completely fine book. It's not groundbreaking, but it's well-written and easy to understand.
I received my copy of this book through 12Books.
In a lot of ways, this is just project management. She has a section on business objectives that basically says you need to define what you're doing, why you're doing it, and who/what it will affect. Pretty straightforward stuff. She does add a bit of technology bits in there, but I really would've liked this to be a bigger part. It was like the same old stuff you read in any management book with examples slightly more focused on 21st century technology.
Griffith's writing style was easy to understand, but she wasn't that entertaining. The examples she provided were, for the most part, not earth shattering. They were normal, every day examples. You can find these examples in companies around the world. This is great for relatability, but not so great for keeping your reader engaged.
The best part of the book was the section called "How Plugged In Are You?" Griffith offers a series of examples where you rate the provided solutions, then she discusses which are the "plugged-in" solutions and why. I thought this part was a lot of fun; however, it doesn't make any sense for it to be at the end of the book as it is. By this point, we already know what answers are the "plugged-in" ones, so we know which answers we're supposed to pick. This would be much more effective at the start of the book--readers could learn what they need to work on early and focus on those areas while reading.
Overall, this is a completely fine book. It's not groundbreaking, but it's well-written and easy to understand.
I received my copy of this book through 12Books.
September 5, 2012
During August 2012 I read "The Plugged-In Manager" by Terri Griffith as part of the 12 Books Online Book Group. This book is a unique perspective to making decisions and creating culture central to balancing the people, technology, and processes in an organization. The basic premise is to train the reader to understand the impact on these three things and outline a process by which the manager can keep continual balance.
I particularly liked the chapter that discussed the practice of Stop-Look-Listen. It seems that we most generally miss opportunities to "plug-in" because we are in such a hurry to execute.
The case studies and examples in the book are both relevant and educational. Sometimes it seems that stories in these types of books are hard to apply to smaller teams or companies but Griffith did a good job of relating the stories to the core principles being taught.
During our Live Q&A webinar with Griffith, she also talked about some of the more common questions about the subject. The book also answers questions about generational differences to technology, application challenges in teams and companies, and the most common reasons people don't plug-in.
I particularly liked the chapter that discussed the practice of Stop-Look-Listen. It seems that we most generally miss opportunities to "plug-in" because we are in such a hurry to execute.
The case studies and examples in the book are both relevant and educational. Sometimes it seems that stories in these types of books are hard to apply to smaller teams or companies but Griffith did a good job of relating the stories to the core principles being taught.
During our Live Q&A webinar with Griffith, she also talked about some of the more common questions about the subject. The book also answers questions about generational differences to technology, application challenges in teams and companies, and the most common reasons people don't plug-in.
March 23, 2013
Terri Griffith is a Professor of Management at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business. From her location in the heart of the Silicon Valley, I find that her approaches are more directly applicable and less theoretical than other leadership books. In addition, her work incorporates technology into the role of leadership which reflects the latest ways that businesses work and leaders collaborate. Dr. Griffith demonstrates that you can't manage through people, technology, or organizational process alone. To succeed, especially in today's dynamic environment, you need to mix these three dimensions together. No silver bullet approach will work. This book cuts through the leadership fluff and gets to pragmatic and useful approaches that are relevant for today's executives.
September 15, 2012
Disclaimer:
I received this book for free by 12booksgroup.com as part of a contest that I entered. The only condition I had to satisfy was to read the book and provide a review (good or bad) afterwards.
Key takeaway of the book:
This is a very good book if you are looking for an innovative approach in managing people to get the maximum out of employees to compete and win.
Review:
I like this book a lot because it is short, easy to understand and very practical.
The book defines “plugged-in” management, the need for it today, the integrated way of looking at problems, and practices you can apply to come up with a solution.
The book defines “plugged-in” management, the need for it today, the integrated way of looking at problems, and practices you can apply to come up with a solution.
Gary Hamel, a noted management expert, states in this video that management may have been our greatest invention in the last hundred years; however, he adds that it needs to be reinvented today as our economy is moving from efficiency (which is repeatable and predictable) to innovation (which is non-routine and uncertain).
According to Hamel, the traditional style of management, with its strong emphasis on obedience, diligence and intellect, is not effective today. The traditional skill sets have become global commodities. Hamel states that companies have lagged in their need to innovate in management, especially in harnessing employees’ key attributes to compete and win today: initiative, creativity and passion.
The “Plugged-in Manager” book’s primary focus is on practices that enable managers to harness employees’ talent to solve problems that are cheaper, faster, better and smarter ---- the only differentiator today for companies to compete and succeed.
Griffith defines “plugged-in” managers as those “who are able to see choices across each of an organization’s dimensions of people, technology and organizational processes and then mix them together into new and powerful organizational strategies, structures, and practices.”
Next, she expkains, in order to solve a problem, you have to view it across the three dimensions: people, technology and organizational process. And to solve the problem, she describes three practices characteristic of a plugged-in management:
1) Stop, Look, Listen
2) Mixing
3) Sharing
Though these practices appear straightforward, you have to turn them into habits, so it becomes an organization’s DNA.
Griffith is also realistic that plugged-in management is not easy to implement, as change is always tough. She advocates that only through success can you create awareness to gain adoption throughout the organization.
The book is very readable and provides practical brainstorming ideas with excellent examples of plugged-in management used by other companies. From the examples you get a very good idea on how you can apply it to your specific environment.
One last thing, if you got this far, don't waste your time reading this book as a check mark that you read a good book; read it with a purpose of making a change by putting some of the ideas into practice. Then you will have not wasted your time, but grown intellectually, personally and professionally.
This is the book to read in becoming a plugged-in manager, -employee - leader and, -culture.
Legend for this book's rating:
5 -- You will get lot out of reading this book
4 -- You will get something out of this book
3 -- You will get at least one good tip out of the book
2 -- I don't give a score of 1 or 2.
August 29, 2012
As someone who also works as an adjunct professor, with undergrads, I certainly understand the teaching technique of repeating the same thing over and over again. Terri L. Griffith uses the same technique from cover to cover of her book The Plugged-In Manager. It's not a bad thing, especially in a classroom, because that's how learning begins to take place - using repetition.
She attended conferences, interviewed company CEO's, VP's, consultants and other authors. Griffith also presents case studies from businesses like Southwest Air, IBM, Zappos, Google, Nucor and more. We get a glimpse of who is a plugged-in manager: it's the person who learns from and makes decisions based on being in tune with the collective of people, technology and the organizational process and procedures. We were even given the formula to become plugged-in. I will let you read the book to find out what it is.
What was missing for me? Answers to how do you practice being plugged-in when there's numerous layers of management and how do you plug-in when a culture of excellence is not nurtured or supported?
What worked for me? The what would you do scenario's were helpful.
I don't think the experienced manager will ask themselves reflective questions once they've read the book. I didn't. I do believe that the book could be insightful for the novice manager, though, like a recent college graduate. Part I provides a great guide for beginners in the field of management.
She attended conferences, interviewed company CEO's, VP's, consultants and other authors. Griffith also presents case studies from businesses like Southwest Air, IBM, Zappos, Google, Nucor and more. We get a glimpse of who is a plugged-in manager: it's the person who learns from and makes decisions based on being in tune with the collective of people, technology and the organizational process and procedures. We were even given the formula to become plugged-in. I will let you read the book to find out what it is.
What was missing for me? Answers to how do you practice being plugged-in when there's numerous layers of management and how do you plug-in when a culture of excellence is not nurtured or supported?
What worked for me? The what would you do scenario's were helpful.
I don't think the experienced manager will ask themselves reflective questions once they've read the book. I didn't. I do believe that the book could be insightful for the novice manager, though, like a recent college graduate. Part I provides a great guide for beginners in the field of management.
August 24, 2016
This book expands on the idea of a fully integrated management style that it calls "plugged-in". The main idea seemed to be a style that integrated information from all sources, both internal and external, and developing innovative solutions to problems on the fly. For me the book started off slow but when it started to talk about specific examples and showed how to relate those to the plugged-in concepts it got more interesting. I also found the assessment exercises in the second half of the book useful and thought provoking. Reading this book gave me some things to think about and some ideas to consider implementing in my management role.
April 29, 2016
It's interesting, because on one hand it's very easy to see the point the author is trying to make. (It probably helps being a member of a generation who grew up with the internet, social networking, etc. On the other hand, she offers little in the way of guidance on how to encourage acceptance of these ideas in an organization of "technology immigrants".
September 16, 2011
I'm looking forward to what others think...
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June 8, 2017Terri Griffith (TPR 1986, TPR 1989), Author
From the author:
A game-changing approach to management. Too often discussions of management practice focus exclusively on managing people and organizational issues. Rarely, however, do they incorporate a discussion about technology or address all three dimensions in a balanced way. When they do, the result is game changing. In our hypercompetitive environment, those managers who are outstanding at being plugged into their people, technology, and organizational processes simultaneously excel at coming up with effective business solutions. The Plugged-In Manager makes the case that being plugged-in—the ability to see choices across each of an organization's dimensions of people, technology, and organizational processes and then to mix them together into new and powerful organizational strategies, structures, and practices—may be the most important capability a manager can develop to succeed in the 21st century. Step by step Griffith shows you how to acquire this ability. Shows what it takes for business managers to succeed as technology and organizations become more and more complex Profiles exceptional leaders and organizations who are plugged-in, such as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com Offers a fresh look at management issues Filled with compelling case studies and drawing on first-hand interviews, The Plugged-In Manager highlights this often neglected managerial capability and the costs of only focusing on one dimension rather than all three.
From the author:
A game-changing approach to management. Too often discussions of management practice focus exclusively on managing people and organizational issues. Rarely, however, do they incorporate a discussion about technology or address all three dimensions in a balanced way. When they do, the result is game changing. In our hypercompetitive environment, those managers who are outstanding at being plugged into their people, technology, and organizational processes simultaneously excel at coming up with effective business solutions. The Plugged-In Manager makes the case that being plugged-in—the ability to see choices across each of an organization's dimensions of people, technology, and organizational processes and then to mix them together into new and powerful organizational strategies, structures, and practices—may be the most important capability a manager can develop to succeed in the 21st century. Step by step Griffith shows you how to acquire this ability. Shows what it takes for business managers to succeed as technology and organizations become more and more complex Profiles exceptional leaders and organizations who are plugged-in, such as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com Offers a fresh look at management issues Filled with compelling case studies and drawing on first-hand interviews, The Plugged-In Manager highlights this often neglected managerial capability and the costs of only focusing on one dimension rather than all three.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews