The Moment You Can't Ignore: When Big Trouble Leads to a Great Future

by Malachi O'Connor, Barry Dornfeld

Not just another day at the office or is it?
-The surgical technician ducks as a stapler flies past his head during the concluding moments of a lengthy and difficult operation.
-The high-powered, internationally known finance guru seeks to turn fortunes around at the university of which he is now president and finds himself a leader without followers.
-The powerful satraps silently sabotage the CEO's desperately needed growth initiative.

These are "moments that cannot be ignored" -- events, actions, comments that stop people in their tracks and, in one fell swoop, make it blindingly clear that an organization is stuck and unable to move forward. And they have become regular occurrences in today's corporations, non-profits, and educational institutions as new forms of work, communication, and technology expose the ways in which an organization's culture -- or "the way we do things around here" -- conflicts with new competitive demands. The result: telling incidents -- all too visible elephants in the room -- that reveal underlying conflicts as well as hidden assets.

In The Moment You Can't Ignore , Malachi O'Connor and Barry Dornfeld tell fascinating "you are there" stories of people and organizations as they encounter and then navigate through and beyond these un-ignorable moments, and show what we can learn from them. They outline the big questions organizations need to ask themselves about identity, leadership, and the capacity to innovate that an understanding of culture can help answer, and deliver powerful insights into recognizing and harnessing hidden assets that point in the direction of a new future.

In our age of porous organizations and constant change, The Moment You Can't Ignore demonstrates that the adage, "culture eats strategy for lunch," is more relevant now than ever.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2014

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Quotes

"[R]esistance usually has useful information in it." (page 72)

"Set and expectation that getting stuck is not a sign of failure. [...] Make it clear that in order to meet the challenges [...], getting stuck will be normal, even necessary, from time to time." (page 81)

"Leaders command in a different way, though, by creating a commanding presence and a commitment to developing the capabilities of others throughout the organization. [...] To build a commanding presence in organizations that are reshaping themselves, focus on two central tasks: protect the organization by keeping it within its safety zone during times of cultural transition, and guide and direct the organization as a conductor artfully leads an orchestra." (page 241)

"Prepare for the inevitability of being stuck and build capabilities to leverage the power of stuckness in order to get unstuck." (page 241)

"The skills [...] needed by leaders in twenty-first century organizations: resilience in the face of continuous change, the ability to influence others and build social capital [...], strategically using social networks to expand the reach of the business, and skillfully employing culture as a renewable resource [...]." (page 248)

"What is our identity as an organization?
Who's in charge?
How do I lead?
What is our future?" (page 248)

"[...] the difference between searching for a deeper interpretation of actions and events that we participate in out of our awareness, and the information that comes from paying attention to how people act right in front of our eyes." (page 257)

[Niraj Thapa Magar · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are the moments in the organisation which we can't ignore. If those moments are instead carefully analysed could lead to a great future. This book is all about how we can make those unignorable moment into something that lead us to growth and success and that's only possible if we are open to other views, move towards resistance and pull instead of pushing other to do something.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was in my neighborhood Little Free Library one day, and it looked interesting, so I thought I'd give it a try. Overall an interesting approach to organizational culture and change. I think my favorite takeaway is to look for the signs of growth or innovation that are already popping up organically, rather than trying to impose some shiny, externally-defined change plan or program. Especially in consultant culture, I think there's a tendency to cast the organization as anemic or completely devoid of potential, in order to highlight the consultant's impact ("look how I fixed youuuu!"). But here, outsiders are strategically facilitating a closer scrutiny of the potential that's already burgeoning within the org. That approach really appeals to me. :)

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

This is a fascinating read on leadership and culture. The examples are real life and the descriptions are interesting. I read lots about leadership. This one really resonated.

[Cari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great case studies, but the discussion of them was rather flat and boring.

[Lois]

This is a must read for anyone involved in organizational structure and politics. Fascinating and well written