How to Manage in a Flat World: 10 Strategies to Get Connected to Your Team Wherever They Are

by Susan Bloch, Philip Whiteley

How to MANAGE in a FLAT WORLD 10 Strategies to Get Connected to Your Team Wherever They Are Lead Winning Global Teams in Today’s Flat Businesses! Manage, motivate, and communicate with teams that span continents Master all the tools available to global managers, from technology to travel Based on exclusive interviews with dozens of successful global managers In today’s “flat” world, you must get the best from teams that span not just offices, but teams of unprecedented diversity and complexity. Leading those teams, you must deliver better results faster and with fewer resources. Conventional management techniques just won’t do the job anymore. You need a radically new approach to one that’s more fluid, more agile, and far less hierarchical. How to Manage in a Flat World teaches you that new approach. Drawing on hard-won lessons from today’s most successful global managers, this book covers both high-level concepts and hands-on techniques. You’ll find best practices for everything from building trust to choosing the right times to travel…even maintaining a healthy work/life balance when you’re leading a team that’s operating 24/7! Susan Bloch has spent the past decade helping leading enterprises build leadership capability and effective teams. She has coached business leaders in manufacturing, financial services, construction, retailing, telecommunications, and other industries. Her clients have included Reuters, Prudential, Shell, Unilever, Philips, Sony, BT, Barclays, Standard Chartered, and Accenture. Bloch holds an M.A. in Psychology from Columbia University, and is a fellow of Ashoka, a global charity that supports social entrepreneurs. Philip Whiteley is a freelance author and journalist specializing in management. He is author or coauthor of numerous books, including Unshrink the People (with Max Mckeown). He contributes regularly to leading business publications, and writes a weekly column on executive compensation for The Times of London. Together, Bloch and Whiteley previously authored Complete Leadership. In a flat world, managers are on the front lines. It is managers who must bring together individuals, teams, and resources from all over the planet. It is managers who must work through differences in language and culture to drive quantifiable results, and be held accountable for those results. Stripped of yesterday’s hierarchical, unquestioned authority, it is managers who must earn the right to lead, every single day. How to Manage in a Flat World gives you a complete blueprint for succeeding as a manager and leader in today’s radically flattened and globalized business environment. You’ll learn realistic, proven techniques for leading and motivating teams, wherever they are…using technology and travel more effectively…creating cultures of trust and motivation…coping with ambiguity while providing clarity…and building a balanced, fulfilled life for yourself at the very same time. • Does culture still matter? Yes, but… Discover the “common reference points” that are emerging alongside traditional culture • Bullet trains and mules Integrate the super-fast pace of business and technology with the slower evolution of humans • When there’s no substitute for travel Make the most of face-to-face interactions on a tight budget • Keeping a life, keeping the “real you” Improve your work/life balance in a flat, global business environment

Genres: Business

158 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Bob Selden]

I liked this book. The topic has been well researched and the book is carefully laid out. Each chapters starts with an overview, “Key Points” and concludes with a summary of “Learning Points”. This approach makes it easy for readers to get a quick gist of the chapter and key points and is also well suited to the big picture person. It would also be useful when it comes to implementing some of the ideas suggested.

There are plenty of case studies, vignettes and quotes from practising managers who vary across organisations, cultures and continents. Although I did find that at times the case studies became a little too numerous and one had to dig or re-trace to grasp the point being made. Nonetheless, they were most valuable to understanding the theme of the chapter.

To get all the subtle messages as well as the key points Bloch and Whitely make, it is necessary to read the book in-depth. This is not a book to be skimmed over. However, if you are in a hurry it would be easy to go to the last chapter and review the 10 key points for managing in a flat world. In fact some readers may wish to start there.

In terms of content, there are many excellent tips, suggestions and proven techniques (from practising managers) that will assist managers who need to manage virtual or widely dispersed teams. Two that stood out for me were:
- Communication requires an emotional commitment to engage, and
- It is easier to overcome the limitations of virtual contact if there is a rapport between individuals

Of course, the authors go on to explain how to implement these ideas. One quote from Dadvid Grigson, CEO, Reuters is also memorable:
- “Managing your people is often less urgent, but is always more important”

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has to manage virtual, multicultural or multinational teams.