Reorganize for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business

by Ranjay Gulati

In an era of raging commoditization and eroding profit margins, survival depends on staying one step ahead of your customers. Sure, most companies say they're "customer-focused," but they don't deliver solutions to customers' thorniest problems. Why? Because they're stymied by the rigid "silos" they're organized around. In Reorganize for Resilience, Ranjay Gulati reveals how resilient companies prosper both in good times and bad, driving growth and increasing profitability by immersing themselves in the lives of their customers. This book shows how resilient organizations cut through internal barriers that impede action, build bridges between warring divisions, and transform former competitors into collaborators.

Based on more than a decade of research in a variety of industries, and filled with examples from companies including Cisco Systems, La Farge, Starbucks, Best Buy, and Jones Lang LaSalle, Gulati exploresthe five levers of

· Connect, eradicate, or restructure silos to enable swift responses.

· Foster a culture that aligns all employees around the shared goals of customer solutions.

· Redistribute power to "bridge builders" and customer champions.

· Develop employees' skills at tackling changing customer needs.

· Blend partners' offerings with yours to provide unique customer solutions.

Genres: Business, Management

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Evert de Ruiter · Rating 3 out of 5]

From some YouTube videos I watched of the author, I expected a lot more of this book.

The insights are useful, but I feel that the sources & references are dated, and the supporting graphics are downright amateurish.

It’s still a useful first read for anyone who hasn’t read anything about customer centricity.

Have read “Swithpoints” (CLG about the CN turnaround) before, this simply wasn’t at the same level. Even the “Amazon Way” series had more to offer.

(3.5 stars would have been fairer, but GoodReads doesn’t allow for that nuance unfortunately)

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read book on customer services for knowledge workers, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.