Living Strategy: Putting People at the Heart of Corporate Purpose

by Lynda Gratton

(Pearson Education) Shows how and why to design strategies that have meaning and purpose for people. Argues that a management agenda is crucial and shares the three tenets of human organizational behavior.

Genres: Business

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2000

Reviews

[JFK · Rating 4 out of 5]

เป็น​ยาขมหม้อนึง... อ่านยากพอควร
Concept หนังสือ​ดี​ เหมือน​ To do list ในการช่วยให้บริษัทเติบโตอย่างยั่งยืน​ หรือ​ ผ่านจุดวิกฤติ​ไปได้​

[Davis Kundrats · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and basic strategies, however, many things/strategies that were mentioned in this book don’t apply to the year 2020.

[Paul W · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Trust, inspiration and commitment may represent the soul of the organization, but too often this soul lies buried and overlooked. The difference between our understanding of this aspect of people and our in-depth understanding of financial capital is striking."
This extract (p85) summarises the ideas Gratton conveys in this book. Gratton adopts a resource based view of strategy (valuable, rare, inimitable) to argue that "only people can sustain the competitive advantage of a company." Her central point on the centrality of people to competitive advantage is echoed in the emergence of design thinking with its human-centred focus.
However a resource based view would also argue that sustainable competitive advantages arises when the resource is non-appropriable. Gratton does not adequately address this issue which is critical in certain industries (eg funds management, investment banking).
Gratton argues that "A company with low levels of trust and commitment is as bankrupt as one with low levels of financial capital".
This book makes a strong case for these attributes to play a more central part in organisational strategy and decision-making.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thesis that “companies that will flourish in this decade will do so because they are able to provide meaning and purpose a context and from that encourage individual potential to flourish and grow” sounds so remarkably similar to #FCGT's noble selling purpose - a purpose being shouted from the companies rooftops at the moment. What a pertinent time to revisit this gem, and remember how important it is to involve the entire organization in building the vision of the future.