The Leader's Guide to Radical Management
Reinventing the Workplace for the 21st Century
By: Stephen Denning
Published: October 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0470548681
ISBN-13: 978-0470548684
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
"This is a book about a radically different way of managing", writes former director for knowledge management at the World Bank, and thought leader on management, innovation, and leadership, Stephen Denning, in his visionary and provocative book The Leader's Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace for the 21st Century. The author describes the critical importance of dismantling the traditional workplace and management techniques, and replacing them with a fresh approach to managing in the twenty-first century.
Stephen Denning recognizes the dramatic changes that have taken place in workplaces in recent years. These changes include the entirely different ways of thinking, speaking, and acting at work. With employees now feeling frustrated and unfulfilled at work, and seeking job satisfaction, and a more meaningful work experience, the author proposes that an entirely new system of management is essential as well. With the changes in the marketplace, in customer behavior, and a more interactive marketing conversation, the old ways of managing are no longer effective, and are not sufficient or appropriate for the new emerging marketplace and empowered customers. The old management system is no longer adequate for managing employees either. As a result, the entire system of management, as it is currently constructed, must be changed completely and in very fundamental ways.
Stephen Denning (photo left) proposes a complete revamping of the traditional management system, and rebuilding it from a new and firmer foundation. For the author, current management practice and theory is outdated and ineffective, and can not be repaired with incremental change. With the complete transformation of the marketplace, an entirely different workforce and a revamped workplace, and a legacy system that has become counterproductive, Stephen Denning recommends the concept of radical management. He breaks radical management into seven principles:
* Delighting clients
* Self-organizing teams
* Client-driven iterations
* Delivering value to customers in each iteration
* Radical transparency
* Continuous self-improvement
* Interactive communication
For me, the power of the book is how Stephen Denning takes a holistic approach to rebuilding the entire theory and process of management, that includes fundamental changes in the workplace and in relationships with customers. The author recognizes that the existing management system is suboptimal, and even stands in the way of enhanced employee productivity and job satisfaction. Existing management practices all too often fail to understand fundamental changes in the marketplace, and lack the ability to optimize the relationship with customers. One of the most piercing insights presented by Stephen Denning is his understanding of the current unspoken assumption that the current management model is both inevitable and almost a law of nature. The author recognizes that, not only is the current management system broken, but is most certainly not the only possible option available to managers.
Stephen Denning points to the transformation of the workforce from semi-skilled workers to that of knowledge employees. The current management system was created for an entirely different type of employee, company, and economy. It is only reasonable to expect that such deep and fundamental changes would also necessitate a change in the process and practice of management as well. Simply making minor changes around the edges will not result in a form of management that meets the needs of the twenty-first century. Stephen Denning recommends ending the old twentieth century management model, and reinventing the theory and practice to suit the present and future workplace, marketplace, and economy. The author doesn't simply tear down the previous management system. He shares concrete and viable ideas and principles to transform the workplace and management into a new and radical management format.
I highly recommend the seminal and must read book The Leader's Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace for the 21st Century by Stephen Denning, to business managers seeking to reinvent their workplaces and approaches to the evolving marketplace. This book provides the techniques and strategies to address change in both the workplace and with customers.
Read the thought provoking and destined to become classic book The Leader's Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace for the 21st Century by Stephen Denning, and take the crucial steps toward reinventing your workplace and customer relationships from the ground up. Instead of the outmoded management practices utilized by your competitors, your company will be on the forefront of management techniques for the twenty-first century.
