Why Is Elephants Can 't Dance? : Inside Ibm 's Historic Turnaround By Louis V. Gerstner

Foreword by Spenser Johnson: One the surface, the story of this book appears to be a fable that is relatively easy to grasp, but it does subtly impart an invaluable lesson on change. The book covers John Kotter’s Eight Steps to bring about successful organizational change and can be equally useful for a high-school student as it is for a CEO of a multi-national organization.

“The images, metaphors, or frames that we hold, both of managing and of change, influence our ideas of what we think managing change is all about” (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009). As people we all see through our own eyes, we call see a different perspective and have a different reaction to what is coming next. As human beings we react differently to situations. Situations of change are transitions that some are able to adapt to quickly while others have a hard time. Being the leader of that change can be difficult and helping make a change does not come easily or effectively. Keep and Newcomer (2008)

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, has an autocratic leadership style. He has surrounded himself with lower level leaders that do not question his decisions or authority. Additionally, he is a micromanager that has implemented rigorous standards. Further, individual performance is continuously measured and employees ranked against each other. This has created a very competitive atmosphere. Notably, employees that meet his high demands are often called “Amabots.”

The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary internal look at Whole Foods Market, which was ranked 44th last year as Fortune’s Top 100 Companies to Work For. And even though the company is ranked 44th on Fortune’s top 100 and 218th on Fortune’s 500 top companies, they have remained in Fortune’s rankings consecutively for the past 18 years. This paper will offer a look at the organization’s vision, mission, and core values, as well as its’ major strategic objectives. I will also determine how and in what ways the theory of Full Range Leadership Development can support the core principles of Whole Foods Market’s strategy.

Part three of the book “Beyond the Wall of Resistance” has two chapters and the title of part three is, “Narrowing the Gap the Next Time”. The first nine chapters of this book gave information on planning and implementing successful change. The final two chapters expand the information on change as it relates to hiring, monitoring the work of consultants, and selecting people to lead within the organization. Chapter ten, entitled “Expanding Your Ability to Apply What You’ve Learned”, gives a range of ways to apply the Cycle of Change and the three levels of support and resistance.

As a successful Fortune Fifty company, Lowe’s depends on great leaders to help the organization achieve its financial and organizational goals, motivate its extensive workforce, and build a culture where employees share and cultivate the purpose of the organization. While many great leaders, including Wheatley, Cashman, Peters, and others have written on the subject of leadership, the success of Lowe’s Companies has demonstrated that since 1946, it has been the home of many great leaders. By interviewing recognized leaders in key positions at Lowe’s, I hope to learn several valuable aspects of effective leadership, which I plan to incorporate in my personal leadership style.

Jeff Bezos is the fifty two year old Chief Executive Officer and founder Amazon, the largest United States based online retailer. A critical and innovative thinker, he created his online book sales company in his garage and has led Amazon to absolute market domination, technological innovation, and has become the third riches person in the world (BBC.com, 2016). His innovative ideas, demonstrated hard work and discipline, coupled with his ability to envision the future of online retail operations, positions his company at the forefront of the market. And behind the technology, the innovation and the drive to convert cash flows into opportunity, is the underlying commitment to the customer. Jeff Bezos demonstrates the leadership practices described by James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s as the five practices of exemplary leadership, model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart (Kouzes & Posner, 2012).

John Kotter is the Konosuke Matsushita professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School and the founder and a principal of Kotter Associates in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Professor Kotter is the author of the General Managers (1982): The leadership Factor (1987) Leading Change (1995) etc. He is the best sellers among business books in the United States. Professor Kotter is also a frequent speaker at top management meetings around the world. Know days there are many different tools for leaders to use and create successful changes in today’s ever shifting environment. However, the economic and social changes force the need for major changes in organizations. Leaders are facing the need for change in transition to be successful, market changes and competition increase the need for transformation with specific strategies leaders and organization are looking for ways to keep up with the increasing change. This book titled “Leading Change (1995) by Kotter outlines an

Archie Norman was thirty-seven years old when he took over as chief executive of a supermarket chain, Asda. Before joining Asda, Norman had no previous experience in the grocery business. He had attended Harvard Business School MBA and had worked for the McKinsey consulting firm. When he took over Asda, it was in the brink of collapse. Asda had lost sight of its core customers, their competitors were gaining market share and Asda was nearly in $2 billion in debt. Norman was able to turn this struggling company around by exhorting an adaptive leadership. In the following paragraphs, I will analyze the five principles that leaders use to mobilize people to do adaptive work. I will share my own experience with a leader and how her leadership

In this case study, Joseph will create an illustration, encouraging imagination, and will show how all of their employees will play a role in ensuring success. Joseph relies on his transformational leadership style. He is a leader that is capable of initiating a bold strategy and is instrumental in the process that change is occurring. In order for him to remain competitive, he must respond quickly to the pressures of economic globalization (Lam, 2011). In order for Joseph to enhance his role as a leader he has to take initiative, think outside the box, listen to and take advice from George and all employees, and motivate everyone to work towards the end state: a combined, prosperous business. The overall goal

The presence of strong as well as effective leadership in today’s organization imposes a great responsibility to the organization’s team and management networks as leadership implies the overall capacity of the organization’s performance like for instance, in terms of operations and research development. It can be said that Amazon’s resources and capabilities can be divided in the management of the company specifically their leader which is Bezos, the ability of the management to effectively use strategic supply chain management and aligning it with their business process and information technology, their competitive advantage in the online market, and the financial resources that it gains through its successful approaches.

It is generally noted that Albert Einstein once said, “the measure of intelligence is the ability to change”. John Kotter embedded this mindset that continually adapting and evolving can lead to success within the novel Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Condition. Kotter’s and Rathgeber structural organization allows change management to be introduced through a relatable fable highlighting the needed steps to properly manage a group dealing with change. Tone, approach, and mood management are amongst the areas defined as crucial in managing change and making it acceptable. Kotter also introduces what he defines as The Eight Step Process of Successful Change that are surrounded by the themes of Setting the stage, Deciding what to do, Making it happen, and Making it stick. This novel is the example of how to effectively manage change within an organization as well as individually.

I believe you learn about leadership by acting as an example. You should be prepared to do the things you are asking others to do by getting on your hands and knees, if need be, and get your hands dirty. This engraves a picture into the mind of an employee or subordinate to what type of a manager you are. In this paper, I will cover the role a manager plays in an organization describing four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. I will then describe three traits: conceptual, human, and technical, which an individual must possess to become a successful manager within an organization and how they fit in with the four functions.

Founded in June 1911, IBM has always been a leading company in the technology industry and at the forefront of innovation. It is a manufacturer of computer hardware and software, and also provides infrastructure, hosting and consulting services. Before the 2000s, IBM was the largest PC vendor in the world. However, the hardware sales have continually declined since 2000, and IBM sold its PC group to Lenovo in 2004, as well as its x86 Server Business in 2014. In the new era of the technology industry, IBM has faced the challenge to transit from a hardware manufacturer to a service company.

The case study Renovating Home Depot was the case of a leader who joined a successful business only to discover that the company was running out of growth opportunities and also did not have the basic systems needed for increased growth in place. Robert “Bob” Nardelli was chosen as the CEO of Home Depot based on his proven ability to reenergize slow-growth businesses. He was a leader that went all out to achieve his goals and was identified as someone who was “comfortable in his own suit”, and believes in being successful his own way. He made several innovations which were used in General Electric (GE) where he recorded past successes. We see the success demonstrated in the growth of revenue in Home Depot, as well as opening