Serial Innovators
Firms That Change the World
Published on 11. November 2011
Book
Hardback
202 pages
978-1-118-14992-8 (ISBN)
Description
"The average life expectancy at "birth" of a firm is roughly 15 years, and only one out of twenty lives longer than fifty years.
Firms are born, they grow, then they struggle to keep up with changing markets. Slow adapters often become big losers, fall by the wayside, and die. Serial Innovators studies the factors affecting the aging of firms, particularly those that slow down their ability to adapt to changes in the marketplace. The book reviews recent findings in relevant academic fields--behavioral economics, psychology, neuroscience, organizational science, network theory, anthropology, sociology, and strategy--to understand how firms, as they grow, develop rigidities that prevent change.
It develops a model of organization that is adaptive, innovative, and can create significant value for its stakeholders for long periods of time".
Reviews / Votes
'With a guide for building the ultimate firm and making it last, Feser's book offers fresh insights into the need for change.' (Director, April 2012)More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
481 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-118-14992-8 (9781118149928)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2011
Wiley
€22.99
Available for download
E-Book
10/2011
Wiley
€22.99
Available for download
Persons
Claudio Feser is a Director of McKinsey & Company, where he leads the McKinsey CEO Network, a practice of the company that focuses on CEO training and coaching. Feser previously managed McKinsey offices in Switzerland and Greece. During his career, he has advised the CEOs of some of the world's largest and most renowned companies.
Content
Foreword ix
Prologue xi
Introduction xiii
PART I THE EPHEMERAL NATURE OF FIRMS
CHAPTER 1 Meet Carl Berger 3
CHAPTER 2 Corporate Life Cycle 11
PART II INDIVIDUAL RIGIDITIES
CHAPTER 3 To Err Is Human 25
CHAPTER 4 The Greatest of All Time 39
CHAPTER 5 Rewiring Brains 55
PART III ORGANIZATIONAL RIGIDITIES
CHAPTER 6 Long Live Bureaucracy! 75
CHAPTER 7 In Brain We Trust 97
CHAPTER 8 What We Value 111
CHAPTER 9 What Not to Pay For 121
CHAPTER 10 Fast Learners 131
PART IV SERIAL INNOVATORS
CHAPTER 11 The Secrets of Serial Innovators 139
CHAPTER 12 Beyond Business: The Medici, Oxford, and the Catholic Church 155
CHAPTER 13 Legacy through Leadership 161
Afterword 167
Appendix A: Analysis of the Top 50 U.S. Firms of 1960 171
Appendix B: Corporate Aging and Survival 177
Appendix C: Key Questions for Transforming Your Firm 181
References 187
Acknowledgments 193
About the Author 195
Index 197