New Coke. The Walt Disney Company's aborted theme park near the Manassas battlefield. AT&T's acquisition of NCR Corp. Were these merely the gaffes of individual decision makers, or do they represent larger, organizational deficiencies in critical thinking? In "Heads, You Win!," Kepner-Tregoe's CEO Quinn Spitzer and executive Ron Evans argue that problem solving and decision making are no longer just individual tasks, but rather have become collective activities. The question then becomes: How confident are you in the collective brainpower of your organization? And how do you weave proficiency in critical thinking into the fabric of an enterprise?In their provocative and extraordinarily practical book, Spitzer and Evans cite the experiences and share the advice of the presidents and CEOs of some of the world's best businesses who have learned how to create thinking organizations: Roger Ackerman of Corning Incorporated, Ralph Larsen of Johnson & Johnson, Robert Lutz of Chrysler Corporation, Sir Colin Marshall of British Airways, and Richard Teerlink of Harley-Davidson, Inc., to name a few. There is also expert commentary from a pantheon of management experts, including Kenneth Blanchard, Henry Mintzberg, Tom Peters, C. K. Prahalad, Peter Senge, and Noel Tichy.
The authors also describe how some of the most innovative companies are winning by capitalizing on the brainpower of every employee. And finally, they examine those issues that have the most significant impact, in the current business environment, on problem-solving and decision-making processes:
data overload versus information sufficiency
the teaming of the workplace
business organizations viewed as asystem
the roles of intuition and rationality
leadership quality and core values
"Heads, You Win!" provides a wealth of practical tips and techniques for all those who wish to sharpen their own and their organization's critical thinking -- a task that is crucial to success in today's brutally competitive economy.Improving an organization's ability to effectively solve problems, make decisions, and cut through the information clutter has long been the specialty of Kepner-Tregoe, one of the most respected international management consulting firms. In their landmark bestseller, "The Rational Manager, " the firm's founders described crucial problem-solving and decision-making skills and explained how they could be developed and applied by individual managers. In their new book, Spitzer and Evans examine these critical thinking skills in an entirely different light.
Rich in anecdotes and examples, "Heads, You Win!" brings together the keen perceptions of two consultants with an unusual depth of business experience. And best of all, Spitzer and Evans use wit along with wisdom to craft a book that undoubtedly will keep your thinking sharp and make your organization smarter than the competition.
- ISBN10 0684851598
- ISBN13 9780684851594
- Publish Date 4 January 1999 (first published 1 September 1997)
- Publish Status Unknown
- Out of Print 11 September 2003
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Simon & Schuster
- Imprint Pocket Books
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 304
- Language English