Fedex Delivers: How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition

ISBN-13: 9780471715795 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 240 str.

Madan Birla

Opis

An inside look at leadership practices that enabled the world's leading shipping company to outthink and outperform its competition Using firsthand accounts from top leaders at FedEx, FedEx Delivers explains how the company became an international powerhouse and one of the most trusted global brands by using leadership practices that tapped into the creativity and commitment of its employees. Both a compelling business story and a prescription for business success, FedEx Delivers presents a model to show how these practices created and sustained an innovation culture. Readers will learn how to apply this model to their organizations for developing a culture of innovation that evolves with the times and offers fresh solutions to new challenges. Innovative thinking and disciplined execution are what made FedEx a market leader, and they can help any business in any industry do the same. Each chapter covers a different aspect of innovation with real-life stories that highlight its effectiveness, and offers valuable ideas that lead managers through the process of implementing those practices. By breaking innovation down to its three simplest steps-generation, acceptance, and implementation of ideas-and offering proven leadership practices that really work, FedEx Delivers offers unique insight and invaluable advice on building an organization that can adapt to any challenge and meet any goal in today's highly competitive global economy.

Recenzje

“…well written and surprisingly readable…essential reading on business courses.” ( EN Magazine, September 2005)

"The book provides a blueprint for building and sustaining an innovation culture that engages every employee." (Supply Management, 8^th September 2005)

Spis treści

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

About the Author.

Introduction.

Chapter 1. Innovating and Outperforming the Competition.

Chapter 2. FedEx’s Innovation Journey.

Chapter 3. Why Organizations Do Not Innovate.

Chapter 4. The Five Dimensions of an Innovation and Performance Culture.

Chapter 5. Engage Employees in the Enterprise.

Chapter 6. Expect and Help Employees to Continually Grow.

Chapter 7. Create a Secure Environment for Expression and Acceptance of Creative Ideas.

Chapter 8. Encourage Collaborative Development of Creative Ideas.

Chapter 9. Tap Employees’ Commitment.

Conclusion: Continuing to Lead the Way.

Bibliography.

Index.

O autorze

Madan Birla is a veteran of the “hard” side of business. In his 22 years at FedEx, he was Managing Director of System Form Engineering (Long–Range Operations and Facilities Planning) and Materials and Resource Planning before being named Managing Director and Preceptor in the company’s Leadership Institute. For eight years as a member of the Long–Range Planning Committee, he worked closely with Fred Smith and the senior management team in evaluating strategic what–ifs. At the FedEx Leadership Institute, he was a facilitator of Innovation, Leadership, and Life Balance courses for all levels of management throughout the world.
For the past three years, he has been advising executives on how to encourage employee creativity and commitment to build a culture of innovation and performance.
His life experiences in two rich cultures, East and West, and his broad educational background have prepared him to meld ideas from engineering, business, and psychology to develop comprehensive Leading for Innovation models. He completed his undergraduate work in mechanical engineering at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India. Following that, he enrolled at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, Illinois, where he received his master of science degree in industrial engineering. After graduating, he joined RCA Records in Indianapolis, Indiana. While in Indianapolis, he did graduate work in business at Butler University. After moving to Memphis to join FedEx, he received a master of science degree in counseling from the University of Memphis.

Blurb

Praise for FedEx DELIVERS

"A great read! FedEx has been at the forefront of innovation for the past quarter century and this book accurately captures the essence of how Fred Smith and the FedEx team made it all happen."
—Ken may, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, FedEx Kinko′s

"As Dean at a business school that has made innovation a key element of our culture, it is fascinating to read Madan Birla′s account of how FedEx instilled that value for competitive advantage. His insights into the entire journey involved in innovation–and the organizational design it requires–make FedEx Delivers required reading for students and managers alike."
—Dipak Jain, Dean, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

"Part company biography, part autobiography Madan Birla delivers the FedEx story in such a personal way, you feel as if you are there for one of the greatest rides in corporate America."
—David Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Memphis

"FedEx Delivers is a treasure chest of ideas and examples of how the best gets better in planning and execution. This book will become an essential tool for those companies seeking to become leaders in their fields. I recommend this book with great enthusiasm."
—Larry Papasan, former president, Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics

"Birla has taken a difficult but strategically critical subject–building and sustaining a performance and innovation culture–to an eminently practical level that most companies can achieve if they have the will."
—Sarah Meyerrose, Executive Vice President, Corporate and Employee Services, First Horizon National Corporation