Good to great by Mirza Yawar Baig

1. Good to Great
How to build Great Organizations

3. Define
1. What do you mean by ‘Great Organization’?
1. In terms of its effect in the environment
2. In terms of its products & services to get this effect
3. In terms of how you want it to be remembered
Design defines product performance

4. It is not an issue of size or
power but of design

5. What makes ‘Great’?
1. Positive impact
1. How does the organization benefit society?
• Measurable ways in which benefit is felt by society?
2. What’s the criterion of decision making?
• Shareholder value or societal benefit?
Culture that can perpetuate impact

6. ‘Great’ is what ‘great’ does
Greatness is a state of doing,
not a state of being

7. The Model

8. Move from Person-led
to Process-driven

9. 9
Confidence in Identity
Strategic
Focus
Focus on
People
Focus on
Quality
Enduring Leadership™

10. Confidence in Identity
 Who You Are
 A strong sense of identity and belonging to the
organization of which their members feel proud.
10
Who are You?

11. 1. Differentiation creates Brand
2. Brand inspires loyalty
3. Loyalty enables influence
What’s your ‘Brand’?
Differentiate

12. Without
brand,
you are a
grain of
rice in a
sack

13. 13
 The Covenant is a promise. A promise that a person
makes to himself, to do the best that he can.
 To work to fulfill his potential, to realize the purpose
of his creation, to live his dreams and to become all
that he can possibly become.
What are you here to do?
The Covenant

14. 14
1. A strategic focus gives context to the effort and
places things in perspective.
2. It makes it possible to draw an overall plan of action
before getting involved in the details.
3. It enables decision makers to foresee the possible
consequences of their decisions, their potential impact
Strategic Focus
Its not about any particular strategy
but about how any strategy is to be viewed

15. 15
Focus on Quality
1. Quality defines, differentiates, is a competitive
advantage
2. Quality is not increase in cost but increase in value
3. Quality needs clear processes with measurements
4. Quality means discipline and no exceptions
“If you want to see what someone values,
see what they measure.” Mikel Harry

16. Focus on People
1. Developing people is not an option
2. Invest in them, track the investment, periodically
assess progress and make any required changes.
3. Are your Recruitment, Training, Compensation &
Reward systems aligned?
16
Remember you only get what you pay for

17. Dangers of not changing
1. All change produces anxiety so we like to believe that
we don’t need it
2. But denial only makes you defenseless to threat
3. Corporate history is full of highly successful companies
which perished because they didn’t want to change
17
Where do you stand?

18. Benefits of Changing
1. The ability to manage change is the single most critical
factor in determining organizational and personal
career success.
2. Remember: With respect to Change, when you:
1. To Survive You must adapt
2. To Grow You must anticipate
3. To Transform You must drive change
18
Where do you stand?

19. Watch out for this trap
Systems Thinking – Theory of Loops

20. Theory of Loops
Any organizational process automatically initiates a
compensating process which will neutralize its effect
20
Initiative
Growing
Action
Slowing
Action
Causal Loop & Compensating LoopSource: Peter Senge:
The Fifth Discipline

21. Mental Models
1. “Although people do not always behave
congruently with their espoused theories (what
they say) they do behave congruently with their
theories-in-use (mental models).”
~ Chris Argyris, Harvard
21
Credibility is directly proportional
to demonstrated compliance with values

22. About Mental Models
1. We all have mental models
2. We feel very vulnerable when invited to question them.
3. Mental models we are aware of and question are
beneficial to us. Mental models we are not aware of,
enslave us.
22
Our mental models incline us towards
or away from people, ideas or things

23. To change Mental Models
1. Identify and articulate existing mental models
2. Map them with desirable mental models
3.Define behaviors which reflect the new mental models
4.Put metrics on them to monitor performance
23
You can only guarantee what you can control
You can only control what you can measure

24. Example
1. Causal Loop: No women, promote diversity, hire women
2. Compensating Loop:
 “There are too many women. They are taking over this place.
This is becoming a kitchen cabinet.” …and so on.
3. Gradually creates hostility for women and they leave.
4. Extreme cases: discrimination against women
24
“If you don’t adjust your service satisfaction to the level expected by
your customers, the system will do it for you!” Peter Senge

25. Mindset Change
•What can I get out of it?Consumption
•What can I do for it?Contribution
25

26. Businesses are Dictatorships
1. Why don’t employees elect their own leaders?
2. Why don’t subordinates write the appraisals of their
superiors?
3. Why don’t those who you are going to command,
decide on your hiring?
4. Who loses their jobs first if the organization fails?
What would happen if you did these things?

27. Questions
1. Who has access to your P&L data?
2. Who has access to your Corporate Strategy?
3. Who knows & decides on your salary?
4. How many times do you meet your customers?
5. What does all this mean & how does it effect you?
How well do you know your employees & customers?

28. Successors drive failure
1. If they are hired for ‘Genes’ instead of ‘Jeans’
2. If there is no formal Successor Identification and
Development Plan
3. If competence is not the ONLY criterion of
choice
GE Airplane interview

29. 4 – Key Processes
1. Recruitment
2. Promotion
3. Training
4. Compensation
1. Hire winners
2. Clear career path
3. On-going development
4. Reward & Recognition
No shortcuts

30. Fatal Traps
1. Lack of transparency & freedom to be critical
2. Different strokes for different folks
3. Confusing enthusiasm for competence
4. Confusing agreement (sycophancy) for loyalty
5. Excluding women from business
Compromising quality in the name of kindness

31. Home truths
1. ‘Family’ is a very bad simile for a business
2. Honesty makes great business sense
3. Customer service is what the customer feels
4. Only happy employees can make customers happy
The business doesn’t need you
You need the business

32. How do you treat knowledge?
1. Do you know what you know?
2. What happens to what your people learn?
3. What happens to innovative ideas?
4. What do you do with mistakes?
5. How do you assess consultants?
What did you invest in your own learning this year?

33. In conclusion
1. Creating a ‘Great’ business is not a mystery
2. Businesses succeed for business reasons
3. Like planes you need to learn to fly
4. Also like planes, it is not the pilot alone who is
important
Key Question
How much do you really want to do it?

35. For thoughts & questions
yawarbaig@gmail.com
www.yawarbaig.com
www.youtube.com/yawarbaigassociates