【讀書筆記】 從A到A+

這是十年前的舊書了，出版當時蔚為流行、風潮，人手一冊，當年卻故意不看(心理討厭流行的壞習慣)，想看看到底看了該書的人或公司是否會改變成good or great。直到最近偶然在網路上看到書摘，粗略看了書中的精華概念，有些還是不錯的。

作者說他自己其實對商業沒有熱情，有興趣的是研究公司如何成功、失敗，且又缺乏政治細胞故離開學校，創立LAB，投入研究、寫作、顧問、演講。

到底還是人的特質(對的人)、觀念在發揮影響，老生常談的是識人、用人的能力，新觀念是人先於願景與策略，另外需要的是時間，尤其是基礎建設。

有趣的觀念：(對於個人同樣適用。)
刺蝟原則(不要做聰明、什麼都會的狐狸)，三個圓圈(熱情、頂尖、價值)，有紀律的(accounting)執行，飛輪效應(正向循環、動量)。

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Greatness: Only financial terms!
Good is the Enemy of Great! Why to change! We are doing fine.

3 stage of transformation, breakthrough model
(not just a business problem, It's a human problem)

DISCIPLINED PEOPLE

• 1. Level 5 Leadership Style
• 2. First who… then what

DISCIPLINED THOUGHT

• 3. Confront the brutal facts
• 4. The Hedgehog Concept

DISCIPLINED ACTION

• 5. Culture of Discipline
• 6. Technology Acceleration
• 7. Flywheel concept

1. Level 5 Leadership Style

• Level 1: Highly Capable Individual
• Makes productive contributions through talents, knowledge, skills and  good work habits.
• Level 2: Contributing Team Member
• Contributes individual capabilities to the achievement of group objectives and works effectively with other in a group setting
• Level 3: Competent Manager
• Organizes people and resources toward the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives.
• Level 4: Effective Leader
• Catalyzes commitment to and vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, stimulating higher performance standard.
• Level 5: Executive
• Build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.  

【找英雄、名人救火，大都不會成功，接班人的選擇】


2. First who… then what

• People are not the most important asset of the company, but the right people are.
• One man show vs team work
• Right People on the bus: 
• Adaptation to change【BUS可能要轉向】
• Motivation， self motivated by the inner drive
• Implementation
• Team building 1stly, before setting direction/strategy/vision/roadmap
• Compensation system: not for getting right behavior from wrong people, but for right people
• Character, Education, Skill, Experience
• Argument in discussion and uniformity in actions.
• Rigorous, but not ruthless.
• Rigorous: consistently applying exacting standards at all times and at all levels, specially in upper management.
• How to be rigorous:
• When in doubt, don't hire, keep looking.
• When you know you need to make a people change, act.(The moment you feel the need to tightly manage somebody, you've made a hiring mistake.)
• Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems.

【識人、用人永遠是要務，(不處理)wrong people 可能排擠掉 right people】
【Team 需要較長時間去建立，很難出現於KPI上】


3. Confront the brutal facts

• Refined their path based on the brutal facts. Climate for Truth to be heard.
• How to:
• Lead with questions, not answers.
• Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.(loud debate, heated discussions, healthy conflict)
• Conduct autopsies, without blame.( search for understanding and learning)
• Build red flag mechanism.
• Strong competition viewed as an opportunity for better performance rather than threat.
• Leadership does not begin just with vision. It begins with getting people to confront the brutal facts and to act on the implications.
• Spending time to motivate people is a waste of time if you have the right people in the bus. The key issue is NOT to de-motivate them. One of the primary ways to de-motivate people is to ignore the brutal facts of reality.

【老中：老闆說了算，老闆不說，沒人敢說】

4. The Hedgehog Concept 刺蝟原則

Hedgehog:

• knows one big thing. 
• a single organizing idea
• a basic principle or concept

Fox:

• knows many things
• scattered, diffused, and inconsistent
• pursue many ends at the same time
• see the world in all its complexity.
• The key is to understand what your organization can be the best in the world at, and equally important what it cannot be the best at – not what it “wants” to be the best at. The hedgehog concept is not a goal, strategy, or intention; its an understanding.

【刺蝟原則】：專注於三個圓圈的交集，並把圓圈的範圍擴大；哪三個圓圈呢？
1‧充滿熱情的領域。(What you are deeply passionate about?)

2‧可以做到頂尖的領域。(what you can be the best in the world at?) >>  core competence
3‧可以創造市場價值的領域。(What drives your economic engine?) understanding <> bravado
這是每個想要追求卓越的人，都該不斷問自己的問題，自己的三個圓圈在哪裡？

Iterative process guided by 3 circles:

Ask the question; Dialogue and debate; Executive decision; Autopsies and analysis; Ask the question.......

【專家的熱情，專注領域，指標】

5. Culture Of Discipline

• Growth, Process, Flow, Bureaucracy
• accounting, self-disciplined people 
• A culture of discipline is not just about action. It is about getting disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and who then take discipline action.
• discipline to stay within its three circles
• decide which arenas best fit with the hedgehog concept and should be fully funded and which should not be funded at all.

6. Technology acceleration

7. 飛輪效應：不斷的朝自己的夢想灌注能量，一開始或許\非常困難而緩慢，但只要堅持，一步步往前，推動夢想的巨輪，累積的動能愈來愈大，終將有所突破，一飛沖天。