Insights Into Excellence

Forsyth Consulting Group is a strategic development consultancy.

The purpose of this publication is to share and integrate the insights into sustaining excellence that we discover through our work.

(Read more about FCG)

Leadership Excellence: Participatory Management - Leading Players

SEMCO SEMCO has been as source of fascination since Ricardo Semler published his description of his 'Maverick' approach to participatory management in 1988. Semler achieved the reversal of a command and control culture to create an entrepreneurial consultative democracy that treats employees as adults. Employees are actually empowered to make decisions, setting their own salaries and work hours, voting on managerial candidates and being involved in the future of the business. The fivefold increase in profitability, a sixfold increase in growth and a sevenfold increase in productivity were even more remarkable as they occurred during periods of recession and high inflation.

Few management fads stand the test of time, however this organisation continues to sustain success due to the combination of its open accountability approach and the self-responsibility of its employees. And although most case studies provide examples that can not be replicated elsewhere, what has emerged from SEMCO are some management practices that can be transferred across cultures. One such principle that appears deceptively easy to implement and makes good sense is Open Book Management, successfully used by Jack Stack, CEO of Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation in an approach described as "dedicated to building wealth that sustains an economically healthy community with humane values". Something to think about!

Explore for more:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0446670553/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-0185653-9303035#reader-link - Book http://semco.locaweb.com.br/ - Homepage (in Portuguese)
http://www.thelearningweb.net/chapter04/page156.html - 10 prinicples in summary
http://www.mondaymemo.net/030512feature.htm - an Overview
http://www.well.com/user/art/s+b32001cm.html - SRC and Open Book Management
http://www.executiveforum.net/pdfs/stack.pdf - OBM 3 Elements

Play of the Day: Local League - RAC Carbon Neutral Fleet

RAC (WA) has been providing roadside assistance since 1932 and covers more than 500,000 cars. Recently it re-registered its entire fleet of service vehicles to be CO2 neutral with the Carbon Neutral Program organized by voluntary not for profit group, Men of the Trees Inc (MOTT). To counter the emissions from the 325 RAC fleet cars, MOTT planted 5525 trees in high salinity areas requiring re-afforestation under their ongoing program. While its better not to contribute to an increasing problem in the first place, to the extent you have to, it makes sense to balance the equation. My car is carbon neutral - is yours?

Find out more at:

http://rac.com.au/ecar/index.cfm?section=HOME&objectID=CE5EE3E7-8981-4635-8C33BF0AAE3E50BC&typeID=C98114F5-8A29-499C-A6598F1AC07E4A4A&method=dsp_standard - RAC Article

http://www.menofthetrees.com.au/carbonproginfo.html - Carbon Neutral Program and AGO Fact Sheet

http://www.menofthetrees.com.au/calculations.html- Carbon Credit Calculations

http://www.menofthetrees.com.au/ - Calculate and sign up

Reflections in Excellence

The latest article is now available on-line. To go to our Reflections site just click Here.

Sustainable Business Excellence: A Dynamic Equilibrium Framework

Maintaining standards of excellence involves consistency and stasis, but innovation and growth in organizations necessarily involves change and disequilibrium. The difficulty of managing the flux between these two forces, especially at critical turning points, suggests the need for the conscious development of a composite alternative: a ‘dynamic equilibrium’.

To go to this particular article just click Here.

The theme of this years conference was Excellence in the Face of Crisis and at the conference William Varey presented a paper (available above) on the Dynamic Equilibrium Model that underlies FCG's Business Excellence process which allows organisations to prevent crisis by strategic management. There were a number of very interesting papers presented by leading researchers. To read more:

http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/District/1798/maaoe.html - About MAAOE

http://www.pbs.paisley.ac.uk/maaoe/papers.htm - Previous papers

This provocative book, written by American, Professor of English, Curtis White, gives a name to what he sees as a failure of the American imagination. The Middle Mind is a symptom indicating a disease that is going untreated in the American psyche. Curtis' book is an attack on the pseudo-intellectualism, especially in media talk-shows and info-tainment, which is guiding American thinking. The phrase describes not a specific point of view held, but rather the thriving of viewpoints "in the common ground of unquestioned mediocrity". The argument is passionately put and with a clear warning of what its effects are for the future if not stopped. In Australia, as a country that brings down every tall-poppy, the Middle Mind may be well on its way to finding a new home.

Read a review here:

Satire (just for a laugh)

"The problem with a system that needs competent managers, is that it needs competent managers" - Craydon Saunders

"Just because we can not see the end of the road is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey" - JF Kennedy

Thank you for taking the time to read this edition. We hope it has been informative and worthwhile. If you know of someone who may be interested in these issues, please send this e-mail on  - and perhaps recommend they join the Leaders in Excellence Network using the members form at our website www.fcg.com.au.  If you have something of interest to contribute, please  emailus@fcg.com.au and share your knowledge. 

To unsubscribe at anytime just send an e-mail to unsubscribe@fcg.com.au. Forsyth Consulting Group makes no comment and expresses no opinion in relation to any of the policies, operations, securities or future prospects of the organisations mentioned in this publication. The specific examples identified do not provide an indication of the total activities of the organisations profiled and may not be current. Any content in this publication and its use is made subject to the legal notices set out in the Forsyth Consulting Group website (www.fcg.com.au/notes.shtml) For further information on any of the items mentioned, or our contact details, just emailus@fcg.com.au.

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