The Root Cause: Rethink Your Approach to Solving Stubborn Enterprise-Wide Problems - Hardcover

Norden, Hans

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1264270178 ISBN 13: 9781264270170

Publisher: McGraw Hill, 2022

Synopsis

“Impeccably researched and astoundingly insightful, The Root Cause reveals how to go from ‘putting out fires’ to finding true, lasting solutions… A must-read guide for executives and leaders at any stage of their career!”―Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Leadership Thinker and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Triggers

Sooner or later, every executive has to confront problems that seem to be built into the way the business was designed, maintained, and managed. Whether it’s information overload, profit margin issues, or adapting to new regulations, popular “best practices” don’t solve those problems. High-level executives, it turns out, are often the least able to diagnose―much less solve―an organization’s systemic problems. Hans Norden draws on a wealth of experience in in-house change management to help both established and up-and-coming C-suite leaders analyze the problems and create authentic, sustainable solutions.

In The Root Cause, readers will learn how executing change initiatives requires a different form of leadership than routine operations. Norden explains why systemic problems fester, manifesting as disruptions in the workflow of different departments and levels in the company.

You’ll discover:

• Why systemic problems keep recurring and thus appear to be without solution.
• Why solving systemic problems is a unique and exclusive executive responsibility.
• Why a business managed as a collection of separate component parts will experience friction and conflict―and why most business “best practices” are fallacies
• Why identifying the right solution to a systemic problem becomes easy when using a bigger picture perspective
• Why leaders with a clear vision of the desired future state are better positioned to respond in a timely and adequate manner

While top-down management may work on a day-to-day basis, managing and fixing systemic problems requires intelligent collaboration with other management levels to implement improvements. Providing a clear, step-by-step road map to diagnosing issues and establishing authentic, holistic, and sustainable solutions, The Root Cause shows leaders a way to solve the seemingly unsolvable problems―and prevent more from arising in the future.

About this title

About the Author

Hans Norden is the principal and owner of Anticipated Outcome, a boutique provider of forward-thinking change leadership services. A native of The Netherlands, he was senior in-house change management consultant for the ING Group at their international headquarters in Amsterdam before relocating to the U.S. He studied international marketing, business economics and philosophy and received his professional training at NMB Bank and Cap Gemini. He, has presented his work at many prestigious conferences and executive training seminars, including the International Deming Research Seminar (Fordham University, NY), the Rady School of Management, the School for Business Administration (University of San Diego), and the American Society for Training and Development.

From the Back Cover

"Impeccably researched and astoundingly insightful, The Root Cause reveals how to go from 'putting out fires' to finding true, lasting solutions. Hans delivers an eye-opening, inspiring must-read guide for executives and leaders at any stage of their career. Excellent!"
―Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers 50 #1 Leadership Thinker and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Triggers

"What a breath of fresh air! Hans makes an important effort to make systems thinking relevant again. We are in interesting times loaded with paradoxical challenges. Hans argues that we need a new paradigm to tackle those, and he does it in an inspiring way. Read this book!"
―Fons Trompenaars, PhD, organizational theorist and author of Riding the Waves of Culture

"The Root Cause is a wonderful source of insight and inspiration for key decision makers in any organization."
―September Dohrmann, CEO of CEO Space International 

"I love The Root Cause! Norden is an expert in the field who turns on the fire hose. The awe-inspiring breadth of both classic and leading-edge information is truly amazing. By drawing from such widely varied and inspirational sources as the Wright brothers, Napoleon Hill, Sir Karl Popper, Robert Pirsig, and Sun Tzu to name but a few, The Root Cause presents a much more effective and enlightened example of executive leadership. This book is a must-read for today's and tomorrow's leaders at every level of management."
―Craig Johnston, award-winning Business Process Management (BPM) consultant 

"The Root Cause is a uniquely powerful, intelligent, and insight-filled book on the nature of leadership and the concepts, mindset, and willingness to change and adapt that great leaders need to be truly successful. Drawing on significant intellectual, artistic, and philosophical sources―from W. Edwards Deming to Col. John Boyd, from Mark Twain to Roald Dahl and Albert Toffler―Norden surgically unpacks, builds, and supports a leadership mentality and practice that is a stunning wake-up call. Norden makes it clear that if leaders wish to make a positive difference in the world and leave a legacy, then they must learn to operate authentically and ethically, with integrity and compassion, to analyze dysfunctional systems dispassionately, determine root causes courageously, and adapt to changing realities as a matter of course, not necessity. Highly informative, practical, and far-reaching, The Root Cause is filled with invaluable and unforgettable leadership lessons."
―Gregg Ward, author of The Respectful Leader

"The Root Cause is not another book about best practices or some new set of formulas to be plugged into an organization. Instead, it offers a different level of thinking and a rich source of unique ideas and metaphors to guide executives with an adventuresome mind and a clear sense of purpose. I enjoyed the reading, and I intend to read more of Norden's sources as well."
―Barry J. Schwartz, PhD, applied neuroscience consultant

"The Root Cause is a phenomenal book that provides managers, directors, and especially C-suite executives a road map, context, and step-by-step instructions for optimizing business systems. Every professional needs to read this book. I can see a need for consultants trained in the application of these concepts helping companies to implement them, especially in alignment with major enterprise system development projects, like Enterprise Resource Planning, customer-facing Software-as-a-Service products, and other strategic initiatives. This book is essential reading for all ambitious leaders."
―Gabor Fulop, Director of IT Applications at a major US auto parts company

"You get John Boyd and his ideas. You have put them down in such a way that a layman can understand how to utilize the information. I love the analogies, it makes it easier for some who may not be as technically proficient in theory. I like the interweaving of different schools of thought put together to gain a full picture. As you know, my dad used many references from many fields when he was putting his theories together. You are doing the same which speaks well to your time and effort in this book. Too many people focus in one area and do not look to other areas to increase their ability to synthesize information. I am enjoying the reading but notice I keep going back and re-reading areas as I go through. To me a good book is one where you go back and start re-reading areas what you have already read."
―Mary Ellen Boyd, executrix of the Colonel John R. Boyd (USAF) estate

"Hans Norden had an epiphany when, as a bank project manager, he consulted on situations where everyone agrees they have a big problem but no one admits to making a mistake because everyone is just doing their job. Norden saw up close the costly damage done by such systemic (and seemingly insoluble) interdepartmental challenges. The Root Cause, the distillation of the author's years of consulting, study, and observation, is part field guide, part poetic inspiration, and part exhortation based on the polarity of persistent challenges and accessible opportunities in the modern organization.

Norden's clarion call to leaders is to recognize the limiting factors (what he calls "business gremlins"—the imaginary creatures that sabotage aircraft), overcome the gravitational pull of The Peter Principle, and embark on a journey of mind-bending adventure that fully embraces one's free will (in other words, seek to do something rather than simply be someone). The Root Cause takes the reader on a journey of meaning and substance, addressing the journey, vehicle, and destination in a comprehensive yet navigable way.

It spans the domains of philosophy, economics, behavioral science, sociology, military theory, physics, aviation, and literature and fuses all these disciplines with stories that define effective governance, making it a worthwhile read. Hans Norden challenges leaders to greatness with The Root Cause."
―Doug Kirkpatrick, Partner at NuFocus Strategic Group and author of Beyond Empowerment

"The Root Cause is like a deep learning exercise on how the world works―people, business, and organizations. I greatly appreciate the focus on business as a system, the fundamental principles that drive and guide the system, and notable historic bodies of thought. They are woven together to give a deeper and more powerful foundation for the building of mental models to help understand business behavior and the itinerary planning for success that follows. It is a substantial read that can transform someone's way of being and doing in the world. Remarkable and valuable for anyone who wants to lead an epic journey."
―Brett Hoffstadt, Project Management Professional (PMP), inventor of multiple aviation devices, and author of Success with Drones in Civil Engineering and How to Be a Rocket Scientist

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw Hill
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1264270178
• ISBN 13: 9781264270170
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384