scaling up excellence

Scaling up Excellence

Robert Sutton &

Huggy Rao

2014

3/7/2015 1© Sachidananda

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About the Authors

3/7/2015 © Sachidananda 2

• Atholl McBean Professor of Organizational Behavior and

Human Resources Professor of Sociology (by courtesy)

• At Stanford University since 2005

• Prior - Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern

University; Emory University Goizueta Business School

• PhD, Case Western Reserve University, 1989

• Post-Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and

Industrial Relations, XLRI, India, 1980

• BA, Andhra University, India, 1978

• Has one other book

Src: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/hayagreeva-rao

•Professor of Management science at the Stanford

Engineering School

•He is an IDEO Fellow and a Professor of Organizational

Behavior, by courtesy, at Stanford Graduate School of

Business

•Researcher in the field of Evidence-based management,

the links (and gaps) between managerial knowledge and

organizational action, innovation, and organizational

performance.

•PhD, Univesity of Michigan, 1984

•MA, University of Michigan, 1981

•BA, University of California at Berkeley, 1977

•Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral

Sciences during the 1986-87, 1994–95, and 2002–03

academic years

•5 other books other than this

Src: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/robert-i-sutton

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Huggy Rao Robert I Sutton

The Authors’ Thesis


The book tackles a challenge that confronts

every leader and organization – spreading

constructive beliefs and behavior from the

few to the many.

What does it take to build and uncover

pockets of exemplar performance, spread

those splendid deeds and as an organization

grows bigger and older – rather than slipping

towards mediocrity or worse – recharge it

with better ways of doing the work at hand.

1

• Although the details and daily dramas vary widely from place to place, the similarities among scaling challenges are more important than the differences

2• Scaling entails more than the problem of more

3• People who are adept at scaling excellence talk and act

as if they are knee-deep in manageable mess

4

• Scaling starts and ends with individuals – success depends on the will and skill of people at every level of the organization

Lessons

learnt along

the way



Its a Ground war, Not just an Air War

Buddhism versus Catholicism

SETTING THE

STAGE

Hot Causes, Cool Solutions

Cut Cognitive Load

The People who propel scaling

Connect People and Cascade

Excellence

Bad is stronger than good

SCALING

PRINCIPLES

Did this, not ThatPARTING POINTS



Its a Ground war, Not just an Air War Buddhism versus Catholicism

SETTING THE STAGE

The 7 Mantras

1. Spread a Mindset, not just a foot print

2. Engage all the senses

3. Link short-term realities to long-term

dreams

4. Accelerate accountability

5. Fear the clusterfug

6. Scaling requires both addition and

subtraction

7. Slow down to scale faster - and better -

down the road

Navigating the Continuum

• Do you suffer from the delusion of

uniqueness?

• Do you have a successful template to

use as a prototype?

• Will bolstering Buddhism generate

crucial understanding, commitment and

innovation?

Alone vs Together

More vs Better

Using the guardrails strategy



Hot Causes, Cool Solutions Cut Cognitive Load

The People who propel scaling Connect People and Cascade

Excellence


SCALING PRINCIPLES

The job of the hierarchy is to defeat the

hierarchy

a. Subtraction as a way of life

b. Make people squirm

c. Bring on the Load Busters: Subtraction

by addition

d. Divide and Conquer

e. Bolster collective brainpower - increase

cognitive capacity instead of adding

more people

Stoking the Virtuous Circle

a. Name the problem

b. Name the enemy

c. Do it where all can see

d. Breach Assumptions

e. Create Gateway experiences and on-ramps

f. New Rituals, Better rituals

g. Lean on people who can't leave well enough alone

Poetry, Plumbing - James March





Excellence


SCALING PRINCIPLES

The Goal: Domino Chains of Goodness

Whom do you connect?

a. Its about diversity, not just numbers

b. Look for master multipliers

c. Bring on the Energizers

d. Activate Dormant Connections

e. Connect Everybody: Turn work into a game that

people like to play

Making nets work:

i. The Top-down Approach

ii. Broadcast your message out to one and all

iii. Surround them: Have the many teach the

few

iv. One to One: The Power of pairs

v. From the few to the many

vi. Brokers: Bridging disconnected islands

vii. Create Crossroads where people connect

Accountability: I own the place and the place owns me

Talent x Accountability = Scaling Capacity

a. Squelch free riding

b. Inject Pride and Righteous Anger

c. Bring in Guilt-Prone Leaders

d. "I'll be watching you": Use subtle cues to prime

accountability

e. Create the right "Gene Pool“

f. Use other organizations as your HR Department

g. Hire People prewired to fit your mindset





Excellence


SCALING PRINCIPLES

Breaking Bad:

a. Nip it in the bud

b. Get rid of the bad apples

c. Plumbing before Poetry

d. Adequacy before excellence

e. Use the Cool kids(and adults) to define and

squelch bad behavior

f. Kill the thrill

g. Time Shifting: From current to future selves

h. Focus on the best times, the worst times and the

end

Warning Signs :

i. Fear of taking responsibility

ii. Fear of being ostracized

iii. Anonymity

iv. Feeling of injustice

v. Helplessness



Look Back from the future

a. We started where we were, not where we hoped to arrive

b. We did scaling, not just swarming

c. We used our mindset as a guide, not as the answer to every

question and problem

d. We used constraints that channelled, rather than derailed, ingenuity

and effort

e. Our hierarchy squelched unnecessary friction, rather than creating

and spreading it

f. We worked with people we respected, not necessarily our friends

g. Accountability prevailed, free riding and other bad behavior failed

Did this, not That

PARTING POINTS

scaling up excellence

Leadership & Management