Gives a good background as to some of the benefits of being connected and instituting Holacracy. However, there are still a ton of open questions that this book doesn't address of how to get our company from where they currently are to the point of being connected. We all don't have the vision of Jack Welch, so it's hard to see what small steps can be made at every level to try to move the company in the right direction. Disclaimer: I received this book from O’Reilly Media to provide a book review. Note, there were no conditions attached. The book "The Connected Company" by Dave Gray with Thomas Vander Wal provides an excellent road map for companies to become “connected.” By connected they mean can a company provide a service to a customer the way he wants it, expects it and has a satisfying experience so he keeps coming back and tells others about his good experience, or will that same customer, if he has a bad experience, informs his social network about it so they don’t have a similar bad experience with a particular company? Companies face this situation every day in that every experience counts. Companies need to know very quickly what is working well and keep working on improving the overall experience and also know very quickly what is not working well and correct it quickly before it starts losing customers. Things have gotten real tough for companies that are measured on how well they provide service. Since we are a service economy now, it applies to all the companies today.But all is not lost. To survive and thrive, a company must become a connected company; however, being connected is not that quick and easy. It will take time, but companies have to get started soon. As the book proposes that being connected today is no longer a nicety, but a necessity.The reason for this is quite simple: customers have lot of power today that they did not in the past. Lot of this power comes from the pervasiveness of social media and the social culture we live in where everyone has a voice whether it be good, bad or ugly. This is the new reality. Companies can’t ignore it, but have to learn quickly to capitalize it. As the book proposes, the only way a company can play in this level field and succeed is to first understand what has changed, why being connected is the only way to compete and thrive, what does a connected company look like, how does a company manage in this environment and how do you get started before it is too late.Things are moving fast, so companies can no longer take the wait and see attitude. The book points out that there are three forces that are making this inevitable: rapid change in technology, global competition and complexity. The authors state that “taken together, these three change forces create a highly volatile, uncertain environment, where advantages are short-lived and the competitive landscape is constantly shifting.”No matter how much things change, one thing that will not change is that a company’s success is still predicated on providing an excellent customer service and experience. Companies who take even a single customer lightly do so with great peril. Every day we keep reading stories about how one ticked-off customer can catch executives completely blindsided on how quickly a negative review can spread on social network. Not being connected causes the executives slow to react and leads to not only public relations nightmare but hurts them financially also. This is a rude awakening to lot of companies, small, medium and large. The business as usual is no longer going to work and future success of companies is going to involve not only being connected but how quickly they create a connected culture where a company is able to experiment and create innovative ways of quickly providing services to satisfy customers. One of the interesting point that the authors make in the book is that in order to satisfy a customer as an individual, it can only be done effectively by an individual at the front line who is empowered to make it happen quickly and satisfactorily. Companies that are well connected can repeat this again and again. To accomplish this requires the following: utilization of the latest technology, innovation in management and empowerment of front line employees who are innovative, creative and passionate. To put a twist on the famous quote by the legendary football coach of Green Bay Packers Vince Lombardi, being connected is not a one day thing, but an everyday thing.The authors have done an excellent job in writing this book that I feel is relevant, well-researched, well-written, well-organized, readable, comprehensive, yet not too exhaustive for those who are pressed for time. I recommend everyone read this book so we can all have an intelligent conversations both internally and externally in ways to create a connected company and culture to satisfy customers since, as the book asserts right from the start, they now occupy the most important seat at the corporate table.
What do You think about The Connected Company (2012)?
A great read from front to back. It's how businesses will need to be run from here on out
—LilTiff22
The new organization is a network, not a hierarchy. Great argument and well written.
—robyn
Love this book! Excellent presentation of ideas, nice drawings and useful advices.
—Larkinp
I want to highlight every word. Great insights!
—Athenastar123
