Turning Goals into Results (Harvard Business Review Classics): The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms

At W.L. Gore & Associates, “employees have the authority to fire their bosses.”Now that I have your attention—read more about this in the “Harvard Business Review” article by Jim Collins, now available in mini-book form: “Turning Goals into Results: The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms.”According to the company’s founder, Bill Gore, “You are a leader if and only if people choose to follow you.” So how do team members fire their bosses? “…they can’t fire the person from the company but, if they feel their boss isn’t leading them effectively, they can simply bypass him or her and follow a different leader.”That’s one of the five examples of a catalytic mechanism—and in just 78 pages of this HBR mini-book (fast reading), you’re hooked. Here’s another one:At Granite Rock, the company launched “a radical new policy called ‘short pay,’” because their BHAG aspirations were high. “Granite Rock would provide total customer satisfaction and achieve a reputation for service that met or exceeded that of Nordstrom, the upscale department store that is world famous for delighting its customers.”Imagine—a 99-year old company that sells crushed gravel, concrete, sand and asphalt—thinking they could “delight” their customers. Their short pay concept, says Collins, was revolutionary.“The bottom of every Granite Rock invoice reads, ‘If you are not satisfied for any reason, don’t pay us for it. Simply scratch out the line item, write a brief note about the problem, and return a copy of this invoice along with your check for the balance.’”Collins adds, “Let me be clear about short pay. It is not a refund policy. Customers do not need to return the product. They do not need to call and complain. They have complete discretionary power to decide whether and how much to pay based on their satisfaction level.”Wow!Do you have angst about the value of college—and the cost of tuition for yourself, your children, or grandchildren? How about this audacious idea from Jim Collins? “…suppose universities issued tuition invoices at the end of the semester, along with the statement, ‘If you are not satisfied with the dedication of the professor in any course, simply scratch out that course and send us a tuition check for the balance.”The big idea? Short pay “impels managers to relentlessly track down the root causes of problems in order to prevent repeated short payments. It signals to employees and customers alike that Granite Rock is serious about customer satisfaction in a way that goes far beyond slogans.”In my experience, only a small percentage of organizations and companies are appropriately focused on goals, especially “S.M.A.R.T.” goals. (Bonus: read about “SMARTER” goals in Michael Hyatt’s book, “Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals.”Collins defines catalytic mechanisms as “the crucial link between objectives and performance; they are a galvanizing, nonbureaucratic means to turn one into the other. Put another way, catalytic mechanisms are to visions what the central elements of the U.S. Constitution are to the Declaration of Independence—devices that translate lofty aspirations into concrete reality. They make big, hairy, audacious goals reachable.”He adds, “My research indicates that few companies—perhaps only 5% or 10% currently employ catalytic mechanisms, and some of them aren’t even aware that they do. I have also found that catalytic mechanisms are relatively easy to create and implement. Given their effectiveness, they are perhaps the most underutilized—and most promising—devices that executives can use to achieve their big, hairy [or holy], audacious goals, or BHAGs.”Catalytic mechanisms have five characteristics:1) “A catalytic mechanism produces desired results in unpredictable ways.”2) It “distributes power for the benefit of the overall system, often to the discomfort of those who traditionally hold power.”3) “A catalytic mechanism has teeth.” (Example: “If you are five minutes late, you lose your bonus for the day. If you are 30 minutes late, you lose your bonus for the week. If a product is returned for poor quality, bonus pay declines accordingly.”)4) “A catalytic mechanism ejects viruses.” (Example: fire your boss.)5) “A catalytic mechanism produces an ongoing effect.”Attn: Nonprofit Fundraisers!The blurb on #5 is a must-read. “The lack of catalytic mechanisms is one reason many organizations rally in a crisis but languish once the crisis has passed. Leaders who feign a crisis—those who create a burning platform without simultaneously building catalytic mechanisms—do more long-term harm than good by creating a syndrome of crisis addiction.”“How,” you ask, “did I miss this HBR classic by Jim Collins?” Published first in July-August 1999, the mini-book debuted in 2017. For me, it popped out on page 116 of “Scaling Up” (my 2018 book-of-the-year by Verne Harnish). The catalytic mechanism (or Brand Promise Guarantee) is one of Harnish’s “7 Strata of Strategy.”NEXT STEPS: 5x5x5x5x5. Buy five copies of this Collins gem and recruit five team members to each share a 10-minute report on one of the five catalytic mechanisms—over the next five weekly staff meetings. (Suggest they share five minutes of content and five minutes of discussion.) Enjoy!

Yes, it's classic information and well written but I simply couldn't get past the dated examples and language. This made me feel that that the information wasn't as timely and appropriate for today's world. I judge a book by how many notes and highlighting I do and sadly, there wasn't that much. Even considering the small amount of reading (70pgs) you would think the information would be tight and jam packed with insights.. well, nope.

Easy reading, simple, practical, inspiring.I am in clothing business and for every new factory there is a transformation story.Guidelines in this book keep me on the track.I like fixing the core only and let all others flow... There is chaos in this world.We need to adapt not to get lost

A very tangible way to realize goals in a sustainable manner, backed by researched examples. Great for application in personal development as well as corporate leadership. It will give you concrete actions you can take to ensure realization of your goals no matter how audacious they are.

Quick and easy guide with concrete examples on how to make company policy work

Excellent book. Short, concise, and to the point. Good and clear examples just in the right quantity. The author is not giving you a to do list. The author is proving you the tools for the job, up to you to use them.

Insightful to explain effective tools, catalytic mechanisms, to improve at both organizational and personal levels. the examples provided by the author were very helpful.

Very helpful!

LO RECOMIENDO AMPLIAMENTE PARA CUALQUIER PERSONA QUE QUIERA IMPLEMENTAR MECANISMOS CATALITICOS QUE HAGAN LA DIFERENCIA ENTRE LA MEDIOCRIDAD Y EL LOGRO DE LAS METAS QUE SE PROPONGAN EN LA EMPRESA. NO ES FACIL PERO CIERTAMENTE ES UNA GRAN GUIA

Great book, great author, easy to read for quick wins and great insights!

Good content but the size is very small, less no of pages and small fonts.

Ok

advice not liked on intro but good book, we will attain our goals yet over aim to attain the minimum