“Honing, not sharpening
is a metaphor for how successful businesses keep their competitive edge,”
explain authors Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach, authors of the
new book, Hone: How Leaders Defy Drift. “Today’s leaders seem to
be highly focused on increasingly frequent transformation (akin to knife
sharpening), when in fact they would be better served by building daily habits
to hone their organization like a chef hones a knife.”
Sharpening: This process restores a dull knife edge by removing material to create a new, sharper edge.
Honing: This process realigns the existing edge of a knife, maintaining its sharpness without removing material.
The book is a call to action for leaders to build the capability and mindset to hone their organizations, minimizing—but not eliminating—the need for transformation.
“Choosing and honing the set of management systems that promote an organization's desired outcomes (and uninstalling them when they are past their prime) is one of the most important things a business leader can do―and is just as much art as science,” add Tuff and Goldbach.
Furthermore, the book teaches
that drift, the erosion of clarity, purpose, and performance is what
happens when leaders lose their edge; without even realizing it.
You will also learn how
to:
Finally, one of my
favorite parts of the book is where the authors share the following five foundational maxims:
- Follow guidelines on how to design and continually reshape effective management systems to influence organizational and individual behaviors.
- Reframe the job of the CEO
to be Chief System Designer (CSD) for the organization.
Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach
1. A deep understanding of
human motivation is key to unlocking secrets. And a lack of curiosity will lead
to blind spots and dead ends.
2. View action as learning. We learn better by “doing.”
3. Walk through life with an eye to how you can improve things.
4. Skilled communication is the lubricant of good leadership.
5. To the extent possible, do something where you love the process, not just the outcomes.
Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.
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