Making the Impossible Possible

by CAMERON, KIM S.LAVINE, MARC

• ISBN13: 9781576753903
• ISBN10: 1576753905
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2006-08-13
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Summary

Bestselling author Kim Cameron delivers both a riveting story and a thoroughly researched case study that delves into the spectacularly impossible success of the shutdown and clean-up of Rocky Flats, one of the most notorious nuclear weapons plants in the United States. As the most contaminated nuclear plant in the USA the site was home to notorious environmental disasters and worker unrest. The government estimated that it would take 70 years and $36 billion dollars to clean up and close the facility. Instead, the site has witnessed the most remarkable performance of any organisation in history. It will be cleaned up to 13 times better-than-federal-standards and turned into a wildlife refuge 60 years ahead of schedule and $30 billion dollars under budget. The book concludes by exposing ten culminating and concise leadership principles responsible for the remarkable success at Rocky Flats.

Author Biography

Kim Cameron is professor of management and organizations at Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business and professor of higher education in the School of Education at the University of Michigan Marc Lavine is a doctoral student and instructor in the Department of Organization Studies at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
An Introduction to the Impossible	1	(16)
1 Explaining the Impossible—Positive Deviance and the Abundance Approach	17	(28)
2 Impending Disaster—A Brief History of Rocky Flats	45	(30)
3 The Role of Leaders	75	(14)
4 Competing Values and Paradoxical Leadership	89	(12)
5 Key Enablers—Vision, Innovation, and Symbolic Leadership	101	(30)
6 Key Enablers—Stability, Discipline, and Process Control	131	(28)
7 Key Enablers—Relationships, Human Capital, and Collaborative Culture	159	(28)
8 Key Enablers—Politics, Incentives, and Rigorous Performance Standards	187	(32)
9 Leadership Principles for Spectacular Performance	219	(28)
Appendix 1: Caveats and Alternative Views of Rocky Flats' Success	247	(10)
Appendix 2: Research Methods	257	(4)
References	261	(6)
Photo Credits	267	(2)
Index	269	(10)
About the Authors	279	(2)
About the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship	281