SwitchPoints : Culture Change on the Fast Track to Business Success

by Judy Johnson; Les Dakens; Peter Edwards; Ned Morse

• ISBN13: 9780470407141
• ISBN10: 047040714X
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2008-12-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

SwitchPoints is the inspiring story of how Canadian National Railway (CN) advanced from good to great in a few short years-becoming North America's top-performing railroad and a favorite with of corporate customers and investors. In it, the authors reveal how company-wide culture change propelled this aging transportation giant to become the profitable powerhouse it is today. Rich with insights and anecdotes, SwitchPoints offers lessons that can be applied to any organization seeking to improve the bottom line by improving their culture.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations.Foreword.Preface.Acknowledgments.Introduction: A Broken Culture.The Culture of Early Quits.A New Trip Plan.Switchpoints.Spiking the Switch.Part I: Building One of North America's Top Railroads.Chapter 1: The Road to Best-in-Class.1830: Pioneering Days.1919: Nationalization.The 1980s: Deregulation.1992: Organizational Redesign.A Quick Change.1995: Privatization.The Right Leaders for the Job.1998: Precision Railroading.2003: Passing the Reins.Chapter 2: Culture Change on the Fast Track.Acquisitions.Buying Other Cultures.The Challenge.The Results.The Trip Plan for Culture Change on the Fast Track.Part II: Clarifying the Vision.Chapter 3: CN's Five Guiding Principles.Chapter 4: The Culture of Precision Railroading.The Organizational Culture Continuum.The Spectrum of Employee Engagement.The Role of Organizational Leaders.Washing Out the Mud in the Middle.Part III: Choosing the Right Switchpoints.Chapter 5: How to Change CN's Culture?Culture Equals Behavior.Chapter 6: Creating a Culture of Discretionary Performance.What's in It for the Employee?Chapter 7: Creating Q4 Leaders to Drive Change.Culture Change Begins with Leadership.The Q4 LeadershipSM Model.How Did CN Create Q4 Leaders?Changing Your Style Isn't Easy.Building Leadership Fluency.Part IV: Selecting the Tools for Change.Chapter 8: The Science of the ABCs.It's All about Behavior.The ABCs of Behavior.The ABCs Make Fundamental Sense.Chapter 9: The Commanding Power of Consequences.Timing.Importance to Recipient.Probability of Recurring.Where Does the Consequence Come From?Which Consequences Should I Use?Consequences and Culture Change.Authors' Note: Doing the Right Thing with the ABCs.Chapter 10: The ABC Toolkit.The Five-Step Model.Part V: Aligning the Switches.Chapter 11: Finding a Champion.A Quiet Tryout in Capreol."I Hate Consultants!"Chapter 12: Testing the Business Case.Pilot 1: Partnering in Memphis.Pilot 2: Partnering in Capreol (Northern Ontario).Pilot 3: Partnering in Transcona (Winnipeg).Learnings from the Pilots.We Did What We Said We Would Do.A Skeptical Hunter Gives the Nod.Chapter 13: Gaining Visible Sponsorship: The CEO's Essential Role."How We Work and Why".Addressing the Naysayers.Chapter 14: Learning from a Strike.Spiking the Switch.Start with the Supervisors.Chapter 15: Planning the Trip.Going to Rome (and Paying for It).Implementing the ABCs CN-Wide.Selling the ABCs to the Operating Regions.I Love Your Passion, But . . . .Managing the Pull.Deployment Wasn't All Rosy.Chapter 16: Making the Case for Change.The Case for the ABCs.Spreading the Word.Answering Four Basic Questions.Chapter 17: Expanding Sponsorship.Example 1: Visiting Sites to Set the Stage.Example 2: Sponsoring a Safety-First Culture.Example 3: Personally Walking the Talk.Part VI: Assessing Switchpoints' Impact.Chapter 18: Applying the ABCs: Dressed & Ready.Guess I'll Have Another Coffee . . . .Another Switchpoint.The Science behind the Change.Of Course There Was Resistance!"I Can't Ask My Friends to Do That!".The Rewards of "Dressed & Ready".Chapter 19: E