Talk, Inc.

by Groysberg, Boris; Slind, Michael

• ISBN13: 9781422173336
• ISBN10: 142217333X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-06-19
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Pr

Summary

How can leaders make their big or growing company feel small again? How can they recapture the "magic"--the tight strategic alignment, the high level of employee engagement--that drove and animated their organization when it was a start-up? As more and more executives have discovered in recent years, the answer to that conundrum lies in the power of conversation. In Talk, Inc., Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind show how trusted and effective leaders are adapting the principles of face-to-face conversation in order to pursue a new form of organizational conversation. They explore the promise of conversation-powered leadership--from the time-tested practice of talking straight (and listening well) to the thoughtful adoption of emerging social media. And they offer guidance on how to balance the benefits of open-ended talk with the realities of strategic execution. Drawing on the experience of leaders at diverse companies from around the world, Talk, Inc.offers provocative insights and user-friendly tips on how to make organizational culture more intimate, more interactive, more inclusive, and more intentional--in short, more conversational.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Not Just Talk	p. 1
Intimacy
Up and Down	p. 13
The Promise of Trust-Based Leadership
Walking the Talk	p. 37
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
Talk, Inc., Points (TIPs)	p. 55
Close Encounters
Interactivity
Back and Forth	p. 63
The Emergence of Social Technology
Walking the Talk	p. 87
Cisco Systems
Talk, Inc., Points (TIPs)	p. 109
One-Way, Two-Way, New Way
Inclusion
Give and Take	p. 117
The Triumph of Employee-Generated Content
Walking the Talk	p. 141
EMC Corporation
Talk, Inc., Points (TIPs)	p. 163
Amateur Hour
Intentionality
Open and Close	p. 173
The Quest for Strategic Alignment
Walking the Talk	p. 199
Kingfisher PLC
Talk, Inc., Points (TIPs)	p. 223
A Sense of Direction
Afterword	p. 229
Notes	p. 231
Index	p. 233
Acknowledgments	p. 241
About the Authors	p. 243
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