Friday, November 16, 2007

Book cover


New Book- The Soul of the Corporation

I am pleased to announce the publication of a new book with my colleague John Kimberly of the wharton School.

http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Corporation-manage-identity-company/dp/0131857266

The book results from several years of research and interactions with dozens of companies across industries and continents. It emphasizes the importance of identity in the management of modern business organizations and provides managers with a set of conceptual frameworks to deal with identity in a variety of contexts such as M&A integration, spin-offs, strategic alliances, branding, and strategic change.

Below is the summary from the back cover. I would be delighted to discuss the ideas developed in the book with those interested in identity and its role in business management.

Hamid Bouchikhi
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Understand, Control, and Leverage Your Company’s #1 Asset: Its Unique Identity

We live in a new Age of Identity, in which your employees, customers, investors, andother stakeholders care about who you really are. More than ever, your company’s identity will shape the results it can achieve. The Soul of the Corporation will help you clearly understand your company’s identity, and then take control of it and leverageit for long-term adaptation and success.

Drawing on real-life stories from the world’s most prominent companies, the authors show how identity can be an extraordinarily valuable asset–and how, if not properly managed, it can become a huge liability. Discover how your firm’s identity is related to–and different from–its organizational culture, brand positioning, and reputation. Learn how to diagnose and manage the often unconscious shared beliefs that constitute your company’s soul…how to face the enormous identity challenges that arise in mergers, alliances, spin-offs, and the creation of new brands…and above all, how to lead and inspire in this new Age of Identity.

• Master your company’s “I*Dimension”
New tools for leveraging identity for competitive advantage

• Manage the tensions that shape your company’s identity
Convergent vs. divergent, internal vs. external, designed vs. emergent, sameness vs. uniqueness

• Overcome the dark, dysfunctional side of identity
Minimize narcissism, conflict, drift, and fragmentation

• Protect what’s precious, change what needs to change
Managing identity through M&As, spin-offs, alliances, and unrelenting change