Jason Jennings - The High-Speed Company: Creating Urgency and Growth in a Nanosecond Culture

Praise for The High-Speed Company

Defines the fundamentals that separate successful organizations from also-rans. This book should be required reading for all CEOs and board members.

Glenn A. Fosdick, CEO (20012013), The Nebraska Medical Center, one of the worlds preeminent medical facilities

No matter the industry, Jason Jennings reveals through his research and inspirational stories what we all knew in our hearts: Speed is driven by purpose. We are all wired to work on something bigger than ourselves, Jennings takes us down the path to get there.

Richard Sheridan, CEO and chief storyteller, Menlo Innovations; author of Joy, Inc .

Jennings provides real-world examples of how the most successful organizations have developed a culture of urgency. A must read for any business leader.

Tiffani Bova, vice president, distinguished analyst, Gartner

Praise for The Reinventors

The Reinventors should find a home on many executives desks, as the time is now to begin the process of serially reinventing your business, to highlight companies that are good at it, and to teach other leaders how to master the skill.... [Jennings] will teach you how to figure it out for yourself, how to be more aggressively innovative, how to become a serial reinventor.

Jack Covert, 800-CEO-READ

Leadership and management expert Jennings ( Hit the Ground Running ) believes that companies have to continually change and adapt to their environment.... With analyses of such companies as Southwest Airlines and Apple, Jennings offers engaging business stories and perhaps a nugget of wisdom for corporate managers.

Publishers Weekly

The Reinventors rocks! Jennings has done it again and delivers a crisp step-by-step set of instructions for embracing constant radical change and achieving nonstop growth. If youre ready, this is your blueprint for success.

Guy Kawasaki, bestselling author of Enchantment, Reality Check, and The Art of the Start

The Reinventors is an extremely timely, practical, and interesting book. Everyone needs to be able to reinvent and constantly change, yet we arent taught how. This book will show you the way.

Peter Sims, bestselling author of Little Bets

This is a fast-paced, well-written book on the overriding importance of change, innovation, evolution, and maybe even revolution as key requirements for long-term success in any organization. Turmoil is good; comfortable stasis is fatal. Jennings nails it.

Bob Lutz, former vice chairman, General Motors; bestselling author of Car Guys vs. Bean Counters

Open this book to any page and youll learn something: Its a fascinating, accessible, and practical way of rethinking your company and gaining edge in todays hypercompetitive marketplace. Plus, its a blast to read. The guy can write and he clearly cares about helping you achieve greater success.

Stan Slap, New York Times bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Conference Room B

Jennings is clearly becoming the successor to Peter Drucker. Once again, hes done a masterful job of researching the world for proven insights on how to reinvent a business and drive sustainable, profitable growth. His ideas are simultaneously practical, unexpected, and powerful. Use them every day to succeed.

Dan Coughlin, consultant; author of Beat Yesterday and The Management 500

If youre uncomfortable with the thought of becoming obsolete, read this book! The Reinventors delivers novel ways to pivot, spin, and solve your way into the future. This is classic Jason Jennings.

Tim Sanders, founder of Net Minds; New York Times bestselling author of Love Is the Killer App

ALSO BY JASON JENNINGS

The Reinventors

Hit the Ground Running

Think Big, Act Small

Less is More

PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC

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New York, New York 10014

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A Penguin Random House Company

First published by Portfolio / Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2015

Copyright 2015 by Jason Jennings

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint an excerpt from Bluebeard: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Copyright 1987 by Kurt Vonnegut. Used by permission of Dell Publishing, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-698-16795-7

Version_1

To Myron P. Patten, founder, former CEO, and chairman of The Patten Company. Very early in my career he took the time to listen to me and lead and encourage me in the pursuit of my goals, ambitions, and dreams.

He was a remarkable mentor.

CONTENTS

Doing Well by Doing Good Uniting everyone around a purpose that accomplishes something meaningful is your only chance at creating a culture of urgency and growth. Give people the wh y and theyll give you the how . The Shalls and Shall Nots of Speed Blow up all the speed bumps by making certain everyone understands and is empowered to practice the shalls and shall nots of the enterprise. The Immutable Law of Suckage The immutable law of suckage slammed the brakes on many once-great companies. Here are the rules for never getting to that point. More Trust, More Engagement, More Urgency In a world weary from too much spin and dishonesty, transparency is the only way to gain trust, engagement, and urgency. Reliable, Repeatable, and Durable When you systematize everything, from how the phones are answered to how sales calls are made to how the boss schedules her calendar, you create time to do whats important: quickly grow the business. Exploration and Discovery High-speed companies have discovered that by being interested instead of interesting, they gain the vital knowledge required to quickly lead people to where they want to go and what they want to accomplish. Create a Cult of Engagement and Clarity The problem with accountability is that all too many people believe that accountability is great... if someone else goes first. Heres the plan for creating a cult of engagement and clarity and getting everyone to take the leap together. Keeping Fast People by Your Side Show people the road to prosperity and youll crack the code on finding, keeping, and growing the right people and keep everything moving fast. The Final Piece of the Puzzle Is there one thing that connects all high-speed leaders? Yes. This is the final piece of the high-speed puzzle Introduction: Urgency and Growth We need to create a greater sense of urgency and get things done faster.

O ver the past dozen years, Ive interviewed over eleven thousand CEOs, business owners, and highly successful entrepreneurs about their businesses and how they lead companies through good times and bad. One of the most important questions I ask them is Whats the biggest worry keeping you awake at night?

The response is practically unanimous: Leaders worry about creating a sense of urgency in their organizations and operating quickly in an increasingly complex world. They want to create strong teams that are primed to handle any hurdle that comes their way and get things done faster.

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