Navigate the Swirl 7 Crucial Conversations for Business Transformation

"The 7 Conversations is a unique model for organizations to grow and innovate in a team-based way with a powerful transformation accelerator."
—Penny Pennington, Managing Partner, Edward Jones

An actionable blueprint for transformational business journeys from Growth River founder Richard Hawkes

Leading transformation in teams, businesses, and organizations is complex, and leaders are expected to know how to do it. Navigating the Swirl provides the clear thinking required to navigate this challenge.

In Navigate the Swirl: 7 Conversations for Business Transformation renowned growth and strategy leader Richard Hawkes delivers a simple and powerful framework that any team can apply to overcome the most common leadership challenges to growing and scaling companies, known as “The Swirl.” In this straightforward book, he draws on decades of experience guiding teams to implement strategic change at companies like Edward Jones, GENEWIZ, Hitachi, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Mars, and Chicos.

You'll learn:

• To understand and lead disruptive change in a complex social system – your company
• Ways to visualize and diagnose the essential working parts of a company
• How to apply an integrated toolset for teams to lead organizational change and business transformation
• How to create transformational journey maps that leaders, teams, businesses, and companies must apply to unleash growth potential and agility
• How networks of teams should work together to develop each other’s leadership and to manage and accelerate change

Written as a practical guide for business and team leaders, Navigate the Swirl: 7 Conversations for Business Transformation belongs on the desks and in the hands of every purpose driven leader.

Richard S. Hawkes is the Founder of Growth River, an international consultancy that guides leaders and teams to create higher performance in businesses and organizations. Its practical mission is to make high-­performing ways of working easier. He works with companies to identify and resolve constraints to success, including Edward Jones, Genewiz, Hitachi, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Mars. He sees purpose-driven, customer-­focused, team-based, multi-stakeholder businesses as our best bet for solving the big problems.

Foreword by Penny Pennington, CEO, Edward Jones

Acknowledgments

A Note to the Reader: How to Use this Book

Introduction:  The Swirl

Part I: Framing the Conversation

Chapter 1: Understanding Organizations: Social Systems, Not Machines

Chapter 2:  Understanding Businesses: The Business Triangle 

Chapter 3: Understanding Growth: Dynamics of Organizational Development

Part II: The Evolution of an Enterprise

Chapter 4: Introducing the Evolutionary Stages Model

Chapter 5: A Business Is Born: Stage I, Independent Contributors

Chapter 6: A Leader Steps Up: Stage II, Directive Leadership

Chapter 7: A 5:30 Wake-Up Call: Stage II to III Transition

Chapter 8: A Complete System of Roles: Stage III, Distributed Leadership

Chapter 9:  Leveraging Creative Tension: Stage III, Distributed Leadership continued

Chapter 10: High Performing Teams: Stage III, Distributed Leadership cont.

Chapter 11:  A Flat, Agile Organization: Stage IV, Leaders Leading Leaders

Part III: The Seven Crucial Conversations

Chapter 12: Organizations Evolve at the Speed of Conversation

Chapter 13: Conversation 1—Activating Purpose

Chapter 14: Conversation 2—Driving Focus

Chapter 15: Conversation 3—Shifting Mindset

Chapter 16: Conversation 4—Specifying Roles and Capabilities

Chapter 17: Conversation 5—Streamlining Interdependencies

Chapter 18: Conversation 6—Aligning Strategies

Chapter 19: Conversation 7—Implementing Initiatives

Chapter 20:  An Invitation to Transformation

Glossary

Index

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