The Soul of the Corporation: How to Manage the Identity of Your Company Book

Acknowledgments     xii
About the Authors     xiii
Introduction: Leadership Challenges in the Age of Identity     xv
Globalization     xvi
Mergers and Acquisitions     xviii
Spin-Offs     xix
Disruptive Innovation     xx
Deregulation     xxi
Strategic Alliances, Organizational Networks, and Boundaryless Organizations     xxiii
A Society of Organizations     xxiv
Reputation and Accountability     xxvii
The Advent of Alternative Social Identities in the Workplace     xxix
The Self-Aware, Empowered Consumer     xxx
The Pervasiveness of Branding     xxxiii
Endnotes     xxxv
The I*Dimension     1
The I*Dimension     3
Identity Anchors     5
Balancing Contradictory Tensions in Identity     14
Endnotes     16
The Bright Side of the I*Dimension     19
The Internal Benefits of Clear, Consistent, and Valued Identities     21
The External Benefits of Clear, Consistent, and Socially Valued Identities     24
The Virtuous Cycle     25
Endnotes     26
The Dark Side of the I*Dimension     27
Narcissism     28
Identity Conflict     30
Drift     33
Fragmentation     35
Endnotes     38
Casualties of the I*Dimension     41
Carly Fiorina     42
Jean-Marie Messier     45
Thomas Middelhoff     51
Philip Purcell     54
Endnotes     58
To Blend or Not to Blend: Identity Integration in Mergers and Acquisitions     61
When the Sauce Curdles: The Case of DaimlerChrysler     62
What Path to Follow?     65
Colonial Integration     67
Confederate Integration     68
Federalist Integration     72
Symbiotic Integration     73
The Four Models in Perspective     75
Endnotes     77
When Should the Cord Be Cut? Managing Identity in Spin-Offs     79
The I*Dimension in Spin-Offs     80
Continuing Connection     81
Clean Breaks     83
Paradoxical Patterns     87
Why Spin Off?     89
Managing the I*Dimension in Spin-Offs     93
Endnotes     95
Identity in Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures     97
How Identity Issues Can Put Strategic Alliances at Risk     99
A Framework for Handling Identity in Strategic Alliances     108
Managerial Implications     115
Endnotes     117
Managing the I*Dimension at Organizational and Brand Levels     119
When Tying a Brand's Identity to an Organization's Self-Concept Destroys Economic Value     121
How Much Should Brand Identity Rely on Organization Identity, and Vice Versa?     124
Assessing the Relationships Between Organizational and Brand Identities     127
Managing Identity in the Transition from a Single Brand to a Brand Portfolio     130
Managing Organizational and Brand Identities After Mergers and Acquisitions     132
Endnotes     135
Masters of the I*Dimension     137
Steve Jobs     138
Peter Saunders     141
Louis Gerstner     146
Carlos Ghosn     150
Endnotes     153
Diagnosing Your Firm's Identity     155
Who Needs an Identity Audit?     156
Discovering Identity: A Generic Approach     158
Examples of Identity Audits     164
A Methodological Guide for Conducting an Identity Audit     167
Exploiting Secondary Sources      168
Interviews with Key Constituencies     169
Survey of Stakeholders     171
Endnotes     172
Leading in the Age of Identity     173
Reinforcing the I*Dimension     175
Dealing with Identity and Identification at Individual and Group Levels     178
When the I*Dimension Must Change     179
Evolutionary Change in the I*Dimension     182
Revolutionary Change of the I*Dimension     184
The Benefits and Pitfalls of Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change of the I*Dimension     187
The Levers for Identity Change     188
Common Ingredients of Successful Identity Change     189
Endnotes     190
Epilogue     191
Index     195