Quantitative Methods for Business Decisions Book

First published in 1999, this book remains remarkably relevant to the ever-expanding global business world that has since developed. In it, Ulrich, Zenger, and Smallwood explain how to connect leadership attributes to results. In this context, I am reminded of what Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton have to say about what they characterize as a “knowing-doing gap.” They assert (and I agree) that many executives know what must be done but, for whatever reasons, are unable to achieve the desired results. Hence the importance of the material in the first chapter. Four key points: Effective leaders produce results, one of the most important results is the development of other leaders, (e.g. Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, commits at least 20% of his time to mentoring GE’s middle managers), all organizations need a process, indeed a continuously improved system in place that produces such leaders, and leaders are needed at all levels and within all areas of the given enterprise. Then in Chapters 2-8, the co-authors respond to questions such as these:

How to define desired results?
How to achieve desired employee results by investing in human capital?
How achieve organization results by creating capabilities?
How to achieve customer results by building firm equity?
How to achieve investor results by building shareholder value?
How to become a results-based leader?
How do results-based leaders build others who are also results-based?

Ulrich, Zenger, and Smallwood make brilliant use of various reader-friendly devices that include hundreds of checklists, graphic figures, bold face, and real-world examples. Obviously, these devices focus the reader’s attention on key points but also facilitate, indeed accelerate periodic reviews of those points later. I also commend them on the “Notes” section that includes a number of enlightening annotations that accompany many of the citations. Just as Edison correctly reminds us that “vision without execution is hallucination,” Dave Ulrich, Jack Zenger, and Norm Small remind us that that one result – if not THE most important result – of great leadership is that it produces other great leaders. Then and only then can desired results involving associates, customers, and investors be achieved and then sustained.