Best Practices in Planning and Performance Management: Radically Rethinking Management for a Volatile World, Third Edition

Preface to the Third Edition

The second edition of this book was published in early 2007, just as the first signs of a housing bubble were emerging in the United States. By early 2008, Bear Stearns had failed and signs of further stress in the housing market were clear. However, many commentators were still predicting that the fallout would be limited. Then came September 15, 2008, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers; suddenly all bets were off. I was in Prague that day, and as I observed the beginning of the near collapse of the global financial system, I was conflicted. On one hand, I, along with everyone else, saw the value of my investments plummeting, while on the other hand, here was incontrovertible proof that the management processes upon which organizations have relied for more than half a century were totally broken. In this edition I have updated all the best practices to reflect the learnings from the "crash," or was it the "crunch"? In almost all cases, the argument for best practices has simply been made stronger. Each of the best practice chapters (5 through 10) now contains a new section, "Lessons for a Volatile World," which summarizes the key lessons managers should take away from the events of 2007 to 2009. Use this book as a road map for driving fundamental change so that we will all be better prepared next time.

David A. J. Axson

January 2010