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FedEx Delivers: How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition

FedEx Delivers: How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition

by Madan Birla
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Release Date: June 2005
ISBN: 9780471715795
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Book Description

An inside look at leadership practices that enabled the world's leading shipping company to outthink and outperform its competition

Using firsthand accounts from top leaders at FedEx, FedEx Delivers explains how the company became an international powerhouse and one of the most trusted global brands by using leadership practices that tapped into the creativity and commitment of its employees.

Both a compelling business story and a prescription for business success, FedEx Delivers presents a model to show how these practices created and sustained an innovation culture. Readers will learn how to apply this model to their organizations for developing a culture of innovation that evolves with the times and offers fresh solutions to new challenges.

Innovative thinking and disciplined execution are what made FedEx a market leader, and they can help any business in any industry do the same. Each chapter covers a different aspect of innovation with real-life stories that highlight its effectiveness, and offers valuable ideas that lead managers through the process of implementing those practices.

By breaking innovation down to its three simplest steps-generation, acceptance, and implementation of ideas-and offering proven leadership practices that really work, FedEx Delivers offers unique insight and invaluable advice on building an organization that can adapt to any challenge and meet any goal in today's highly competitive global economy.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. About the Author
  9. Introduction
  10. Fedex Delivers
  11. Chapter 1: Innovating and Outperforming the Competition
    1. CREATING A NEW INDUSTRY . . .
    2. ... BY TAPPING EMPLOYEES' CREATIVITY AND COMMITMENT
    3. DEFINING CREATIVITY IN THE BUSINESS WORLD
    4. THE THREE-STEP INNOVATION PROCESS
    5. IMPLEMENTATION IS KEY
    6. PSP PHILOSOPHY
    7. POSITIVE PACKAGE TRACKING AND ON-TIME GUARANTEE
  12. Chapter 2: FedEx's Innovation Journey
    1. MY VANTAGE POINT ON THIS EXCITING JOURNEY
    2. GROWTH DURING THIS INNOVATION JOURNEY
    3. THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF FEDEX's OPERATIONS
    4. MARKET-AND CUSTOMER-DRIVEN INNOVATION
  13. Chapter 3: Why Organizations Do Not Innovate
    1. ROOT CAUSE 1: LACK OF SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES
    2. ROOT CAUSE 2: LACK OF UNDERSTANDING THAT INNOVATION IS IMPERATIVE
    3. ROOT CAUSE 3: LACK OF COLLABORATIVE THINKING ACROSS DEPARTMENTS AND DISCIPLINES
    4. ROOT CAUSE 4: LACK OF BALANCE BETWEEN INNOVATION EXPECTATION AND EMPLOYEES' ABILITY TO DELIVER
    5. ROOT CAUSE 5: LACK OF AN EASILY UNDERSTOOD AND REPLICABLE INNOVATION CULTURE MODEL
  14. Chapter 4: The Five Dimensions of an Innovation and Performance Culture
    1. CREATIVITY IS ASKING “WHAT IF . . .”
    2. THE INNOVATION CULTURE MODEL
    3. THE FIRST DIMENSION: ENGAGED PEOPLE
    4. THE SECOND DIMENSION: GROWING PEOPLE
    5. THE THIRD DIMENSION: SECURE PEOPLE
    6. THE FOURTH DIMENSION: COLLABORATIVE PEOPLE
    7. THE FIFTH DIMENSION: COMMITTED PEOPLE
  15. Chapter 5: Engage Employees in the Enterprise
    1. ENGAGE EMPLOYEES AND CREATE A CLEAR EXPECTATION FOR THEIR ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN INNOVATION
  16. Chapter 6: Expect and Help Employees to Continually Grow
    1. EXPECT AND HELP EMPLOYEES TO CONTINUALLY GROW THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASES
    2. REQUIRE EMPLOYEES TO UPDATE AND EXPAND THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASES
    3. PROVIDE RESOURCES AND PUT IN PLACE SUPPORT SYSTEMS THAT FACILITATE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
    4. PARTICIPATE IN LEARNING ACTIVITIES (ESPECIALLY WHOLE BRAIN THINKING DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES)
    5. HOLD EMPLOYEES ACCOUNTABLE FOR UPDATING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASES
    6. PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR KEEPING EMPLOYEES' KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASE CURRENT
  17. Chapter 7: Create a Secure Environment for Expression and Acceptance of Creative Ideas
    1. STRESS INTERFERES WITH THE INNOVATION PROCESS
    2. INTERFERENCE FROM EGO
    3. CREATE A SECURE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE EXPRESSION AND ACCEPTANCE OF CREATIVE IDEAS
    4. PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR CREATING A SECURE ENVIRONMENT
  18. Chapter 8: Encourage Collaborative Development of Creative Ideas
    1. ENCOURAGE THE COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE IDEAS
  19. Chapter 9: Tap Employees' Commitment
    1. TAP EMPLOYEES' COMMITMENT FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEVELOPED IDEAS
    2. PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR TAPPING EMPLOYEES' COMMITMENT
  20. Conclusion: Continuing to Lead the Way
  21. Bibliography
  22. Index
  23. From Reading to Reality