Praise for Hippos to Gazelles
“This book is at the pulse and heart of leadership. It is one of the most insightful and valuable written experiences. A MUST for all leaders providing impressive practical senior advice. At the same time it is entertaining, exiting and colourful.”
Dr Claudia Staub, Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton, Zurich
“A "travellers guide" to the universe of organisational change, which resonates strongly with what I have learned throughout 25 years of change in the international resources industry. They show how each of us must shift and shape our style and agenda if we are to produce a wave of "performance delivery" that ripples back and forth throughout the organisation and become truly effective leaders of change.“
Stuart Fysh, Executive Vice President for Africa, Middle East and Asia, BG Group
British Council's Press Release
In From Hippos to Gazelles, Goodwin and Page give us new insights into the magic of organisational transformation. This is a real-life story, about a leader and facilitator working together to achieve a successful merger and change in the complex reality of a multinational organisation. Through the use of fable, real-life examples, and a set of practical tools, it is an inspirational handbook for those leaders facing the challenges of managing mergers or changing their organisation:
- How does a leader find the spark that ignites a team, transforming their business results?
- How do you deliver improvements in business performance that are sustained over time?
- How do you do that when your team is spread across different locations, even different countries?
- How do you deliver success when your team simply doesn’t want to change?
- How do you manage internal change and at the same time satisfy your customers?
Philip and Tony’s approach has used the British Council’s cultural relations expertise to great effect in delivering internal change. This has meant leading in a particular way: based on the mutuality principle, influencing through seeking to be influenced, listening, call and response. The organisation’s improved performance and its increased capacity to adapt, have taken a big leap forward through a kind of leadership which aligns everyone, while turning each person into a leader and a walking, talking example of cultural relations.
Drawing on research by some of the major organisational and leadership thinkers, this simple but groundbreaking book describes how in the real world, leaders can create leaders who will deliver business success.
If you are a leader who is serious about creating leaders and transforming your organisation, you need to read this book.
____________________________________
Kingsham Press – Trade Paperback – Publication date 23 May 2008 – 122 pages – ISBN: 978-1-904235-45-3
____________________________________
More praise for From Hippos to Gazelles
Leaders cannot help but be provoked by this book and start to think how they will make their first leap for the future. Hippos to Gazelles sums it up perfectly; small or evolutionary changes are no longer enough to enable business leaders to keep pace or to continue to be relevant. Leaping from a Hippo to a Gazelle in a single generation is what is called for.
Cliff Burrows, President of US Operations, Starbucks Coffee Company, Seattle
The authors pull you into their world and - without theorising - take us through the warts-and-all journey of a real change situation. This is a refreshing insight into the tricky business of change and the leadership that can make it happen. Woven into the narrative are helpful references to academics and business thinkers so that we are able to learn as we witness the events of the merger unfurl.
Alison Young, Director of Management Development, Pearson plc
Every leader at the top of a corporation struggles with how to get the organisation to realize its full potential, how to get it to excel at the discipline of getting things done. This book vividly demonstrates how, if you can get alignment and 'create' more leaders in your organisation who all want to take the corporation to the same place - it is easier. Why are answers to difficult challenges often so simple?"
Mark Garrett, Chief Executive, Borealis, Vienna
The authors are masterful in illustrating that engagement - both intellectually and emotionally - is the key to giving people faith and confidence that they, themselves, can influence their working environment, their modus operandi and their success. This book captures the leadership journey in an engaging and inspiring manner - read and learn how it should be done!
Tim Savage, Chief Human Resources Officer, Jumeirah International, Dubai.
Leadership is a vital subject but it is rarely tackled well by authors. In this book you will find a refreshingly innovative style and a clear insight into the factors that enable leaders to transform businesses. Trust me, this very readable book makes sense.
Jerry Jarvis, Managing Director, Edexcel
Here, at last, is a book on leadership and change that draws its insights from a hard-won transformational success story. By predicting the sequence of obstacles that all change programmes inevitably find themselves facing and then putting forward a series of pre-emptive moves for clearing these hurdles, they have produced an indispensable workbook companion for any manager grappling with organisational change.
Dr Jules Goddard, MLab Associate, London Business School
The successful management of change is critical to any forward thinking business which has aspirations of growth and development. This book demonstrates real insight and presents the ideas in a fresh and innovative manner - definitely worth a read.
John Philip, Vice President for London, Hilton Hotels Corporation
This real-life story, with such a direct "tell it like it is" style, took me on new parallel learning journeys through my own experiences of leading transformation. The perceptive, insightful & structured analysis and left me better equipped & more determined than ever to lead others though change.
Peter Wormald, Managing Director, Ciba, Paisley
For those seeking to lead fundamental change in their organisation, this handbook firmly grounded in the best organisational practices - and with a light touch - provides an inspirational and comprehensive guide.
Jamie Hamilton, Head of Market Fundamentals, BG Group
This book tells the truth. Read this before you journey any further as a leader! It is a great companion for the very personal journey of ups and downs, of persistence and listening… to develop energetic leaders who start to think and behave differently, to create better organisations with increased capacity.
Ruth Dunlop, Head of Leadership Development, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
A refreshing and insightful guide to organisational leadership and change, advocating a thoughtful and people-centred way of achieving high performance. The combination of using fables and the African context is ….fabulous.
Alan Coppin, Chair of Redstone plc and Patron of Windsor Leadership Trust
I fully endorse the approach in this book. This tremendously colourful contribution challenges the reader to lead in the way that makes it most enjoyable and rewarding for everyone. Not every leader will agree at first with the notion that everyone else can be a leader. However the authors have spotted the need in today's conditions for leadership to be gripped less tightly at the top of a hierarchy and much more widely shared amongst the workforce. I found this approach gave me the feeling that the people who worked in my organisation were a life-raft, supporting me rather than holding me back. Of course people have different aspirations; not everyone wants to be a leader at every stage of their career. But where the leader can make people feel that a brick which was on their head has been placed under their feet, the increased momentum is tremendous.
Dame Sue Street DCB , former Permanent Secretary,
UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport, British Government
This book will encourage a debate on how leadership at all levels can be developed. The chief executive of today and tomorrow is essentially a 'leader of leaders'. Here is a stimulating case study ... within an African context to build an effective strategic leadership team, and in the process to change old-style managers into inspirational leaders - hippos into gazelles.
John Adair, internationally acknowledged authority on leadership
Highly recommended for people leading change. Philip Goodwin and Tony Page take us on a leadership safari through Africa. Through their vibrant stories, they emphasise engagement - "the feeling agenda", weaving patterns and paths for leaders in organisations. Their personal journey and reflections are invaluable, vividly showing the commitment and courage of people - creating new leaders, listening deeply, generating new patterns, leaders transforming themselves.
Dr Monica Sharma, Director of Leadership and Capacity Development, United Nations
This engaging and refreshing book has much to offer leaders at all levels, as well as the business graduate and professionals interested in leadership and change. Drawing on a fable set in Africa, a meta-story unfolds to reveal real life characters, their feelings, anxieties, hopes and aspirations, and builds into a transformation. This shows that the leadership and change issues faced in that continent are similar to those faced elsewhere in the world.
Dr Ann Shacklady-Smith, Senior Fellow, Manchester Business School
This is a really useful book which takes the reader through the practical steps of a true account of achieving a successful merger and change programme, told through the experiences of the leader, the facilitator and various participants. The imaginative mix of stories, shared experiences, the approaches used, key theories and effective tools combine to provide an excellent practical pathway which is recommended to anyone involved with this most challenging of issues.
Alan Hooper, Founder of the Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter
An insightful and warm engaging book into the fundamentals to change management, in terms of results, people and respect.
Esa Saarinen, Finnish Philosopher and Professor at Helsinki University of Technology
