RESPONSIBILITY VIRUS, THE (Two Tigers Can Share One Mountain - Winning Through Cooperation)

Author: Roger L. Martin United States/America
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication Date: 2002-10-01
Features: Book Description This title includes Roger Martin's tools for conquering what he terms the "responsibility virus." These processes include: the frame experiment, which is designed to help those already stuck in positions of over- or under-responsibility to arrest their downward spiral, one relationship at a time; the choice-structuring process, which aims to help members of a group create robust and compelling choices together, rather than leaping to roles of heroic leadership or passive followership; and the responsibility ladder which helps managers and subordinates work together and show each of us when and how to take on responsibility from a boss. Redefining leadership and followership informs leaders on how to move from unilateral decision-making to shared responsibility.
From Publishers Weekly: A CEO clashes with his VP of sales over lagging ad sales. Two married attorneys each try to get the upper hand while house-hunting. A team of managers, intending to collaborate, ends up competing with each other. These are just some of the power struggles Martin, dean of the University of Toronto's business school, presents in this personal and professional self-help book. Both overachieving and underachieving executives will recognize themselves and their colleagues in Martin's realistic, well-sketched (pseudonymous) conflicts, in which ego and fear of failure are presented as major roadblocks to group consensus. His 15 years of consulting experience serve him well, especially when he demonstrates, with specific examples, how most poor decision-making begins at the level of individual behavior. Figures and diagrams abound, likening portions of the book to a PowerPoint presentation, albeit a useful one. For example, the "Responsibility Ladder" shows the levels of responsibility to which most people gravitate in most situations. At the lowest rung of the ladder, one set of problems is created when folks who fear failure drop difficult projects on other people's desks. Martin is quick to point out, however, that organizational problems can arise at the top of the ladder too, when managers who seek control "consider options and make [a] decision, informing other [parties] subsequently." Martin wrote this book "to help people avoid the natural predisposition to screw up the handling of responsibility in ways that undermine their goals and well-being," and he succeeds. His examples and nuggets of advice are on-target and entertaining.
Book Dimension Height (mm): 243
Width (mm): 164