Deepak Malhotra

Book Selection

Using a modern fable, Harvard Business School professor Malhotra reveals the ways companies, managers and workers often get trapped in a workplace maze that stifles creativity and productivity.

I Moved Your Cheese

For Those Who Refuse to Live as Mice in Someone Else's Maze

Interview with Deepak Malhotra

Resistance to change doesn't seem to be the main problem in modern workplaces. Instead, the true problem is that we don't always see that change is necessary or even useful -- this happens because many don't take the time to analyze what they do and how they do it.

twsm In “I Moved Your Cheese,” you advise us mice to question the maze. Many workers, and their managers, don’t realize that they’re trapped in such a maze. What are some questions managers can ask themselves?

dm In many cases, resistance to change is not the real problem. Often it is that we don't even realize change is necessary or useful. The problem, then, is the unwillingness to examine why and how we do what we do. This is true in organizations who will periodically revisit key performance metrics, but fail to revisit basic assumptions about the appropriateness of their mission or strategy; it is true of employees who will occasionally reexamine their career trajectory, but will not bother to reexamine their career choice; and it is true of people who can tell you exactly what they are trying to achieve at work or in their relationships, but may not have given much thought to whether achieving it will really make them a happier person. In light of this, managers should be working to create environments in which the culture and incentive system promotes asking fundamental questions: Are we focusing on the correct goals? Is our approach the best one, or simply the most common, the safest, or the most firmly established one? What are some widely accepted assumptions about our organization, our customers, or our industry and what would happen if we threw out these assumptions? Are our employees happy? How might we experiment with new approaches to solve old problems?

twsm What are some international companies that you feel have mastered freethinking and innovation?

dm I hesitate to nominate specific names, but one place you find people most enthusiastically challenging longstanding assumptions and approaches is among entrepreneurs. On the one hand, this is not surprising: entrepreneurs succeed by finding new ways of creating value in society. But what is truly inspiring about working in the start-up environment is that spirit of questioning, and of "seeing the old in new ways," seems to seep into every aspect of work. These folks are not simply innovating in the area of business models or technology, they seem to want to innovate across the board: in organizational structure, work-life balance, compensation schemes, etc. It is unfortunate that this type of culture does not often "scale," as companies grow larger.• [Stanford University Press, pp 264, $22.95 USD] Author Hadiz explores how the localization of power transforms communities and countries. Focusing on a comparison between Indonesia and Thailand and the Philippines, he examines the role of power in an increasingly globalized world.

Paul Falcone 2600 Phrases for Setting Effective Performance Goals

[Amacom, pp 224, $11.95] A follow-up to Falcone’s bestseller, 2600 Phrases for Effective Performance Reviews, outlines important performance goals, categorized by those core competencies – such as time management and attendance – most often utilized in the appraisal process.

Eric Lowitt The Future of Value

[Jossey-Bass / Wiley, pp 272 , $32.95] The Future of Value reveals what it takes for companies to grow and outperform the competition in today's growth-constrained, sustainability conscious world, explaining in detail how leaders can use sustainability to enhance business performance.

accomplish financial goals along with impactful social good as well. The authors argue that these leaders have found that these two aspirations are mutually reinforcing.

John Coleman, Daniel Gulati, W. Oliver Segovia

Passion & Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders [Harvard Business Review Press, pp 288, $25.95] Harvard Business School grads chronicle the inspiring successes and failures of fellow Harvard MBAs, focusing on a variety of unique business experiences and personal quests occurring the world over.

Vedi Hadiz Localising Power in Post-Authori-

tarian Indonesia: A Southeast Asia Perspective