Hone: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift - Hardcover

by Geoff Tuff (Author), Steven Goldbach (Author), Tom Fishburne (Illustrator)

A clarion call to business leaders to recast their conception of leadership and strategy execution to meet the demands of the modern world

Have a problem with your organization's strategy in an era of accelerating, exponential change? Modern business orthodoxy has an easy answer: transform it. Hone: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift argues this thinking is itself in need of an overhaul. Rather than devote time to expensive, long, and often unsuccessful transformations, leaders should instead focus on holistically designing and honing the management systems that are the nervous systems of their businesses. They can take a cue from chefs and other artisans and hone their organizations. After all, honing doesn't sharpen knives; it realigns a knife's steel to its original position. Choosing and honing the set of management systems that promote an organization's desired outcomes (and uninstalling them when they are past their prime) is one of the most important things a business leader can do--and is just as much art as science.

The third in a trilogy of business strategy books written by renowned strategists and two-time Thinkers50-nominated authors Steven Goldbach and Geoff Tuff, this book explains why and how to optimally hone your organization's execution of its strategy, with highlights including:

• The importance of recognizing and taking action to defy the drift that often afflicts organizations undergoing massive transformation
• Guidelines on how to design and continually reshape effective management systems to influence organizational and individual behaviors
• Reframing the job of CEOs to be Chief System Designers for their organizations
• Reflections on how honing principles within organizations can be used on broader societal challenges such as addressing climate change via the energy transition

Engaging, pragmatic, and inspiring, Hone: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of all private, public, and nonprofit sector professionals seeking to bring new sources of advantage to their organizations in a time of accelerating uncertainty and exponential change.

Front Jacket

Too often companies wait until impending disruption is clear, then scramble to respond with sweeping, top-down transformations. But the real threat today isn't disruption. It's drift: the quiet erosion of clarity, purpose, and performance that happens when leaders lose their edge without even realizing it. As an antidote to expensive, long, and often unsuccessful overhauls, leaders should instead choose to hone. Like a chef maintaining a knife, honing is the leadership practice of consistently making small adjustments to ensure an organization retains its competitive edge.

The third in a trilogy of business strategy books written by renowned strategists and two-time Thinkers50--nominated authors Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach, Hone: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift explains why and how to optimally hone your organization's execution of its strategy. Taking cues from four celebrated artisans, this book shows readers how to choose and constantly work the set of management systems that promote an organization's desired outcomes--and uninstall them when they are past their prime.

Engaging, pragmatic, and inspiring, Hone earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of all professionals seeking to bring new sources of advantage to their organizations in a time of accelerating uncertainty and exponential change.

Back Jacket

Praise for Hone

"In an increasingly complex world, leaders must think in new ways. Hone offers an ambitious yet practical management philosophy on how to stay true to the essential purpose of your organization at a time when strong leadership and driving impact are more important than ever."
--PAUL POLMAN, former CEO, Unilever; co-author of Net Positive

"If you're serious about driving change, this book belongs on your desk. Solving intricate challenges, like sustainability, requires reengineering how organizations work from the inside out. Hone offers a smart, grounded blueprint for leaders looking to make real, measurable progress."
--AMELIA DELUCA, CSO, Delta Air Lines

"Even in the strongest companies, leaders can wake up and ask, 'how did we get here?' In Hone, Tuff and Goldbach offer a practical framework for executives looking to maintain brand relevance and high performance in a complicated global landscape."
--BILL NEWLANDS, CEO, Constellation Brands

"With constant change, seismic transformations don't cut it anymore--it's like trying to win a marathon by sprinting. Instead, we need honing by hands-on leaders and agile, aligned teams that are constantly iterating. Modern leaders who adopt this approach will have their organization flying past the competition."
--SOWMYANARAYAN SAMPATH, CEO, Verizon Consumer Group

"Today's challenges demand that we work together--globally, cross-industry, and bridging public and private sectors--like never before. Hone offers the tools you need to forge powerful partnerships across diverse organizations, ignite shared purpose, align action, and drive the change our world urgently needs."
--KATE BRANDT, CSO, Alphabet / Google

"Hone brilliantly defines management systems as the 'nervous system' of organizations. This provocative, human-centered book powerfully shows how these crucial, overlooked executive tools have a daily role to play in business success."
--SHELLEY ZALIS, Founder and CEO, The FQ

Author Biography

GEOFF TUFF is Deloitte's global and U.S. leader for sustainability work with energy, resources, and industrials clients.

STEVEN GOLDBACH is Deloitte's sustainability practice leader in the U.S. after serving nearly a decade as Deloitte's Chief Strategy Officer.

Together, Tuff and Goldbach are co-authors of the national bestsellers Detonate (2018) and Provoke (2021), and co-hosts of the monthly podcast Provocateurs: Profiles in Leadership. They were short-listed for Thinkers50's Distinguished Achievement Awards in both Strategy (2019) and Leadership (2021).

TOM FISHBURNE is a marketing strategist and the creator of Marketoonist, a weekly cartoon series exploring the foibles of business since 2002.