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The Four Pillars of High Performance
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The Four Pillars of High Performance

How Robust Organizations Achieve Extraordinary Results: Lessons from the Rand Corporation

Paul C. Light
McGraw-Hill, 2004

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Editorial Rating

7

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  • Applicable

Recommendation

The RAND Corporation’s organizational strategy advice is based on more than 50 years of research. Author Paul C. Light draws from RAND studies primarily related to the U.S. military to explain the need for organizations to confront unavoidable change with alertness, agility, adaptability and alignment. He notes that these four attributes are equally valuable to small and large businesses, and to organizations of all kinds. You can apply each solid lesson Light takes from RAND’s studies to your organization’s structure and planning. In fact, some of his points are already common wisdom. Political instability, labor force fluctuations, or the potential for terrorism or economic unrest affect some industries more than others, but every organization is susceptible to unanticipated developments. If you want to find out what to do when your organization gets surprised, getAbstract.com recommends this in-depth research-based report.

Take-Aways

  • More than 50 years of RAND Corporation studies - though mostly focused on military operations and organizations - can be applied to business today.
  • One RAND lesson is that alertness, agility, adaptability and alignment for success are the four pillars of high performance.
  • A high performing organization bases all its decisions and actions on its mission.

About the Author

Paul C. Light has written 19 books on business, education and public service, and frequently speaks on organizational life. He is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. In 1999, he founded the Center for Public Service at the Brookings Institution, where he has been affiliated for more than 20 years.

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