In Search of European Excellence

In business, Europe appears to have been lagged behind America and Asia. Its companies have been slow to exploit the new technologies and philosophies of organization and achievement. But while debate rages on about a federal Europe, Europe's business leaders are creating it under our noses. Restructuring, expanding, forming new alliances, they are redrawing the map in a series of highly competitive moves. These sweeping changes are creating a new kind of company — and a new kind of manager — that can compete successfully at the fiercest level, and win.

Robert Heller is the first to penetrate the very heart of European management to reveal and analyse the key strategies driving the top companies forward. Be they Finnish, British, German, Dutch, Swiss or cross-national, owned within or outside Europe, these companies are fast on their feet, flexible, adventurous, responsive and constantly improving. Leadership is being devolved, the management of radical change is taking centre stage, cultures are being reshaped and corporations subdivided. Organizations are becoming more fluid in the pursuit of maximum motivation, effective team-working and constant renewal.

Drawing on variety of case studies, M&S, ABB, Nokia, Mercedes-Benz, Unilever, Heineken and Zeneca among them, Heller applies rigorous theory to illustrate the vital lesson companies — and their managers — must learn if they are to stay ahead of the competition.

In Search of European Excellence is a far-reaching and illuminating tour de force which is required reading for managers, directors and CEOs all over the world.

1. The Devolution of Leadership
• The making of ABB
• Down the organization
• The shared strategies of ICL
• Breaking the rules
• The salvation of SGS-Thompson
• Motivating the motivators
2. Driving Radical Change
• The dwindling of the giants
• Management's leading powers
• The hollowness of Marks & Spencer
• The virtues of virtual corporations
• The new need of Volkswagen
• Sharing the responsibilities
3. Reshaping the Culture
• The roots of LucasVarity
• Rewards of reinvention
• The défi of Digital Europe
• Leaders of leaders
• The division at Daimler
• From leanness to prowess
4. Dividing to Rule
• The boom of the breakaways
• Formula for freedom
• The Adidas mind-set
• Taking it from the top
• The zip at Zeneca
• Parents and childen
5. Exploiting the Organization
• The new power at Unilever
• How management adds value
• The fumbling of Philips
• Fixing the framework
• The culture changers of Europe
• Progress through processes
6. Keeping the Competitive Edge
• The Europeans from Japan
• Management East-West style
• The clues to Club Med
• Dancing to the customer's tune
• The alliances of PixTech
• Partnering for profit
7. Achieving Constant Renewal
• The luxury of Hoffman La Roche
• The rewards of risk
• The gap at Siemens
• Developing prime products
• The corrected blunder at BP
• Dynamizing the system
8. Mobilizing the Motivators
• The bubble-up at Opel
• Confounding the corpocracy
• The break-out of British Steel
• Closing the management gap
• The megamergers of Europe
• Acquisitions of advantage
9. Making Teamwork Work
• The super-quirks of Quinn
• Power to the empowered
• The knock-on at Nokia
• Managing the creators
• The happy teams at Heineken
• Virtuous circle companies
10. Total Quality of Management
• The way to get it right
• What management quality means
• The birthright of Bosch
• Deploying the policies
• The shake-up at Shell
• Reinventing the manager

Don't believe what the title may imply. This book has absolutely nothing to do with Peters & Waterman. It covers European management.