Who Really Matters

When corporate leaders announce, with seeming sincerity, “We make our decisions on behalf of our shareholders,” their words are taken at face value. But as recent news stories prove, this imperative is routinely violated. In Who Really Matters, Art Kleiner argues that the dissonance between a declared mission and actual operation can be seen at organizations large and small. All organizations have one motive in common. Every decision – which projects to back, who to promote, or how to spend money – is affected by the perceived wants and needs of a core group of people “who really matter.”

The composition of the group can differ from organization to organization. Often, the most senior people in the hierarchy are members — but not always. Sometimes, the people who “matter” can extend far down the corporate ladder, or even reach outside the company to include key customers, labor union leaders, and stockholders. Kleiner gives readers clues about how to identify a core group’s real mission by observing its day-to-day actions, listening to the fundamental message it sends employees, examining its management of new members; understanding the ideas that shape its policies about management, money, and the way the world works; and avoiding the taboos governing the way it operates.

Whether you’re a member of the Core Group – or want to be – this deft, engaging blend of argument and observation, anecdotes and advice, is the one guide you’ll need to achieve your career goals and aspirations by navigating the hidden pathways in any organization, large or small.

• Part 1: The Reality of Organizations
• Chapter 1: The Customer Comes Eighth
• Chapter 2: How Organizations Think
• Chapter 3: A Field Guide to Some Common Core Groups
• Diagnostic Exercise 1: Who Really Matters Here?
• Diagnostic Exercise 2: How is the Core Group Chosen?
• Chapter 4: A Very Special Kind of Love
• Diagnostic Exercise 3: Are You in the Core Group?
• Chapter 5: Power and Legitimacy
• Chapter 6: Employees of Mutual Consent
• Part 2: Leading the Core Group
• Chapter 7: A Core Group Way of Knowledge
• Diagnostic Exercise 4: What Does the Organization Know?
• Chapter 8: Guesswork
• Diagnostic Exercise 5: What Signals Are We Sending?
• Chapter 9: “Doggie Treats” (Incentives, Targets and Measurements)
• Chapter 10: Welchism
• Chapter 11: The CEO’s Choices
• Diagnostic Exercise 6: What am I Doing to Foster a Great Organization?
• Chapter 12: The Expanded-Core-Group Organization
• Chapter 13: The Glass Ceilings
• Part 3: The Essential Core Group Career Guide
• Chapter 14: Your Inner Core Group
• Diagnostic Exercise 7: My Life Among the Core Groups
• Chapter 15: Core Group Enablers
• Chapter 16: A Portfolio of Equity
• Diagnostic Exercise 8: My Own Portfolio of Equity
• Part 4: Core Group Stories
• Chapter 17: Parasitic Core Groups
• Chapter 18: Core Group Feuds and Maladaptive Companies
• Diagnostic Exercise 9: Where are the Feuds in the Core Group?
• Chapter 19: Government Agencies
• Chapter 20: Labor Unions
• Chapter 21: Management Consultants
• Chapter 22: Schools and the “Hidden Curriculum”
• Part 5: Making a Better World
• Chapter 23: The Shadow Core Group
• Diagnostic Exercise 10: How Does the Core Group Affect Your Own Team Dynamics?
• Chapter 24: Corporate Governance
• Chapter 25: The Cycle of Noble Purpose
• Diagnostic Exercise 11: The Core Group Theory of Life
• Chapter 26: The Body Politic
• A Note to the Reader
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Glossary

This is brilliant! Good writing and interesting conclusions. Kleiner may from time to time be accused of being a bit verbose, but so can I. The Core Group Theory is probably (in my opinion) one of the most fundamental theories in management in this decade (granted, we have another five years to go, but anyway)! What strikes me most, is that while you read it, you feel like everything is extremely true and it explains a lot (the tests are well-balanced as well, even though some are a bit American in outlook).

MBA students as well as MBA teachers can benefit greatly from reading this book, as it gives an edge against those that have not read it. Practioners and consultants would also benefit greatly from reading this. OK, I'll stop, or you'll think I've gone insane, but this is really a very good book.

In short, I believe this is a classical and important work and a must read. Recommended reading with a big R. Enjoy.