From the Inside Flap
On a railroad, there are many decision points where trains are switched from one track to another to ensure they take the best route. These are switchpoints. Like a train in motion, corporate cultures encounter many switchpoints along the way--points where executive decisions create watershed change and define the organization's future route.
SwitchPoints is the inspiring story of how Canadian National Railway (CN) advanced from good to great in a few short years, becoming North America's top-performing railroad--a favorite with both corporate customers and investors. Decisions by CN's leaders at critical switchpoints were key, as was the commitment of CN's dynamic CEO in leading the change.
In SwitchPoints, the authors share how company-wide culture change propelled this aging transportation giant to become the profitable powerhouse it is today. Rich with anecdotes, SwitchPoints offers lessons learned and demonstrates the powerful behavioral tools used to change the culture to drive outstanding results in any organization.
The authors--two CN executives and two consultants from the Continuous Learning Group (CLG)-- describe their firsthand experiences of applying behavioral science to change CN's culture. They also share how they clarified CN's vision, selected critical switchpoints, employed management tools for change, assessed their impact on profitability, and "spiked the switches" to sustain the new culture.
The leadership practices presented here are directly applicable to any business. Even if your enterprise is non-industrial, or your company's culture is very different from CN's, what worked for CN will work for you, too--because behavioral tools apply to all people in any culture, country, language, or industry worldwide. The methods in SwitchPoints apply to any organization and will help enlighten leadership that seeks to improve the bottom line by improving culture.
Discover more at www.switchpointsbook.com.
JUDY JOHNSON, PhD, a Partner with the Continuous Learning Group (CLG), applies behavioral science to help leaders create environments that dramatically improve organizational performance and profitability. Johnson coaches executives on personal leadership and executing strategies through pinpointing key behaviors that lead to success.
LES DAKENS, retired Senior Vice President of People for CN, was responsible for strategic direction of CN's Human Resources and Labour Relations in North America and worldwide. Prior to joining CN, Dakens was Vice President of Human Resources for the North American division of the H.J. Heinz Company.
PETER EDWARDS, Vice President of Human Resources for CN, is responsible for human resources, culture change, implementation, leadership, and organizational development. He assisted CN's CEO in writing two landmark books for employees.
EDWARD (NED) MORSE, a Senior Partner with CLG, offers three decades of experience helping Fortune 500 executives develop and implement business-critical strategies. Morse has worked with clients in transportation, petrochemicals, food service, healthcare, engineering, telecommunications, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and retail.
