In today's volatile business environment the last remaining source of truly sustainable competitive advantage lies in `organizational capabilities': the unique ways each organization structures its work and motivates its people to achieve clearly articulated strategic objectives.

This landmark volume helps managers to understand the concepts and learn the skills involved in designing their organization to exploit their inherent strengths. Tushman and Nadler present a design process, explore key decisions managers face, and list the guiding principles for incorporating the design function as a continuing and integral process in organizations that are looking to the future.

Praise for "Building Better Boards"

"Building Better Boards bridges the gap between talk and action. A must-read for board members, CEOs, governance experts - really for anyone who cares about the future of the corporation."
-Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation

"Building Better Boards covers all the key issues facing boards in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley era. It provides practical advice based on the authors' wide-ranging experience with major companies that have built successful boards."
-Marty Lipton, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

"This important new book uses concepts gleaned from the collective wisdom of our Blue Ribbon Commission on Board Leadership and adds practical, real-world board examples. The section on crisis management is particularly helpful."
-Roger W. Raber, president and CEO, National Association of Corporate Directors

"This book provides a comprehensive review and effective guide to making any board an effective team, and thus an asset, for their company."
-Richard H. Koppes of Counsel, Jones Day, and former general counsel, CalPERS

"A balanced, insightful, thoughtful, and, above all, useful look at what can be done to create excellent boards."
-Edward E. Lawler III, director, Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

"Improving board effectiveness is easier said than done. Building Better Boards lays out the how-tos in a clear and compelling way that is of practical value for directors and CEOs alike."
-Kenneth W. Freeman, former chairman and CEO, Quest Diagnostics Inc.

New Tools for Challengng the Status Quo

Immensely readable, this work bolts together the image or theory and the reality of what is required to change the performance of an enterprise. Whether the challenge is renewal or fundamental change, this book delivers real-life depictions that will help all who invest the time.
--Richard A. McGinn, president and COO, Lucent Technologies, Inc.

Stand on the front lines of innovation with today?s top business leaders. Throughout this page-turner, archconsultant David Nadler leverages twenty years of work with many of the world?s most acclaimed CEOs to provide a detailed, inside account of how they?ve led the most difficult and significant change efforts of our times. Case examples include initiatives undertaken at Sun Microsystems, Lucent Technologies, Xerox, Corning, AT&T and Kaiser Permanente. Engaging and inspiring, it offers leaders and managers at every level a new, field-tested repertoire of concepts, tools and techniques for understanding the dynamics of change and managing it effectively.