The Rudolph Factor

The bestselling author of Catch! shares the innovation secrets that helped Boeing turn itself around from the brink of collapse The Rudolph Factor tells the story of Boeing's spectacular turnaround through a discussion of principles and qualities that are transferable and replicable to any size or type of organization in any industry. Authors Cyndi Laurin and Craig Morningstar use the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as an analogy to explore a corporate culture that managed to avoid disaster through progressive leadership; a highly participatory team-based culture; the development of an organizational constitution; and an alternative, aligned employee rewards structure. Using real-world lessons from Boeing's inspiring story, The Rudolph Factor shows companies how to nurture a culture centered around their "Rudolphs"–those out-of-the-box, creative employees who can serve as shining lights to lead organizations in accomplishing their goals. Applicable to anyone who runs a business of any size, this book shows readers how to find, nurture, and leverage the creativity of its employees to achieve a long-term competitive advantage.

Acknowledgments ix Foreword E. David Spong xi Foreword David M. Bowman xv Preface xix CHAPTER 1 The Prevailing Form of Business Cultures 1 CHAPTER 2 The Boeing Company and the Impetus for a Cultural Revolution 25 CHAPTER 3 Why Rudolph, You Ask? 41 CHAPTER 4 Nurturing Rudolphs to Maximize Their Innovative Contributions 59 CHAPTER 5 Establishing a Team-Based Rudolph Culture 77 CHAPTER 6 Redefining Leadership 107 CHAPTER 7 Developing a Corporate Constitution 121 CHAPTER 8 Creating an Alternative and Aligned Reward Structure 143 Epilogue Go Forth—Awaken the Rudolph Within 161 Resources 167 Index 169 About the Authors 181