Indispensable

"Read this book, apply its concepts, and see how your business transforms." -- Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers 50 #1 Executive Coach and #1 Leadership Thinker

OUTSTANDING LEADERS MAKE BUSINESSES INDISPENSABLE

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "Indispensable" as being absolutely necessary and not subject to being set aside or neglected. INDISPENSABLE: Build and Lead A Company Customers Can't Live Without provides a framework that you can follow to transform your business and features dozens of examples from industry including those drawn from Amazon, Uber, Facebook and more. Each business example illustrates how the concepts offered in the book are already being used to make businesses indispensable in the marketplace. Keep in mind, though, only your customers can decide if your business is indispensability. Indeed, what we think of our businesses and their ability to delight our customers is irrelevant. It is customers who determine who is indispensable. We don't get a vote on that. However, there are steps that we can take to improve our chances.

A Leader's pursuit of greatness for his or her company is important, but, it's not enough, and a business does not become indispensable by accident. Outstanding leadership is essential to bring a company from greatness to indispensability. This is an important distinction because anything less than outstanding leadership will not suffice. Why? Outstanding leaders lead by example. They demonstrate desired qualities and behaviors to their followers through their actions and conduct. By doing so, these leaders put forth a sense that they and their teams share the same goals and aspirations, and, that together, they are going to go about achieving these ambitions as one. Indispensable businesses share a common purpose so they need leaders that can set the example.

As you read the book, you will come to recognize how vital TRUE leadership is to helping your business become indispensable. Regardless of your rank or position, you must study, learn, exemplify and LIVE these essential behaviors to be able to provide the people you work with and serve:

• A Captivating Vision: Outstanding leaders can articulate a vision for the future that every staff member can understand and buy-in to. This vision becomes the stuff of rallying cries and establishes the common goal that leader and team will share. Outstanding leadership is required to articulate the vision of being indispensable and to work to drive it deep into the enterprise. If the troops don't "get" it, they won't follow.

• Active Direction-Setting: Next, a game plan for execution must be built in support of that vision. But, building a plan without engaged direction-setting will not suffice. Outstanding leaders at every level will be fully involved, monitoring progress and charting the course for execution throughout their firm's journey to indispensability.

• Enlightened Coaching: Outstanding leaders support their team and understand how to provide the "right" touch at the "right" time - directive when the path to success is unclear and supportive when it's time to empower - just like any world-class coach does when building a champion.

• A Collaborative Environment: Outstanding leaders know how to establish a collaborative tenor within their area of responsibility. Selfish and egocentric behavior is stomped out; teamwork is recognized and rewarded.

There are many great companies - only a few are indispensable. This book was written to help you build an indispensable business - one that your customers can't live without.

MAKE THE LEAP NOW!

The author provides a framework for transforming a business and features dozens of examples from industry including those drawn from Amazon, Uber, Facebook, and more. Each business example illustrates how the concepts offered in the book are already being used.
James M. Kerr is one of today's foremost authorities on leadership, organizational design, and culture transformation. He is a best-selling author and CEO World columnist. A long-time management consultant and coach, Jim specializes in vision, culture and people strategies. His clients comprise many discussed in the book including: The Home Depot, General Dynamics, and Mitsui Sumitomo, to name a few. It is his strong dedication to research and learning that enables Jim to continue to develop and deliver cutting-edge solutions to his clients, like the strategies necessary to become indispensable. His previous books include: It's Good To Be King, The Executive Checklist, The Best Practices Enterprise, Inside RAD, and The IRM Imperative. Indispensable-Consulting.com

Praise for It's Good To Be King: A Leadership Fable for Everyday Leaders by James M. Kerr

"One of the most creative and entertaining books on leadership I've ever read. Bravo!" -- Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers 50 #1 Executive Coach and #1 Leadership Thinker

"A 2017 Leadership Book of the Year Nominee" -- Management Issues Magazine

"This year's Who Moved My Cheese. Should be bought in bulk across Corporate America!" -- John Baldoni, an Inc. Magazine Top 50 Leadership Speaker

Praise for The Best Practices Enterprise: A Guide to Achieving Sustainable World-Class Performance by James M. Kerr

"Management's Joy of Cooking -- no fads, no celebrities, just straightforward recipes for applying important new-economy management ideas."-- Christopher Meyer, Chief Executive, Monitor Networks, and author of It's Alive: The Coming Convergence of Information, Biology, and Business

"Every executive who has attempted to implement best practices in their organization can benefit from Kerr's simplicity of advice." -- Ron Harder, Chief Executive Officer, JMIC

"...provides a powerful formula for both near-term and lasting success for firms that compete on the international stage." -- Robert Hitch, COO, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group

Praise for The Executive Checklist: A Guide for Setting Direction and Managing Change by James M. Kerr

"James Kerr's The Executive Checklist will not only help you achieve your goals, but make getting there far easier and less stressful. In operating rooms and airline cockpits checklists save lives, and this book may very well save your professional life. Put it at the top of your book buying checklist." -- August Turak, Forbes.com leadership contributor and author of Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks

"James Kerr's The Executive Checklist is, indeed, a great checklist for business executives a 'to do' list chock full of useful examples and wise advice. And we particularly like the fact that a number of Kerr's examples are bad examples: tales of managers or initiatives that were not successful. As business authors ourselves, we know how difficult it is to find these kinds of cases, which are usually even more instructive than the successes, and Kerr does a great job of tying the cases to his checklist of principles. The Executive Checklist is well worth the read!" -- Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D., authors of Extreme Trust: Honesty as a Competitive Advantage

"If you really want to change an organization, you need to be very clear what outcomes you want. The Executive Checklist does this and is also a practical, accessible, and comprehensive handbook for doing business in the 21st century. Any manager who wants to thrive in 'the new normal' needs this on their bookshelf." -- David Bosdet, Executive Editor, Management-Issues.com

"Jim Kerr's The Executive Checklist belongs on your 'must read' list. There's something for executives in all sectors. As government leaders learn to embrace unprecedented change, this book offers profound strategies laid out with common sense and anchored in proven results that will help them set a new course of action." -- Kevin Sullivan, Connecticut's Commissioner of Revenue Services and former Lt. Governor

"James Kerr provides a simple, everyday technique for successfully managing a business. All aspiring managers should learn from his excellent insights." -- Neil Smith, author of New York Times bestseller How Excellent Companies Avoid Dumb Things

Praise for The IRM Imperative: Strategies for Managing Information Resources by James M. Kerr

"In today's rough and tumble, competitive marketplace, you must "manage information resources aggressively or concede to your competition! This book will teach you how. I highly recommend this easy-to-read book -- not only to information professionals, but to business management professionals in general. It serves well as a basic building block for any one interested in developing a successful business information strategy for a competitive enterprise today." -- Karen Takle Quinn, IBM Santa Teresa Laboratory San Jose, California

Praise for INDISPENSABLE: Build and Lead A Company Customers Can't Live Without by James M. Kerr

"In his latest book, INDISPENSABLE, Jim Kerr provides a leadership philosophy that is compelling and instructive. He presents a way to combine the essential elements required to build a business that customers can't live without. Read this book, apply its concepts, and see how your business transforms." -- Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers 50 #1 Executive Coach and #1 Leadership Thinker, author of New York Times bestsellers What Got You Here Won't Get You There and Triggers

"All of us like to think our businesses are indispensable. Few of them truly are. James Kerr's new book, INDISPENSABLE, provides insights that demonstrate what it truly means to be an indispensable enterprise. It is a matter of people, culture, strategy, and, of course, leadership. The book is packed with real-life examples culled from Kerr's research and consulting practice. The result is a book that will make you and your business indispensable." -- John Baldoni, internationally recognized executive coach and leadership educator and the author of 14 books, including GRACE: A Leader's Guide to a Better Us

"Anyone familiar with Jim Kerr's previous books knows that he has a knack for demystifying complex business ideas. He has done it again with INDISPENSABLE. Follow the agenda offered here and make your business indispensable." -- Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Former Chairman & CEO, Baxter International and Clinical Professor of Leadership Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management

"The straightforward, common-sense principles in Jim Kerr's book Indispensable are exactly what you need for building a durable business in today's world of connected and empowered customers, easily disengaged workers, and accelerating technological change. If you're trying to ensure your own company's success in the 21st Century, then you should consider INDISPENSABLE to be, well, indispensable." -- Don Peppers, Speaker, CX Expert, and Co-Author of Extreme Trust: Honesty of a Competitive Advantage

"In INDISPENSABLE, leadership expert James Kerr provides readers with a simple, yet highly effective blueprint for transforming any business -- taking it from great to astounding. With this book as your guide, your business can become truly indispensable and gain the tremendous benefits that result." -- Peter Economy, Inc.com The Leadership Guy columnist

"James M. Kerr's new book will catapult your organization from irrelevant to indispensable. By following the roadmap Jim provides, you will develop the systems, people, and culture that will deliver sustainable success in the midst of increasing competition." -- Skip Prichard, CEO, OCLC, Inc., Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Book of Mistakes: 9 Secrets to Creating a Successful Future

"This book could not come at a better time. This is a must read for every organization who is looking to survive and thrive in an uncertain world. Jim has created a roadmap to ensure that you understand what truly drives your business in a way that is both accessible and immediately actionable." -- Nadia Bilchik, former CNN Editorial Producer and President Greater Impact Communication.