“A fresh critical look is being taken at the issues of power and authority, and people are beginning to learn, however haltingly, to relate to one another in less coercive and more creatively supporting ways. A new moral principle is emerging, which holds that the only authority deserving of one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader. Those who choose to follow this principle will not casually accept the authority of existing institutions. Rather, they will freely respond only to individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted as servants. To the extent that this principle prevails in the future, the only truly viable institutions will be those that are predominantly servant led.”

These profound words by Robert Greenleaf are coming true in the globally emerging “Society of Servant Leadership.” It is happening on college campuses. It is happening in companies and in nonprofit organizations. It is happening in customer service, supply chain projects, and performance transformation initiatives. It is happening in the sales and marketing world. It is happening in healthcare. It is happening in business schools and local communities and it is happening literally around the world.

The Servant Leadership Revolution is on. And you and me – we are fellow revolutionaries in the movement – united in pursuit of higher purpose, operations excellence, and a culture of everybody-win – the new standard of practice. Today there are approximately 250 significant organizations applying these principles and reaping the rich harvest of servant leadership – in three years will there be 2500?

The Triple Crown of 21st Century Operational Improvement Methods

As a result of the recent economic downturn, organizations are being driven to obtain greater visibility and control over their critical operational processes. Many have turned to continuous improvement (CI) as their primary approach to taming bulky processes. However, with more than 70% of organizations reporting increased financial pressure, CI teams are struggling to keep up with a growing appetite for accelerated operations improvement.

Organizations must acquire new knowledge and capabilities in the use of Lean, Agile, and Rapid Cycle Process Improvement methods, as well as identify best practices for integrating these critical new methodologies into all facets of their CI initiatives. They must not only acquire a practical appreciation for these critical new capabilities, but also be able to evaluate potential cultural risks associated with adopting these methods, assuring there is a complementary human dimension to blend with these essentially technical tools, which is a critical success factor for Superperformance.

This will lead them to:

• Understand the trends and best practices at the Superperformance frontier, in order to make informed decisions and gain competitive advantage,
• Identify and quantify the potential cost savings of adopting Lean, Agile and Rapid Cycle Process Improvement best practices,
• Apply learning in simulations and cases,
• Network with peers facing similar goals and challenges, and
• Develop an action plan to incorporate repeatable and predictable Lean, Agile, and Rapid Cycle Process Improvement methodologies into CI initiatives.