The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things
by George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky

Misaligned companies, like cars out of alignment, can develop serious problems if not corrected quickly. They are hard to steer and don’t respond well to changes in direction. This groundbreaking book shows you how to get—and keep—all the vital elements of your organization aligned and headed in the same direction at the same time.

Leaders must keep their people centered in the midst of change, de-emphasize hierarchy, and distribute leadership by distributing authority, information, knowledge, and customer data throughout their organization. Alignment is a response to the new business reality where customer requirements are in flux, where competitive forces are turbulent, and where the bond of loyalty between an organization and its people has been weakened. The old linear approach to management has given way to one of alignment. This book is packed with war stories and firsthand perspectives of industry leaders.

In essence, alignment links the five key elements of an organization—people, process, customers, business strategies, and, of course, leadership—to obtain breakthrough results, chief among them, sustained growth and profit, loyal customers, and a high-performing work force.

(This book review was originally published in 1999 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 1.)