The Plugged-In Manager: Get in Tune with Your People, Technology, and Organization to Thrive

We live and work in a time of rapid change. Innovative technologies from the latest social media platforms to high-tech automated warehouses reinvent the way we do business every day. At the same time, globalization and new nonlinear career paths continually transform our workforce, with teams constantly diversifying. Managers and organizations know they must adapt, but simple awareness of these sweeping changes is not enough. How can you go beyond merely understanding this new world to see unique new opportunities and, more importantly, beat the competition to tomorrow’s greatest ideas?

The answer lies in being “plugged in” not just to new technology, but also to processes and people, and, most crucially, to the way these strategic elements fit together. Today’s hypercompetitive economy demands seamless integration between the particular skills and knowledge of a team, the range of any busi- ness’s technological tools, and the structure of the organization. After years of studying respected, successful companies, Professor Terri L. Griffith reveals how top performers “plug in” to achieve impressive results.

The cornerstone of Griffith’s work is an easy-to-understand framework for plugging in, explained through three core practices:

• STOP-LOOK-LISTEN: What do your data say? What do you already know that will help you with this project?
• MIXING: How do you balance your available resources?
• SHARING: How can you achieve better results by integrating your choices with other team members?

To show how the most plugged-in organizations develop sophisticated, industry-leading strategies from these basic practices, Griffith goes behind the scenes for interviews and case studies at leading companies such as Zappos, Intuit, Microsoft, Nucor, Socialtext, and many more.

With Griffith’s deep understanding of today’s business climate and her practical model for maximizing the potential of any organization’s resources, The Plugged-In Manager is an essential tool for success in our fast-paced, interconnected world.

We live and work in a time of rapid change. Innovative technologies from the latest social media platforms to high-tech automated warehouses reinvent the way we do business every day. At the same time, globalization and new nonlinear career paths continually transform our workforce, with teams constantly diversifying. Managers and organizations know they must adapt, but simple awareness of these sweeping changes is not enough. How can you go beyond merely understanding this new world to see unique new opportunities and, more importantly, beat the competition to tomorrow’s greatest ideas?

The answer lies in being “plugged in” not just to new technology, but also to processes and people, and, most crucially, to the way these strategic elements fit together. Today’s hypercompetitive economy demands seamless integration between the particular skills and knowledge of a team, the range of any business’s technological tools, and the structure of the organization. After years of studying respected, successful companies, Professor Terri L. Griffith reveals how top performers “plug in” to achieve impressive results.

The cornerstone of Griffith’s work is an easy-to-understand framework for plugging in, explained through three core practices:

• STOP-LOOK-LISTEN: What do your data say? What do you already know that will help you with this project?
• MIXING: How do you balance your available resources?
• SHARING: How can you achieve better results by integrating your choices with other team members?

To show how the most plugged-in organizations develop sophisticated, industry-leading strategies from these basic practices, Griffith goes behind the scenes for interviews and case studies at leading companies such as Zappos, Intuit, Microsoft, Nucor, Socialtext, and many more.

With Griffith’s deep understanding of today’s business climate and her practical model for maximizing the potential of any organization’s resources, The Plugged-In Manager is an essential tool for success in our fast-paced, interconnected world.