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Praise for The Two-Minute Drill "The authors have created an approach to improvement that is powerful, poignant, and packs a punch.
The Two-Minute Drill provides a real plan of action for improvement that people can really relate to."
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Vicky Black, president, Fabory North America
"In the past 25 years, my company has shifted from process strategies to execution strategies. By far the lessons on execution described in
The Two-Minute Drill have produced the most successful results for us. I have taken this book to my team, and we are now better prepared to take the ball into the improvement end zone."
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Al Caperna, CEO, CMC Group
"When your team is not ready for the change game, the outcome can be disastrous. I wish I had had the benefit of the lessons from The Two-Minute Drill before undertaking my latest change effort."
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Rear Admiral David R. Ellison, USN (Ret.), president and superintendent, New Mexico Military Institute
"In today's fast-paced competitive world, there is little time for error or waste. Just like a well-disciplined football team, business leaders should use the techniques explained in The Two-Minute Drill to ensure that their teams move the ball, score, and win."
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Gary L. Cowger, group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations, General Motors Corporation
"Having played quarterback and run the two-minute drill in college, it is no different in business. Define winning, prepare, communicate, seize control, adjust quickly, and--above all--execute! Organizational change and transformation demand action, as we do not have the whole season to score. I have made the
Two-Minute Drill part of my playbook, and you should also. The clock is running on all of us."
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John Meier, CEO, Libbey, Inc.
List of contents
Foreword xi
Marvin Lewis Prologue: Speed and Execution Are the Keys to Success 1
1 The Two-Minute Drill Mind-Set: Eight Winning Principles Business Leaders Can Learn from the Great Game of Football 15 Football Example: UT vs. Pitt, 2003
Business Example: Problems with Six Sigma
2 You Are the Quarterback: Leading Your Organization to Improve 39 Football Example: Broncos vs. Browns, 1987
Business Example: Poor leadership at a distribution center
3 Know the Score and Defi ne Winning: How Is Your Organization Really Performing, and What Do You Really Want to Achieve? 67 Football Example: USC vs. Notre Dame, 2005
Business Example: Improving new product delivery time and quality
4 Create Your Scouting Report and Game-Day Match-Ups: Identify Potential Opponents to Change 91 Football Example: Dolphins vs. Jets, 1994
Business Example: Improving a company's price-quoting system
5 Create an Extreme Focus and a Sense of Urgency: A Plan for Implementing Rapid Change 113 Football Example: Patriots vs. Panthers, 2004 Super Bowl
Business Example: Natural gas shortage crisis
6 Develop Your Winning Two-Minute Drill Package: Get the Right Players on the Field and Take Ownership of the Plan 135 Football Example: 49ers vs. Bengals, 1989 Super Bowl
Business Example: TMS Engineering
7 Snap the Ball and Execute the Right Plays: Execution Is Critical to Improvement 161 Football Example: Titans vs. Rams, 2000 Super Bowl
Business Example: CTSK Industries' cost-cutting measures
8 Close Out the Game, Then Celebrate: Don't Reward "Victory" Until You See Truly Lasting Success 191 Football Example: Kentucky vs. LSU, 2002
Business Example: Kingswood Valley Healthcare
9 Conduct a Postgame Press Conference and Analysis: Review Your Successes So That You and Others Can Do Even Better in the Future 215 Football Example: Indianapolis Colt postgame press conference (after playing New York Jets), 2006
Business Example: Tri-X Corporation
Epilogue: Winning Is Better Than Losing 239
Endnotes 251
Acknowledgments 255
About the Authors 257
Index 261
About the author
Clinton O. Longenecker is the Stranahan Professor of Leadership and Organizational Excellence in the College of Business Administration at the University of Toledo. He is a frequent speaker, corporate consultant, and media source, and was chosen as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2004.
Greg R. Papp is president of Cube Culture Corporation, a consulting firm specializing in performance improvement. He was formerly controller of Aeroquip-Vickers Corporation.
Timothy C. Stansfield is president of IET, Inc., a manufacturing consulting firm that has worked with 1400 manufacturing plants over 20 years. Tim was selected as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young.
Summary
The authors of The Two-Minute Drill believe that organizations often do what no football team ever would in this situation - send in back-office staff to slow down the game and study every move in detail - while the clock ticks down. They create bureaucratic inertia instead of focused, coordinated leadership.
