The High-Velocity Edge (Second Edition)

By: Steven J. Spear

Narrated by: John Gully

Generate better, faster results - using less capital and fewer resources!

“[The High-Velocity Edge] contains ideas that form the basis for structured continuous learning and improvement in every aspect of our lives. While this book is tailored to business leaders, it should be read by high school seniors, college students, and those already in the workforce. With the broad societal application of these ideas, we can achieve levels of accomplishment not even imagined by most people.” (The Honorable Paul H. O'Neill, former CEO and chairman, Alcoa, and former secretary of the treasury)

“Some firms outperform competitors in many ways at once - cost, speed, innovation, service. How? Steve Spear opened my eyes to the secret of systemizing innovation: taking it from the occasional, unpredictable ‘stroke of genius' to something you and your people do month-in, month-out to outdistance rivals.” (Scott D. Cook, founder and chairman of the executive committee, Intuit, Inc.)

“Steven Spear connects a deep study of systems with practical management insights and does it better than any organizational scholar I know. [This] is a profoundly important book that will challenge and inspire executives in all industries to think more clearly about the technical and social foundations of organizational excellence.” (Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, president and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement)

About the book:

How can some companies perform so well that their industry counterparts are competitors in name only? Although they operate in the same industry, serve the same market, and even use the same suppliers, these extraordinary, high-velocity organizations consistently outperform all the competition - and, more importantly, continually widen their leads.

In The High-Velocity Edge, the reissued edition of five-time Shingo Prize winner Steven J. Spear's critically acclaimed book Chasing the Rabbit, Spear describes what sets market-dominating companies apart and provides a detailed framework you can leverage to surge to the lead in your own industry. Spear examines the internal operations of dominant organizations across a wide spectrum of industries, from technology to design and from manufacturing to health care.

While he investigates several great operational triumphs, like top-tier teaching hospitals' fantastic improvements in quality of care, Pratt & Whitney's competitive gains in jet engine design, and the US Navy's breakthroughs in inventing and applying nuclear propulsion, The High-Velocity Edge is not just about the adoration of success. It also takes a critical look at some of the operational missteps that have humbled even the most reputable and respected of companies and organizations. The decades-long prominence of Toyota, for example, is contrasted with the many factors leading to the automaker's sweeping 2010 product recalls. Taken together, these multiple perspectives and in-depth case studies show how to:

• Build a system of “dynamic discovery” designed to reveal operational problems and weaknesses as they arise
• Attack and solve problems when and where they occur, converting weaknesses into strengths
• Disseminate knowledge gained from solving local problems throughout the company as a whole
• Create managers invested in developing everyone's capacity to continually innovate and improve

Whatever kind of company you operate - from technology to finance to health care - mastery of these four key capabilities will put you on the fast track to operational excellence, where you will generate faster, better results - using less capital and fewer resources.

Apply the lessons of Steven J. Spear and gain a high-velocity edge over every competitor in your industry.

©2019 McGraw-Hill Education (P)2010 McGraw Hill-Ascent Audio

Definitely worth a re-read

This book offers simple rules to follow for improving any organization and provides the examples necessary to both explain and convince you of those rules.

Novel at the time

if you have not read books of such history of Toyota improvement process it is Novel. Still holds up the test of time many areas although the examples and models are dated. Thus can be dry and less applicable.