The Caterpillar Doesnt Know: How Personal Change Is Creating Organizational Change

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"The caterpillar doesn't know that he'll come out as a butterfly. All he knows is that he's alone, it's dark, and it's a little scary." -- Mort Meyerson, Chairman, Perot Systems

The caterpillar doesn't know that it must transform itself to stay alive. This imperative, according to leading detection-change experts Kenneth Hey and Peter Moore, now confronts American corporations, political institutions, and other public and private organizations. Moreover, they argue, our leaders have been the last to recognize a social revolution that is transforming the values and actions of consumers, employees, and voters.

Using innovative intelligence-gathering methods to document these unprecedented changes for the first time, Hey and Moore trace this revolution from the late 1980s, when jobs began to disappear, social tensions flared, terrorism erupted, and other cataclysmic events caused millions of Americans to reassess their goals and seek new meaning in their lives. The authors find that, with the notable exceptions described in this book, our wealth-driven corporations and institutions have failed to provide that meaning. Hey and Moore offer a new perspective on why individuals and institutions are at such odds today and why Americans are disconnecting from these anachronistic institutions. The authors show how leaders who have undergone their own personal changes have strategically restructured their companies in light of the revolution that has altered American society -- that is, personal change is creating organizational change.

At the end of each chapter, a "critical insights" section provides the reader with a deeper understanding of what has changed in the past decade and what leaders and their organizations can do to reconnect with their customers, employees, and citizens. Drawing from examples in manufacturing, retailing, service companies, financial institutions, and high-tech companies, "The Caterpillar Doesn't Know" provides clear insights into how enlightened leaders are responding to this new business environment while gaining increased market share for their companies.