Read: Turning Goals into Results

Source: Amazon.com

Title: Turning Goals Into Results: The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms
Author: Jim Collins
Publisher: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation


A book the size of a note-book, this book is part of the Harvard Business Review series where each volume contains a groundbreaking idea that has shaped best practices and inspired countless managers around the world.

The catalytic mechanism is a codified term that Jim Collins named as 'the crucial link between objectives and performance... They make big, hairy, audacious goals reachable.' This term came out from his observation and study of a simple yet extremely powerful managerial tool that has helped organisations turn goals into results.

One question that one could ask in the formulation of a 'catalytic mechanism' could be: "What would it take to actually reach an ambitious goal?"

In this book, the author describes the various characteristics of a catalytic mechanism. He also illustrates examples of how catalytic mechanisms have been used to achieve big, hairy, audacious goals.

In summary, a catalytic mechanism share five distinct characteristics. These are:

1) Produces desired results in unpredictable ways

2) Distributes power for the benefit of the overall system, often to the great discomfort of those who traditionally hold power.

3) "Has teeth", it puts a process in place that all but guarantees that the vision of the organisation will be fulfilled.

4) Ejects viruses, i.e. it helps organizations to get the right people in the first place, keep them, and eject those who do not share the company's core values.

5) Produces an ongoing effect

In this book, the author also provides a few general principles based on his research that supports the process of building catalytic mechanisms effectively. These are:
- Don't just add, remove
- Create, don't copy
- Use money, but not only money
- Allow your mechanisms to evolve
- Build an integrated set

This book is an accessible read to expand one's perspectives on what it would take to reach an ambitious goal with a long time frame. Check it out: https://hbr.org/product/turning-goals-into-results-the-power-of-catalytic-mechanisms-harvard-business-review-classics/10099E-KND-ENG

Read: Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

Title: The Fountainhead
Author: Ayn Rand
Publisher: Signet

In this fiction book, the author, Ayn Rand, explores and presents her vision of the following themes:
1) Independence: Thinking for oneself, Judging for oneself, Making Decisions based solely on one's own thinking and judgement.

2) Second-handers

3) The morality of individualism

4) Creativity

5) Central purpose: In The Fountainhead, the protagonist, Howard Roark is motivated by the intellectual challenge of solving architectural problems and the artistic drive to create structures of beauty.

It appears that the theme of independence, individualism, creativity and central purpose could be related to the concept of "integrity" which was stated in page 313 of this edition as "the ability to stand by an idea". The protagonist, Howard Roark, was a representation of the 'ideal man' and a person of integrity.

I learnt that the author has eventually used the title to highlight that it is firsthand thinking of history's great creative minds that is the fountainhead of human progress. A book that urges me to think about what could the ideal man be and what it means to think independently for oneself.

SparkNotes Editors.(2002) SparkNote on The Fountainhead. has put up summaries and analysis of The Fountainhead. These can be available here: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/fountainhead/