In their book "Beep! Beep! Competing in the Age of the Roadrunner", authors Chip R. Bell and Oren Harari lay out the solution. Using the cartoon characters Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner as their examples, Bell and Harari lay out the problem and its solution - businesses, and the individuals who lead them, have to be more like the agile, adaptive Roadrunner and less like the tradition-bound coyote. Their seven "New Rules of the Road" tell you everything you need to know to succeed. The challenge is whether or not you're good enough to pull it off.
I had the opportunity to interview co-author Oren Harari. Oren Harari, Ph. D., is a Professor of Management at the University of San Francisco. A prolific writer, Oren has written seven books (working on his eighth) and has been featured in all the major management journals. One of the leading future-thinkers of our profession, he is also a charming man with a keen understanding of the importance of good leadership. Here is what Oren had to say about his book:
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Q: Why this book?
OH: Now more than ever, companies must be fast, agile, and innovative, and their leaders must be curious, inspiring and joyful—just like the Roadrunner!
Q: Why now?
OH: The nature of today's marketplace—buffeted by accelerating deregulation, fragmentation, commoditization, globalization, and technological advance-- demands companies and leaders who can differentiate themselves from the pack in a fast, efficient and creative manner.
Q: Your book was written during the dot.com bubble. Is it still relevant?
OH: Especially relevant today. The bubble has burst. A lot of companies are struggling with same-old-same-old hyper-cautious risk-averse approaches. This book offers them a much better and very do-able alternative.
Q: Did you hope to accomplish anything other than helping people answer the key question "How can I help my organization become a roadrunner?"
OH: We wanted leaders to become like roadrunners too: passionate, experimental, resourceful, wise, and forward-looking. We also wanted the reader to be aware that the business terrain in the new millennium is quite different than it used to be. As we discuss, the "terrain of the future" includes no more secrets, no more security, no more allegiance, no more 'time', no more 'place', no more 'order', no more 'organization', and no more supremacy. In that terrain, roadrunner organizations and leaders always beat coyotes.
Q: So if I practice the New Rules of the Road, will I become a roadrunner? What more do I have to do? How do I make those around me into roadrunners too?
OH: The answer is yes, but practicing the themes of chapters 4-10, where we discuss everything from the power of market breakthroughs to the power of virtual enterprise to the power of character to the power of mastery to the power of laughter (etc.)—is not easy! We're all a mixture of Wile E. and Roadrunner, but making further transformation as described in our blueprint demands a lot of commitment. And yes, leaders have to walk the talk and reward roadrunner employees if they want to create a roadrunner environment.
