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caling Up Excellence by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao is a book about how to grow as an organization, and actually get better instead of worse. It is a book of amazing stories and practical takeaways. It is very well-researched and written in an engaging and even playful tone.
This is one of those defining, transcendent business books that belongs on the shelf next to Good to Great, Made to Stick, and other modern classics. Sutton and Rao paint a picture of leadership and building something excellent in broad sweeping strokes. Like any good art, you immediately see your place in it; you emotionally resonate with it.
Yes, I liked the book if you can’t tell. No matter the size of your business or organization, and regardless of what you are trying to build, you need to read this book. And after you read it, you need to keep it handy. There were many lessons and concepts I could apply to my current context right away, and there are countless others that I know I will return to in the future. Scaling Up Excellence is a handbook on effective, healthy organizational growth.
I found the chapters entitled “The People Who Propel Scaling” and “Bad is Stronger than Good” to be especially helpful. “The People Who Propel Scaling” is all about personnel, teams, and vision. “Bad is Stronger than Good” is all about dealing with destructive elements in an organization. There is so much great material to mine here. However, I think my favorite part of this book is all the amazing stories from a wide variety of organizations and leaders; examples of these principles at work.
I highly recommend this book for any leader faced with the slow, grinding challenge of growing an organization bigger while hanging on to what made it great in the first place. And since every leader will face this challenge eventually, this book is a must-read for every leader.
Please Note: This book was gifted as a part of the Blogging for Books Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. This has in no way influenced my opinion or review of this work.