Summary

The premier authority on organizational transformation takes his classic work to the next level, showing managers how to prevent a company from falling into a period of decline.

For three decades, Ichak Adizes, Ph.D., has studied the patterns of organizational growth and changes in businesses worldwide, from Bank of America to Domino's Pizza to small start-ups. In his breakthrough book Corporate Lifecycles, Dr. Adizes traced the typical corporate path from inception to decline. Now, in this long-awaited follow-up, he guides companies on the optimal path--and reveals how to sustain peak vitality.

Courtship, Infancy, the heady Go-Go years, and turbulent Adolescence. These are the stages every company goes through to reach what Dr. Adizes calls PRIME--the ideal stage of balanced creativity and discipline. At every stage, he shows how to anticipate and handle "normal" problems--whether with goal setting or managing employees--then quickly move on and up. Once in the PRIME stage, the author presents proactive measures for maintaining focus and vision, nurturing cohesion, and achieving "predictable excellence." He also offers strategies for avoiding the typical downhill path--starting with the Signs of Aging, such as risk avoidance; moving on to Aristocracy, where power and protocol dominate; and culminating in the final stages of decay: Recrimination, Bureaucracy, and Death.