Inside the Box: Leading With Corporate Values to Drive Sustained Business Success (JB Foreign Imprint Series - Canada.)

325 Pages·2006·0.87 MB·English

by  David S. Cohen

More Praise for Inside the Box
“Inside the Box addresses one of the most over-hyped but
under-valued issues in business today: corporate values. There
are so many examples of companies pursuing essentially the
same strategy and positioning with vastly different business
performance. I am convinced that it’s the quality of the
leadership that is the source of the difference in performance,
and without strong values that leadership is elusive. Companies
with strong enduring values are companies that endure.”
~ Martha Clark, Global Human Resources Director, AXA
Rosenberg
“Inside the Box, Inside Corporate Headquarters, Inside the
Locker Room…the game plan for success is spelled out clearly
by David Cohen. The values formula is wonderfully articulated
and so applicable in all of our worlds.”
~ David Poulin, Athletics Development, the University of Notre
Dame; 13-year NHL career, 3-time NHL All-Star, playing for
the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Washington
Capitals; 10-year Notre Dame Head Hockey Coach
“Reading David’s new book underscored the appreciation I
have for the importance of values in my organization and in
my life.”
~ Paul Bottero, President, Computer Horizons Canada
Inside the Box
Inside the Box
Leading With CorPorate VaLues to driVe
sustained Business suCCess
D S. C
aviD ohen
Copyright © 2006 by David S. Cohen
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may
be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic
or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any
request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and
retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed in writing to The
Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access
Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1-800-893-
5777.
Care has been taken to trace ownership of copyright material contained
in this book. The publisher will gladly receive any information that will
enable them to rectify any reference or credit line in subsequent editions.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Cohen, David S., 1947-
Inside the box : leading with corporate values to drive sustained
business success / David S. Cohen.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-83832-7
ISBN-10: 0-470-83832-9
1. Industrial management. 2. Corporate culture. 3. Values.
4. Leadership. I. Title.
HD30.19.C64 2006 658.4 C2006-903782-5
Production Credits:
Cover design: Adrian So
Interior text design: Natalia Burobina
Printer: Tri-Graphic Printing, Ltd.
John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
6045 Freemont Blvd., Mississauga, Ontario L5R 4J3
Printed in Canada
1 2 3 4 5 TRI 10 09 08 07 06
This book is dedicated to my grandfather Ed
Roth, my parents, Irving and Florence, and
my wife, Naomi, who have and continue to
live values-based lives
and
to Ezra Jacob and, God willing, his brothers,
sisters and cousins, to be named at a later
date, that they may ensure the continuity of
the values from generation to generation.

TaBle of conTenTs
Acknowledgements xi
INTRODuCTION
Daring to Think Inside the Box 1
CHAPTeR ONe
What’s Inside the Box? How Values Work 13
CHAPTeR TWO
Reinforcing the Box: Making Values Meaningful Throughout
the Organization 63
CHAPTeR THRee
The Discipline of Working Inside the Box 107
CHAPTeR FOuR
Inside-the-Box Management Tools 139
CHAPTeR FIVe
Selecting Inside-the-Box Leaders 183
CHAPTeR SIx
Does One Box Fit Forever? Organizational Growth: New Strategic
Directions are Pursued but do the Values Ever Change? 227
CHAPTeR SeVeN
Measuring Inside-the-Box Success: The Meaning of Integrity,
Business Results and Employee Brand 269
Bibliography 301
Index 305

acknowledgements
This book did not begin with my career transition to corporate
consulting twenty-one years ago. This is a lifelong work that began
generations before me. The ideas that shape this book originated
during long rides from Irvington, New Jersey, to Bradley Beach,
New Jersey, with my grandfather. My grandfather shaped them
as he told stories along the journey of growing up. As the reader
will soon understand, the title of this book is not a flip turn of a
phrase. My early education on what is a values driven company
came during my time “inside the box” companies of my father
and grandfather.
Over the last two decades I have spent working with
corporations large and small around the world, I have come to
realize that there are no correct values to drive business. The values
that help one corporation succeed can be very different from
those of another. In both cases, however, it is the corporation’s
people that embody those values and behave according to them.
Accordingly, I have some people to thank for this book. I begin
by acknowledging those who knowingly or not provided me with
insight into values. I think it’s safe to say that I have learned
more from them than they have learned from me.
In my career, I have received valuable feedback from my
clients and from many participants at conferences who have
challenged my ideas and forced me to look at things from