Open Leadership

"Be Open, Be Transparent, Be Authentic" are the current leadership mantras–but companies often push back. Traditionally, business is premised on the concept of control and yet the new world order demands openness. In Open Leadership Charlene Li (the coauthor of the blockbusting bestseller Groundswell) offers the next step resource that shows leaders how to tap into the power of the social technology revolution and use social media to be "open" while maintaining control. This important book explains how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Yammer, Jive, and other popular social media sites can improve efficiency, communication, and decision making for leaders and their organizations. As Li explains, openness requires more–not less–rigor and effort than being in control. Open Leadership reveals step-by-step, with illustrative case studies and examples from a wide range of industries and countries, how to bring the precision of this new openness both inside and outside the organization. The author includes suggestions that will help an organization determine an open strategy, weigh the benefits against the risk, and have a clear understanding of the implications of being open. The book also contains guidelines, policies, and procedures that successful companies have implemented to manage openness and ensure that business objectives are at the center of their openness strategy. By embracing social media, leaders can transform their organizations to become more effective, decisive, and ultimately more profitable in this new era of openness in the marketplace.

CHARLENE LI is founder of the Altimeter Group and the coauthor of the critically acclaimed, bestselling book Groundswell. She is one of the foremost experts on social media and technologies, and is a consultant and independent thought leader on leadership, strategy, social technologies, interactive media, and marketing. Formerly, Li was vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research and a consultant with Monitor Group. She was named one of The 12 Most Creative Minds of 2008 by Fast Company, and one of the Most Influential Women in Technology 2009. To follow Charlene and to get a number of free resources to help you start transforming the way you lead, visit open-leadership.com.

Introduction ix PART I: THE UPSIDE OF GIVING UP CONTROL 1 Why Giving Up Control Is Inevitable 3 2 The Ten Elements of Openness 17 PART II: CRAFTING YOUR OPEN STRATEGY 3 Objectives Determine How Open You Will Be 51 4 Understanding and Measuring the Benefits of Being Open 75 5 Structuring Openness with Sandbox Covenants 105 6 Orchestrating Your Open Strategy 133 PART III: OPEN LEADERSHIP: REDEFINING RELATIONSHIPS 7 Open Leadership: Mind-sets and Traits 163 8 Nurturing Open Leadership 189 9 The Failure Imperative 217 10 How Openness Transforms Organizations 243 Endnotes 271 Acknowledgments 285 The Author 289 Subject Index 297 Name Index 309