Book review: The First XI: Winning Organisations in Australia
Nov, 2006
The First XI: Winning Organisations in Australia, first published by John Wiley and Sons in 2002, was the culmination of years of research undertaken by a team of Australian researchers that included Graeme Cocks who is a Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Business School. The project set out to identify Australian organisations deemed to be "high performing" or "winning" over the long term and highlight their underlying causes of success.
Graeme says "success was based on broad indicators, such as financial, growth, innovation, productivity and efficiency measures ~ not just profits. We investigated the winning 11 organisations over a 20-year period and a solid financial performance was a prerequisite through the economic cycles."
The second edition of The First XI, released in 2007, further explores the characteristics of winning Australian organisations. "We discovered that organisations create their success and that winning organisations are not necessarily found within particular industries" says Graeme. "Our research also identifies certain unique Australian characteristics. Successful Australian organisations are highly effective at executing their strategic plans, respond rapidly to changes in their environment, focus on leadership, manage risk very well and strive to find and retain right rather than best people."
In the new edition, "we revisit the 'first XI' winning organisations and review their performance over the five years since the first book. We further develop the concept of strategic cycles and have included a diagnostic "how to" guide to help the reader take our findings into their own organisation" says Graeme.
A web-based diagnostic survey program-the WinningInsights First XI Diagnostic-has been developed to allow organizations to quickly and easily benchmark their performance against research findings and identify opportunities to improve it.
"We are not in the business of championing individual organisations, but our robust empirical research provides a valuable framework for Australian organisations. I have people from cattle farmers to young IT developers telling me they can apply our findings to their own business. It really cuts through the theory and gives practical advice in plain language" says Graeme. "There is something for everyone in the findings."
The book has sold more than 8000 copies and was nominated by the Australian Institute of Management as one of the Top-10 National Business Books in October 2009.
Graeme Cocks is widely published in scientific and management journals both in Australia and overseas. He is highly sought after to present his research findings and consult on strategic and operations management issues. For more information please contact Graeme Cocks on 61 3 9349 8475.
