Winning at Service

This book reveals the Secrets to Service Success by analyzing four service companies
that grew from small beginnings to the leaders in their industries. Interviews with the four CEOs who guided the companies to their success reveal the three basic principles they all share. The CEOs interviewed are Thomas Berglund of Securitas and J. Philip Sorensen of Group4Falck, the world's two largest security companies, Francis Mackay of Compass plc and Pierre Bellon of Sodexho Alliance, the world's two largest food service companies.Ein echter Blick hinter die Kulissen der Dienstleistungsindustrie.

Diskutiert werden die Beispiele von 4 Dienstleistern, die in den letzten 20 Jahren sehr erfolgreich waren und die amerikanische und japanische Konkurrenz aus dem Feld geschlagen haben. Dabei handelt es sich jeweils um die zwei größten internationalen Sicherheits- und Food Service Unternehmen.

Mit umfangreichen Interviews der CEOs der jeweiligen Unternehmen - Thomas Berglund von Securitas, J. Philip Sorensen von Group4Falck, Francis Mackay von Compass plc. und Pierre Bellon von Sodexho Alliance.

Alle vier CEOs haben sich an den drei folgenden Grundprinzipien orientiert: 'Erkenne die tatsächliche Richtung und bleib dabei', 'Zuerst kommen die Mitarbeiter, dann die Strategie' und 'Sorge für ein fundiertes Verständnis aller Geschäftsabläufe, und zwar auf allen Managementebenen'.

Vermittelt werden neue Einblicke und praktische Managementmethoden.

Stellt die berühmte "Toolbox" von Thomas Berglund/Securitas vor. Sie enthält 8 Tools, die jeweils die wichtigsten Elemente für das Wachstum von Securitas (bzw. jedem anderen Dienstleistungsunternehmen) symbolisieren. Jedes einzelne Tool steht für eine Philosophie, eine Mission, ein komplettes Instrumentarium an Gedanken und Leitlinien.

"Secrets to Service Success" ist ein praktischer Leitfaden für Manager.

Mit zahlreichen Zitaten, Interviews, Checklisten und Anekdoten.

Geschrieben von führenden Mitarbeitern der Research-Teams bei IMD, McKinsey und Egon Zehnder.

Foreword ix

Acknowledgements xiii

1 Introduction 1

The Investigation 5

The Framework 6

How this Book is Organized 8

2 The Journey to Leadership 9

The Challenge 9

Four Journeys to Leadership 12

Signposts 2002 33

Four Companies: Four Winning Traits 37

3 Pick Your Game and Play it 39

Decide What You Want to Do 41

Follow a Simple, Replicable Business Model 49

Use Simple, Transparent Performance Measures 58

Questions for Service Leaders 61

4 Leadership at the Heart 63

Visionary Industry Shapers 67

Passionate and Inspirational Leaders 80

True Entrepreneurs 93

Intimate Business Knowledge 97

Questions for Service Leaders 98

5 Passion for People 101

Recruit 106

Integrate and Develop 111

Retain 122

Build Partnerships with Unions and Works Councils 132

Questions for Service Leaders 135

6 Keep It Simple 137

Flat Organization and Decentralized Decision-Making 138

Small Head Office 143

Questions for Service Leaders 147

7 Winning at Service: Final Words 149

Win by Relinquishing Power 153

Win with the Right Outlook 154

Win at Golf: Play with a Full Bag 159

Win by Turning Non-Core into Core 160

Can all Companies Win? 161

Assa Abloy: Lessons from a Non-Service Winner 166

How Large Can Winners Be? 167

Appendix 171

Index 175

Waldemar Schmidt, Executive-in-Residence, IMD, Lausanne. Before becoming Executive-in-Residence at IMD, Waldemar Schmidt was CEO of ISS, the world's leading facilities support services group with 26 5000 employees in 35 countries. To cap his career accomplishments he now serves on the supervisory boards of 12 European companies and serves as chairman of 5 of them.

Gordon Adler, Senior Writer, IMD, Lausanne. In addition to serving as IMD's Senior Writer, Gordon Adler also works as an editor and communications consultant/writing coach at a number of international companies. A freelance writer, he recently co-authored a book about family business, and has published in leading journals and magazines.

Els van Weering, Research Associate and Project Manager at IMD, Lausanne, creates case studies for IMD's executive education programmes. Her areas of special expertise include corporate learning, international growth, entrepreneurship in large corporations, talent retention, strategy and leadership. "Winning at Service is special because it was written by a recently retired service industry CEO: Waldemar Schmidt. Unlike the authors of many other books about successfully managed companies, Waldemar Schmidt is not writing about his own company and not writing his own story. Where other books about successful management have been written by academics, this one has been written by a practitioner.

Winning at Service can be extremely useful for managers of other service firms who have ambitions of building world class companies. The research findings from the four service companies may well be transferable to other industries, since the conclusions are generic and widely applicable: to succeed, in service and elsewhere, a successful company needs leadership at the heart, focus, passion for people, and simplicity in everything it does.

Why this book now? Because no book has yet described the world's four leading companies in the security and food services industry. Because no book has, to date, looked in depth at what makes them tick. Because in the service industry, the key success factor is human capital, which is becoming more and more important in a wide range of companies and industries. Because the managerial skills, approaches and experiences of Compass Group, Group 4 Falck, Securitas and Sodexho Alliance will serve all general managers who harbour the ambition of building excellent companies, in any industry."
Dr Egon P.S. Zehnder Founder of Egon Zehnder International As service becomes a more and more important factor in customer choice, all executives with the ambition of a building world class company should read this book.

"This book identifies the critical common practices of highly successful, international service enterprises. These businesses are led by inspiring teachers, who connect employees to customers to the benefit of both, and who build business models that are internationally mobile, while locally contextually relevant ... a must read for students and practitioners alike who wish to understand the ingredients for successful growth of service business around the world." Gary W. Loveman, CEO, Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

"Winning at Service is not just about food and security services. It is about how to succeed in the service industry, and shows how sharing the vision with employees and customers, sticking to it and empowering employees to act upon it are the key ingredients for success." Rob Kuijpers, Former CEO, DHL International

"Gate Gourmet started on a journey similar to the four companies in Winning at Service, albeit on a smaller scale. Before we took off, we could sure have used the enduring lessons from this remarkable 'tour guide' in our own toolbox. But it is deeply reassuring to see that Gate Gourmet's key focus and basic beliefs are very much aligned with the winning strategies and values of the four service leaders in the book." Henning Boysen, President and CEO, Gate Gourmet International