In my 35 years of observing top companies, CEOs, and boards, there's one challenge that I've seen consistently vex leaders: how to make large-scale change happen successfully and sustainably. In far too many cases, what started with bold aspirations ended up delivering little in terms of results. This mattered less in a time when industry structures, physical assets, and privileged relationships enabled leaders to win by being good at “running the company.” In today's volatile, fast-paced, and ever-increasingly competitive marketplace, however, few if any leaders will succeed unless they also know how to “change the company.”

In Beyond Performance 2.0: A Proven Approach to Leading Large-Scale Change, Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger tackle that critical challenge head-on—and do so with great energy and deep insight. I look for three things, in particular, in my reading and my own writing. First, I want to see something different than all the advice already out there, advice that too often hasn't helped leaders improve their odds of success. Second, I want to see ideas that leaders can put into practice on Monday morning. Finally, I look for concepts founded on a deep fact base.

Not surprisingly, given that the authors are senior partners and leading practitioners at McKinsey & Company, Beyond Performance 2.0 is packed with data and richly researched, and to that extent truly delivers on the word “proven” in its title. But as I read Scott and Bill's book, I was delighted to find even more. For one thing, there is a simplicity to their prescription that I find appealing—and in no way simplistic. The core notion is that successful change happens when leaders put as much emphasis on boosting the health of the organization as they do on improving its financial performance. This big idea resonates extremely well with my experience advising CEOs in times of corporate transformation.

What I wasn't necessarily expecting from McKinsey & Company senior partners was to see such full and profound treatment of the human side of the change equation. As Scott and Bill put it in their introduction, “At the end of the day, ­organizations don't change, people do. Take the people away and the life-blood of the organization is gone.” In their five-stage roadmap showing how to put equal emphasis on performance and health, they draw on the best of behavioral psychology and speak to how to capture hearts and minds in practical terms.

This combination of hard science, practical experience, and insight into the human factor is rare and hugely valuable. I can say with confidence that, if you are facing a large-scale change challenge, Beyond Performance 2.0 is an essential read.

Ram Charan

January 2019

Ram Charan is a world-renowned business adviser, author, and speaker. He has ­authored over 25 books that have sold more than 2 million copies, including numerous Wall Street Journal and New York Times best-sellers.