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The president and CEO of Scandinavia Airlines (SAS) shows how to adapt to the new customer-driven economy.
"The best book on leadership by a CEO."--John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends
Jan Carlzon, the dynamic president and CEO of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), is considered one of today's most remarkable business leaders. His stunning turnaround success with SAS is atrium ph on the scale oflacocca's resurrection of Chrysler. In Moments of Truth, a runaway bestseller in Scandinavia, Carlzon tells in an anecdotal, accessible style how he reversed the fortunes of three major companies and spells out his bold, trendsetting approach to meeting the demands of today's customer-driven economy: how to set strategy, how to restructure an organizaton so customer needs take priority, how to motivate and communicate with "frontline" employees dealing most closely with cus tomers. Moments of Truth is also the personal account ofCarlzon's innovative business style-a style that has, according to the London Financial Times, "drawn the gurus of modern management theory to Scandinavia ... like bees to a honey-pot."
"Jan Carlzon has invented an important piece of the future. He has given us a model for management in the New Age-a way of turning the traditional pyramid of authority upside down and showing managers how to serve as well as lead. He has reminded us that the only thing that really counts is what happens at the moment of truth!" -Karl Albrecht, author of Service America! and The Creative Corporation
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"The best book on leadership by a CEO.'' -JohnNaisbitt, authorofMegatrends
New Strategies for 'Ibday 1s Customer-Driven Economy
JANCARLZON President, Scandinavian Airlines FOREWORD BY
TOM PETERS
Moments of Truth
Moments of Truth Tan Carlzon
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HarperCollinsPublishers
A hardcover edition of this book was originally published in 1987 by Ballinger Publishing Company. It is here reprinted by arrangement with Ballinger Publishing Company.
MOMENTS OF TRUTH. Copyright© 1987 by Ballinger Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022.
First PERENNIAL LIBRARY edition published 1989.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Carlzon, Jan. Moments of truth. "Perennial Library." Reprint, with new introd. Originally published: Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Pub. Co., cl987. I. Scandinavian Airlines System-Management. 2. Aeronautics, Commercial-Sweden-management. 3. Airlines-Sweden-Management. l. Title. HE9860.S28C37 1989 387.7'065'485 88-45644 ISBN 0-06-091580-3 97
RRD
30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22
CONTENTS
Foreword -Tom Peters
vii
Chapter 1
A Moment of Truth
1
Chapter 2
The Vingresor and Linjeflyg Turnarounds
7
Chapter 3
The SAS Turnaround
21
Chapter 4
Profession: Leader
31
Chapter 5
Setting the Strategy
41
Chapter 6
Flattening the Pyramid
59
Chapter 7
Ta king Risks
75
Chapter 8
Communicating
87
Chapter 9
Boards and Unions
97
Chapter 10 Measuring Results
107
Chapter 11 Rewarding Employees
113
Chapter 12 The Second Wave
121
FOREWORD
I
magine that there's a loose panel in the passenger compartment of the New York to Los Angeles air plane. The pane