Clarity First – How Smart Leaders and Organizations Achieve Outstanding Performance

Clarity First
320 Pages
ISBN 978-1259837357

Award-winning business performance improvement and Lean management expert Karen Martin diagnoses a ubiquitous business management and leadership problem―the lack of clarity―and outlines specific actions to dramatically improve organizational performance.

Through her global consulting projects, keynote speeches, and work with thousands of leaders, Karen has seen first-hand how a pervasive lack of clarity strangles business performance and erodes employee engagement. Ambiguity is the corporate default state, a condition so prevalent that “tolerance for ambiguity” has become a clichéd job requirement.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

In Clarity First, Karen provides methods and insights for achieving clarity to unleash potential, innovate at higher levels, and solve the problems that matter to deliver outstanding business results. Both a visionary road map and practical guide, this book will help leaders:

•Identify and communicate the organization’s true purpose

•Set achievable priorities

•Deliver greater customer value through more efficient processes

•Provide greater transparency about true versus assumed performance

•Build strong problem-solving and critical thinking capabilities throughout the organization

•Develop personal clarity to be a more direct, purposeful, and successful leader

Eliminating ambiguity is the first step for leaders and organizations to achieve strategic goals. Learn how to gain the clarity needed to make better decisions, lead more effectively, and boost organizational performance.

When it comes to leading an outstanding organization, every great leader needs Clarity First.

Karen Martin

About Karen Martin (Dallas, Texas Author)

Karen Martin

Karen Martin, president of the global consulting firm TKMG, Inc., is a leading authority on business performance and Lean management. Known for her keen diagnostic skills and rapid-results approach, Karen and her team have worked with clients such as AT&T, Chevron, Epson, GlaxoSmithKline, Goodwill Industries, International Monetary Fund, Lenovo, Mayo Clinic, Prudential Insurance, Qualcomm, and the United States Department of Homeland Security to develop more efficient work systems, grow market share, solve business problems, and accelerate performance. As a thought leader and skilled teacher, Karen has shaped how leaders and improvement professionals approach business performance in over 45 countries.

Karen’s broad understanding of work system design and business management stems from her experience building and managing operations for several rapid-growth organizations that each grew into multi-billion-dollar companies. She developed a keen understanding of customer value while serving in sales and marketing roles, and has extensive experience mitigating legal and compliance constraints. While she has worked with clients in nearly every sector, her healthcare-rich background includes clinical, administrative, and regulatory work in hospitals, post-acute care settings, payer services, medical research, clinical laboratories, physician practices, integrative medicine and behavioral healthcare.

Karen’s award-winning book, The Outstanding Organization, addresses the missing fundamentals that drive outstanding performance: Clarity, Focus, Discipline, and Engagement. Once instilled into an organization’s DNA, they open the door to sustainable growth and profit. Her latest book, Clarity First - a follow on to The Outstanding Organization - reveals how to use clarity to unleash potential, innovate at higher levels, and solve problems more effectively. It’s her most provocative book to date and is garnering deep praise. Karen is also the co-author of Shingo Award-winning Value Stream Mapping, and two other books on business performance improvement.

An in-demand global speaker, Karen wows her audiences with high-energy presentations containing practical takeaways. Audiences giving her high ratings have included groups such as MassMutual, Lenovo, Young Presidents’ Organization, Society for Human Resource Management, and the Association for Manufacturing Excellence.

For more information, please visit www.tkmg.com.