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How can companies perform so well that their industry counterparts are competitors in name only? Although they operate in the same industry, serve the same market, and even use the same suppliers, these “rabbits” lead the race and, more importantly, continually widen their lead. In Chasing the Rabbit, Steven J. Spear describes what sets high-velocity, market-leading organizations apart and explains how you can lead the pack in your industry.

Spear examines the internal operations of dominant organizations, including Toyota, Alcoa, Pratt & Whitney, the US Navy's Nuclear Power Program, and top-tier teaching hospitals--organizations operating in vastly differing industries, but which share one thing in common: the skillful management of complex internal systems that generates constant, almost automatic self-improvement at rates faster, durations longer, and breadths wider than anyone else musters. As a result, each enjoys a level of profitability, quality, efficiency, reliability, and agility unmatched by rivals. Chasing the Rabbit shows how to:

• Build a system of “dynamic discovery” designed to reveal operational problems and weaknesses
• Attack and solve problems at the time and in the place where they occur, converting weaknesses into strengths
• Disseminate knowledge gained from solving local problems throughout the company as a whole
• Create managers invested in the process of continual innovation

Whatever kind of company you operate--from technology to finance to healthcare--mastery of these four key capabilities will put you on the fast track to operational excellence, where you will generate faster, better results usingless capital and fewer resources. Apply the lessons of Steven J. Spear's and leave the competition in the dust.

"Chasing the Rabbit contains ideas that form the basis for structured continuous learning and improvement in every aspect of our lives. While this book is tailored to business leaders, it should be read by high school seniors, college students, and those already in the workforce. With the broad societal application of these ideas, we can achieve levels of accomplishment not even imagined by most people."

—The Honorable Paul H. O'Neill, Former CEO and Chairman, Alcoa; Former Secretary of the Treasury

"Some firms outperform competitors in many ways at once--cost, speed, innovation, service. How? Steve Spear opened my eyes to the secret of systemizing innovation: taking it from the occasional, unpredictable 'stroke of genius' to something you and your people do month-in, month-out to outdistance rivals."

—Scott D. Cook, Founder & Chairman of the Executive Committee Intuit, Inc.

"Steven Spear connects a deep study of systems with practical management insights and does it better than any organizational scholar I know. Chasing the Rabbit is a profoundly important book that will challenge and inspire executives in all industries to think more clearly about the technical and social foundations of organizational excellence."

—Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, President and CEO Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Steven J. Spear, four-time winner of the Shingo Prize and recipient of the McKinsey Award, is a senior lecturer at MIT and former assistant professor at Harvard. A senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, he is the author of numerous articles appearing in academic and trade publications, including the Harvard Business Review and The New York Times.

1	Getting to the Front of the Pack	1
2	Complexity: The Good News and the Bad News	33
3	How Complex Systems Fail	45
4	How Complex Systems Succeed	87
5	High Velocity Under the Sea, in the Air, and on the Web	109
6	Capability 1: System Design and Operation	155
7	Capability 2: Problem Solving and Improvement	193
8	Capability 3: Knowledge Sharing	225
9	Capability 4: Developing High-Velocity Skills in Others	263
10	High-Velocity Crisis Recovery	295
11	Creating High-Velocity Health-Care Organizations	323
12	Conclusion	357
	References	365
	Notes	375
	Index	393

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