Most executives have a big, hairy, audacious goal. They write vision statements,
formalize procedures, and develop complicated incentive programs?all in pursuit
of that goal. In other words, with the best of intentions, they install layers
of stultifying bureaucracy. But it doesn't have to be that way. In this book,
Jim Collins introduces the catalytic mechanism, a simple yet powerful managerial
tool that helps translate lofty aspirations into concrete reality. Catalytic
mechanisms, the crucial link between objectives and performance, are a
galvanizing, nonbureaucractic means to turn one into the other. What's the
difference between catalytic mechanisms and most traditional managerial
controls? Catalytic mechanisms share five characteristics: (1) they produce
desired