From Promise to Performance: A Journey of Transformation at Smithkline Beecham

Here are lessons from the personal experience of the team that led one of the most successful transnational corporate mergers of all time-the transformation of SmithKline Beckman and the Beecham Group into SmithKline Beecham, a leading international health care company. The authors recount their thinking and actions as well as the successes, failures, and lessons learned. Through the story of the merger, they present a framework of five requisites for creating a culture of change: instilling a winning attitude, making the organization the hero, striving for continuous learning, instituting strategic communication, and aligning behavior with strategy. For managers, this account offers a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into how a major company aligned its business actions and behavior to be competitive in a rapidly changing industry, and how others can create an environment in which the ability to change sustains success. "An absorbing, fly-on-the-wall account of a major merger.... For business executives and managers who want to know the inner workings of a well-executed and ultimately effective corporate merger, From Promise to Performance is a must-read."--National Productivity Review "This is a fascinating, inside account of an extraordinarily successful merger. Even more important, it is a book about institutionalizing change. The merger is seen not as an end, but as a beginning. Change and learning are viewed as ongoing processes and values that sustain improved performance. I recommend it highly. It's both informative and entertaining." --Paul A. Allaire, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Xerox Corporation