FedEx Delivers How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition

Using firsthand accounts from top leaders at FedEx, FedEx Delivers explains how the company became an international powerhouse and one of the most trusted global brands by using leadership practices that tapped into the creativity and commitment of its employees.

Both a compelling business story and a prescription for business success, FedEx Delivers presents a model to show how these practices created and sustained an innovation culture. Readers will learn how to apply this model to their organizations for developing a culture of innovation that evolves with the times and offers fresh solutions to new challenges.

Innovative thinking and disciplined execution are what made FedEx a market leader, and they can help any business in any industry do the same. Each chapter covers a different aspect of innovation with real-life stories that highlight its effectiveness, and offers valuable ideas that lead managers through the process of implementing those practices.

By breaking innovation down to its three simplest steps-generation, acceptance, and implementation of ideas-and offering proven leadership practices that really work, FedEx Delivers offers unique insight and invaluable advice on building an organization that can adapt to any challenge and meet any goal in today's highly competitive global economy.

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Author xv

Introduction xix

Chapter 1 Innovating and Outperforming the Competition 1

Chapter 2 FedEx’s Innovation Journey 19

Chapter 3 Why Organizations Do Not Innovate 41

Chapter 4 The Five Dimensions of an Innovation and Performance Culture 61

Chapter 5 Engage Employees in the Enterprise 83

Chapter 6 Expect and Help Employees to Continually Grow 101

Chapter 7 Create a Secure Environment for Expression and Acceptance of Creative Ideas 127

Chapter 8 Encourage Collaborative Development of Creative Ideas 155

Chapter 9 Tap Employees’ Commitment 173

Conclusion: Continuing to Lead the Way 193

Bibliography 199

Index 203

MADAN BIRLA advises executives on how to unleash employee creativity and commitment to build a culture of innovation and performance. A veteran of FedEx for twenty-two years, he was a member of FedEx’s Long Range Planning Committee, where he worked closely with CEO Fred Smith.