MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE

The most contaminated nuclear plant in the country, Rocky Flats was an environmental disaster and the site of rampant worker unrest. Although it was estimated that it would take 70 years and $36 billion to clean up and close the facility, something stunning happened. Now on its way to becoming a wildlife refuge, the project is running 60 years ahead of schedule and $30 billion under budget. In "Making the Impossible Possible," Kim Cameron explains how this remarkable performance was achieved -- and how it can be replicated. Using numerous first-hand accounts and public records, Cameron draws a number of leadership guidelines that can be applied to any business. This fascinating and thoroughly researched case study concludes by revealing the ten leadership principles responsible for the Rocky Flats turnaround -- and in doing so, provides a means for other organizations to harness the lessons of this astonishing success.

Kim Cameron is professor of management and organization at the University of Michigan Business School and professor of higher education in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. Professor Cameron has served as dean and Albert J. Weatherhead professor of management in the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, as associate dean and Ford Motor Co./Richard E. Cook professor in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University, and as a department chair and director of several executive education programs at the University of Michigan. He also has been on the faculties of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Ricks College. He organized and directed the Organizational Studies Division of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems in Boulder, Colorado.
Marc H. Lavine is a doctoral student and instructor in the Department of Organization Studies at the Wallace E. Carroll School of Management at Boston College. His interests are in the domains of corporate social responsibility, ethics, leadership, and nonprofit and public management. His current research focuses on the role that an organization’s social purpose plays in individual well-being and organizational peak performance. For more than a decade Lavine led and founded nonprofit, educational, and leadership development initiatives in the United States and abroad. He has consulted for multi- national firms, nonprofit organizations, and public schools on issues of social responsibility, organizational learning, and strategic growth. Lavine received his B.A. from Earlham College and his M.B.A. and M.A. in education from the University of Michigan.