Product Review

You're in a matrix, whether you realize it or not. The test: Do you have multiple bosses? Do you depend on a variety of resources throughout the organization to get your tasks done, and do these resources report into other people or teams? If you answered ''yes'' to either, you're in a matrix role.


Matrix roles are everywhere. The field customer contact person who writes contracts, negotiates delivery and troubleshoots product issues is in a matrix role. So is the product manager simultaneously accountable for numbers in her country, region and business unit despite the fact they are in conflict, or the HR person who reports both to a globalized function and the head of the business they support.


Master the Matrix: 7 Essentials for Getting Things Done in Complex Organizations is based on the experiences and ideas of over 100 matrix practitioners, combined into seven matrix essentials:  Start with Partnerships, Get Goals Aligned, Clarify Roles, Get Decisions Made, Flex Your Influence Muscle, Communicate without Assumption and Make Meetings Matter.  These seven essentials can push you past matrix management and toward matrix mastery.
 
From the book's Foreword Author, Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr. (Professor, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, Former CEO, Baxter International and Author, From Values to Action):  
 
"What Susan does in this book is provide you with the tools to make the matrix work--from how to build partnerships that ease goal alignment, role clarity and decision-making to the key skills of influence, communication and meeting facilitation that enable you to gain traction and accomplish things in a matrix role. And getting things done is really what it's all about. At the end of the day--have you made a difference? Have you moved the organization forward? Do you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in your work?"