Coming soon · Book Profile
Knowing Doing Gap Pfeffer
Why organizations so often fail to act on what they already know, and what the rare firms that turn knowledge into action do differently.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Drawing on four years of qualitative and quantitative research across dozens of companies, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton identify the 'knowing-doing gap'—the pervasive failure of firms to implement knowledge they already possess about how to enhance performance. The book argues that competitive advantage comes not from knowing the right thing but from the far harder task of actually doing it. Through vivid cases (Southwest, SAS Institute, The Men's Wearhouse, AES, British Petroleum, Barclays Global Investors, Saturn, GM, Xerox, Sunbeam), the authors diagnose five recurring internal barriers—talk substituting for action, memory substituting for thinking, fear, dysfunctional measurement, and internal competition—and show how the best firms overcome them by grounding action in philosophy, learning by doing, driving out fear, measuring what matters, and fostering cooperation. It is a practical, evidence-based guide for leaders frustrated that their smart organizations keep doing things they know are wrong.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A manager or leader who knows what should be done to improve organizational performance and wants their firm to actually act on that knowledge.
- The problem
- The organization repeatedly fails to implement practices its people already know will enhance performance. The leader feels frustrated, defeated, and puzzled that being smart and working hard doesn't translate into real change.
- The plan
- Start with philosophy and values ('why') before adopting specific practices ('how').
- Learn by doing and by teaching others, embedding knowledge acquisition in real work.
- Act rather than let talk, plans, and meetings substitute for action; follow up on decisions.
- Break free of mindless precedent and question inherited assumptions.
- Drive out fear and treat mistakes as learning.
- The payoff
- Knowledge—new and old—is turned into action with startling immediacy. · The firm enjoys durable competitive advantage because it can do what others merely know. · People work in a cooperative, fear-free culture where they learn by doing and take initiative.
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Additional reading
- Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organization · Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
This is the authors' previous book, which provides a deep dive into the ITC framework that is presented as a key tool in Chapter 6 and used by the fledgling DDOs in Chapter 7.
- In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life · Robert Kegan
This book lays out the foundational theory of adult development and mental complexity that underpins the entire DDO concept, explaining the 'adaptive gap' that DDOs are designed to address.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success · Carol Dweck
The book explicitly references Dweck's work, contrasting the 'fixed mindset' (prevalent in ordinary organizations) with the 'growth mindset' that is fundamental to a DDO's culture.
- Organizational Culture and Leadership · Edgar H. Schein
Mentioned in the book, Schein's work provides a foundational understanding of organizational culture, which is the primary medium through which DDOs operate.
- The Functions of the Executive · Chester Barnard (1938)
Chapter 10 identifies this book as providing the seminal concept of 'willingness to contribute to the cooperative system,' which forms the theoretical foundation for the modern construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).
- The Psychology of Careers · Donald E. Super (1957)
Chapter 3 cites this as a foundational work that established the concept of career stages, a model that has profoundly influenced career development theory and research for decades.
- Decision-making in the employment interview · E. C. Webster (1964)
Chapter 6 highlights this as the key report from the influential McGill University studies, which revealed the cognitive biases inherent in unstructured interviews and shifted the focus of research toward understanding the interviewer's decision process.
- Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures · Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Multiple chapters (e.g., 13, 15) refer to this document and the related AERA/APA/NCME 'Standards' as the authoritative professional guidelines that define best practices and core concepts, like the modern unitarian view of validity, for the entire field of personnel selection.
- Managing Human Assets · Beer, M. et al. (1984)
This is a seminal book that introduced the 'Harvard framework' of HRM, emphasizing a multi-stakeholder approach that considers the interests of employees, not just shareholders. It provides a foundational 'soft' HRM perspective.
- Strategic Human Resource Management · Fombrun, C. J., Tichy, N. M. and Devanna, M. A. (1984)
This book introduced the 'Michigan framework,' which advocated for a 'hard' HRM approach focused on tightly matching HR strategy to the business strategy (vertical fit). It is a foundational text for the strategic alignment concept.