Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Average customer rating:

Universal truths presented but people views flawed

execution 101

Beyond Talk

Prime Example of Mediocraty

Practical business

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Larry Bossidy , Ram Charan , and Charles Burck
Manufacturer: Crown Business
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0609610570

Amazon.com

Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.

Execution is "the missing link between aspirations and results," and as such, making it happen is the business leader's most important job. While failure in today's business environment is often attributed to other causes, Bossidy and Charan argue that the biggest obstacle to success is the absence of execution. They point out that without execution, breakthrough thinking on managing change breaks down, and they emphasize the fact that execution is a discipline to learn, not merely the tactical side of business. Supporting this with stories of the "execution difference" being won (EDS) and lost (Xerox and Lucent), the authors describe the building blocks--leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs--that need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. Both Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., and Charan, advisor to corporate executives and author of such books as What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards That Work, present experience-tested insight into how the smooth linking of these three processes can differentiate one company from the rest. Developing the discipline of execution isn't made out to be simple, nor is this book a quick, easy read. Bossidy and Charan do, however, offer good advice on a neglected topic, making Execution a smart business leader's guide to enacting success rather than permitting demise. --S. Ketchum

Book Description

The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you’re running an entire company or in your first management job

Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they’ve pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.

After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn’t just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.

Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a “vision” and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.

The leader’s most important job—selecting and appraising people—is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there’s a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.

Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He’s been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.

Download Description

The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results... whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job

Larry Bossidy is one of the world's most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they've pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.

After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world's most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn't just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.

Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a "vision" and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.

The leader's most important job -- selecting and appraising people -- is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there's a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.

Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He's been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.

Customer Reviews:

Universal truths presented but people views flawed.......2007-10-05

I thought there were many good take-aways in this book. Was it all original? Of course not. Most management books are saying the same things with a slightly different twist. I've got a bookshelf full of them. However, it seems that humans are so often incapable of remembering the fundamentals and have a tendency to overcomplicate things thus history repeats itself over and over.

The tone of the book regarding people gave me a little pause. Although I do think they were spot on in their assessment of how many companies do succession planning (not at all or incorrectly), it does seem to advocate that everyone needs to be a mini-Jack Welch type persona. I've worked in a company managed by ex-GE guys and believe me, they don't have it all figured out. I think organizations will benefit by having a mix of skills. Some people are better doers and others are better thinkers. Some superstars are good at both. It takes all types.

execution 101.......2007-08-22

I did receive this book in an executive seminar; read it over couples of nights, a simple book with day to day tips to make things happen.

A must read for any one how dreams to become a successful executive and a reality check for those already there.

Beyond Talk.......2007-08-20

So many times in this marketing-focused world, we do very well at the talking but not very good at the walking. Many of us have seen amazing sales presentations . . . only to realize that the promises would never be met.

This book engages us in the discussion about how to do what we promise. It helps us to go beyond the sales presentation and really design a process by which we can follow through, build relationships and live a life that is full of integrity and trustworthiness.

Prime Example of Mediocraty .......2007-08-11

This book did very little for me. Largely, the book is unoriginal and simply restates ideas already presented in tons of business leadership books. This book might as well have been written for the sole purpose of patting prominent CEOs, namely Jack Welch, on the back. You would be better served to bypass this one and just go read something by Welch on leadership.

Practical business.......2007-07-27

I teach MBAs. Its well known in the field that MBAs are very competent in analysis but not so good in implementation. The reason for this is that most professors who teach business have never actually worked in business and are research analysts. They teach analysis because they are excellent in that area. I worked in business 10 years before becoming a professor. I teach my students about implementation and they are interested. This is a book about implementation at the CEO level. I'm thinking of using it as a supplementary executive MBA text.

The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't

Average customer rating:

Great time reading and laughing
Great book
Stating The Unspoken
I love this book!
Accurate Potrayal of Many Work Environments

The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
Robert I. Sutton
Manufacturer: Business Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446526568

Book Description

The No Asshole Rule is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Business Week bestseller. It won a Quill Award for the top business book of 2007, and was recently chosen as one of audible.com's top picks as well.

Customer Reviews:

Great time reading and laughing.......2007-10-02

Lot of truths mentioned in the book... Wish there were more, especially when it comes to government entities... Just have to be diligent about "practicing" the tips and tricks provided.

Great book.......2007-09-28

This is a great book that has a good level of scholarly support but written in an easy-to-read style that should appeal to most audiences.

Stating The Unspoken.......2007-09-23

Everybody knows the abuse-of-power types that this book outlines. Too often companies/cultures put the onus on victims to adapt, and get-along. What that approach does is allow managers to NOT do their jobs - and that is to confront dysfunctional behaviors clearly and directly.

Dr. Sutton takes a no holds barred approach to defining culture up front. Letting the community know what is and is not acceptable behavior. I wish that he would create a study of companies that are this direct in dealing with behavioral problems, bring the concept along further with specifics of what works and what doesn't.

The "avoidance approach" clearly is not a true solution, but as he states in the book if management will not address the organization's asses, and you want to keep your job, it is the best option sometimes.

A few times in my life I've worked in environments where the assholes have kissed upward so much that they are well connected. And poorly skilled career bureaucrats looking to keep their position, single these emotionally inept people out as stars to be heralded - because heralding a well connected asshole makes you an ally. In each of those situations, I've watched the best people move on, managerial incompetence thrive, motivation deteriorate, and a fairyland scenario of pretending flourish. What a sad state of affairs that leads to.

Bringing the difficult concept of an actual asshole present in the mix, naming what is unspoken, is an essential element in this work. Further development of the idea, refinement of behavioral understanding could only continue to develop greater awareness of truly sly assholes that are skilled to be non-confrontational to those above them and non-approachable to those below.

A meeting with such people present vs. absent is like day and night. Personally experiencing this, I saw groups transformed from demotivated-lackluster-lifeless chair slugs to excited-active-contributors. Such culturally (negatively) controlling individuals cost an organization far more than can ever be measured.

The book is worth the read if only for the stories. But, the principles, the validation, are the real meat and potatoes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and if you can't gift it directly, then throw a few copies into envelopes and drop them in your managements' mailboxes. It's about time the pretending to be nice facade gives way to true comprehension of what civility is, and the complete disregard for it will not be tolerated.

I love this book!.......2007-09-22

I urge everyone to read this book, whether they're in an office environment, or just dealing with day-to-day situations. I've bought three copies so far to give to co-workers and family, and I may need more!
The minute you open the book, you will SO recognize what is described!

Accurate Potrayal of Many Work Environments.......2007-07-22

I commend Bob Sutton for publishing this book. It is apparent many jobs expect you to tolerate a coworker or superior whose behavior is off the chart yet protected and sometimes endorsed by management. The cost to a business is high and Bob did a great job of quantifying it. I highly recommend this book if you work in a toxic environment. Bob outlines some great strategies for succeeding in such an environment and discusses how to create policies to prevent one person's inflated ego from sinking the ship.

Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box

Average customer rating:

A life Changing Book
Painful slog
What I didn't know was hurting me
Getting Out of the Box: A New Perspective
Improve your communication skills with everyone!

Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box
The Arbinger Institute
Manufacturer: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
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ASIN: 1576751740

Amazon.com

Using the story/parable format so popular these days, Leadership and Self-Deception takes a novel psychological approach to leadership. It's not what you do that matters, say the authors (presumably plural--the book is credited to the esteemed Arbinger Institute), but why you do it. Latching onto the latest leadership trend won't make people follow you if your motives are selfish--people can smell a rat, even one that says it's trying to empower them. The tricky thing is, we don't know that our motivation is flawed. We deceive ourselves in subtle ways into thinking that we're doing the right thing for the right reason. We really do know what the right thing to do is, but this constant self-justification becomes such an ingrained habit that it's hard to break free of it--it's as though we're trapped in a box, the authors say.

Learning how the process of self-deception works--and how to avoid it and stay in touch with our innate sense of what's right--is at the heart of the book. We follow Tom, an old-school, by-the-book kind of guy who is a newly hired executive at Zagrum Corporation, as two senior executives show him the many ways he's "in the box," how that limits him as a leader in ways he's not aware of, and of course how to get out. This is as much a book about personal transformation as it is about leadership per se. The authors use examples from the characters' private as well as professional lives to show how self-deception skews our view of ourselves and the world and ruins our interactions with people, despite what we sincerely believe are our best intentions.

While the writing won't make John Updike lose any sleep, the story entertainingly does the job of pulling the reader in and making a potentially abstruse argument quite enjoyable. The authors have a much better ear for dialogue than is typical of the genre (the book is largely dialogue), although a certain didactic tone creeps in now and then. But ultimately it's a hopeful, even inspiring read that flows along nicely and conveys a message that more than a few managers need to hear. --Pat McGill

Book Description

The "disease" of self-deception (acting in ways contrary to what one knows is right) underlies all leadership problems in today's organizations, according to the premise of this work. However well intentioned they may be, leaders who deceive themselves always end up undermining their own performance.

This straightforward book explains how leaders can discover their own self-deceptions and learn how to escape destructive patterns. The authors demonstrate that breaking out of these patterns leads to improved teamwork, commitment, trust, communication, motivation, and leadership.

Customer Reviews:

A life Changing Book.......2007-09-27

This book was referred to me by a friend and is a life changing book. I have shared it around the office as well. Well written and an easy read.

Painful slog.......2007-09-21

I received this book as part of a leadership training process. The leader bought a copy for everyone involved. I'm afraid she should have spent the money elsewhere.

Reading the book is a slow painful slog. The story does not draw me in and the prose has the fluidity of cardboard (which is the material used to create the characters).

The thesis, we deceive ourselves by denying our part in creating the problems we face, is valid. It is not, however, new. It's been around since Aristotle, at least.

What I didn't know was hurting me.......2007-09-15

Great book! The things I learned about how I was decieving myself were amazing. Now I have to really think things through so I know why I feel what I feel. I always have a choice to be in or out. If you don't know why I said that, then you need to read the book.

Getting Out of the Box: A New Perspective.......2007-09-10

This is an easy to read book, however, that is no indication of its importance. Tremendously enlightening perspectives presented in a unique frame. A MUST for anyone who interacts with human beings in any arena.

Improve your communication skills with everyone!.......2007-08-31

LEADERSHIP AND SELF DECEPTION IS A BOOK FROM WHICH ALL READERS MAY BENEFIT. I PERSONALLY RECOMMENDED IT TO A CEO OF A SMALL COMPANY, HE SHARED IT WITH ALL OF HIS TEAM LEADERS. I HAVE ALSO ENCOURAGED ACQUANTIANCES TO READ THIS BOOK TO IMPROVE THEIR MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS AS WELL AS THE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR CHILDREN. I GAVE EACH OF MY OWN CHILDREN A COPY; I FEEL THAT IT WILL HELP THEM IN ALL ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATING IN THIER OWN LIVES.
"GETTING OUT OF THE BOX" IS A PRINCIPLE THAT IF PRACTICED WOULD RESULT IN A BETTER WAY OF LIFE. HAPPINESS AND PEACE WOULD ABOUND,PRODUCTION WOULD INCREASE, MENTAL BLURR WOULD DIMINISH, AND FAMILIES AS WELL AS BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS WOULD BE EMPOWERED TO WORK TOWARD COMMON GOALS. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

Organizational Behavior & SAL CDROM Pkg (12th Edition)

Average customer rating:

Organizational Behavior
A classic reference for OB

Organizational Behavior & SAL CDROM Pkg (12th Edition)
Stephen P. Robbins , and Tim A. Judge
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ASIN: 0131890956

Book Description

With its conversational writing style, cutting-edge content, current examples, the three-level integrative model, dialogues, and technological learning tools, Organizational Behavior remains the global book, used by more readers interested in the topic than any other since 1979. The 12th edition retains all of the best features of the previous editions, yet adds much more: contemporary issues and research have been included into a seamless, whole, and comprehensive tome. Many topics are comprehensively covered, but on the whole, this book is written in a conversational, easy to read style. Topics include: management functions; the social sciences; helping employees balance work and other responsibilities; improving people skills; improving customer service; motivational concepts; communication; power and politics; conflict and negotiation; culture; and stress management. Globally accepted and written by one of the most foremost authors in the field, this is a necessary read for all managers, human resource workers, and anyone needing to understand and improve their people skills.

Customer Reviews:

Organizational Behavior.......2007-09-30

This was my first experience ordering a College Textbook on Amazon. I ordered a brand new book and CD and was very pleased to receive my order in time for my class. Most important I was able buy a brand new textbook at a used textbook price. I liked being able to provide my credit card information to an Amazon rep by phone rather than send it over the Internet. I plan to use Amazon again for my future requirements.

A classic reference for OB.......2007-07-01

Recently I took a course about Organizational Behavior & this was the course textbook. It's a reasonable choice for an introductory course. I found it easy to read & informative. However, the accompanying SAL CD-ROM was disappointing - I didn't think it was worth the effort.

Bottom line - I would recommend it.

Human Side of Organizations, The (9th Edition)

Average customer rating:

Good Service
Exceeded Expectations

Human Side of Organizations, The (9th Edition)
Michael Drafke
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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"The Human Side of Organizations" delivers complete, up-to-date, practical information on how people behave in organizations presented in a readable, easy to understand form. The vital information can be used to understand managers, peers or workers. If you work, you need this information to thrive and survive. FOCUS BOXES/Reality Checks - Bring the work world as it really is into every chapter./Question of Ethics - Presents ethical questions related to the particular chapters' material./A Global Glance - A look at an international aspect of a chapters' concepts./FYI - A new focus box for the 9e./Presents useful hints readers can apply in their daily lives. Anyone who wishes to better understand managers, peers, or workers can benefit from this book as it covers the vital skills needed to survive and thrive in an organization.

Customer Reviews:

Good Service.......2007-02-24

Received Book in about 2 weeks after purchase. Book was in excellent condition. Good Service.

Exceeded Expectations.......2005-09-30

My textbook came sooner than expected and it was in great condition! The savings were unbelievable and I actually recommended using this seller to everyone in my class.

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

Average customer rating:

Seek not stardom, just starfishdom
Peter NYC
Useful introduction, but there's more ...
Starfish is a mind-game
Elusive Nodes

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
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Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Understanding the amazing force that links some of today's most successful companies

If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.

What's the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and women's rights movements? What fundamental choice put General Motors and Toyota on vastly different paths? How could winning a Supreme Court case be the biggest mistake MGM could have made?

After five years of ground-breaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom share some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely connections. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships.

The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed). It reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Intuit to the US government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. The book explores:
* How the Apaches fended off the powerful Spanish army for 200 years
* The power of a simple circle
* The importance of catalysts who have an uncanny ability to bring people together
* How the Internet has become a breeding ground for leaderless organizations
* How Alcoholics Anonymous has reached untold millions with only a shared ideology and without a leader

The Starfish and the Spider is the rare book that will change how you understand the world around you. BACKCOVER: Advance praise for The Starfish and the Spider
“The Starfish and the Spider is a compelling and important book.”
—Pierre Omidyar, CEO, Omidyar Network and Founder and Chairman, eBay Inc.

“The Starfish and the Spider, like Blink, The Tipping Point, and The Wisdom of Crowds before it, showed me a provocative new way to look at the world and at business. It's also fun to read!”
—Robin Wolaner, founder, Parenting Magazine and author, Naked in the Boardroom

“A fantastic read. Constantly weaving stories and connections. You'll never see the world the same way again.”
—Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr., former Co-CEO, Time Warner

“A must-read. Starfish are changing the face of business and society. This page-turner is provocative and compelling.”

—David Martin, CEO, Young Presidents' Organization
“The Starfish and the Spider provides a powerful prism for understanding the patterns and potential of self-organizing systems.”
—Steve Jurvetson, Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
“The Starfish and the Spider lifts the lid on a massive revolution in the making, a revolution certain to reshape every organization on the planet from bridge clubs to global governments. Brafman and Beckstrom elegantly describe what is afoot and offer a wealth of insights that will be invaluable to anyone starting something new—or rescuing something old—amidst this vast shift.”
—Paul Saffo, Director, Institute for the Future

“The Starfish and the Spider is great reading. [It has] not only stimulated my thinking, but as a result of the reading, I proposed ten action points for my own organization."
—Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

Customer Reviews:

Seek not stardom, just starfishdom.......2007-09-06

Whether or not you care about leaderless, borderless and/or decentralized organizations, labeled as starfish organizations, they probably affect your life in some way or another whether you have downloaded music or avoided it, dealt with PETA, looked up something in Wikipedia, had actions of al-Qaeda affect your life in some way like stricter restrictions at the airports, etc. In that sense, you might as well get to know something about them to make better use of them or be prepared to deal with them effectively when you have to. If you read this book, you will likely not just want to know or know more about them, but get involved to see what they're all about or get more involved.

Written from both an overview and hands-on approach, this book is not only useful as a reference but also as a manual on the issue. The book identified the qualities of starfish organizations and what makes them effective, how anyone and everyone could start, sustain and/or get involved in these organizations, the types of people key to such organizations and how to combat them if you're on the other side. The book also warns about the constant change involved with maintaining starfish organizations and how to deal with them. Guidelines are offered and useful real life examples illustrate them to bring to life what otherwise be just concepts.

I had two small criticisms about the book, but nothing major enough to deter it from getting the five star rating I felt it deserved. First was that a few more real life examples of starfish organizations and/or their actions could have been chosen to illustrate some of the points made. There were plenty of diverse examples, but so many more abound as I read and thought about traits and qualities of starfish organizations that if mentioned, readers would realize even more influence starfish organizations have had in their lives. Second was that it did not address how government could use this book to decentralize since decentralization could be so powerful but yet government is the epitomy of centralization. I work for government, and felt government badly needed this, but had to think it through myself to come up with uses for attracting colleagues to my Starfish and Spider for Lunch (and Learn) voluntary book review session. When I did, though, not only was I excited at the possibilities, but also at the challenge to try to convince senior management of this, although that will take time. I will contact the authors to address this issue in a follow-up companion, perhaps, as they are the experts on this, but if nothing else, my ability to customize an application to government should tell you something about the book's effectiveness as a manual.

Overall, for the excellent writing style, clarity, impact and general application to the masses, five starfish!

Peter NYC.......2007-09-06

This book is great. A must read for those interested in being flexible and evolving. Has important applications across multiple work environments.

Useful introduction, but there's more ... .......2007-08-29

It took me some time to warm to this book. Nothing much happens in the initial 80 pages. The first chapter develops two fairly tortuous case studies - the vicissitudes of fortune in the recording industry in the last decade and the struggle of the Apaches against the Spanish invaders - to introduce the theme of the book. Then follows a discussion of the morphology of decentralised organisations (in terms of power distribution, funding, etc). Chapter 3 illustrates these formal characteristics with a series of examples, ranging from Skype over Wikipedia to Burning Man. There is honestly not a lot of meat to chew on in these first chapters and some patience is required from the reader.

It becomes more interesting in Chapter 4 where Brafman and Beckstrom discuss operational principles behind decentralised organisations (the need for pre-existing networks as a substrate, the role of catalysts and champions to activate leaderless organisation, "circles" as their chief co-ordination mechanism, and "ideology" as the glue holding everything more or less together). The role of the catalyst as a "servant leader" (term, however, not used by the authors) is further elaborated in the fifth chapter.

In chapter 6, the discussion turns to the question "What do you do, as an incumbent, when you are under fire from a starfish?" It transpires that there is not an awful lot to be done: you can try to morph them into a spider by activating internal cancer cells (greed and competition), you can try to dissolve or change the glue, the ideology that keeps the structure together or you can join them and become decentralised too (then it's starfish against starfish).

Brafman and Beckstrom maintain that it is not always necessary to go all the way and radically decentralise. There is such thing as a "hybrid" organisation (Chapter 7), which mixes principles of centralisation and decentralisation. Here the discussion suddenly gets denser and this is a part of the book that warrants repeated reading. A distinction is made between centralised organisations that give customers a voice (eBay with its peer-to-peer feedback is an example), those that put their customers to work (IBM developing open source applications) and those that decentralise parts of their internal structure. Towards the end of the chapter, however, the discussion peters out. "Appreciative Enquiry" is invoked as an approach to bring a whiff of decentralisation into companies who want to hang on to their centralised bureaucracies. It's a dangerous example that may tempt people into crass opportunism (that is, however, bound to backfire on them).

Finally, the authors hypothesise that in a given ecosystem there is no static equilibrium in terms of right mix of centralised/decentralised characteristics ("right" in terms of securing survival and the ability to extract economic rent). The "sweet spot" changes as a function of time, sometimes dramatically so. The desire for anonymity and the free flow of information are forces that push towards the decentralisation end, whilst the desire for security and accountability pull the system back to a more centralised mode of operation.

The book closes with a short epilogue that lists 10 simple guiding principles to make the most out of decentralised organisations or to defend yourself from their attacks.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book. It provides an intelligent and accessible discussion of a complex issue. With respect to the latter, the authors do a laudable job in keeping thing simple, but sometimes it's over the top. Particularly in the first halve of the book, their penchant for telling anecdotes and stories makes them err on the side of the trivial (a discussion on Wikipedia starts with "we all remember doing school reports in the sixth grade. Back then, research meant going to the library and hoping the that the Encyclopaedia Brittanica wasn't checked out ... and so on, and so on.) I was irked more than once by the patronising and befuddling prose of Brafman & Beckstrom. Admittedly, sometimes they hit it right. The title of the book, for example, is a very strong and aptly chosen metaphor for decentralised and centralised organisations, respectively.

Also I believe this book does not exhaust the potential of this fascinating subject matter. I think the discussion would have gained significantly in clarity and power if only a number of well known systems science principles (such as Ashby's Law of Requisity Variety, see Introduction to Cybernetics (University Paperbacks)) had been invoked to give the whole discussion a rock solid footing. I also missed a solid link to the burgeoning literature on the P2P movement. It is clear that the issue of property rights in central in making leaderless organisations work (Brafman discusses this as a way to sabotage starfish only) and people like Lawrence Lessig ("Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity) and Yochai Benkler ("The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom") have a lot to say about these issues.

A small point, but a fairly irritating one, is the use of the word "ideology" in the book. The authors ostensibly use this to refer to any set of beliefs that underpin a decentralised organisation. From my point of view, the word "ideology" refers to a more elaborate and closed system of abstract thought (and as such has a pejorative tinge to it). Many starfish (also amongst those mentioned in the book) thrive on a much more vague and fluid set of beliefs, norms and values. It's worthwhile to be more nuanced about this.

Morally speaking, the book leaves the reader in suspension. From an internal point of view, leaderless organisations are unquestionably superior - morally and aesthetically - to centralised organisations, not only because of their structural simplicity and elegance, but also because they rely so openly on trust (in my opinion THE key word in the book), on the belief that man is fundamentally good and ultimately because they are capable of drawing the best from people and providing them with truthfulness, meaning and purpose in their life. Problem is that not only Alcoholics Anonymous operates as a decentralised organisation, but Al Qaeda does too. So starfish can server all kinds of purposes, some more constructive than others. It all depends which side you're on.

Starfish is a mind-game.......2007-08-07

Have you wondered why decentralized organizations are growing like wildfire? Starfish and Spider will tell you why. I work in a starfish organization and it is not for the faint-hearted or the one focused on structure and procedure.

This book is an excellent story about centralized, decentralized and hybrid organizations. If you want to kill a spider, cut off its head. You cannot cut off the head of a starfish as it does not have one. If cut off the leg of an starfish, it will grow another.......starfish. This shows how decentralized organizations have always been around and take after the way that our brain's function. Once thought to operate in a hierarchy, latest research shows the opposite. Brafman and Beckstrom are great storytellers and weave the Internet with Al Qadea

This book gives examples of the characteristics of decentralized organizations such as flexibility, shared power and ambiguity and how the Internet has spawned a new generation of decentralized organizations. It is a fascinating book.

Some principles of decentralized organizations;
1. when attacked, they become even more open and decentralized.
2. it is easy to mistake starfish for spiders.
3. an open system doesn't have central intelligence, the intelligence is spread throughout the system.
4. open systems can easily mutate.
5. the decentralized organization sneaks up on you.
6. as industries become decentralized, overall profits decrease.

They stand on 5 legs;
1. Circles
2. the Catalyst
3. Ideology
4. the pre-existing network
5. the Champion

If you want to learn more about community, trust and openness in the 21st century, this is a must read. If you are interested in how organizations like Al Qaeda can thrive with many in the world looking for them, read this book.

Elusive Nodes.......2007-07-31

This book offers an excellent discussion of the extremely elusive concept of networked type of organizations which social scientists refer to as organizations where decision making power is distributed and whose structure is flat. Such an organization consists of semi-autonomous nodes or cells linked and given cohesion by one or more factors such as kinship, mutual experiences, ethnic culture, or common ideology. In the 21st Century the Global Telecommunications Network (sic) serves as an enabler to networked type of organizations. The book, "Networks and Netwars" (Rand 2001, Amazon.com) provides a formal explanation of networked type of organizations, but will leave many folks still wondering about the anatomy of a networked type of organization.

The book quit effectively uses examples and the analogy of a starfish to both demonstrate and explain how networked type of organizations actually work in practice. This is very important and helpful because such organizations are becoming increasingly more common, but are very difficult for persons used to hierarchical organizations to understand. The book explains for example how the command and control system for al Qaeda cannot be knocked out because it does not exist. More ominously the book notes that as the U.S. increasingly centralizes its efforts against al Qaeda the harder it will be to cope with terrorist operations and threats.

There are now several first rate books available now on networked type of organizations, but this one is probably the best because of the clarity with which it explains what networked type of organizations are and how they really work. It is a shame that the U.S. Intelligence and National Security Communities appear unable to come to grips with geographically dispersed cell of one or more individuals using distributed decision making, and linked by such tenuous ties as personal relationships and shared ideology. This book offers some suggestions for dealing with networked type of organizations, but one is left with the impression that nobody is listening.

Average customer rating:

Excellent Hilarious Novel for Learning Management
fast and cheap
Solid read applicable to business and beyond
The Goal
Theory of Constraints explained and its wide applications revealed

The Goal
Eliyahu M. Goldratt , and Jeff Cox
Manufacturer: North River Press
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Binding: Paperback

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Theory of Constraints
Lean Thinking : Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, Revised and Updated
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Critical Chain : A Business Novel

ASIN: 0884271781

Book Description

Over 2 million copies sold! Used by thousands of companies and hundreds of business schools! Required reading for anyone interested in the Theory of Constraints. This book, which introduces the Theory of Constraints, is changing how America does business. The Goal is a gripping, fast-paced business novel about overcoming the barriers to making money. You will learn the fundamentals of identifying and solving the problems created by constraints. From the moment you finish the book you will be able to start successfully addressing chronic productivity and quality problems.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Hilarious Novel for Learning Management.......2007-10-03

"The Goal" is a hilarious novel but with a serious business message particularly with respect to production/operations management. The author expertly wove an intricate story about a plant manager (Alex Rogo) whose factory and marriage are failing into a compelling and convincing explanation about how to deal with constraints and bottlenecks effectively, not only in business but also in everyday life. This is a good captivating read particularly for those who find reading business and management books to be dry and having a soporific effect.

Alex Rogo's life is made very difficult by bottlenecks, constraints, excess inventories and pressure from management that demands efficiency in the factory operations. However, through mastering the theory of constraints (TOC), the appreciation of a business as a system, the effective use of industrial engineering techniques as well as common sense, Alex and his team overcome the problems.

This is an enlightening book that is easy to read and understand for people particularly those who a new to managing an organization. You will learn about the goal of an organization, waste (and how to avoid it), cost structures, team utilization, supply chain bottlenecks, identify improvements, work prioritization and enhance efficiencies.

You will get the most from this book if you also read the Toyota Production System which can fix many of the problems highlighted in this book. Among the highlights of the Toyota Production System are the Just-in-Time inventory system, production leveling, multi-skilling, the pull method of production planning which provides a more comprehensive approach to manufacturing operations. Another useful investment is to get a copy of the classic book "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge (if you have not yet read it). Senge proposes the "systems thinking" method to help companies to become "learning organizations" that integrates all personnel levels and functions (such as production, human resources, finance etc) to increase the ability of the organisation to be more productive and effective.

In summary, this is an outstanding book packed with insightful wisdom that I recommend to employees at all levels in an organization as well as students studying business.

fast and cheap.......2007-09-12

I received this product in good time and condition. Brand New. Saved quite a bit of money over the campus book store price.

Solid read applicable to business and beyond.......2007-07-29

The Goal is a well-written book, broadly applicable to anyone in business and to an extent life in general. It is a no-nonsense novel, utilizing and exploring real-life situations and personalities. What I liked most about the book is the integration of "scientific" approach to business, how assumptions are constantly questioned, explored, and reformulated, and how the human element is, albeit slightly, interwoven.

While the most benefit clearly is in manufacturing context, I find the book to be useful and I work in professional services. I akin the Theory of Constraints ("bottleneck management") to Stephen Covey's example of "moving big rocks", hence the applicability to life in general. Said another way, I believe one must focus on the things that are most constraining (the boundaries), and this method of thought is explored in The Goal. The book also interweaves personal experiences into the "core" business theme, which allows for some examination of life outside of work and of course personalizes the story.

Overall, great book and a suggested read for sure.

The Goal.......2007-06-08

If you told me that a story about cost accounting in a factory would be interesting I would say you are nutts. However this story is extremely will written & entertaining thru the first 80%. The finish concerning philosophy could be left off.
I would listen to the book until I reached the end of a chapter because it was interesting even when I had arrived at my driving distination.
I do have an accounting background so that may affect my opinion.

Theory of Constraints explained and its wide applications revealed.......2007-06-03

The Goal is a fascinating book about the Theory of Constraints which was introduced to the world by Eliyahu Goldratt. I must admit the title didn't appeal much to me, but bought it anyway because it was recommended highly. After reading it, I realized that the title was perfect since it plays well into the questioning that needs to take place in order to identify the constraint or bottleneck in an organization. The book is written as a novel, which makes the book a lot easier to read and also a lot more entertaining
Alex Rogo is a plant manager and at the beginning of the novel is greeted at his plant by the VP who informs him that his production numbers need to improve or they will be shutting down the plant. Of course, during all this mess Rogo is also going through a rocky marriage and throughout the book the reader is taken through the struggle of both issues.
Alex seeks advice from an old Physicist from Israel named Jonah. Jonah takes Alex through the Socratic method of analysis which is the way Alex then communicates with his management team to solve the issues causing the low throughput in the factory. The conversations that take place between Jonah, Alex and the entire management team are extremely interesting and informative. I wonder how often this level of discussion actually takes place, but it sure makes for interesting reading.
A lot of the applications of the theory of constraints, although they take place in the factory, could be easily implemented in all industries.
Mr. Goldratt has written a business book that will remain relevant for many years to come. I highly recommend this incredible business book. Anyone who does business consulting and does not read and use the information on this book is doing his/her clients a great disservice.

Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources (8th Edition)

Average customer rating:

Call this book the Management Bible
A 'must have' for all leaders.
Management of Organizational Behavior
Goes where few texts dare to go: the real-world
All about Leadership!!! Must read!

Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources (8th Edition)
Paul Hersey , Kenneth H. Blanchard , and Dewey E. Johnson
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130175986

Book Description

Used by more than a million people throughout the world, this highly readable book provides a comprehensive examination of the applied behavioral sciences, and focuses on fundamental ideas which have stood the test of years of application in academic, business, not-for-profit and administrative environments. Complete coverage of motivation and behavior, situational leadership, building effective relationships, planning and implementing change, leadership strategies, the organizational cone and integrating situational leadership with the Classics. For individuals interested in expanding their knowledge of, and proficiency in leadership strategies.

Customer Reviews:

Call this book the Management Bible.......2007-09-19

Ken Blanchard went on to become the management guru of the 90s, writing countless books that can be found right here on Amazon. However, this text book is where is all began. I call it a text book because it is. This text has been used and is still used in management schools around the nation. Written with Hersey and Johnson, this book is the definitive foundation text on how to manage organizational behavior as it pertains to managing people. Following are a couple key points:

1) Diagnosis: It is a manager's job to modify their management style to employee needs. Evaluting employee needs and corresponding management styles can be easily done using Situational Leadership tools (found in book).

2) Intervention: Performance can be managed using the fundamental postive reinforcement psychology. Further, by consciously indentifying needs, performance can be improved more rapidly.

3) Evaluation: If behavioral change does not occur, the individual may not be in the right role.

This sounds dry and obvious by today's standards, but it wasn't when the first edition of this book was published (1980s). Further, most modern organiztional and management theory is based on this book. There is still gold to dig from its pages.

A 'must have' for all leaders........2006-06-17

If you take your job as a business leader seriously, this book is a 'must have'. As a business coach I use it in my practice with great success. For leaders (and managers who think they are leaders) and their teams it's an eye-opener. It gives insight in what it takes to turn a good team into a great team, and what great leadership is all about. If you want to be more effective as a leader and take your team to the highest level of readiness, read this book. It will change your life....and of those you lead.

Management of Organizational Behavior.......2005-02-26

Not too bad as these books go but a tremendous amount of verbiage explaining the obvious. Excellent example of turning simple concepts in complex charts and definitions. I would imagine that people in the field love this hyperbole but it's BS to me and pretty much a waste of time to drudge though all of it.

Goes where few texts dare to go: the real-world.......2004-03-15

I recommend this to managers as much as students.

Sure, the price seems like a lot of cash to shell out at first. But trust me, it is worth it. I had to read it for a Management class, and it started of like a typical OB text, illustrating the history of management studies (Taylor to Maslow to Mayo to Likert to ...). Good stuff, but pretty dull. Then, Hersey et al went where most scholars, even the supposedly worldly MBA types, fear to tread: real-world application!

The text covers all of the material covered Blanchard's "One Minute Manager," "Putting the One Minute Manager to Work," and a shelf load of other books. It also does a great job introducing Blanchard and Hersey's Situational Leadership, where the manager matches leadership behavior to a report's ability level and motivation. This replaces "Leadership and the One Minute Manager," and delves much deeper into the topic.

Hersey et al also cover:
- Behavioral shaping, and positive and negative reinforcement quite nicely
- Communications skills necessary to lead reports
- Power building, and using effective power bases ...
- The list literally goes on and on.

I use the concepts I was first exposed to here day in and day out. They work. My OB professor told us that, if he would be limited to just one book on management, he would choose this one. And, five years later, I agree. I am very glad that I did not sell this book back to the campus bookstore. I consult the book at least once a week while pondering both thorny and maundane problems with my employees.

You see, Dr. Davis? Some of us do listen.

All about Leadership!!! Must read!.......2003-06-13

This book is one of my favorites! It leads you first through a complete review of management and leadership theories, then introduces the authors' famous SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP model and theory. This book goes into great depth about the sit-lead model and theory, and is a great read. Want to be a better leader??? Read the book by the experts! ...

Average customer rating:

Exactly what I wanted.............
It's a great book
Good textbook
a textbook worth buying
Very confused, unnecessarily complicated, and above all - dull.

Organizational Behavior
John Schermerhorn , James G. Hunt , and Richard N. Osborn
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Accessories:

A Primer on Organizational Behavior (Wiley Series in Management)
The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior
The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior

ASIN: 0471681709

Book Description

Now revised to address the recent changes in the workplace, Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn’s Organizational Behavior, Ninth Edition sets organizational behavior within a framework of personal and organizational transformation, while retaining its solid base of theory and application. Prepare yourself for the changing workplace. The Ninth Edition features the theme of organizational behavior in changing times, anchored by a new Chapter 2 that introduces you to current issues in organizational behavior. Edition after edition, this text has established a reputation for its effective presentation of current theory and research in a student-centered context. The Ninth Edition further strengthens that tradition with new Research Insight boxes in each chapter that summarize relevant cutting-edge research reports. Changing times offer new insights from real-life change agents. Leaders on Leadership features for every chapter in the Ninth Edition bring you face-to-face with the experiences and perspectives of today’s change leaders––Rudy Giuliani, Carly Fiorina, Earl Graves, and others.

Customer Reviews:

Exactly what I wanted....................2007-09-30

I need this for a class and this book was exactly what I needed.......and the shipping was very fast.

It's a great book.......2007-02-18

It's a helpful book to have a better understanding of organizational behavior.

Good textbook.......2007-01-24

I enjoyed this textbook in my Leadership and Organizational Behavior class. Explains concepts well. Definitely a text to keep in my library.

a textbook worth buying.......2006-11-07

I have seen other people's review, and I must say that because people have different needs and expectations, so our ratings and opinions about this book is different.

I used this book one year ago for my class, and after the final, I sold the book, and now I am taking OB again in grad school, and even though I don't have this book anymore, I took detailed notes while reading this book, and the theories and concepts I wrote in my notes enabled me to support my arguments in my analysis paper. When I was writing my paper, I was thinking that if I still had my textbook, it would be great. (I kind of regret now that I sold the book one year ago.) This book tells you all the fundamental things you need to know about OB, and it also has many self-assessment tests at the end of the textbook). The textbook I am using now for my current class is just a composition of a bunch of articles (kind of like a reader). I feel glad that I had read this textbook before and kept the detailed notes on each chapter, because it helps me understand the basics easier than my classmates who have only read the reader.

Very confused, unnecessarily complicated, and above all - dull........2006-09-18

If you're made to buy this book you have every right to hate the professor that makes you do so. This book is a punishment! Not only is it very expensive, but it also offers information that it is not relevant to the real world at all.

There are some positive sides in this book after all. There are quick references on almost every page to make it easier to follow the chapter; there are good graphs the explanations to the graphs as well as the general argument do fit (more or less). There are also case studies, a fairly solid web page, and self-assessment questions that are helpful to get through with this material.

However, the style is unnecessarily pompous, filled with theories that make no or only very little sense; the information presented is way to shallow to really understand what the authors are getting at, yet miraculously they manage to fill the book with more than 500 pages with endless waffle. In some places, the author's even contradict themselves, which is the most impressive thing about this book.

Generally only two stars are awarded for this book, as it really is a waste of money and time, however if you have to read this insult for any intellectual mind, you will find some help to make nonsense into a science. Good luck to you!

Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company

Average customer rating:

Required Reading for MBA Students
Practical advice and a powerful read!
There are better places to spend your business-book dollars
Back to the Basics
Finallly a book with practical and real-world application

Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company
Bob Prosen
Manufacturer: Gold Pen Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0977684806

Book Description

KISS THEORY GOOD BYE

NEW BUSINESS BOOK GIVES TEXTBOOK THEORY THE BIG KISS OFF!

Business Expert Writes the Playbook on 'How To' Rapidly Increase Performance and Profit in Any Company.

Bob Prosen cuts like a laser through the fog of political correctness and business-as-usual in his new book, Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company.

Prosen says he's had enough of the business books that tell readers what to do rather than how. "Forget the platitudes and feel-good anecdotes from a few CEOs and business gurus. Get to the point—the how-to details that can actually help leaders get the results they need in the companies they run," Prosen counsels.

With the same genius that he used to turn around inherited, underperforming operations within 12 to 18 months in some of the world's most prominent companies including AT&T, Sprint, Hitachi, NCR, and Sabre, Prosen delivers a straightforward, no-nonsense, battle proven guide to accelerate performance and profits in any organization.

"A smart business leader can achieve unprecedented bottom-line results by forsaking abstract discussions and vague textbook theory, shutting down endless excuses, killing off company politics, holding people accountable, and simply doing things that clearly work," says Prosen.

Kiss Theory Good Bye shows you how to quickly and consistently achieve extraordinary results in leadership, sales effectiveness, operational excellence, financial management, and customer loyalty.

Packed with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions, this book will show you how to

•Achieve consistent results, quarter after quarter
•Align your entire workforce to meet the organization's top objectives
•Increase accountability so you get the results you need
•Attract and retain top talent
•Beat your competition and lock in customer loyalty
•Reduce costs while increasing quality
•React less and have more time to plan
•Make your job easier and your organization run more smoothly

Contrary to the book's seemingly corporate focus, readers quickly point out that his business execution principles apply equally to not-for-profit organizations. As Los Angeles Unified School District Business Manager Michael A. Eugene reports, "Kiss Theory Good Bye is a compelling read, offering a toolbox to public- and private-sector managers alike to help establish clear focus, increase accountability, effective management, and measurable outcomes."

While other business books try to tell you what to do to run your business better, faster and for greater profit, Bob Prosen's Kiss Theory Good Bye gives you the tools and step-by-step directions to make it happen. For leaders who demand superior results, Kiss Theory Good Bye delivers the goods for taking immediate - and lasting - action.

My goal for sharing my knowledge and experiences is to give you the answers you need to immediately enable your enterprise to achieve its full potential. Leaders want their ideas and initiatives consistently carried out without hassle and rework. They want accountability, and value results over theory. I wrote Kiss Theory Good Bye with two principles in mind. First, theory would be replaced with proven tools, tactics, and answers that get results. Second, all of the information must be relevant and directly applicable to today's business challenges without the need for translation.

Until now this information has only been available piecemeal, leaving you to find, assemble, and translate it to fit your business. You might have gathered some of it through mentors, by trial and error, or by surviving the "school of hard knocks." But by the time you finish reading Kiss Theory Good Bye, you will have the answers you need to immediately begin improving results throughout your entire organization. And you will find that this book will remain a useful resource for quick, proven answers to resolve your most pressing business challenges.

Customer Reviews:

Required Reading for MBA Students.......2007-09-24

From the moment I read Prosen's book, I knew it had to be required reading for the MBA class I'm teaching. Because my day job puts me in the trenches with organizations of all sizes, I knew that this book hit the nail on the head. While other books make the case for getting from "good to great" this book creates the roadmap for HOW to achieve it. With relevant examples, usable tools, and a down-to-earth common sense approach, Prosen provides a timeless tool of common sense for senior leaders of organizations. He also provides applicable reasons for addressing the "nay sayers" in the organization. If you're tired of books that provide a lot of fluff with little take-back-to-your-desk-application, then get this book. My MBA students have assured me that they are keeping this book in their library.

Practical advice and a powerful read!.......2007-08-11

Our CEO group used the content from this book to transform our businesses in 2007! The tools and concepts are both practical and measurable. To date it has helped our group increase enterprise value by over $500M! The entry price of this book seems pretty reasonable for the return.

There are better places to spend your business-book dollars.......2007-07-19

Thirty-one Amazon customers loved Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company (Bob Prosen, Gold Pen Publishing, 2006, 256 pages). I didn't. I'm more inclined to agree with Publishers Weekly that this book is "prosaic" and "utterly familiar." There are better places to spend your business-leadership-book money.

Prosen set out to provide answers and tools to help business leaders overcome barriers to success. Drawing on 25 years of consulting experience, and on the self-ratings of some 66 leaders, Prosen claims to have found five crippling habits that prevent success and five attributes of successful organizations.

Unless you just crawled out of a cave, you already know what it takes to succeed:

Superior leadership
Sales effectiveness
Operational excellence
Financial management
Customer loyalty.

You need to read many books, watch many leaders in action, and try many things yourself to really understand each of these. Prosen devotes between 14 and 24 pages to each one. That's just not enough to give you any new insights or ideas.

If I were you, I'd turn to these books instead:

For general leadership insight, look to Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right and 12: The Elements of Great Managing.

For sales effectiveness, turn to Strategic Customer Care : An Evolutionary Approach to Increasing Customer Value and Profitability and Delivering Profitable Value: A Revolutionary Framework to Accelerate Growth, Generate Wealth, and Rediscover the Heart of Business.

For operational excellence, your focus should be on increasing value-adding activities and eliminating non-value-adding activities. (This isn't the same as Prosen's cost-control focus.) Here I recommend two books that explain Lean thinking: Lean Thinking : Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, Revised and Updated and The Toyota Way Fieldbook.

The best source on financial management I've read is Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean.

For customer loyalty, you can't go wrong if you pick up Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together.

Back to the Basics.......2007-07-15

A refreshing theme throughout this book is the need for companies to create cultures based on accountability and results. When organizations have clear directives and hold team members accountable to achieve them, great things happen. Without these basic building blocks, some of the "cripplers" that Bob enumerates - rationalizing inferior performance, planning in lieu of action, and aversion to risk/change spread throughout organizations substantially eroding their effectiveness. This is "common sense, but not common practice" - a mantra frequently repeated by the author.

Bob introduces 5 attributes of highly profitable companies - superior leadership, sales effectiveness, operational excellence, financial management, and customer loyalty. He then explains how to execute in each of the areas. Bob asks questions to help the reader identify where his/her organization stands in each area so focus can be placed appropriately. Lists of actions complete each chapter with references to additional helpful materials available on the author's website.

Leaders/Managers at all levels need to get back to the basics. This book shows them the way. It cuts through the clutter and noise and addresses common problems with practical and proven solutions. If the tips in this book are "practiced," and institutionalized extraordinary results will follow.

Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager

Finallly a book with practical and real-world application.......2007-07-02

I was fortunate enough to see Bob speak at a local SMEI event several months back which prompted me to purchase the book there in person. His practical, real-life examples and principles are a must for the successful GM and sales leader. Thanks Bob for a book we can all apply right away!

Mike Merrill
Account Executive
Dell, Inc.
Plano, TX

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