This book is ideal as an introduction to health and safety and is layed out in clear easy to follow sections. This book gives quick referance to both employers and employees to what needs to be covered in the most common health and safety situations. it covers Law,management responsibilitys, Human Resources,Workplace safety, Fire safety and a lot more.
This book follows a common-sense approach to budgeting and to planning. It suggests that, rather than managing an organisation from the point of view of traditional financial statements, it makes more sense to work with the measures and quantities that the company’s managers deal with on a daily basis – volumes, prices, consumption rates, ratios, and so on. To allow managers the freedom to budget for their areas of responsibility using the operational data that they are used to handling every day, and which they understand instinctively, is hugely liberating, and will probably lead to a plan that they can deliver with much more confidence.
The approach suggested here is probably not for small companies, but for medium and large operations it represents a huge opportunity to become more accurate in their forecasting, and more quick to react when the situation demands it.
The style of the book is authoritative but accessible, and the author clearly has experience of implementing this sort of solution in various industries. Plenty of examples help to illustrate the points made in the text.
Upside Of The Downturn:
10 Management Strategies To Prevail In The Recession And Thrive In The Aftermath
By Geoff Colvin
Whether or not (as some insist) the Chinese character for the word “crisis” has two meanings, peril and opportunity, the juxtaposition of the two helps to explain Geoff Colvin’s response to a question many business leaders now ask: “How can my company survive and then prevail during the current recession, and eventually thrive in its aftermath?” What he recommends are ten management principles (none of which is a head-snapping revelation) that can guide and inform efforts to achieve the objectives indicated in the question. It is important to keep in kind that Colvin is a hardcore, world-class pragmatist who has an insatiable curiosity to understand what works, what doesn’t, and why…and then share what he has learned with others, with the hope that the information and advice provided will prove helpful to them. I should add that all of his material is anchored in real-world situations. Also, that he is especially talented writer.
In the introductory chapter, Colvin observes: “Performance in the Tour de France is a lot like performance in business and, for that matter, in virtually every realm: the worst, most difficult conditions bring out differences in competitors that were not previously apparent. Such conditions turn leaders suddenly into laggards and vice versa. They determine the winners and losers. Periods of extreme stress and challenge are reliably when dramatic competitive change takes place.” In this context, I remember the outrage expressed by golfers who played in a U.S. Open years ago. The rough was too high, the fairways were too narrow, the greens were too fast, etc. In response to the uproar, an office of the U.S.G.A. replied, “We’re not trying to embarrass the world’s greatest golfers. We’re trying to identify them.” That is what the “difficult conditions” to which Colvin refers do. Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas characterize them as a “crucible” from which some leaders emerge stronger, others do not.
Colvin devotes a separate chapter to each of the ten management principles. Wherever appropriate, he also offers an explanation of especially important issues or developments. For example:
Why “this historic downturn really does offer new, similarly scaled possibilities. The reasons are specific and hardheaded” (Pages 4-9)
“Why we don’t have to wait for the recession to end to see the new world that it’s creating – to glimpse the next episode in the story” (Pages 19-24)
How to examine the most significant changes – in six key categories that shape performance — in a company’s competitive world (Pages 27-34)
Given the “enormously destructive power of this recession,” which lessons does it suggest that will help business leaders to understand what that its risks are and how to manage them effectively (Pages 137-144)
Colvin observes, “A tendency to avoid reality, to minimize bad news, may lie deep in a corporate culture. [That may also be true of what James O'Toole apply characterizes as `ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom.'] But while most cultural change must start at the top, this change can start anywhere. This recession is an unprecedented opportunity to begin such a change.” In most workplaces, there is a wider and deeper sense of job insecurity now than at any previous time that I can recall since the 1930s.
Readers will appreciate Colvin’s generous provision of examples of companies that demonstrate the effectiveness of several of the ten management principles that he recommends. However different these companies may be in most respects, Colvin suggests that their leaders understand the importance of taking five actions that are “simple to state and may seem simple to do, but they aren’t”: (1) They are highly visible and “make it emphatically clear they are present and on the job,” (2) They are calm and in control, demonstrating composure and especially self-discipline; (3) They are decisive, making not only the tough calls but making what Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis characterize (in their book Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls) as “the right tough calls”; (4) They show fearlessness by “facing bad news head on without cringing,” addressing dangers in unvarnished terms; and (5) They explain a crisis in a larger context “by giving shape to events that have occurred and are occurring, portraying them as interesting, normal elements of life that may be no fun but [can be dealt with] while learning and growing.” In the healthiest organizations, there are leaders at every level and in all areas who demonstrate these five actions.
Credit Geoff Colvin with sharing everything he knows that can help many (if not most) companies to survive and then prevail during the current recession, and eventually thrive in its aftermath. I suggest that business leaders who read this book think of it as a hybrid: a wake-up call/reality check and an operations manual. Heaven knows, the challenges business leaders now face are formidable. That said, they would be well-advised to keep in mind what Henry Ford said long ago: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” The choice is theirs.
Buy The Book: Upside Of The Downturn – 10 Management Strategies To Prevail In The Recession And Thrive In The Aftermath
Strategic Project Portfolio Management: Enabling A Productive Organization
By Simon Moore
I’m almost through finishing this book, and I’m already recommending this to so many of my friends.
I feel like many companies could probably save fortunes by reading this book instead of hiring consultants from many top tier firms. You could essentially take this book and follow it as a step-by-step tutorial for making any project succeed. For example, Simon discusses in one chapter the 10 steps for a successful strategic project portfolio management process: know what you have, build momentum, define business goals, capture ideas, be transparent, prioritize, use efficient decision making, establish communication frameworks, conduct postmortems, and improve continually. These may sound like no brainers, but you’ll be surprised how many people stray from these steps and lose their focus when they’re caught in the excitement of developing their ideas.
If you’re an entrepreneur with or without an MBA, this book will help you strategize and plan the next steps after you’ve settled on your block buster idea. If you’re a CEO or you’re managing projects within a company, you’ll learn in addition the early stages of generating the perfect balance of ideas and resources for creating a portfolio of projects with the highest chance of success.
Amazing book. Learned a ton so far. It’s written very well and gets straight to the point. Looking forward to other books by Simon Moore. Keep up the great work.
Buy the Book: Strategic Project Portfolio Management: Enabling A Productive Organization
Fortnightly News Magazine for Busy Managers, Directors & Entrepreneurs.
Issue 5 published today. Get it now at www.managementinbrief.com
Fortnightly News Magazine for Busy Managers, Directors & Entrepreneurs.
Issue 4 published today
Mastering The Art Of Delivery
By Richard Newton
Project management is a vital skill which should be among every healthcare manager’s attributes. It can dramatically benefit an organisation by contributing to cost savings, more efficient and effective working, creation and change. Richard Newton, who is widely renowned and respected in the field of project management, shares his experience in this easy to read book. The aim is to give the reader skills to transform themselves from “basic” to “advanced” level. This book, unlike many in the field, does not contain theories and concepts, but concentrates solely on the “hard” and “soft” skills of project management such as communication and personal styles. It is delivery and outcome focused with useful tips and advice throughout. It also contains a quick reference section with a summary of its content. The following topics are covered:
This book covers topics highly relevant to managers in the health service. The subjects are approached with logical sequence, are easy to follow and have high practical value. I recommend it to anyone wishing to improve their ability to deliver in project management. George Absi is clinical audit manager at Hertfordshire Community Health Services. This feature originally appeared in http://www.hsj.co.uk/resource-centre/book-reviews/book-review-the-project-manager/5007810.article
Buy the book: The Project Manager Mastering The Art Of Delivery
This masterpiece from the Princeton University Press is an amalgamation of some of the most intelligent minds in economics. The contributors include: Eytan Sheshinski, Robert J. Strom, William J. Baumol, Robert M. Solow, Kenneth J. Arrow, Michael M Weinstein, Melissa A. Shilling, Corey Phelps, Sylvia Nasar, Boyan Jovanovic, Peter Rousseau, Edward N. Wolff, Deepak Somaya, David J. Teece, Naomi R. Lamoreaux, Kenneth L. Sokoloff, Yochanan Shachmurove, Ralph E. Gomory, Jonathan Eaton, Samuel S. Kortum, Alan S. Blinder, Robert J. Shiller, Burton G. Malkiel, and Edmund S. Phelps. These brilliant minds address the micro- and macroeconomics of growth, the importance of independent and corporate entrepreneurs and innovators, the employment of technology and the patent system, innovation and trade, and the relationship between innovation and finance.
Arrow and Solow provide the foundation for the remainder of the book by explaining the micro and macro conditions that are conducive to growth. They explain how particular markets and knowledge influence micro and macroeconomics and that the legal system of licensing and patents is the major institution of property rights. Competition is discussed as an incentive to create further innovations which lead to an “optimal portfolio of innovations”.
Nasar, Jovanovic, and Rousseau explore the continuing role of indep
endent innovators and entrepreneurs. They focus on the flexibility of new firms over the older more established companies. They also provide data on Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and touch on the optimal timing for initiating an IPO. Explanation is given as to how some firms exploit irrational exuberance leading up to and during their IPO, yielding themselves significant amounts of capital. They conclude that the small younger firms thrive when fast technological change exists, where the older larger firms do better when it is “business as usual”.
The section on technology and the patent system focuses on the opportunities and challenges in multi-invention innovation. It explains how the patent owner may need good negotiating skills when dealing with a multi-invention innovation. Solutions are also provided for patent owners and their potential infringers. This section explores the costs associated with licensing and where they are most appropriate. The establishment of the U.S. patent system is also discussed along with the growth and trading of patents in
more recent years.
“Innovation and Its Effects on International Trade” is a section outlining how the global economy plays a growing dynamic role in innovation. Labor, capital, and knowledge are brought to the table by multiple countries creating a synergistic fuel for bringing new products to market. Next, the topic of research is discussed, where the wealthier countries are more heavily invested. It also explains the pitfalls of two countries pursuing an identical technology, where opportunities and advantages can actually be eliminated.
Next, Blinder introduces chapters by Shiller and Malkiel. Shiller’s section explains “Radical Financial Innovations”. Here, Shiller discusses hedging and risk management performed by insurance firms. He indicates that imperfect risk sharing exists between income and consumption with
in and across countries. He then explains the innovations in home insurance and provides proposals to use price indexes that cannot be distorted by individuals.
Malkiel’s section focuses on the “Free-Market Innovation Machine”. He explores the importance of venture capital firms providing the key money and managerial support for innovation to become a reality. The dominance of U.S. venture capital over that of European finance is discussed in relation to IPOs. Malkiel also points out how the large amount of investment outlets leads to overinvestment and market bubbles.
Finally, Strom makes an introduction to be followed by Phelps and Sheshinski about free-market innovation and its relation to western European economies and the economic welfare of developing economies. Phelps touches on how the western European countries are failing to create a successful free-market of innovation. Sheshinski focuses on “Pharmaceutical Patenting in Developing Countries and R & D”. He analyzes competitive and monopolistic pricing strategies on global welfare, the economics of developing countries, and incentives for firms and industries to participate in R & D.
To conclude, I feel that this book is a great comprehensive collection of intelligent economic thinking and analysis. It reminds us of the importance of innovation in driving economic growth in our free-market economy. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this subject.
Thia feature originally appeared in http://seekingalpha.com/article/174797-book-review-entrepreneurship-innovation-and-the-growth-mechanism-of-the-free-enterprise-economies
Buy the book: Entrepreneurship Innovation And The Growth Mechanism Of The Free-enterprise Economies
By John Smith
By the time the reader finishes reading, dog-earing pages and highlighting important tips in this workbook, it will seem to be twice as thick. It’s jam packed with helpful information. And one of the best things about applying these ideas is that the author has focused on the improvements that can be done for free. For example: “Yahoo offers a keyword checker, but what else can you use to find out more? Well, there are a selection of sites offering business-critical information about keywords; some you pay for, some you don’t. I’m going to concentrate on the free information because it’s strong and accurate, and if you are happy to invest the time, why pay someone else?”
Later in the book, Jon Smith, the author again warns his readers to “Avoid the many hundreds of sites that offer to submit your site to all the major search engines on your behalf—they want money from you for what is a simple exercise. Also you can’t be sure it’s been done and won’t know if they’ve done it correctly.” The book is filled with this common sense, money saving advice for the reader. Some of these submission processes are almost “as easy as falling off a log” to use my highly technical description of the difficulty involved.
This reviewer is usually happy if he gleans two or three good, practical ideas that he can put to immediate or future use. As a bonus, it’s nice to learn about an entirely new technique that was hitherto completely unknown to them. This 152-page volume is packed with more information than most of us can easily apply. Each idea is covered in only three to four pages that require only a few minutes to read. The logic behind the individual technique is explained and then a pithy boxed segment titled “Here’s an idea for You…” follows the general explanation of the need. That’s where the 52 tools suggested by the book are listed.
The author advises that there is no need to read this book from front to back. He suggests “Dip in and dip out, read it from start to finish—it doesn’t matter. The 52 brilliant ideas contained in it are generally quick fixes that should result in immediate benefits to your site if you adopt them.” While the book is great for reading in short bursts such as waiting for the bus or subway, or during television commercials or even as bathroom reading, reading it from start to finish is probably best. It was for me, because there were things that are introduced early in the books such as the meaning of SEO (search engine optimization), “KEI” (keyword effectiveness index), “RSS Feeds” (a sticky site), “H Tags,” “Whois,” “Meta Keywords,” “’urchin’ code,” “PageRank”(named after Larry Page, one of Google’s founders), “Wordtracker”, and the differences between “Hits, Page Views, Visitors/Uniques, PPC and PPM’s.” There are also some rather more sophisticated techniques suggested in this book and it’s more likely the average reader will better understand them if they have started reading the book from the beginning.
For more advanced computer literate people, there is also an excellent index to help locate exactly the information they are seeking. For this reader, one of the most intriguing listings in the Index was “Wikipedia: creating a page about yourself.”
This is a good introduction to making better use of the techniques for helping searchers find your website, read your self-promotion and/or buy your products. One good suggestion will more than pay the cost of the book and for the time devoted to reading and studying it. Be #1 At Google (McGraw-Hill/ Sep 2009) is definitely a book that will you will want to scribble notes in the margins of and mark the pages with a book mark or the primitive and old reliable dog ear.
Jon Smith is Strategy Adviser and Head of Deenero at Aedgency.com and was part of the start-up
teams for Amazon.co.uk, Kitbag.com, and The Florist Exchange. He is the author of Grow Your Business with Google AdWords™.
James Holland is Author of Adventure Photographer (A Bit of Boston Books/ 2009)
A Complete Guide To The Models, Tools And Techniques Of Organizational Change
Esther Cameron & Mike Green
Sixty years on from the creation of the NHS and 25 years on from the Griffiths report, the pace and complexity of change for staff, managers and patients show no signs of abating. If those years have taught us anything it is that there is no single approach, no standard tick box for how to manage change.
The subtitle to Cameron and Green’s informative book is “a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change” and the text provides a wealth of knowledge on both the theory and application of change across organisations.
The first half of the book addresses the many frameworks for and approaches to change management in a considered but very readable way, including question sets for readers to reflect on their own situation as well as exploring the styles and skills needed to be a leader of change.
With the exception of a rather lightweight section on IT-based process change, which feels bolted on the end, the book’s strength for practising managers is in the second half, where the authors apply several of the approaches to specific types of change.
The sections on restructuring and mergers and acquisitions are strong and relevant to a public sector that often seems to announce structural change with little apparent planning of its impact.
Neither a deep academic textbook – although it is the core text for the accreditation group APMG’s Principles of Change Management certification – nor a superficial top 10 glossy business book, it is an accessible and thought provoking read.
Nick Mellors is lead consultant in change management with DBI Consulting.
This review was orinally featured on http://www.hsj.co.uk/resource-centre/best-practice/book-review-making-sense-of-change-management/5004728.article
Buy the book: Making Sense Of Change Management A Complete Guide To The Models Tools And Techniques Of Organizational Change
This recession has taught us all that consumers, just like employers, are in the driver’s seat. As a result, what we need now more than ever are creative solutions and top-notch emotional skills to enhance our chances for success.
Although it may have originally been intended as a case-book study for business owners, Who’s Your Gladys by Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest is a valuable handbook for any employee who wants to learn how to make him or herself indispensable in today’s environment.
Subtitled How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan, the book begins by reminding us that when customer dollars are scarce, “It’s the companies with exceptional customer service that weather the storm. If you want to keep customers coming back and happily recommending you to others, now is the time to ramp up your customer service to the highest possible level. Even when the economy gets back on track, those with extraordinary customer care enjoy the most profits.”
The Gladys in the title refers to a prickly, elderly woman who hired a moving company in Walled Lake, Mich., to move her into a retirement community. Known as a cranky complainer who was notoriously hard to please, the 87 year-old widow could have been a nightmare client when the company damaged a marble-topped table. But because “Professional Movers” treated her with patience, kindness and a determination to make her happy, she became a one-woman advertising agency, promoting the company that went out of its way to make her a satisfied customer.
Because everyone knew how picky Gladys could be, they paid attention when she had positive things to say, and “Professional Movers” is now the No. 1 choice of movers for her retirement center. Building that sort of referral base has helped the company’s sales improve by more than 40 percent in two years.
One of the best guidelines the book offers is the reminder — for employees and owners alike — that customers aren’t problems, they’re people. Really effective customer service often boils down to simply trying to make people happy, treating them kindly and offering the kind of service you would like to receive.
When we read about the employees at Paul Reed Smith Guitars we learn just how valuable a motivated, passionate work force can be. PRS has only been in business since 1985, but is considered the gold standard of guitar makers. Employees are reminded that everything they do ultimately has an impact on the brand, and treating customers with respect and distinction is part of the recipe for being successful. PRS guitars are pricey, and customer satisfaction is measured by “whether people are willing to pay you more for your products … Customers can fire the company at any time just by taking their business elsewhere.”
Singapore Airlines is another company whose customers happily pay more simply because they are treated so well. From serving a beverage, to arranging for ground transportation and accommodations when needed, Singapore Airlines has been named one of the world’s best airlines 19 of the past 20 years. It’s not surprising that its flight attendants spend almost five months in training when the industry standard is six weeks.
Another company that has invested heavily in customer satisfaction is ISCO Industries, which makes and distributes polyethylene piping. “Everyone at ISCO is vested in the company’s success. From the guy who loads the trucks to the woman who answers the phone, all ISCO employees attend the same meetings, have the same goals, and win together or lose together. Each employee is encouraged to think of him or herself as an entrepreneur or a business person.”
In short, customer service is all about:
This review was originally featured in http://www.bizjournals.com/extraedge/consultants/winning_at_work/2009/10/05/
column172.html?market=portland
Buy the book: Who’s Your Gladys? How To Turn Even The Most Difficult Customer Into Your Biggest Fan
By Tim Brown
About halfway through Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, Tim Brown repeats Tom Peter’s much cited comment that “the MFA is the new MBA.” In doing so, however, he doesn’t fully endorse the sentiment. Instead Brown observes that the dynamic skills required in business share as much in common with the creativity required for a design practice as they do with the critical thinking required for the MBA.
On the back of the book jacket the author observes, “this is not a book by designers for designers, this is a book for creative leaders who seek to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization.” In that way it straddles the gulf between the MFA and the MBA. Clearly learning to draw is a far sight from learning how to run a discounted cash flow analysis and the skill set doesn’t overlap. We need both MFAs and MBAs. But the crux of what Brown is getting at is what McKinsey & Company referred to as the “T-Shaped” person, where the vertical axis represents the depth of the skill set that forms their core competency. Valuable design thinkers, however, “cross the T,” holding not only deep familiarity with their core role, but also a disposition for collaboration across enterprises.
A “design thinker” isn’t just an artist and isn’t just a number-cruncher. Instead they need to be knowledgeable enough about each to be conversant: to be a member not of a multidisciplinary team but of an interdisciplinary team.
If this all sounds a little like business-jargon-tinged self-help … well, it is. Business books tend to be written in a peculiar dialect somewhere between anecdote and allegory, and Change by Design is no exception. Perhaps owing to the Harvard Business School case method, it seems de rigeur in business books these days to present lessons as anecdotes about business interactions (e.g. Shimano’s core business of bicycle sprockets and derailleurs was flattening) followed an analysis of the market and the causes of said shift. At the “B-School” the initial case would be followed by rigorous debate and a written analysis of what the company should do to change its position. In Change by Design, the reader learns what solutions IDEO reached (e.g. returning to the comfort and familiarity of coasting bikes from childhood).
Regardless of the success of that coasting initiative, however, the real lesson is in the allegory as Brown provides that proves the centerpiece of the book: “The reason for the iterative, nonlinear nature of the journey is not that design thinkers are disorganized or undisciplined but that design thinking is an exploratory process; done right, it will inevitably make unexpected discoveries along the way, and it would be foolish not to find out where they lead.” Reading that, then, perhaps industrial designers should be thrilled; the processes that we learned for “needsfinding” and “directed research” truly are akin to the case method. Perhaps that’s what Peters was getting at after all.
But if Tim Brown was right, and this isn’t a book “by designers for designers,” what can we get out of it? The rigorous analytic thinking that MBAs learn in finance classes isn’t presented here. Instead we see the softer/touchier side of “inspiration, ideation, implementation” of which long-time prototypers and experimenters should already be aware. IDEO, however, has managed to out-business corporate America through design, so perhaps there’s something to be learned here. Ultimately, the difference between design and art is commerce and function, so most designers will eventually need to reach out or at least speak to corporate America.
Through his years as CEO of IDEO, Brown knows as well as anyone how to communicate with suits … even if he has an MFA. Consequently, while we (designers) may not be the target audience for the book, there is certainly something to be learned here for us to “cross the T” and speak to MBAs.
The first half of the book consists of multiple cases, from HBO to Marriott, that are all used to illustrate two core concepts: (1) The “design brief” and its inherent constraints make the design and (2) all design is “human centered” design, even if the people interviewed can’t articulate their concerns. Some anecdotes are stronger than others. For us to hear about Kristian Simsarian strapping a camera below his hospital gown and experiencing a hospital visit at the SSM DePaul Health Center on a gurney should be enough to send most designers out into the field.
Other commentary, like how Brown thinks it’s important to let workers know that it’s OK to fail seems like something that would be pinned to Dilbert’s cubicle wall, however true it may be. That said, Brown throws out a lot of concepts and a lot of anecdotes. Some are bound to stick for each reader. As he observed about Linus Pauling’s statement “To have a good idea, you must first have lots of ideas,” well, Linus Pauling won two Nobel Prizes.
The early portion of the book struggles with the stifling realities of the corporate American workplace, even unintentionally demonstrating how binding cubicle life can be. Upon learning that a company like Mattel needed to create a “retreat” so that cross disciplinary employees can have a “fun” space in which to collaborate, this reader wondered couldn’t help but wonder if it was that hard to have fun at a toy company, the rest of corporate America must be in trouble.
Clearly the MFA is more fun than the MBA, but the MBA drives the world, … and the economy. Perhaps there’s something horribly ill about corporate America and that’s what Brown is getting at. Either way, many of the case studies, even in their success, should serve as cautionary tales about the nature of corporate structure. Those of us who get our hands dirty, either with actual dirt and grease or with hot glue and Chartpak markers should be happy.
In the second half of the book called “Design Thinking Meets the Corporation,” Brown begins to tackle enormous, near-insurmountable problems. From treating Procter & Gamble’s ability to help housewives better clean their bathrooms in the early chapters, he lurches into the “big issues.” A short story illustrating Oral-B’s successful product launch of a toothbrush designed for the small and awkward hands of children, suddenly turns into an environmental parable when the lead designer of the toothbrush found one washed up on a beach in Mexico largely intact.
Although not discussed in detail in the book, IDEO has shifted focus in recent years to pay more attention to global human problems, and that’s a good thing. In the early pages, Brown talks about how important it is to have a well structured design brief in order to better frame the problem. In the latter pages, he even tackles the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals like “Eradicating extreme poverty.”
After a short admission that statement is too broad to form an effective design brief, he reframes it immediately as a series of more specific initiatives like: “How might we enable poor farmers to increase the productivity of their land through simple, low-cost products and services?” These are not simple questions, but as Charles Eames responded, when asked how whether he came up with his lounge chair in a flash of insight, replied yes, “a kind of 30-year flash.” With people like Brown codifying design thinking, the tools are out there to solve our problems if a few people are willing to attack them with that sort of tenacity.
This review originally featured at http://www.core77.com/blog/book_reviews/book_review_change_by_design_by_tim_brown_14797.asp
Buy this book: Change By Design How Design Thinking Creates New Alternatives For Business And Society
How to Build A Resilient Organization for Sustained Advantage
Michael Beer
Jossey-Bass (2009)
Achieving a competitive advantage is nowhere near as difficult as sustaining one. Therein is a paradox that serves as the title of Marshall Goldsmith’s book: what got you here won’t get you there. Even more ominous, what got you here won’t keep you here. Hence the appropriateness of the subtitle selected for Beer’s book. What he shares is an abundance of observations, questions, issues, suggestions, and recommendations that are anchored in more than 40 years of real-world experience. In the Introduction, he refers to his quest to study and build high commitment, high performance (HCHP) organizations. What he provides is what he has learned about what works, what doesn’t, and the reasons why.
Written in collaboration with Russell Eisenstat and Nathaniel Foote, this volume provides a number of different perspectives and knowledge concerning several key disciplines that include strategic management, organization design, human resource management, culture and organization development, enterprise learning, and change initiatives. Beer observes, “Employing these diverse perspectives, I propose three paradoxical organizational outcomes needed to achieve sustained high performance [i.e. performance alignment, psychological alignment, and the capacity for learning and change], articulate five management levers for designing an organization to achieve these outcomes [i.e. leadership at all levels and in all areas, an effective learning and governance system, a strategic performance management system, an organizing system, and an HR system], and present a framework for change and its transformation.”
Here’s a key point: Obviously, there must be both high commitment at the senior executive level. Much more importantly, C-level executives and other supervisors must demonstrate – not only affirm — high performance. Otherwise, they cannot expect those for whom they are responsible to do so and their organization will not survive in its competitive marketplace, much less dominate it. Moreover, as Beer explains in the Epilogue, “CEOs and their top teams will have to engage their hands to design very different management practices, particularly with regard to the firm’s performance management and compensation systems. The former must enable hard-hitting, fact-based reviews of the business to achieve essential shirt-term profits in a way that does not compromise the firm’s larger purpose and its long-term performance. With regard to the latter, surely a shift away from incentives for annual profits to incentives tied to long-term performance (five to seven years) is in order.”
This review originally appeared on http://www.examiner.com/x-14678-Dallas-Business-Commentary-Examiner~y2009m9d1-Book-review-High-Commitment-High-Performance
Buy the book: High Commitment High Performance: How To Build A Resilient Organization For Sustained Advantage
By John Wright
Though I’ve never met the author, he is a long-time friend of someone in my family, which is how his book came into my hands.
Any man married to the same woman for the majority of the time that he’s been on the planet and who shepherded three daughters into the their adult lives with her… well, that man deserves to have his book read.
“The System’s Bitch” is a humorous take on Mr. Wright’s customer service experiences over the years. He writes with a straight-forward wit that makes getting through the book an easy and delightful process. His take on the world is one of common sense, and he asks why we put up with the things we do as the desirable quantity — the customer.
Convenience has swung from the customer to the business. In other words, the business now finds it convenient to charge more for less because we accept it as a bitch of “The System.”
I can relate to Mr. Wright because I have the worst customer service karma there is and I’ve not found what is supposed to be balancing it on the other side. For my bad traffic karma, I have good parking karma; makes sense, right? But, when my water gets shut off because the water utility changed their billing address and didn’t tell my Bank ePay, or DirecTV phantom charges me a buck here and a buck there for three straight months when my service was supposed to off while I was in the process of a move, or when my health insurance provider fails to charge my credit card and then sends me a letter, which by the time I receive it and respond my insurance has been canceled (you couldn’t pick up the phone and call me? Seriously, I pay YOU and you just let it cancel?)… well, I know what it’s like to be “The System’s Bitch.”
The only criticism that I have of the book is that it is fully intended to be a rant, as far as I can tell. And, although the squeaky wheel, when screaming, often gets greased, I don’t typically find favor in simply shouting… I always try to find a way to take one more step and relate to some way that we can make the world a better place, either through action or enlightenment.
So, let’s look for him to focus on the solutions instead of the problems in his next book!
This review originally appeared in http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-the-systems-bitch-by/
Buy the book: System’s Bitch
Tamar Weinberg
The explosion of social media can present daunting challenges to marketers. How have the rules of advertising changed? Are there specific rules for various online communities? Which networks best reach the widest audiences? Tamar Weinberg addresses these issues and more in The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web, the latest O’Reilly guide to navigating this territory. By reading this book, companies and individuals wishing to enter this new world will gain a great deal of knowledge and ideas for utilizing social web tools.
Weinberg, an Internet marketing consultant and blogger, thoroughly explains the history of social networks, and describes key elements to a successful online marketing plan. Business owners and marketers with just a passing familiarity with sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and YouTube will find her descriptions clear and insightful. She provides numerous tips on using hidden tools on these sites to promote brands, enhance reputations, and network with customers. Even freelance writers and other individuals looking to develop a strong online presence should find her hints useful. Weinberg cites numerous case studies from companies illustrating how social media marketing can help — or potentially hurt — sales and customer relations.
The book’s structure moves from the general to specific, the first four chapters introducing the concept of social web marketing and providing advice as to goal-setting and devising online marketing plans. Weinberg then proceeds to specific social media tools, painstakingly describing blogs and microblogs social networks, wikis, social bookmarking, social news sites, and other media such as video and photo sharing sites, and podcasting. Drawing from these tools and definitions, she concludes with concrete advice on determining strategies (as well as continuing face-to-face networking). Everyone should read the appendix, “The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook,” a concise guide to correctly using social networking sites (and not offending fellow users).
The New Community Rules’s greatest strength, however, lies in its definition of social media marketing. The traditional paradigm has shifted, and Weinberg accurately describes the new: namely, companies and customers have a closer relationship. “Companies need to acknowledge that they can no longer easily control their messages,” she writes. “Marketers now have the ability to influence and cultivate the message through their own communication channels…but they are now contending with hundreds of thousands of customers who have a soundboard to articulate their own thoughts about the company and product offerings.” In other words, companies must consider online marketing as a two-way street, and must expect and encourage audience feedback and participation. Potential customers avoid direct sales pitches and instead search for “newsworthy content that the community as a whole believes is relevant to a wider audience.” Therefore, she concludes, the PR consultant must think of herself as a “community participant” rather than simply someone hired to craft press releases.
While Weinberg’s thoroughness is to be commended, others may find the book hard to digest in one sitting. The sheer amount of information provided may be overwhelming for those not accustomed to social media. In fact, at various points in the text, Weinberg states that some companies may want to hire consultants who are well-versed in social media and its customs. Establishing a strong online presence requires patience and many hours spent online, which may not be possible for all business owners. A companion book may be helpful for those seeking briefer answers to common questions. A full color, graphically eye-catching design would enable to readers to quickly consult the book for specific information rather than having to constantly read entire chapters for specific information.
Despite the layout, Weinberg’s New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web serves as an informative reference for devising marketing plans. Altruism, fostering relationships, giving back to the online community, and authenticity are the key words in social media marketing, and this book provides a thorough education in how these words have altered the business marketing world.
This review previously appeared in http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-the-new-community-rules1/
Buy the book: New Community Rules: Marketing On The Social Web
Allan Afuah
Oxford University Press (2002)
In this second edition, Afuah develops in much greater depth many of the same concepts introduced in the previous edition (1998) but changed some of the terminology and rearranged the sequence of material while separating strategy issues from those concerning implementation and adding an entirely new chapter, “The Internet: A Case in Technological Change” (Chapter 16). He also incorporates many of the readers’ reactions and suggestions generated by the earlier edition. However, he retains the same seven themes that “underpin the synthesis and intregrative framework” that can allow students of innovation “to get their minds around this increasingly important field – a framework that allows them to build on and make cause-and-effect predictions.” That is again his goal in this second edition and he achieves it fully.
Opinions are mixed as to whether or not it is possible to “manage” innovation. Perhaps some of the disagreements have to do with how manage is defined. Afuah seems to be among those (I among them) who believe that it is possible to establish and then manage an environment in which innovation can flourish, and it is also possible to manage the adoption, production, marketing, sales, and distribution of products that result from innovative thinking. In his introduction, Afuah poses a series of 17 questions and then answers them, devoting a separate chapter to each. Following Chapter 1, “Introduction and Overview,” he organizes his material as follows: Part I (Chapters 2-4): Fundamentals (e.g. models of innovation); Part II (Chapters 5-10): Strategizing (e.g. strategies for sustaining profits); Part III (Chapters 11 and 12): Implementation (e.g. of the decision to adopt); and Part IV (Chapters 13-17): Globalization (e.g. the role of national governments). Afluah thinks in terms of an entire enterprise, one whose strategy is based on several key factors that he examines in Part II.
Readers will also appreciate the two appendices, “Dominant Designs and Standards” and “Some Organizational Designs.” They and Afuah’s thoughtful responses to the 17 questions during which he develops the seven themes will provide a wealth of information and counsel but presumably he would be the first to agree that it would be a fool’s errand for any of his readers to attempt to implement all of his recommendations.
This review previously appeared in: http://www.examiner.com/x-14678-Dallas-Business-Commentary-Examiner~y2009m7d20-Book-review-Innovation-Management
by Robert L. Cantrell
(Wiley, John & Sons, Inc.)
Patents on their own are just pieces of paper (with a fancy seal). What really matters, is how you make use of patent rights. Here, the author has provided a practical guide to the use of patents as effective business tools. This book is not an introduction to patent law but is a thorough discussion of key approaches to make intellectual property serve a company’s business plan and goals.
In Outpacing the Competition, Robert Cantrell sets out that a patent strategy is composed of decision cycles that include:
Cantrell describe the situation as this:
Decision cycles are not one-pass-through events. They are continuous cycles of assess, decide, and act, whereupon each action leads to new assessments, new decisions, and new actions, the complexity of which increases proportionally to the ambiguity of the objective.
The main body of the book then describes using the decision cycle as the primary guideline for how an organization should plan its patent strategy and organize its intellectual property. Whether your organization is IP driven or not (and it probably is even if you don’t know it), there are lots of lessons here.
With the changing business landscape, assessing the situation requires understanding that all successful enterprises have a central idea that defines the company, its centers of excellence. As a model example, Cantrell shows how Federal Express set one of the best descriptions of a central idea set out in its tag line, “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.®”
Federal Express patents are oriented around fulfilling the promise of this idea. A review of Federal Express patents will show that they describe packaging, labeling, and logistic methods oriented toward getting packages from point A to point B proficiently and at high (i.e., overnight) speed. It’s entire intellectual property suite — the brand name, the trademarked tag line, the patents, plus trade secrets … — are all oriented toward delivering that promise.
Can you say the same for your business?
Drawing heavily from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, a Chinese military treatise written in the 6th century BC, Cantrell shows how to use patents to your advantage. In one example, asymmetry is used as a strategic tool to take actions that line up a companies strengths against a competitors weaknesses, the idea being to engage a competitor on your own terms.
We highly recommend that you read Outpacing the Competition. You are sure to walk away with insights into business action that go well beyond just intellectual property strategies.
Robert L. Cantrell is a professional strategist and Director of Consulting at Landon IP, Inc. He has managed multiple consulting and analytical engagements across a wide range of technology sectors that include the communications, electronics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, energy, and consumer goods fields. He is on the faculty of Patent Resources Group (PRG).
References: This review previously appeared in http://www.patentbaristas.com/archives/2009/07/20/book-review-monday-outpacing-the-competition/
Buy the book: Outpacing The Competition
| Date: 8 October 2009, 3:00pm BST (not GMT as it says on the InfoSecurity website (that’s being amended)) Duration: 1 hoursOrganised by InfoSecurity.com |
Web 2.0 services, including wikis, social networking portals and blogs, are powerful drivers in the B2B and B2C communications channel – for many companies, they open up new doors as never before.
But these same Web 2.0 services also create more than a few branding and security headaches. not least in reputational terms.
It only takes one slip to trigger a viral crusade against your organisation that can significantly dent your company’s reputation.
Many companies – mindful of this issue – have forbidden the use of social networking and other Web 2.0 services by their employees, but doing so means they miss out on the plentiful benefits that such services bring to the business table.
Join us for an entertaining and thought-provoking webinar in which a team of senior professionals look at the brand image and reputation issues that Web 2.0 services engender, and explain some of the solutions that are now available.
This webinar will:
This webinar is for:
Mary Kay Ash
John S. Wiley & Son (2008)
This is a reissue of a volume that was first published in 1984 to which personal comments from Independent National Sales Directors from throughout the world were added, accompanying a Foreword by Mary Kay Ash’s grandson, Ryan Rogers. Credit Yvonne Pendleton with a brilliant job of editing all of the material in this updated edition. As with so many other prominent CEOs, Mary Kay learned most (if not all) of what she considers to be the most valuable business lessons from negative experiences, both hers and others’. Prior to opening the doors to Mary Kay Cosmetics in a 500-square-foot store front in Dallas (Friday, September 13, 1963), she had been the victim of all manner of gender biases, broken promises, betrayals of confidence, etc. From the beginning of her new company, she included The Golden Rule among its core principles. The policies and procedures she formulated all shared the same objective: To create a workplace culture that nourishes and supports everyone’s personal as well as professional development. The only limits on that development would be self-imposed. Mary Kay didn’t stop there, however. She was determined to do everything humanly possible to help her associates to reject or eliminate such limits. She also expected everyone else to provide such help to those in need of it.
To guide and inform such supportive efforts, she devised eight management principles:
1. Praise People to Success
2. Tear Down That Ivory Tower
3. Be a Risk-Taker
4. Be Sales-Oriented
5. Be a Problem-Solver
6. Create a Stress-Free Workplace
7. Develop and Promote People from Within
8. Keep Business in Its Proper Place.
When the Independent National Sales Directors were surveyed prior to publication of this edition, they identified #1, #7, and #8 as having had the greatest impact on their personal as well as professional development and were most critical. They also ranked the chapters of this book in terms of their importance to them and four of the 23 chapters emerged: “Help Others Get What They Want – and You’ll Get What You want” (Chapter 12) ” “Golden Rule Management” (Chapter 1), “The Invisible Sign” (Chapter 3), and “The Speed of the Leader Is the Speed of the Gang” (Chapter 9). “Whenever I meet someone,” Mary Kay once explained, “I try to imagine him or her wearing an invisible sign that says: MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT! I respond to this sign immediately, and it works wonders.” Apparently it has also done so for others in her organization. The company began with nine Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants; in 1984 when this book was first published, there were 200,000 in its sales force; today, there is a worldwide sales force of 1.8 million whose wholesale sales generate $2.4 billion.
Management InBrief Issue 6 OUT TODAY
February 11th, 2010Management InBrief Issue 6 OUT TODAY
Fortnightly News Magazine for Busy Managers, Directors & Entrepreneurs. Issue 6 published today. Get it now at www.managementinbrief.com
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