The premise.In 1982 Tom Peters and Robert Waterman released a study of 43 firms that had been rated excellent by passing a series of "business tests" they had devised. They concluded in In Search of Excellence that there were 8 keys to excellence that were shared by all 43 firms.A little bit on the dry side, but well worth it if you have the time. I read this one a while back and had to flip through it again to refresh my memory... and I'm glad I did. Consider this book to be the Consumer Reports/JD Power for companies back in the early 80's. It is still studied at some business schools.The 8 Keys to Excellence:1. A bias for actionDo it. Try it. Don't waste time studying it with multiple reports and committees.2. Customer focusGet close to the customer. Know your customer.3. EntrepreneurshipEven big companies act and think small by giving people the authority to take initiatives.4. Productivity through peopleTreat your people with respect and they will reward you with product
ivity.5. Value oriented CEOsThe CEO should actively propagate corporate values throughout the organization.6. Stick to the knittingDo what you know well.7. Keep things simple and leanComplexity encourages waste and confusion.8. Simultaneously centralized and decentralizedHave tight centralized control while also allowing maximum individual autonomy.All managers / directors / CEO CTO CFO's should re-read this one.I have several other books that I've reviewed like this, so feel free to check them out. In general I feel that most business books are only there to sell you on one big idea, and the whole book is written around that idea. Unless of course, it's a book by Malcolm Gladwell, and then it's genius.
View this post on my blog: http://www.yourgamebook.com/in-search-of-excellence-lessons-from-americas-best-run-companies.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment