Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Average customer rating:

Superior Primer for the Green Movement

Excellent Book

Straightforward sustainability manual

Green to Gold

Best Available Primer for Top Management

Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Daniel C. Esty , and Andrew S. Winston
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success -- and How You Can Too

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Harvard Business Review on Business and the Environment (A Harvard Business Review Paperback)

The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait Of A Paradigm Shift

ASIN: 0300119976

Book Description

The essential guide for forward-thinking business leaders who see the Green Wave coming and want to profit from it
This book explores what every executive must know to manage the environmental challenges facing society and business. Based on the authors' years of experience and hundreds of interviews with corporate leaders around the world, Green to Gold shows how companies generate lasting value, cutting costs, reducing risk, increasing revenues, and creating strong brands, by building environmental thinking into their business strategies. Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston provide clear how-to advice and concrete examples from companies like BP, Toyota, IKEA, GE, and Nike that are achieving both environmental and business success. The authors show how these cutting-edge companies are establishing an “eco-advantage” in the marketplace as traditional elements of competitive differentiation fade in importance. Esty and Winston not only highlight successful strategies but also make plain what does not work by describing why environmental initiatives sometimes fail despite the best intentions.
Green to Gold is written for executives at every level and for businesses of all kinds and sizes. Esty and Winston guide leaders through a complex new world of resource shortfalls, regulatory restrictions, and growing pressure from customers and other stakeholders to strive for sustainability. With a sharp focus on execution, Esty and Winston offer a thoughtful, pragmatic, and inspiring road map that companies can use to cope with environmental pressures and responsibilities while sparking innovation that will drive long-term growth. Green to Gold is the new template for global CEOs who want to be good stewards of the Earth while simultaneously building the bottom line.

Customer Reviews:

Superior Primer for the Green Movement.......2007-09-17

This book was a primary resource for the development of my client's green program. It was focused enough to provide a thorough understanding of the hot environmental issues, without being too tree-huggerish. It highlights the responsibilities of global stewardship along with those of being financially accountable in the business arena.

Excellent Book.......2007-09-10

Green to Gold is a very thorough, well written book. Anyone involved in marketing should definitely take the time to read this book. I learned a great deal from this book it was well worth my investment of money and time.

Straightforward sustainability manual.......2007-06-15

Sesame Street's Kermit the Frog famously observed, "It's not easy being green." Whether easy or not, environmental and social pressures are pushing more and more companies to ride the "green wave" to ecological sustainability. In this beautifully organized, crisply written book, Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston, both Yale professors, describe how sustainability can create competitive advantage. They succinctly make the business case for sustainability, and then provide a playbook of green strategies and tactics. The presentation is neither too abstract nor too detailed: It's just right. Nor is their presentation one-sided: They enumerate many ways sustainable products and strategies can go wrong. While some of their suggestions may seem obvious, the authors deserve praise for collecting so many excellent tips and tricks, and for describing them in memorable (mostly) jargon-free prose. We highly recommend this smart book to any business leader who wants to move beyond rhetoric to action. While Kermit's wisdom is doubtless correct, this handbook makes being green much easier.

Green to Gold.......2007-05-14

I bought the book because of the title. I was not disappointed. The book is more focused on business prospects than on real environmental issues but it was what I was looking for.

Best Available Primer for Top Management.......2007-03-15

I have read and praised "Natural Capitalism," "Ecology of Commerce," and "Cradle to Cradle," here at Amazon, and I mention them to emphasize that this book, "Green to Gold," is the hands-down no-contest best primer for top management. The others are intellectual presentations. This is a business oriented primer with lots of facts, lists, and resources.

It is a pro-business book that focuses on opportunities. It is extremely well-organized, with three parts, twelve chapters, and three appendices including a superb list of active web sites relevant to doing well by doing good.

This book is based on hundreds of interviews over four years, and every aspect of it is professional presented, including boxes with "10 second overviews" interspersed throughout.

The authors are compellingly pointed in their discussion of how the environment, and attendant regulations and attendant risks of catastrophic costs, is no longer a fringe issue. Mistakes in cadmium content of connecting cables can cost hundreds of millions.

The authors excel at discussing the new pressures from natural limits that are now visible (changes that used to take 10,000 years now take 3--see my reviews on Ecological Economics, the Republican War on Science, the varied books on Climate Change, etc) and the fact that there is a growing range of stake-holders who are altering the balance of power.

The authors are clear in noting that environmental compliance and wisdom is neither easy nor cheap, but they are equally detailed in documenting that most investments to reduce environmental costs are recouped within 12-18 months. In one cited example, 3M saves $1 billion in the first year alone on pollution reduction, and over the course of a decade, was able to reduce its pollution by 90%.

On page 33 they list the top 10 environmental issues and I like this list very much as an expansion on "Environmental Degradation" which is the over-all threat that the High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations ranked as third out of ten, to Poverty and Infectious Disease. They are:

01 Climate Change
02 Energy
03 Water
04 Biodiversity and Land Use
05 Chemicals, Toxics, and Heavy Metals
06 Air Pollution
07 Waste Management
08 Ozone Layer Depletion
09 Oceans and Fisheries
10 Deforestation

The authors do a superb job in summarizing each of these in several pages perfectly suited to the busy manager. For those desiring more in-depth looks, see my many reviews across the board, including "Priority One," various books on energy, "WATER: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource," "Pandora's Poison," and "Blue Frontier."

The bottom line for the first part of the book: extremes can no longer be dampened down; and we now recognize the eco-system value of the wetlands that we have paid the Army Corps of Engineers to eradicate for decades.

The authors devised a schema for businesses to develop an understanding and then a strategy for reducing their environmental footprint. The authors do extremely well with their organized examination of Aspects, Upstream, Downstream, Issues, and Opportunities (AUDIO), and anyone looking at the book in a store can go directly to pages 62-63. This is an operational management handbook.

There is an excellent overview of the many new stake-holders (or significantly matured stake-holders including NGOs, religions, and local citizens. Business can no longer bribe government--government cannot "deliver" the way it used to (see my review of "Class War" for a sense of how corruption of other elites by our elites has accelerated all the ills of the world).

Regulations, according to these authors, should be seen as vital incentives and parameters for both reducing costs and gaining trust.

Forty global banks, and many insurance companies, now demand proper examination of ecological costs as a condition for funding or coverage.

The authors remind me of General Tony Zinni, whose books I have reviewed, in their emphasis on relationships developed over time. They urge a strong focus on relationships NOW, across the board, as a means of building a "trust bank" as well as a deeper understanding. Blocks that used to be labels "not our problem" or "not legally liable" are now labeled "IMPORTANT TO US."

In the middle of the book they explore the digital information advantages that can accrue to those who get out of their closed loops and increase innovation. In one instance, simply adding load to trucks reduced fuel consumption and emissions considerably.

The middle of the book contains 8 detailed "Green to Gold" plays, and I won't spoil it by listing them. A box in this section says "Truth Matters" and I applaud silently.

The authors stress that mind-set, not just a check-book, is required to get this right. Five basic rules are 1) See the forest; 2) Start at the top; 3) No is not an option; 4) Feelings are facts; and 5) Do the right thing, morality DOES pay.

Pages 168-169 are sheer brilliance, and illustrate why the value chain must be completely integrated into the environmental strategy of each element of that value chain and most especially the largest and most powerful of the elements, which must carefully consider and accept responsibility for demanding improvements by the smallest elements.

Eight lessons of partnering, 13 problems and their solutions, and a final chapter of very specific actions that managers can take, conclude the book.

My final note on this book: a pleasure to read, easy to read, so well done I got through it in half the time characteristic of denser or less well designed books. This is first rate stuff!

Values-Based Financial Planning : The Art of Creating and Inspiring Financial Strategy

Average customer rating:

Excellent Book "Must Read"
My advice to you is....
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
Solid and broad-picture financial book for investors
Live your life following what's most important- Your Values

Values-Based Financial Planning : The Art of Creating and Inspiring Financial Strategy
Bill Bachrach
Manufacturer: Aim High Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Values-Based Selling : The Art of Building High-Trust Client Relationships
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Tested in the Trenches: A 9-Step Plan for Building and Sustaining a Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice

ASIN: 1887006036

Book Description

In the grand scheme of things, money's not that important. It's important only to the extent that it allows you to enjoy what's important to you. And not worrying about your finances is critical to having a life that excites you, nurtures those you love, and fulfills your highest aspirations. If you want to make smart choices about money, based on what is important to you--your core values--this book is for you.

This informative and well-written book will help you build a financial strategy, starting with your own unique values--what is truly important to you. By defining these unique values, you can create a plan that not only looks good on paper, but spurs you to follow through and achieve your goals. Values-Based Financial Planning: The Art of Creating and Inspiring Financial Strategy will help you realize what's important to you, align your financial choices with the great life you want, and become inspired to do whatever it takes to have that life.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book "Must Read".......2007-10-07

I have been investing over 18 years with a this concept. Love it, It pays, I sitting on a very nice nest egg. Trust, your values are the key to successful plan. I have many friends that think they can do this by themselves and are broke. All the trades online will take you down the drain. I have seen it. The book is on target. It is a quick read, to the point. After reading this one read the book Elephant in the Room.

My advice to you is...........2007-07-30

If you are an Advisor, read the book for the good of your clients. If you are a client, read the book for your benefit and the benefit for your Advisor. The main focus is on personal values, but the issue of the Client-Advisor relationship is explored as well. You may be a nightmare Advisor, or you may be a nightmare Client. Find out, and if so, fix it!

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due.......2006-06-16

As a financial professional who strives daily to help my clients make smart choices about their money, I am impressed by Bill's personalized approach to helping people take control of their lives by showing them ways to create and implement a viable foundation for their ideal financial future. There are many approaches of course, perhaps infinite, to planning wisely for your future. No one method or process is perfect. However, if you're truly serious about taking financial control over your future, whether you invest for yourself or work with a competent professional, then seek ideas and methods that are focused on helping YOU fulfill what's important to you in life. Bill's work talks directly about doing this and in beneficial ways that can help you make real progress towards achieving your lifetime goals and fulfilling your values.

Solid and broad-picture financial book for investors.......2005-05-26

Bachrach does a great job at helping investors identify their own personality type and recognize what is really important to them in investing. You wont find stock tips in this book but you will find the tools needed to create an overall roadmap and financial plan to help you meet your true root financial goals. This is the important part. One of my favorite points that Mr. Bachrach makes, one that I emphasize with people I advise is that there are certain things you can't hire someone to do for you: spending time with your family, exercise, travel etc. There are some things you can delegate- financial planning is one of them. Bill Bachrach also has a healthy and objective view about advice for investors who are not sure if they want to use the services of an advisor.

If you want the book with the hot trading tip of the day to add to your 500 book collection of investing books, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for an overall strategy to help meet your financial goals then this book is recommended.

Live your life following what's most important- Your Values.......2004-03-01

Bill Bachrach's book can help all investors, young and old, to reach all their financial goals so they can live the best possible life. Because everyone is different, that best life will be different for everyone.
Even the "do-it-yourself" investor can make better decisions by understanding that investing is not about getting the highest returns all the time, because no one can do that, but, it is about getting the returns they need to reach their financial goals without taking undue risks.
"Collaborators", those who like to get ideas from, and bounce ideas off, an investment salesperson, can make better decisions about where to invest their money.
Finally, "Delagators", those who want to spend their time on those things that are more important than money, such as their health, their important relationships, and their career or retirement, can have a way to find a "Trusted Advisor" who will help them reach their financial goals by preparing a proper investment, tax, and estate plan and coach them to implement the plan.
Inside, the reader will find a blank "Financial Road Map" to complete at home, or, with their advisor. There is also a valuable comparison of a "Trusted Advisor" and a "Salesperson" to help in the selection of someone to help implement the plan.
Bill Bachrach has developed this approach over the last fifteen years. Bill has been recognized as one of the most influencial people in the financial services industry in the U.S.A. He has coached hundreds of advisors in North America and around the world in his process. His stated goal is to help change the financial services industry to become more client oriented.

Lean Thinking : Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation

Average customer rating:

Interesting book but very dull.
Womack and Jones, very engaging.
Worth Every Penny
My husband loved it
Excellent Book with Detailed Lean Conversion Techniques

Lean Thinking : Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation
James P. Womack , and Daniel T. Jones
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Toyota Way
The Machine That Changed the World : The Story of Lean Production
Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together
The Goal
Learning to See Version 1.3

ASIN: 0684810352

Amazon.com

In the revised and updated edition of Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, authors James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones provide a thoughtful expansion upon their value-based business system based on the Toyota model. Along the way they update their action plan in light of new research and the increasing globalization of manufacturing, and they revisit some of their key case studies (most of which still derive, however, from the automotive, aerospace, and other manufacturing industries).

The core of the lean model remains the same in the new edition. All businesses must define the "value" that they produce as the product that best suits customer needs. The leaders must then identify and clarify the "value stream," the nexus of actions to bring the product through problems solving, information management, and physical transformation tasks. Next, "lean enterprise" lines up suppliers with this value stream. "Flow" traces the product across departments. "Pull" then activates the flow as the business re-orients towards the pull of the customer's needs. Finally, with the company reengineered towards its core value in a flow process, the business re-orients towards "perfection," rooting out all the remaining muda (Japanese for "waste") in the system.

Despite the authors' claims to "actionable principles for creating lasting value in any business during any business conditions," the lean model is not demonstrated with broad applications in the service or retail industries. But those manager's whose needs resonate with those described in the Lean Thinking case studies will find a host of practical guidelines for streamlining their processes and achieving manufacturing efficiencies. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

In their landmark book The Machine That Changed the World, James Womack and Daniel Jones, two of the top industrial analysts in the world, explained how companies can dramatically improve their performance through the "lean production" approach pioneered by Toyota. Lean Thinking extends these ideas to provide a rallying cry for today's corporate leaders.

After a decade of downsizing and reengineering, most companies in North America, Europe, and Japan are still stuck, searching for a formula for sustainable growth and success. The problem, as Womack and Jones explain in Lean Thinking, is that managers have lost sight of value for the customer and how to create it. By focusing on their existing organizations and outdated definitions of value, managers create waste, and the economies of the advanced countries continue to stagnate.

What's needed instead is lean thinking to help managers clearly specify value, to line up all the value-creating activities for a specific product along a value stream, and to make value flow smoothly at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection. The first part of the book describes each of these concepts and makes them come alive with striking examples.

As Lean Thinking clearly demonstrates, these simple ideas can breathe new life into any company in any industry, routinely doubling both productivity and sales while stabilizing employment. But most managers will need guidance on how to make the lean leap in their firm. Part II provides a step-by-step action plan, based on in-depth studies of fifty lean companies in a wide range of industries across the world -- including Pratt & Whitney, Porsche, and Toyota.

Even those readers who believe they have embraced lean thinking will discover in Part III that another dramatic leap is possible by creating a lean enterprise for each of their product families that tightly links all value-creating activities from concept to product launch, from order to delivery, and from raw materials into the arms of the consumer. This new concept takes the best features from the American, German, and Japanese industrial traditions and recombines them in a way that can be applied to every economic activity, from long-distance travel to construction to health care.

Lean Thinking does not provide a new management "program" for the one-minute manager. Instead, it offers a new way of thinking, being, and doing for the serious manager -- one that will change the world.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting book but very dull........2007-08-27

I found this book to be interesting, but I hard trouble finishing it because the writing was so boring. Despite the dullness the book did get me thinking of product in a different way.

Womack and Jones, very engaging........2007-08-26

Lean Thinking- A very well written account of a long study of the theory of customer driven value thinking. The elimination of waste in accomplishing customer driven trade is the main goal of this theory. The book has been tuned over a series of revisions, so it is well polished. While I am no expert on the topic, I can at least attest to the fact that the volume is well written and referenced. Their views are spread over a period of many years, giving them the benefit of tracking case study performance over the long term. Companies both large and small have been studied and tracked to determine the benefits of these theories.

Worth Every Penny.......2007-07-30

A most readable book on an important subject of productivity. The comment on outsourcing is insightful and the emphasis on human element is so crucial. Productivity is not all about bigger and better machines but about management and employee been willing to take risks to think out of a box. Mr. Womack has made a significant contribution to the on-going dicussion of productivity in a globalized world.

My husband loved it.......2007-04-10

My husband loved this book so much that this was actually purchased as a gift for another man in his office.

Excellent Book with Detailed Lean Conversion Techniques .......2007-02-01

This book provides many case studies of companies outside of the auto industry that converted to lean production. It details the personnel changes they had to make, changes in factory layout, differences in the supply chain and much more. Where "The Machine that Changed the World" was a primer to lean production, "Lean Thinking" is more of a how-to book. Together, they make a great pair and provide a fairly in-depth view of the subject. As in, "The Machine that Changed the World", there is plenty of hard data to back up the claims that these companies improved after switching to lean thinking.

I am a college student majoring in mechanical engineering and read this book and "The Machine that Changed the World" to get a broad understanding of lean production. The two books did just that and even gave me many ideas on how to convert a student organization I am involved with (SAE) to more of a lean organization. As much as possible anyway.

Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results

Average customer rating:

How sick is US Healthcare
Excellent analysis with some weak points
Redefining Health Care
A new look
Disappointed but Some Might Find Value

Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results
Michael E. Porter , and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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The Business of Healthcare Innovation
Redefining Competition in Health Care (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)
Who Killed HealthCare?: America's $2 Trillion Medical Problem - and the Consumer-Driven Cure
The End of Medicine: How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor
Consumer-Driven Health Care: Implications for Providers, Payers, and Policy-Makers

ASIN: 1591397782

Book Description

The U.S. health care system is in crisis. At stake are the quality of care for millions of Americans and the financial well-being of individuals and employers squeezed by skyrocketing costs--not to mention the stability of state and federal government budgets.

In Redefining Health Care, internationally renowned strategy expert Michael E. Porter and innovation expert Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg reveal the underlying and largely overlooked causes of the problem and provide a powerful prescription for change. The authors argue that participants in the health care system have competed to shift costs, accumulate bargaining power, and restrict services rather than create value for patients. This zero-sum competition takes place at the wrong level--among health plans, networks, and hospitals--rather than where it matters most: in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of specific health conditions.

In spite of competition among these systems, the patient care cycle is poorly coordinated. The fractured system undermines both efficiency and quality of outcomes.

Redefining Health Care lays out a breakthrough framework for redefining health care competition based on patient value over the full cycle of care—from prevention and diagnosis through recovery or long-term disease management. With specific recommendations for hospitals, doctors, health plans, employers, and policy makers, this book shows how to move to value-based competition on results that will unleash stunning improvements in quality and efficiency.

Customer Reviews:

How sick is US Healthcare.......2007-10-17

Interesting view on the actual US healthcare and a challenging way to solve the mailaise

Excellent analysis with some weak points.......2007-09-01

This book has received probably disproportionate attention due to Prof. Porter's notoriety as a strategic thinking theorist. There are better overall books on healthcare policy available. In particular I recommend the Bodenheimer/Grumbach books, one on healthcare policy and one on primary care, Dr. Arnold Relman's book, A Second Opinion, Strained Mercy, an outstanding and thorough analysis of healthcare economics with particular regard to Canada's healthcare system, among others.

I find the analysis of the USA healthcare system by Profs. Porter and Teisberg to generally be excellent, although I find it wanting in regard to their disparagement of a single-payer/single-insurer system and to their description and analysis of healthcare systems outside the USA. From my perspective private health plans play only a net negative role in the system. The authors' analysis of how the health insurance market works is quite good. However their recommendation that a system of private insurers should persist is refuted by their own analysis! A single payer/insurer system will not cure the problems of the US system, as they clearly point out, but it does remove the inherently dysfunctional characteristics of private insurance, not least of which is its failure to meet the needs of the uninsured - a very large number - and its inherent propensity to exclude the very people who need coverage and care. The authors rightly point out that mandatory health insurance along with risk-pooling among insurers to spread the costs of those insured individuals who generate the highest costs is a "solution" to the current non-functioning system, but the same result, at lower cost and with much greater simplicity, can be achieved through a single payer/insurer.

The other key aspect of healthcare - how it is delivered - is ultimately more important than the financing/insurance side. The authors provide excellent analysis and recommendations in this regard. They correctly address the aspects of the healthcare market that prevent its functioning as a "competitive" market, specifically the abysmal lack of patient information on prices for services, on outcomes of actions by providers, comparative statistics on provider performance and similar. They also provide an interesting report by the Cleveland Clinic on outcomes, i.e. results, of the Clinic's heart surgery activity. They appropriately use this as an example of the kind of reporting that is needed.

The authors' analysis of healthcare systems outside the USA is skimpy and inaccurate in my opinion. The authors underplay the demonstrated efficacy of government-funded systems that outperform the USA system almost across the board in gross measures of outcomes (infant mortality and longevity) and vastly outperform the US system in regard to cost. They gloss over the fact that per capita costs in the USA are 2.5 times! the average of other OECD countries. It is not as though the costs are say 10% above the average with comparable outcomes. They are 150% higher with worse outcomes. Instead of noting this and analyzing it thoroughly, the authors assert that waiting times and rationing of care are significant problems in those countries, assertions which are simply not borne out by a closer examination of the facts. Also the fact that (mostly) single-payer/insurer systems function well universally does not fit the authors' main thesis, so rather than revise the thesis based on this evidence they choose to ignore the evidence.

As a consequence of these limitations I rate the book with 4 stars rather than 5. Too bad, because most of the book is excellent.

Redefining Health Care.......2007-05-23

Book Review
Redefining Health Care by Michael Porter

I am writing this review to help share some excellent ideas on the availability and quality of medical treatment in the United States and on the U.S. economy which is being dragged down by ever-increasing medical costs. The economic impact is not just on corporate profits and stock prices but also on U.S. employment because everything that raises costs makes it harder for U.S. manufacturers to compete with foreign suppliers and makes it harder for U.S. manufacturers to sell in foreign markets.
Unfortunately, the book is long, turgid, and full of details, which help to substantiate his conclusions and also provide guidance on implementing improved policies. I am afraid the book does not appeal to executives, politicians, or doctors. It also proposes radical changes in all aspects of the medical system and its financing and operation. Dr. Porter proposes major changes on the part of all parties involved in delivering and paying for health care.
The book begins with a review of health indexes and health care throughout the world and shows, while the U.S. has the greatest expenditures by any set of measurements, it does not have the best results.
Then, Dr. Porter introduces his most important concept: that any medical treatment should be measured by its results; how much lost time and discomfort did the patient have, is he or she completely cured, or how much disability measured over the entire span of the illness or even the life of the patient. We tend to think of an operation as being successful if the patient left the hospital in good condition. But how much additional recovery time, disability, or reoccurrence was there? If the patient doesn't come back to see him, a doctor doesn't know whether he was cured by the treatment or if the patient was so dissatisfied he went to another doctor or simply gave up on a series of treatments. The goal is to develop a scoring system for each group of illnesses that can be compared with the cost of each individual's treatment and their results to determine what is the best set of procedures and the best doctor or group of doctors to do the work can be used to guide providers and treatments. Porter has some reason to believe that the best treatments are generally less costly even though the individual item costs may be more, the greater effectiveness and the less chance of complications reduces overall cost. Included in the overall cost should be lost wages, which is a reasonable proxy for the patient's time.
The goal is to develop a health plan that pays for results not for treatments. In many cases, that would be a single payment to the provider for a whole series of treatments from diagnosis on through operations, post-operative care, and follow ups which could extend over a long period of time. This is a radical change from the present system which pays for treatments and tends to produce more treatments and does not have any effective means for either the insurers, or the employers, or the patients even to compare one treatment option with another. This is an extreme, radical change and would take a long time to implement, but there are pieces of the program in operation. A number of these are explained at length. Health insurance companies could hire these firms for their specialized expertise and would not have to do the work on their own. An example of what is done is how the firm studies the history of heart transplant patients and will give an insurance company a single payment for the entire course of treatment providing it is done in the manner and by people they specify. They would particularly focus on caregivers who have an outstanding record of success. It appears that for most illnesses, there are organizations that are substantially better than others and this program could be extended broadly.
Another area of development would be to have counselors which would be part of the function of the insurer to advise a company's employees with a list of particularly well qualified doctors and suggest treatment elements.
Government would seem to be poorly adapted to facilitating these changes because they are radically different from Medicare. Medicare seems to promote cheap, but not necessarily effective treatments and set arbitrary pay scales which do not allow the better providers to charge more for their services and thus encourage more providers to be in the high performance category. Companies that pay for the insurance are the ones that have to put pressure on the insurers to implement the above changes. This could not be done over a short period of time but would eliminate a lot of the wasted time that is now involved in the payments for each little step of the process and for each treatment step.
Chapter 8 is a detailed discussion of how to implement the aforementioned concepts using modifications of Medicare and other laws. This is too complex to summarize here but it appears doable if Congress and the Executive are sufficiently motivated. It is likely that few people would understand what is happening, but the benefits to cost ratio is sufficiently great that the changes would probably be supported and accepted. On the other hand, the situation is so complex, it is questionable whether lawmakers and administrators would be willing to undertake the many complex tasks required. On the other hand, the downside risk appears quite small.
Porter approaches the whole subject from the points of view of business strategy and the problems of decisions with very imperfect information. While the government frequently acts with very imperfect information, its strategy for doing so is not well developed and poorly applied.

Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results

A new look.......2007-05-20

Though a little dry, and at times repetitive, this book offers practical information. In a mess of books describing the massive problems in healthcare today, this book was at once motivating and up-lifting. I bought it for a class, but it is one of the books I'll be keeping instead of passing along at the end of the quarter.

Disappointed but Some Might Find Value.......2007-04-05

I'm a big fan of Porter, but I was somewhat disappointed by this book. Let me be frank. The first problem I have with the book is that the authors try to capture as large of an audience as possible, being careful not to place blame on certain providers within the health care system. That approach might get better reviews and sell more copies, but it is not delivering real value. One cannot escape mention of the realities of corruption and fraud by every player in health care and expect to address the problems.

The second problem I have is that Porter fails to recognize that health care is distinct from any other industry in America because it is highly politically influenced. Much of the health care system is public (government funded). This is a main reason why competition in this industry is highly ineffective. How can you have a pure competitive environment when poor performing providers continue to receive government-funded contracts? How can you have full competition when Washington merely fines providers for fraud with no jail time? How can you have competition that creates value when Washington places the burden of increasing costs upon taxpayers, letting the industry charge what it needs to deliver earnings that Wall Street expects?

Overall, by failing to address the harsh realities of politics and big money within America's health care industry, Porter's book is too idealistic and therefore falls short of offering a real solution. Regardless, it is a quality book and at least does what no other has in trying to approach the problems from a reasonable standpoint. I expected more from him, but clearly this book is a view from academia and is far detached from many realities of big industry in America. There are many good points in the book, but without addressing the main problems of a system whereby lobbyist groups who control health care policy, very little will change.

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm

Average customer rating:

Attend the workshop!
Simple, easy methods to grow your business
John
The habits that will make your business a predictable enterprise for growth
Amazing Book!

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm
Verne Harnish
Manufacturer: Select Books (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1590790154

Book Description

Business guru Verne Harnish's firm Gazelles has brought hundreds of businesses to fast-growth profitability. Now he shares entrepreneurial secrets in this must-read business primer. Harnish has discovered John D. Rockefeller's underlying strategy. Further study uncovered three winning habits:

*Priorities: A few rules remain consistent with a firm's core values and long-term goal. Others change regularly -- what Harnish calls the Top 5 and Top 1 of 5.

*Data: Key metrics should be measured over time (Smart Numbers); short-term metrics provide a tighter focus on an aspect of the business (Critical Numbers).

*Rhythm: A well-organized set of meetings keep everyone aligned and accountable.

In addition to case studies, a bonus chapter co-authored by Rich Russakoff reveals winning tactics to get banks in competition to finance your business venture. MASTERING THE ROCKEFELLER HABITS provides necessary tools for making strategically smart decisions and for keeping everyone aligned and accountable to those decisions.

Customer Reviews:

Attend the workshop! .......2007-10-10

Our executive and management team read the book and attended Verne's Rockefeller Habits workshop. We have implemented everything from the book and workshop and our company has aligned itself, communicating much more effectively, and executing on goals and initiatives. I can't say enough how much the daily huddles have helped our organization break down road blocks faster than we could ever imagine. I recommend this book to anyone interested in growing your company into a 'Gazelle'. Check out Verne's website at: www.gazelles.com. I highly recommend attending the workshop.

Simple, easy methods to grow your business.......2007-09-24

I have read many business books over my career as an entrepreneur having founded two successful companies. Mastering the Rockefeller habits is the simplest best book I have ever read on growing and managing a small to medium business. Verne has a great gift of providing just the simple nuggets that you need to know without all of the other stuff. An addition to Verne's book that I have found enormous value in is defining the values in more detail as outlined in Gregg Lederman's book Achieve Brand Integrity: Ten Truths You Must Know to Enhance Employee Performance and Increase Company Profits. He calls these brand concepts and outlines a great approach to defining the beliefs and behaviors that will make these brand concepts come alive. Between these two books you have an amazing view of how to build a successful company.

John.......2007-07-30

If you want to make the critical move from planning to executing this book is a MUST read!!

The habits that will make your business a predictable enterprise for growth.......2007-07-08

This is an important resource for salespeople, managers, entrepreneurs and executives alike. Verne Harnish does a great job in breaking down the habits of Mr. Rockefeller, who is as close to a model of business excellence as you can find.

Harnish goes over all the business basics, such as setting priorities, analyzing data and creating the right rhythm for the business. One of my favorite lines from this book is: "Until your people are mocking you, you've not repeated your message enough". This statement is true when it comes to the values, objectives and the methods of implementation of the company.

The message of this book, if practiced, will make your business a predictable enterprise for growth. The book has so many good points that I stopped highlighting after the first chapter, lest I highlight the entire book. Enjoy!

Amazing Book!.......2007-02-27

I read this a few times because it was just
that good. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor

Average customer rating:

Overvalued AND Average
An excellent overview of a risk-averse approach to value investing
Excellent One on Value Investing
Overvalued
Holy Grail of Investing

Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor
Seth A. Klarman
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0887305105

Customer Reviews:

Overvalued AND Average.......2007-08-15

When I first heard about this book, being a novice yet avid investor, I was very enthusiastic to get my hands on it. My friends and I went on a scavenger hunt to every public and university library that might have had it. When we finally found it, we were definitely excited because we thought, "Why would this book be valued so highly, if it didn't have very good insights on how to beat the market and gain above average returns?"
Needless to say it was an average book on value investing. And I stress average. If you're going to spend anything over $100 for this book, don't. If you still need to read it, get it from a library, but you'll still see that it probably wasn't worth it. All the clout that this book gets from being so pricey doesn't merit either trying to find it, or paying the price.
That being said, the author didn't have enough real life examples. He talked about a few companies that he realized significant gains on, but the intricacy of how he did it is not really discussed at length like Peter Lynch does in his books.
All in all, don't waste your money, and read one of the more popular Lynch or Graham books on value investing which are better written and more detailed.

An excellent overview of a risk-averse approach to value investing.......2007-07-26

This book is one of the hardest finance books to track down today. Published in 1991, it is now out of print, and sells on Amazon and Ebay for over $1000. It is even one of the most-stolen library books, making it very difficult to find a copy to read.

Seth Klarman, the portfolio manager of The Baupost Group, is a very successful practitioner of the value investing strategy. In this book, he sets out to educate the reader on this concept, stressing the advantages of a risk-averse approach. In his introduction, Klarman states that even if this book, as a side effect of educating more people to invest in a more sophisticated manner, causes diminished returns to himself - he considers it well worth it for the public good. While I highly applaud this mentality, it begs the question: why was the book not published again? Considering what I mentioned in the first paragraph, clearly there is significant demand to read it. Anyway, on to the book itself...

"Margin of Safety" is divided into three portions. The first part discusses where most investors make mistakes and stumble - it covers investing vs. speculation, the nature of Wall Street, and how institutional investing results in a short-term performance derby (of which the client is ultimately the loser). It also encapsulates the presented information in a thoughful case study of junk bonds in the 1980s. The second portion of the book introduces the details of the value-investment philosophy, primarily focusing on risk and how it is crucial to invest with a margin of safety. The last part provides useful applicable advice on actually following the value-investment process: where to find investment opportunities, how to invest in these opportunities, and various aspects of overall portfolio management.

Simply put, the book is fantastic. Klarman writes in an amazingly clear manner. His language is neither too simplistic nor overly difficult - just right. I definitely experienced a "wow" feeling when I began reading, after the finance books I have read recently. In addition, Klarman provides a myriad of examples to illustrate the points he brings up, which is very helpful, because it puts a reality spin on his writings.

Don't, however, mistake "clear writing" for "easy content." While the book is clear, precise, and very straight-to-the-point (i.e. there is no useless fluff frequently found in books advocating certain investment approaches), Klarman's content is not trivial. The first and even the second portions of the book are relatively quick and simple - after all, the material presented (a discussion of various common investor mistakes, followed by the basic explanation of value investing) is not overly difficult. The third and last portion of the book, however, is very dense: a lot of information is presented quickly. I actually found myself having to re-read a few of the later chapters multiple times, making sure I understand what Klarman was trying to illustrate. I took notes while reading, so that helped absorb the material - but it still wasn't easy.

This brings me to the only personal gripe I had with the book. There were multiple instances in the later chapters where I wished that Klarman would elaborate more on some of his statements and examples (for instance, calculating NPV for certain businesses, more discussion on thrift institutions, etc.). The author certainly assumes some previous experience, as some of his non-basic explanations are clearly not geared for outright beginners. There was never a point, however, where I felt completely out of the loop. I had to read some portions over again and even look up additional information on the web, but in the end Klarman's words always made sense.

This book is absolutely the best overview of value investing I have ever read or heard. Klarman stresses the importance of carefully evaluating risk (as we often only focus on return) and investing with a margin of safety. He repeats this main point over and over again throughout the entire book. Amazingly, it doesn't feel overly repetitive - but instead, a constant timely reminder of the ideas behind the value investing process. A major theme in the book is that we can't predict the future, and hence we must always be ready for anything - and the only way to do this is to protect our investments with a sufficient margin of safety (essentially investing in a security at a significant discount to underlying value).

Aside from a clear explanation of his investing philosophy, Klarman provides tons and tons of useful practical advice, from how to valuate businesses (he makes sure to distinguish his preferred methods from other widespread strategies) to where to find excellent investment opportunities for value investors. He devotes multiple chapters to discussing the frequently neglected portions of the market where low-risk and potentially high-return investments can be made. In the last two chapters, Klarman takes a step back from discussing individual investments and focuses on overall portfolio management and various alternatives for the individual investor.

One may wonder how applicable some of the specific advice is today. Are thrift conversions really still good places to find hidden value? Maybe not. Is manually calculating the cash flow of a business through the faulty measure of EBITDA still a problem today? Not really, since cash flow statements are now part of the required financial statements for public companies. But a lot of Klarman's essential advice (do your analysis carefully - look behind the numbers) and much of his presented "fertile ground for opportunities" still applies and exists today. Furthermore, the wonderful thing about value investing is that it is contrarian in its nature - which essentially implies that, as investments in various portions of the market come in cycles, a value investor can patiently wait for a popular area to "overflow", collapse, and offer excellent opportunities to invest while the herds of investors shy away and sell out. So even if some of Klarman's hunting grounds may seem outdated right now, they will again be attractive in the future.

One thing to note is that each chapter contains a set of footnotes. I advise the reader not to ignore these - they sometimes contain interesting examples and valuable advice. Unfortunately, they are easy to skip, as they're not printed at the bottom of the page which references the footnote, but rather at the back of each chapter.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Klarman's book to... anyone, really! Seasoned veterans will undoubtedly find excellent insight into things that may have before seemed ordinary and trivial. Beginners will learn fantastic advice that may help steer them away from poor decisions made by many inexperienced investors today. I personally don't think it is worth paying the market price for the book today just to read it (although many may argue that even the going price is at a huge discount from the underlying value) - but I suggest trying to obtain the book through an Inter-Library Loan. It may take some time and effort to find a copy, but it's well worth it.

Pros:
+ clear and concise writing, no fluff
+ lots and lots of illustrative examples
+ very clear explanation of the basic concept of value investing and a margin of safety
+ useful methods for researching and valuating a business
+ tremendous amount of applicable advice on finding and analyzing investment opportunities
+ lots of other real-world advice on various topics from portfolio management to money manager selection

Cons:
- last portion of the book is dense, may require careful reading and re-reading
- a small portion of the material may be slightly out of date (don't let this deter you)

Excellent One on Value Investing.......2007-04-27

I come to know about this book from the recommended booklist of Greenblatt's "You Can Be a Stock Market Genius". Indeed, I found that most of Greenblatt's ideas may actually originate from this book.

The author gave a strong case for value investing. And, I think if one really follows Seth's way of value investing, investment success is close to a sure thing. By reading the investment examples in the book, I understand how strict requirements Seth has for an investment to be considered worth investing.

I think the idea is that

1. If you dont understand it, pass it;
2. If you do understand it but the price is too high, pass it;
3. If you do understand it and the price is really low, take it.

All in all, I would agree with another reviewer that this book is worth its weight in gold.

P.S. The other two investment books I'd recommend are:

1. The Aggressive Conservative Investor by Martin Whitman
2. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Greenblatt

Overvalued.......2007-02-26

This is a nice book about value investing but hardly worth its current price. There any number of options that can deliver roughly the same amount of knowledge.

Holy Grail of Investing.......2007-01-07

I am an alumni of the Value Investing program at Columbia Business School and I heard Seth Klarman speak at one of our lectures, so I decided to get my hands on this book. After months of waiting I finally managed to read this book in my local library in a special locked room, since this book is #1 on the theft list. All I can say it is nearest to the Holy Grail of Investing as you can get. I have applied most of his principles to my own investments and the results have been nothing short of spectacular (albeit a short time frame). No wonder the author (who owns the rights) doesn't want to publish the book again. He wants to keep his methods a secret. Just look at Klarman's track record at Baupost!!
It is rumored that ex-CBS Value Investing alums such as Louis Bacon, Leon Cooperman, William Von Mueffling and even Warren Buffett has a copy. This book is worth its weight in gold.

Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People

Average customer rating:

Very practical and useful
The value of being a people-centered organization
Very Interesting
The "Value" of this book is certainly "Hidden" from me......
Detailed case descriptions of high performing companies

Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People
Charles A. O'Reilly
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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ASIN: 0875848982

Book Description

Discover How the Best Companies Win Not By Acquiring the Right People--But By Building the Right Organization

The "war for talent" is one battle every company believes it should be waging. But while competitors are busy chasing after the same "hot" individuals, smart companies are doing something infinitely more useful and far more difficult to copy--they're building organizations that make it possible for ordinary people at every desk and cubicle in their companies to perform as if they were stars.

Blowing up the prevailing wisdom that companies must chase and acquire top talent in order to remain successful, Hidden Value argues instead that the source of sustained competitive advantage already exists within every organization. O'Reilly and Pfeffer, leading experts on organizational behavior and human resources, argue that how a firm creates and uses talent is far more important than how the firm attracts talent. The authors provide vivid, detailed case studies of several organizations in widely disparate industries--including Southwest Airlines, Cisco Systems, The Men's Wearhouse, and NUMMI--to illustrate how long-term success comes from value-driven, interrelated systems that align good people management with corporate strategy.

In a refreshing break from management tomes that force-feed superficial frameworks and trite "rules," the authors instead allow the company stories to take center stage. They guide readers in discovering for themselves how seven different firms maximize talent, why one firm hasn't fully released the hidden value in its work force, and, most importantly, how the winning companies have made it tough for competitors to imitate them. Collectively, the stories reveal a common path to success that places values before strategy, emphasizes implementation over planning, and focuses on getting the best out of all employees, not just individual stars. The authors also explore concerns or questions managers might have about how each company's experience parallels or conflicts with their own.

Providing a rare opportunity for managers to actively participate in an invaluable learning process, Hidden Value offers a customizable template for building high-performance, people-centered organizations.

Customer Reviews:

Very practical and useful.......2006-12-19

Charles O'Reilly puts out an interesting idea of how to get the most out of people with various management strategies. I worked in a human resources department for a little while and his ideas were among the more useful that I applied. The book is very well written and does a good job of holding your interest. Highly recommend.

The value of being a people-centered organization.......2006-01-27

In a McKinsey & Company's study, "The War for Talent," McKinsey found that of 200 executives interviewed 58 responded that values and culture were absolutely essential in their decision to join, stay with, or leave an organization. The authors believe that by establishing the right value system and culture, companies can make all their employees perform as if they were in the top 10% of their field. The authors further state that companies must find new ways to tap the knowledge, experience, energy, and talents of employees.

Studying several companies that the authors believed had successfully leveraged their "hidden talent," the authors summarized these 6 essential practices:
· These companies place values and culture first
· They make those values real
· They hire people that will appreciate and espouse the company's values
· They invest in people
· They share information widely
· They reward and recognize those who adhere to the company's values.

A key way to have an organization tap this hidden talent is to achieve the status of being a people-centered organization. The authors see successful people-centered organizations have 3 basic themes that are common:
· Each has a well-articulated set of values that are widely shared and act as the foundation for its management practices.
· Each has a remarkable degree of alignment and consistency in the people-centered practices that express its core values
· Each has senior management whose primary roles are to ensure that the values are maintained and constantly made real to all employees in the organization.

Very Interesting.......2005-09-21

Only on Chapter 5. Reading about the excellent practices of these companies makes me want to strive for the best for my employees, also!

The "Value" of this book is certainly "Hidden" from me.............2003-01-31

This book is merely a compilation of case studies. There are few -- if any -- check lists, tables, charts, bullet points, or step-by-step methodologies to help you implement the concepts within your own company or organization. In fact, THERE ARE ONLY 21 PAGES not dedicated exclusively to either a case study and/or an analysis of the various case studies presented within the book. Save your money and purchase "The HR Scorecard", "The Talent Solution", or "Aligning Pay and Results" instead. Very disappointing...

Detailed case descriptions of high performing companies.......2001-12-31

This book tells the story of eight extremely successful companies that manage to bring out the best in their people. The stories are detailed descriptions of the company's backgrounds, strategies, systems and management practices. The stories are also larded with quotes from the company's CEO's, HR managers and employees. Following this approach the authors provide the readers the opportunity to form their own hypotheses about the companies' successes. But the authors also present their interpretations of the case studies.

What these studies show is how these high performing companies have achieved their success by aligning their values, strategies and people. This is something which is easy to understand but hard to do. It requires consistent articulation and implementation of the values and vision and a relentless attention to detail in ensuring that all policies and practices support the company's values. In order to be able to show this kind of consistency a real belief and commitment are needed and a willingness to persevere.

This book shows how high performing companies consciously turn a lot of the conventional management wisdom upside down. For instance:

1. Contrary to what many people now think, recruiting, selecting and retaining unique talent is NOT the prime source of competitive advantage. Although these activities are important, the examples of these extraordinary companies show that it is much more important to build a culture and work system that enables all people to use their talents and develop their talents. A byproduct of this will be that your company will also be better at attracting and retaining people.

2. Values first instead of strategies. The conventional view puts competitive strategy on top and derives from that what structure is needed, what competencies and behaviors are needed and so on. The companies described here work differently. Although they do have competitive strategies these are secondary to their set of guiding values and to the alignment of these values with their management practices. In other words: they have a values-based view of strategy.

3. Respectful and trusting way of dealing with people. Many companies monitor, check and try to control employee behavior. The hidden value companies work differently. In the spirit of Douglas McGregor's book The Human Side of Enterprise, they seem to understand that if you begin by designing systems to protect against the small unmotivated minority, you end up alienating the motivated majority. So they put their people first by treating them respectfully, involving them and trusting them.

Lessons like the ones presented in this book can be found in several other books by for instance Jeffrey Pfeffer himself, David Maister and Jim Collins. What makes this book different and interesting to me is the presentation in the form of detailed case descriptions.

The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value
Average customer rating:

Holistic Approach to Management

Great learning tool

The book that started it all!

A way to earn consistently higher profits

Learn how to foster loyalty in customers and within your organization

The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value
Frederick F. Reichheld , and Thomas Teal
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless: How to Make Them Love You, Keep You Coming Back, and Tell Everyone They Know

ASIN: 1578516870

Book Description

Loyalty is by no means dead. In fact the principles of loyalty . . . are alive and well at the heart of every company with an enduring record of high productivity, solid profits, and steady expansion.
From The Loyalty Effect

The business world seems to have given up on loyalty: many major corporations now lose-and have to replace-half their customers in five years, half their employees in four, and half their investors in less than one. Fred Reichheld's national bestseller The Loyalty Effect shows why companies that ignore these skyrocketing defections face a dismal future of low growth, weak profits, and shortened life expectancy. Reichheld demonstrates the power of loyalty-based management as a highly profitable alternative to the economics of perpetual churn. He makes a powerful economic case for loyalty-and takes you through the numbers to prove it. His startling conclusion: Even a small improvement in customer retention can double profits in your company. The Loyalty Effect will change the way you think about loyalty, profits, and the nature of business.

Fred Reichheld is a Director Emeritus of Bain & Company and a Bain Fellow. He is also the author of Loyalty Rules!.

Download Description

Reichheld lays out a new "economics of loyalty" that provides a framework where the "soft" elements of business--loyalty and learning--can be effectively linked to the hard science of cash flows and cost/benefit analysis. Because of this connection, Reichheld argues, there is enormous potential for improving a company's performance by increasing customer, investor, and employee loyalty. Reichheld's research demonstrates that loyalty drives profits in direct and quantifiable ways through its impact on growth, learning, and productivity. In addition, loyalty generates a spiritual energy that powers the value creation process that is at the heart of sustained business success. In many industries, loyalty explains the differences in profitability among competitors more effectively than scale, market share, unit costs, or most other factors usually associated with competitive advantage.

Customer Reviews:

Holistic Approach to Management.......2007-07-30

I found this book very useful as I am working on a new start-up business and selecting and keeping personnel is key. In this book you find practical examples of how to do this and you see the enormous benefit it is to have loyal employees.

This is a must for anyone starting and/or working at turning a business around.

Great learning tool.......2007-01-27

This is full of great concepts that are easily put to practice with effective results.

The book that started it all!.......2007-01-14

This book above any other, rekindled my passion to fully understand the concept of 'loyalty'. Although it was written quite some time ago now, having its' genesis back in the 1980's, it remains an outstanding work on this topic.

Clearly, thinking has evolved over time and practical application of this approach has clarified and expanded our understanding of this topic, yet the book presents a strong argument for developing a deep appreciation of loyalty and it's impact on business performance.

The book is well researched. Well written. Easy to read, with a good flow. Full of interesting case studies and supporting data this publication is a must read for anyone interested in the topic.

Much attention is today being focused on Customer Loyalty yet the proposition that this book puts forward is that Customer Loyalty is only one third of the argument. Employee loyalty and shareholder loyalty both play a significant role in delivering benefits back to the corporation. Few books have expounded the proposition as thoroughly and completely as this one.

A way to earn consistently higher profits.......2006-09-02

The Loyalty Effect is an analysis of the effects of loyalty. The author, Frederick F. Reichheld, takes a rigorous looks at a variety of successful companies and finds that those "that earned superior levels of customer loyalty and retention also earned consistently higher profits" and sustainable levels of growth.

The examples and data shown in this book give a clear picture of how loyalty can be earned through strong value creation and why this leads to long-term profitability and growth. Beyond customer loyalty, the author also looks at how the right employees, the right investors and the right partnerships can add to the overall strength of a company. The evidence that Reichheld presents in support of loyalty-based management is thought provoking and compelling.

While the author himself doesn't proclaim this that style of management is a magic "cure all", Reichheld's argument is extremely convincing and the research supporting his claim is clear: loyalty makes good economic sense. People running businesses, big and small, can benefit from the ideas presented in The Loyalty Effect. I highly recommend this book.

Learn how to foster loyalty in customers and within your organization.......2006-02-21

These days it would be easy to believe that loyalty didn't matter anymore. Customers are going to shop around, employees are going to hunt for new jobs before they get downsized, and investors will be fickle about holding onto stock if its price moves even an inch. Loyalty, says a whole cadre of business gurus, is out of date and irrelevant. Not so, says author Frederick Reichheld, a director of Bain & Company. Companies like Leo Burnet and A.G. Edwards consistently pay the highest salaries, offer high value to customers at competitive prices, have the highest employee retention rates, and have the highest profitability rates. Loyal customers, employees and investors fuel a sustained cycle of growth at these companies. If you want to foster loyalty in your customers, employees and investors, Reichheld has the following advice:

· Make customer value, not profit, the goal.
· Loyal customers are more profitable than new customers. Break up the potential customer base into segments and find out which ones are more likely to be loyal. Target these customers.
· Find and keep the right employees. Getting the right customers will bring you a profit. Invest that profit in loyal employees who will continue to increase value to your customers. Companies with the highest employee loyalty consistently have the highest customer loyalty.
· Find investors with long-term perspective.
· Learn from defections. If customers or employees are leaving the company, find out why. Take actions to correct problems. Learn from mistakes.

Average customer rating:

Highly recommend
**TEEN READER**BEST BOOK I EVER READ! It is truely AMAZING
shut up!
What About Multi-Talented Teens?
Every teen needs friends like Jay!

Life Strategies for Teens
Jay McGraw
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 074321546X
Release Date: 2000-12-04

Amazon.com

"Are you as tired as I am of books constantly telling you the same old Brady Bunch, Beaver Cleaver, goody-two-shoes BS about doing your best to understand your parents, doing your homework, making curfew, getting a haircut, dropping that hemline, and blah blah blah?" So inquires Jay McGraw, son of bestselling author Phillip C. McGraw, in the introduction to the younger, hipper version of his father's Life Strategies. This funny, straightforward guide helps teens steer rather than drift in life, dealing honestly with topics from peer pressure to TV addiction with the underlying mantra, "Don't like it? Change it." Divided into the same 10 "Life Laws" that are in his father's book (from "We teach people how to treat us" to "There is power in forgiveness"), McGraw urges teens to take control of their lives at every turn. That said, he doesn't expect any young person to respond to the way his father's book is written, so he translates "People do what works" to "The truth about why you can act so weird" and "Life rewards action" to "What are you waiting for? Get it in gear!" He demands that his readers ask themselves hard questions about missed opportunities, perceptions, self-sabotage, and personal shortcomings so they can figure out what's not working and fix it. Why? So that they can turn dreams into goals--with specific timelines and strategies. There's no doubt that the book has the enthusiastic pounding zeal of an aerobics instructor. But it makes a lot of sense, and if a teen took even a few of these lessons to heart, he or she would be more in control than most adults. (Ages 13 and older)

Book Description

"Are you as tired as I am of books constantly telling you about doing your best to understand your parents, doing your homework, making curfew, getting a haircut, dropping that hemline, and blah, blah, blah?"

-- Jay McGraw, from the Introduction

Well, you don't have to be anymore. Life Strategies for Teens is the first guide to teenage life that won't tell you what to do, or who to be, but rather how to live life best. Employing the techniques from Dr. Phillip C. McGraw's Life Strategies, his son Jay provides teens with the Ten Laws of Life, which make the journey to adulthood an easier and more fulfilling trip. Whether dealing with the issues of popularity, peer pressure, ambition, or ambivalence, Life Strategies for Teens is an enlightening guide to help teenagers not only stay afloat, but to thrive during these pivotal years.

Whether you are a teen looking for a little help, or a parent or grandparent wanting to provide guidance, this book tackles the challenges of adolescence like no other. Combining proven techniques for dealing with life's obstacles and the youth and wit of writer Jay McGraw, Life Strategies for Teens is sure to improve the lives of all who read it.

Download Description

A daily guide to the Life Strategies and their power to change lives! With Daily Life Strategies for Teens, Jay provides a day-by-day guide to life that will show you how to boost self-confidence, build friendships, resist peer pressure, and achieve your goals. Packed with quotes, ideas, and inspiration, Jay McGraw's straightforward, insightful, and humorous guide gives you a road map for surviving and thriving in your teen years and beyond. Using the techniques from Dr. Phillip C. McGraw's Life Strategies, his son Jay shows teens how to put the Life Laws into effect every day. Take the steps to make your life the best it can be!

Customer Reviews:

Highly recommend .......2007-01-08

The transcation went smoothly, the book arrived sooner than expected, and was in perfect condition.

**TEEN READER**BEST BOOK I EVER READ! It is truely AMAZING.......2006-05-13

I have to say reading the comment above made me pretty sad. This book was not sending mixed messages and it is definately NOT telling you to be popular and that your parents will only love you more if you get good grades. This book is simply about helping yourself become more of what you want and getting more out of the life you were delt with. It makes me so sad to hear bad things about this book becuase that review probably stopped someone from buying this amazing book.

This book helped me through the toughest times in my life, it works with you and helps you see what is behind the "my life is perfect" mask that so many teens have. Amazing book, it changed who I am and how I act. For instance, in one chapter it talks about how in arguments if you just talk even if someone is yelling at you, you are not being passive, but in turn arguments turn into talks a lot more often. So as a test i followed this advice becuase i had just moved in with a step-sister my own age and we were not getting along very well. Now, that we stopped fighting (and i give all credit to this book) we are able to talk about what is bothering us and not fight. We couldnt be closer now. And that is exactally the reason i would recommend this book to ANYONE, it helps with topics like that without barking orders or telling you what you need to do or you suck as was stated above. This is an EXCELLENT book. BEST BOOK I EVER READ!!!!!

shut up!.......2005-11-04

well.. of course a person like me would have to read what people though before i wrote what i thought! i think that the people that don't like this book need help! why in the world would rich people not have problems!! and there is way more to these people than you think!! just because some of you are shallow and can't use your imagination and have fun with some of the jokes he throws at you doesn't mean you need to get mad!! grow up! there are more people who know that that book was good and i happen to believe strongly in what he wrote!! yes i have money but no i don't have the perfect life promise!! so just because a person has money does not make them unknowledgeable about real life! so think to yourself again maybe you just need to read between the lines or maybe your life was to perfect but i know that this really helped me and i am doing some of the things that he said and it has helped me alot through everything i have been through!!

What About Multi-Talented Teens?.......2005-07-07

It is so great that someone who has grown up with Dr. Phil for a father feels ready to share wisdom from his perspective with teens like himself. I found it much more effective than most books written by adults (who were teens in such different times!) There's one issue teens struggle with, however, that didn't get the attention it deserved: what to do when you love lots of different things but your guidance counselor and parents say you'll eventually have to pick just one. ...

Every teen needs friends like Jay!.......2005-06-24

Jay does a great job of explaining to teens the importance of "playing the game" wisely. His book carries an important message I had tried to communicate for years--you get much more of what you want when you keep your parents happy too!

My son wasn't interested in reading the book but reading it myself gave more than ample assistance in relating to my son. There were many times I was able to let slip into everyday conversation a little tidbit of Jay's wisdom without lecturing or preaching. Jay does this very thing in his book, which would have appealed to my son had he read it; Jay doesn't come across as this perfect person with all the answers, but as humble and real.

Highly recommend this book.

Value Migration: How to Think Several Moves Ahead of the Competition

Average customer rating:

Insightful and influential
High level view
A whole new way of thinking for me
Mastering an "Acquired Skill"
Incisive and Penetrating!

Value Migration: How to Think Several Moves Ahead of the Competition
Adrian J. Slywotzky
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Profit Zone: How Strategic Business Design Will Lead You to Tomorrow's Profits
The Art of Profitability
How to Grow When Markets Don't
Profit Patterns: 30 Ways to Anticipate and Profit from Strategic Forces Reshaping Your Business
Creative Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform the Market--And How to Successfully Transform Them

ASIN: 0875846327

Book Description

According to Slywotzky, value migration is the flow of economic and shareholder value away from an increasingly outmoded business design toward others that are better equipped to create utility for customers and profit for the company. This book describes the skills that managers will need to identify value shifts in their own industries and to craft the key moves that will determine their ability to achieve and sustain value growth.

Customer Reviews:

Insightful and influential.......2004-06-29

I discovered this book during a business trip to Phoenix in 1996, and it still occupies a space on my special shelf of books that have deeply influenced me.

As the most basic level the concept of value migration is business design, and the ability of that design to evolve in a dynamic market. The simple map of where your business, which is a function of design, is summed up in three states: value inflow, stability or outflow.

At a more complex level, this book provides seven patterns that serve as markers to show how value can migrate from one business (or industry) to another. The final part of this book shows how the concepts and patterns can be applied in your own business.

The foregoing may erroneously give the impression that this book is heavy on concept and lite on practicality. It's not. The material is meticulously presented, reinforced by recognizable examples drawn from industries, and prescriptive measures are laid out with realism and pragmatism. The concepts are what have influenced me. After reading this book I've looked at certain industry trends differently, and after eight years my observations bear out the premise of this book. This is highly actionable information that is invaluable to any company that wants to prevent the outflow of value, while capitalizing on stability and finding ways to create inflow. A more recent book that meshes nicely with this one is "The Ultimate Competitive Advantage: Secrets of Continually Developing a More Profitable Business Model" ISBN 1576751678. In fact, that book extends this book in many ways, especially with respect to business design, and further proves the concepts Slywotzky set forth in this book in 1996.

High level view.......2003-07-07

This book presents a very high level strategic view of business. Slywotzky emphasizes the value of a good business design vs reliance on technology for growth.For example, there is the simplified view of why IBM became a slogging giant in the early 90s. Lou Gerstner would certainly like to add to it

However there is good set of tools to understand your business better. I find his radar screen tool particularly useful to visualize business competitors and analyze the direction of value migration.

All said, this book is worth reading..just don't expect ttoo much.

A whole new way of thinking for me.......2001-08-16

I normally do not read business books of this book's scope; however, it was recommended by my co-author for an article on which we were collaborating. Our challenge was to support the assertion that the U.S. software industry is being supplanted by India, and a shift in off-shore development resources from the U.S. consumer to Indian provider is actually moving to Indian consumer to Russian and Egyptian providers. This is obviously value migration in its truest form and is consistent with the ideas set forth by Mr. Slywotzky in this book.

Using the inflow-stability-outflow model that is one of the basic paradigms in this book, we developed a model upon which we were able to build a case supporting our assertion. More interestingly, the whole concept and numerous case studies that reinforce it throughout the book provided me with a deeper understanding of the macro and micro issues of value migration - this was eye-opening.

My favorite chapter is at the very end of the book. Titled, "Five Moves ... or Fewer," it showed how major companies captured or recaptured the biggest share of value available, and each of the examples involved five or less moves. I was personally fascinated.

Although my initial reason for reading this book was to research an article, it has changed my way of thinking on a number of levels that go well beyond a single-topic research project. The writing style is clear and engaging, and the concepts and ideas ring true. I am giving this remarkable book 5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see a bigger picture of economics or develop a keen business strategy.

Mastering an "Acquired Skill".......2001-06-05

According to Slywotsky, there are three phases of what he calls "value migration": In "inflow," the initial phase, a company starts to absorb value from other parts of its industry because its business design proves superior in satisfying customers' priorities; the second phase, "stability," is characterized by business designs that are well matched to customer priorities and by overall competitive equilibrium; in "outflow," the third phase, value starts to move away from an organization's traditional activities toward business designs that more effectively meet evolving customer priorities. Slywotsky explains that Part I of this book describes the basic rules of Value Migration" and the workings of what he refers to as "the new game of business." As when playing chess, winning at this game requires an understanding of the individual pieces (i.e. when to deploy them and how to capture them). One must master basic moves and simple techniques such as openings, traps to avoid, end-game moves, etc. It is also important to understand the the importance of controlling (as in chess) "the four central ones." In business as in chess, one must become familiar with certain "basic patterns" which will ultimately determine success or failure. These "patterns" are examined in Part II. There are seven: Multidirectional Migration (from steel to materials), Migration to a Non-Profit Industry (airlines), Blockbuster Migration (pharmaceuticals), Multicategory Migration (coffee), From Integration to Specialization (computing), From Conventional Selling to Low-Cost Distribution, ands finally, From Conventional Selling to High-End Solutions. Slywotsky shifts his attention in Part III to explaining how to play the Value Migration "game" well on a day-to-day basis. He identifies certain specific initiatives to take which help to (a) avoid value loss and (b) preempt the next cycle of value growth. "The final chapter of the book focuses on the increasingly high-stakes nature of the decisions that determine future value growth."

There are more than a dozen charts which effectively illustrate Slywotsky's key points. For example, Figure 15-1 presents "The Grand Masters of Value Growth" and identifies them, their key moves, and the value each created (in terms of billions of dollars) from 1980 until 1994. All of these visionary leaders (Welch, Walton, Vagelos, Gates, Petersen, Grove, Malone, Platt, Noorda, Iverson, and Kelleher) focused on making the right moves and thereby created enormous value for their respective companies. "Business chess is a game that is as demanding as [football and basketball], but in very different ways. It is not physical stamina, but stamina of thought. It is not transactional concentration, but constant shuttling between a focus on the current move and imagining the next several moves out. It is an unrelenting exercise of matching patterns on the current game board to the countless patterns in your mind." Slywotsky concludes the final chapter with a suggestion that this question be asked: What five moves will capture most of the given industry's value growth? "Give yourself a couple of months to analyze and assimilate the grand masters' key moves. Then come back and determine the five (or fewer) critical moves for your company." In this exceptionally thought-provoking book, Slywotsky indicates why he would be an indispensable guide throughout that difficult but necessary process.

Incisive and Penetrating!.......2000-08-15

This book is an invaluable study on those business designs that are based on the Value Chain model. Its premise: Changing customer priorities are responsible for the displacements of old business models which in turn catalyzes the need for the creation of new business designs. This book describes the process that triggers the migration of values from a non profitable design to a more profitable one with the help of seven patterns (multidirectional migration, migration to a non-profit industry, blockbuster migation, multicategory migration, from integration to specialization, from conventional selling to low-cost distribution, and from conventional selling to high-end solutions). Useful Case studies are given to illustrate the problems. Overall, this is a very informative book although this book is not as clear and direct as the author's book 'Profit Patterns.' However, it does serve to provide a better understanding on the value chain/migration thesis a lot better than the 'Profit Patterns'.

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