The Wisdom of Crowds

The Wisdom of Crowds
Average customer rating:

Smart, Interesting and Easy to Read

Don't expect a textbook

Crowds Oh Wisdom

Food for thought

Surowiecki is a gifted teacher

The Wisdom of Crowds
James Surowiecki
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385721706
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Book Description

In this fascinating book, New Yorker business columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea: Large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant–better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.

With boundless erudition and in delightfully clear prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, behavioral economics, artificial intelligence, military history, and politics to show how this simple idea offers important lessons for how we live our lives, select our leaders, run our companies, and think about our world.

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The Wisdom of Crowds

I

If, years hence, people remember anything about the TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, they will probably remember the contestants' panicked phone calls to friends and relatives. Or they may have a faint memory of that short-lived moment when Regis Philbin became a fashion icon for his willingness to wear a dark blue tie with a dark blue shirt. What people probably won't remember is that every week Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? pitted group intelligence against individual intelligence, and that every week, group intelligence won.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was a simple show in terms of structure: a contestant was asked multiple-choice questions, which got successively more difficult, and if she answered fifteen questions in a row correctly, she walked away with $1 million. The show's gimmick was that if a contestant got stumped by a question, she could pursue three avenues of assistance. First, she could have two of the four multiple-choice answers removed (so she'd have at least a fifty-fifty shot at the right response). Second, she could place a call to a friend or relative, a person whom, before the show, she had singled out as one of the smartest people she knew, and ask him or her for the answer. And third, she could poll the studio audience, which would immediately cast its votes by computer. Everything we think we know about intelligence suggests that the smart individual would offer the most help. And, in fact, the "experts" did okay, offering the right answer--under pressure--almost 65 percent of the time. But they paled in comparison to the audiences. Those random crowds of people with nothing better to do on a weekday afternoon than sit in a TV studio picked the right answer 91 percent of the time.

Now, the results of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? would never stand up to scientific scrutiny. We don't know how smart the experts were, so we don't know how impressive outperforming them was. And since the experts and the audiences didn't always answer the same questions, it's possible, though not likely, that the audiences were asked easier questions. Even so, it's hard to resist the thought that the success of the Millionaire audience was a modern example of the same phenomenon that Francis Galton caught a glimpse of a century ago.

As it happens, the possibilities of group intelligence, at least when it came to judging questions of fact, were demonstrated by a host of experiments conducted by American sociologists and psychologists between 1920 and the mid-1950s, the heyday of research into group dynamics. Although in general, as we'll see, the bigger the crowd the better, the groups in most of these early

experiments--which for some reason remained relatively unknown outside of academia--were relatively small. Yet they nonetheless performed very well. The Columbia sociologist Hazel Knight kicked things off with a series of studies in the early 1920s, the first of which had the virtue of simplicity. In that study Knight asked the students in her class to estimate the room's temperature, and then took a simple average of the estimates. The group guessed 72.4 degrees, while the actual temperature was 72 degrees. This was not, to be sure, the most auspicious beginning, since classroom temperatures are so stable that it's hard to imagine a class's estimate being too far off base. But in the years that followed, far more convincing evidence emerged, as students and soldiers across America were subjected to a barrage of puzzles, intelligence tests, and word games. The sociologist Kate H. Gordon asked two hundred students to rank items by weight, and found that the group's "estimate" was 94 percent accurate, which was better than all but five of the individual guesses. In another experiment students were asked to look at ten piles of buckshot--each a slightly different size than the

Customer Reviews:

Smart, Interesting and Easy to Read.......2007-09-21

This book was a surprise hit for me. I didn't expect to like it, but ended up loving it so much I just had to have a copy on my shelf. Surowieki is very convincing, in part because he takes such care to bring up alternative arguments and respond to each. He also keeps his focus fairly narrow, so the arguments aren't all over the place. I was especially fascinated by his discussion of experts. We rely on them so heavily these days, but now I know to question their expertise. This book has changed the way that I make decisions and the way I evaluate good decision-making in my elected representatives. I recommend this book to anyone interested in making good decisions. It is a smoothly-written book and you won't have any trouble following the arguments or staying 'into' it.

Don't expect a textbook.......2007-09-19

I really like the Wisdom of Crowds because Surowiecki succeeds in explaining complicated and sophisticated ideas in ways that educated people can not only grasp but also incorporate into their own thinking. This is quite an achievement, one that critics of the book have overlooked. This topic has not been open until now to such a wide audience.

Surowiecki never shies from even difficult and abstract statistical concepts. He draws liberally upon academic journals and scholarly books, writing in a style that is at once journalistic and educated.

Yet, Surowiecki never talks down to his reader. Instead he invites the reader to accompany him through an arcane (and dimly lit) maze of statistical practice as it has been developed and utilized for decades by social scientists and economists. The reader is rewarded again and again because Surowiecki points to a partially hidden jewel, holds it up for examination, hands it to the reader and then leaves it in plain sight (often for reference later in the book).

Thus, this book is a remarkable example, a model, for readers (and writers) who wish to bridge the gaps between educated professionals.

My criticism is along different lines. In this extremely visual era, the editors could have widened the audience for the Wisdom of Crowds much further if suitable images could have been commissioned to throw additional light on Surowiecki's prose. But, paper and ink are so much more expensive than artists these days, one can understand the limitations and constraints Doubleday (Random House) were under. On the other hand, why not put up a web site?

Crowds Oh Wisdom.......2007-09-19

Good book and I thought the pace moved along extremely well. There are some significant things in the book that are a bit dated, but overall this is a very interesting book. I also recommend "Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing" by Lois Kelly published 2007 to couple with this book. Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Food for thought.......2007-08-21

I found this book full of sweeping claims, generalizations and is confusing in its presentation. However it made me think. Overall the writer is saying that people independently working on a problem can in a fair vote be more accurate then the smartest individual. He then quotes examples for such behaviour and examples of when the crowds got it wrong when they acted not independently but in mass. I suspect that much of his arguments are sound.

How much I am not sure for example if I asked the average person independently if they believe there was much truth in astrology, I am sure that over 50% would say yes.

However since the book is making much comments, I hope to see some better studies coming forward.

Having said all this it has changed my views on decision making and how to do it.

Surowiecki is a gifted teacher.......2007-08-08

At first I was afraid that "The wisdom of crowds" was going to be a 250 page restatement of the law of large numbers for dummies. In the beginning it looks that way, because Surowiecki takes a lot of time to explain that the more people trying to guess the solution to a problem, each adding their own bit of information, the more accurate the average guess. Not very revolutionary at all (although possibly counterintuitive at first). But as the book moved on I got more and drawn in and impressed by the presentation, which is rigorous and supremely readable at the same time.
The book describes how crowds can solve problems of cognition, coordination and cooperation. It gives the conditions under which crowds are good and not good at doing so. The author illustrates with a myriad of interesting problems and case studies, some rather obvious choices (why do investment bubbles emerge?, why do political stock markets predict so well?), others more arcane (why did the gangsters in reservoir dogs fail?, why is it often easy to cut a line?). What binds these studies together is the way groups handle information and the good and bad institution designed to make them do so.
Throughout all the diversity, it is the great scholarship of Surowiecki that makes everything naturally fall into place. Being familiar with a lot of the material in academic form, I know how conceptually daring some of it is, but Surowiecki effortlessly reduces it to bite-size portions, without compromising much or exaggerating anywhere. Great reading!

Predictable Surprises: The Disasters You Should Have Seen Coming, and How to Prevent Them (Leadership for the Common Good)

Average customer rating:

Enlightening
On Target - Bullseye - Should have seen it coming
Predictably bad
Predictably OK
Updating the March of Folly

Predictable Surprises: The Disasters You Should Have Seen Coming, and How to Prevent Them (Leadership for the Common Good)
Max H. Bazerman
Manufacturer: Harvard Business
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1591391784

Book Description

Most events that catch us by surprise are both predictable and preventable, but we consistently miss (or ignore) the warning signs

This book shows why such “predictable surprises” put us all at risk, and shows how we can understand, anticipate, and prevent them before disaster strikes.

There is a universal fear factor surrounding this subject: that society and the workplace are filled with disasters in the making that we could prevent if we only knew what to look for. This book plays on that fear and offers a positive, proactive resolution to it.

Customer Reviews:

Enlightening.......2007-08-27

The book jumps around but makes clear and valid points. A great eye opener! I would recommend this to students, leaders, informed citizens...just about anybody. I'm definitely getting more copies for friends and loved ones.

On Target - Bullseye - Should have seen it coming.......2005-10-07

Anyone who has worked for some sort of organization, government agency, business, university or whatever, will empathise with "Predictable Surprises" by Bazerman and Watkins. This book focuses on the early and late warning signs, the cover-ups, the denials, and the eventual consequences of failing to take action to avert disaster. I've been in far too many situations where I observed that the peple "in charge" (really??) were blindsided by their own limited vision to the realities of what was happening within their organizations.

There are two "Predictable Surprises" that weren't included. First, Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath in New Orleans. Anyone visiting that city and talking with one's professional compatriates could have seen coming what unfolded before our eyes. The warning signs and studies were out there and ignored. That's why those who had a reasonable level of education left town and paid attention to the evacuation notices.

The other predictable surprise that was missed was the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. I'm Protestant but know a lot of fine Roman Catholic people. I heard things as long ago as fifty years and knew then that this situation was going to explode in the public domain. "Predictable Surprises" provides the principals that explain why this particular surprise was kept under the radar so long.

An outstanding book that should be read by everyone working in the corporate world, a government agency, a university, the military, or a non-profit organization. Your life may depend on knowing what's in this book.

Predictably bad.......2005-06-14

A major shortcoming of Bazerman and Watkins' book is the failure to provide adequate evidence to support their arguments about what they call "predictable surprises", which they define as "an event or series of events that take an individual or group by surprise, despite prior awareness of all of the information necessary to anticipate the events and their consequences." Bazerman and Watkins build their case substantially on just two examples: aviation security failures leading to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and auditor independence concerns leading to the collapse of Enron and Arthur Anderson. Several other examples are discussed in less depth throughout the text, however many of these are not actually predictable surprises under the definition provided. For example, global warming is discussed a number of times; however global warming has been in public discussion since the 1930s, and today a substantial majority of people believe not only the concept of global warming but that current warming is man-made. By 2050, this subject will have been under study for 120 years and popular consensus will have been achieved for 50-60 years. This is certainly predictable, but hardly a surprise. The United States' looming crisis in entitlement spending also falls in this category.

Flaws exist in other anecdotal support as well. For example, Bazerman and Watkins cite aviation security failures as an occasion when overly discounting the future lead to a predictable surprise. Quick calculation based on figures provided in the book show that, using equal discount rates for the expected future cost of security and the future cost of disaster, even with a disaster probability as high as 10% for any given year, the airlines would be ahead on a cost basis. The total destruction of both World Trade Center towers and the massive ensuing death toll was not reasonably foreseeable by the airline industry; based on the typical passenger plan carrying 78 people, this was the equivalent of an absurd 41 simultaneous aircraft disasters! Given the cost of implementation and the low probability of such a large disaster, even at a full cost of nearly $50 billion, the airlines' decision to oppose security measures on a cost basis was reasonable. The full scope of this surprise was unlikely enough that it should not be termed "predictable."

Despite some good analysis of reasons predictable surprises occur and ways to avoid them, this book is critically weakened by its lack of evidence. Bazerman and Watkins try to make it stand largely on just the aviation security and auditor independence failures; however these are insufficient evidence for their broad analysis and conclusions, particularly given the weakness of those arguments provided. This book would be substantially more persuasive with more anecdotal support.

Predictably OK.......2005-05-11

In a world ruled by probability, all predictions eventually come true (no matter how impossible.) That said, ignoring the obvious can be disastrous, but the authors methods for prioritizing risk were disappointing.

Updating the March of Folly.......2005-02-23

The authors have found a memorable phrase to describe a depressingly common phenomenon - the occurrence of a disaster or failure that has been widely and often publicly predicted. The term `predictable surprise' will undoubtedly enter the managerial and political language.

They have provided a valuable analysis of why these predictable disasters occur and what can be done to prevent them (while recognizing that there are also such things as `unpredictable surprises' which can not be avoided through these processes).

The book is invaluable for the clear way in which it brings the elements together and for the vividness and immediacy of the examples chosen to illustrate the points. The result is a book that is very readable as well as being immediately useful, even if many of the points have also been made elsewhere by other authors. The book provides a template against which organizations can assess their defences against `predictable surprises', and I suspect that every organization will find gaps in its armour when it measures itself against the recommendations in the book.

The authors also use the book to mount a stinging attack on the failures of the American political system (and by extension those of other countries) and the need for fundamental reform. Their attack on the activities of the special interest groups and their direct responsibility for some of the worst disasters that the US has suffered is particularly pointed. One can only hope that the criticisms will be listened to and acted upon, and that politicians as well as business people will read and note them.

Throughout the book, the systemic, interconnected nature of the processes that lead to predictable surprises is very clear, but the authors do not, in my opinion, highlight the fact as strongly as they should. They do point out that depletion of international fisheries is a classic case of 'the tragedy of the commons', one of several archetypal forms of systems relationship, but virtually every example that the authors cite could well be illustrated with simple systems diagrams based on one or other of the classic 'systems archetypes'. Systemic issues require systemic solutions and the leverage for systemic change may be located well beyond the area of control of the immediate actors - another fact that shows up clearly in the course of the authors' examples.

It is probably no coincidence that I was strongly reminded of Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly as I read the book. The perspective and coverage is different, but the themes of willful ignorance, willful inaction and willful pursuit of perceived short-term self interest as fundamental drivers of future disasters are common to both. If Tuchman were still alive, I would have confidently expected an analysis of Iraq to follow her masterful analysis of the Vietnam war, the American War of Independence and the drivers of the Reformation. In its own way, Predictable Surprises provides a contemporary update of the ways in which we continue the march of folly.

How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living

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The few. The moral. The good people.
How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living
Good Information
Sound framework, good case studies
Good material for ethics class

How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living
Rushworth M. Kidder
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0688175902
Release Date: 2003-12-16

Book Description

Should you take a much-needed vacation or save money for your children's education? Should you protect the endangered owl or maintain jobs for loggers?

How do you handle questions such as these? We frequently face ethical dilemmas in our daily lives, and few have trouble with the "right vs. wrong" choices. However, the "right vs. right" dilemmas, in which neither choice is clearly or widely accepted as wrong, many times present obstacles that call for value-based decisions, and that's where we often need help.

Kidder -- the founder of the Institute for Global Ethics -- teaches us how to think for ourselves in order to resolve any ethical dilemma, from the personal to the philosophical. Unique in its approach and full of illustrative anecdotes, How Good People Make Tough Choices is an indispensable resource for arriving at sound conclusions when facing tough choices.

Download Description

Should you take a much-needed vacation or save money for your children's education? Should you protect the endangered owl or maintain jobs for loggers?

How do you handle questions such as these? We frequently face ethical dilemmas in our daily lives, and few have trouble with the ""right vs. wrong"" choices. However, the ""right vs. right"" dilemmas, in which neither choice is clearly or widely accepted as wrong, many times present obstacles that call for value-based decisions, and that's where we often need help.

Customer Reviews:

The few. The moral. The good people........2007-05-23

There are no books on the market that address morality that way that this book does. Not the Bible. Not my university textbook on ethics. None. It's one thing to talk about moral issues and take sides with them, but it is another thing entirely to talk about solid moral principles that can guide you in making moral decisions based on reason instead of blind faith. This is a book that does the talking.

If you want to find out what a religion or a moral philosophy is really made of, nothing will put it to a test more than a moral dilemma will, and this book is chock full of examples of real life moral dilemmas. Some of those moral dilemmas are things most people wouldn't even think of as moral dilemmas -- justice vs mercy for example. One dilemma I like (to paraphrase) was the one about the highway patrol officer who comes upon a truck wreck where the driver is irremovably pinned down in the cab and a fuel-fed fire is starting to blaze out-of-control. The driver asks the officer to kill him before he is fried alive. What would you do and how would it be a moral decision?

It is not a perfect book, for example, there was the issue of what is truth. Truth and fact are not the same thing. Truth is whatever people *believe* to be fact, whether or not what they believe in really is a fact or not. Truth is not a reliable yardstick by which to gauge morality by. That might seem like nitpicking with words, but the most common cause of distress of clients in counseling is confusing facts with truth. Knowing the difference between the two is important to making proper moral decisions, otherwise you might be basing your decision on an illusion.

It also didn't cover the issue of punishment. The topic of punishment often comes up in moral discussions as a deterrent from being immoral. If a person needs to be deterred by force from being immoral, does that deterred person become a moral person then, or are they a person only putting on an act of being moral, only to resort to immorality in private when nobody is looking and they can be the "real me"? So is there no other purpose of punishment, besides being a poor deterrent? Most philosophies of punishment I've heard have very immoral reasoning at their cores and therefore should be discussed in every discussion on moral or ethics. Therefore any religion or moral philosophy based on deterrent is an immoral religion or philosophy.

How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living.......2007-03-09

The book is a little confusing and doesn't offer a lot of insights on the decisions of real life ethical probelms with real life people.

Good Information.......2007-02-07

Good information but not something I would read again. Very dry chapters and some lack any formal directions on the proposed information.

Sound framework, good case studies.......2006-08-16

This book provides a strong framework in which to understand ethical decision making, which Kidder distinguishes as "right vs. right" situations as opposed to the "right vs. wrong" of moral decisions; ethics isn't about whether you do the right thing despite the temptation to do wrong, but how you choose the course of action when either solution could be defended as morally correct. Kidder explains the rational considerations you can use to better make such choices.

All of the major points are illustrated with thought-provoking case studies, many of which are true dilemmas. This makes the book continually interesting.

Good material for ethics class.......2005-08-20

This books allows students of all ages to start the difficult job of ethical decision making. Starting with its "Right vs. Right" concept, it teaches various ways to think about ethical decision making. This would be a wonderful book for a middle school or high school ethics class as well as an adult discussion group. Could easily be adapted to a church setting.

People Styles At Work: Making Bad Relationships Good and Good Relationships Better

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Clear and Concise Information You Can Use
Must read for every one...
you have to read it !
Could save your sanity, and maybe your job!
A method that really makes a difference in the workplace!

People Styles At Work: Making Bad Relationships Good and Good Relationships Better
Bolton Robert
Manufacturer: AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
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Customer Reviews:

Clear and Concise Information You Can Use.......2006-10-10

I took a webinar based on this book and found the information presented intriguing enough to buy the book. It's a short read but filled with good, practical information. If there are certain people in your lives who rub you the wrong way, understanding how their style differs from yours could help to improve communication and make the relationship more effective and pleasant for both. This book was definitely worth reading and I've experienced benefits from it at work in a very short time.

Must read for every one..........2005-07-09

Of the several books I have studied on similar topics, this was one of the easiest to read through and apply. Although the title says People Styles at Work, it is equally applicable in personal life as well. The focus on studying behavior and inferring "style" from the same is much easier accomplished than trying to figure out the "temprament style" based on Myers Briggs.

The two dimensions of Assertiveness and Responsiveness, and the concept of above / below the middle for each of these dimensions gives 4 quadrants; one for each of the styles. This makes it convenient to understand the 4 styles, and also the shades within the styles.

I have benefited tremendously - if you are new to this topic it will serve you well to take notes as you read; create a cheat sheet of the characteristics for each style. Then for some time carry the cheat sheet with you, and refer to it often as you observe people's behaviors. Over a period of time, you will pickup the nuances of how to recognize the styles, and succeed in your interactions with others - despite them, and despite yourself... Enjoy!

you have to read it !.......2005-04-26

the book is simple and the ideas are easy to applicate in the every day life , i've tried the method and have good results - Read it if you have problem to communicate with some of your colleagues and you need to work with them

Could save your sanity, and maybe your job!.......2003-11-13

Highly recommended. Several years ago, I had a clash of personal styles between my boss and me. I thought she talked like a kindergarten teacher, and she felt that I came on like a steamroller. She was familiar with the methods discussed in this book, although she learned them during a seminar at a former employer. This book helped turn a bad working relationship into an excellent working relationship, and may have saved my job. I learned to "flex" to my boss's style (and to her credit, she flexed somewhat to mine). I reread the book from time to time and try to practice what I've learned. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is running into "people problems" on the job or elsewhere.

A method that really makes a difference in the workplace!.......2003-01-15

One the best book and method on the subject I have read so far, and I have read quite a few. There are 4 main Communication Styles, and the best thing is that only observable behaviors are used to categorize people in one style or another. No messing around with people's phsyche, and finally a very simple method to effectively relate to other people in the workplace.

I am using Communication Styles with all my direct reports, during meetings, etc. It allows me to convey clearly my messages, and at the same time overcome communication styles differences. This simple method does makes a difference in my daily work not only as a manager but also in communicating with my peers.

This book is a must have in your management library at home.

Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters (Leadership for the Common Good)
Average customer rating:

Every Christian Should Read

Brilliant, Bold and [Mostly] Useful

The Dark Side

Excellent alternative perspective

Concise would be nice

Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters (Leadership for the Common Good)
Barbara Kellerman
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Leadership

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ASIN: 1591391660

Book Description

A provocative departure from conventional thinking, Bad Leadership compels us to see leadership in its entirety

Kellerman argues that the dark side of leadership—from rigidity and callousness to corruption and cruelty—is not an aberration. Rather bad leadership is as ubiquitous as it is insidious—and so must be more carefully examined and better understood.

Drawing on high-profile contemporary examples—from Mary Meeker to David Koresh, Bill Clinton to Radovan Karadzic, Al Dunlap to Leona Helmsley—Kellerman explores seven primary types of bad leadership and dissects why and how leaders cross the line from good to bad. The book also illuminates the critical role of followers, revealing how they collaborate in, and sometimes even cause, bad leadership.

Daring and counterintuitive, Bad Leadership makes clear that we need to face the dark side in order to become better leaders and followers ourselves.

Customer Reviews:

Every Christian Should Read.......2007-06-14

This is a must for people working in Christian organizations and for laypeople in churches. There is bad leadership in the church and it often looks a lot like good leadership. Kellerman writes about the "recent revelations of wrongdoing by leaders of the Roman Catholic Church . . . that was so abhorrent it makes us all ill." She continues: "the idea that some leaders and some followers are bad, and that they might have something in common with good leaders and followers, has not fully penetrated the conversation or the curriculum" [of leadership training]. Her book is aptly titled for my situation ("My Calvin Seminary Story") where poor leadership derailed my career.

Brilliant, Bold and [Mostly] Useful.......2006-08-16

Harvard University's Kellerman presents an amazing, research-focused vivisection of the many faces and roles of bad leadership, offers reasons for their occurrence, and exerts a clarion call for identification and eradication of same.

Kellerman identifies seven specific types of poor leading:
1) Incompetent: lacks the will or skill (or both) to sustain effective action with regard to at least one important leadership challenge
2) Rigid: stiff and unyielding; unable or unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information, or a changing of the landscape
3) Intemperate: lacks self-control
4) Callous: uncaring or unkind; ignores or disregards the needs, wants, and wishes of others, especially subordinates
5) Corrupt: lies, cheats, or steals; puts self above any other interest
6) Insular: minimizes or disregards the health and welfare of anyone outside the group or organization for which they are directly responsible
7) Evil: outright disregard for even the human worth of others; egregious inhumanity.

As is common with Harvard B-School releases, the book is brilliant, innovative and analysis heavy. Prescriptions for change are succinct-- if you find this, kill it off-- yet limited in use: once found and destroyed, what do I do next?

Innovative and unflinching, it will be nevertheless most accessible to scholars and the scholarly among business leaders: a more populist rendering of the same discoveries, and prescriptions for improvement, would lift it far above the norm.

Coke Newell, MSPR, consultant and author, "Journey to Edaphica"

The Dark Side.......2006-07-01

The book stands out because it forces you to take a look at the dark side of leadership. It is about leadership in and of itself. The book has an entirely unique perspective on leadership. She looks at all leaders and how they measure up as leaders. Even if society views them as a bad leader she takes that and builds on some of their strengths as a leader, their weaknesses and not necessarily their intent. The actual process of leading is the focus. She also looks at the followers and their role in leadership. This I think is also unique to leadership. It is important to analyze the followers and how they can affect the leader. In looking at the dark side of leadership we are able to become better leaders and/or followers.

Excellent alternative perspective.......2006-02-08

This was very interesting and a fairly easy read. Looks at leadership away from the stereotypical definition of good. Adds to a big picture I had not seen anywhere before. Should be required reading for all management to help them see the bad guys they often miss or intentionally overlook in their organizations.

Concise would be nice.......2005-09-25

The "Bad Leadership" concept pulled me in. PR summaries on this book were better written than what I have muddled through so far. This book is word heavy. Barbara could use a little help from Suzy Welch, who I suspect helped Jack Welch with "Winning" an improvement in writing style of "From the Gut". Enjoying both Welch's books the improved difference is concise focus in Winning. The first half of Bad Leadership has been labor intense, with a modest return for my reading time investment. Reading for information readily consumable, this book has good intentions but modestly delivers . I have not committed to finishing, as there are better reads that easily pulled me away.

Good Business: Leadership. Flow, and the Making of Meaning

Average customer rating:

***UW-Milwaukee Course Text*** - Great Read
Opened my eyes
On Hapiness & Success: Good Business
Average
Finding Flow at Work

Good Business: Leadership. Flow, and the Making of Meaning
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
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Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet

ASIN: 0670031968
Release Date: 2003-04-14

Amazon.com

In psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's definition of leadership, the personal is political. The best-selling author of Flow interviewed several dozen exemplary CEOs whose wisdom provides the radical job description of the book's premise: "Leaders must make it possible for employees to work with joy, to their heart's content, while responding to the needs of society." Csikszentmihalyi leverages his definition of "flow"—-the capacity for full engagement in an activity—-to create a blueprint for a workplace in which bringing out the best in workers comes before products and profit. When leaders select and reward employees who find satisfaction at work, they can create an upwardly moral organization.

In this view, leadership is a privilege that requires checking ego in the coatroom and peering into the mirror to ask tough questions. For example, "How do I determine if something is right or wrong?" Or, "What is my business doing to benefit human well being?" He offers some inspiring stories from leaders who engage employees to go with the flow, including Body Shop CEO Anita Roddick, Patagonia crown prince Yvon Chouinard, and media mogul Ted Turner. Some of Csikszentmihalyi's advice will sound familiar. Yet he creates a compellingly fresh vision of good business in both a material and spiritual sense. Ultimately, the success of this book lies in its powerful, non-flaky ability to define corporate soul in terms of a company becoming a stakeholder in an entity larger than itself.--Barbara Mackoff

Book Description

Since Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi published the groundbreaking Flow more than a decade ago, world leaders such as Tony Blair and former President Clinton, and influential sports figures like Super Bowl champion coach Jimmy Johnson have all been inspired by the book. In today's corporate upheaval, a new business paradigm is evolving. While many CEOs are being exposed for their greed, truly visionary leaders believe in a goal that benefits themselves as well as others. They realize that it is their vision and "soul" that attract loyal employees willing to go above and beyond the call of corporate duty. And their employees are realizing the same thing: while 80 percent of adults claim they'd work even if they didn't have to, the majority of them can hardly wait to leave their jobs and get home.

Good Business starts with the premise that this is an age in which business and work have replaced religion and politics as central forces in contemporary life. The book reveals how business leaders, managers, and even employees can find their "flow" and contribute not only to their own happiness, but also to a just and evolving society. It identifies the factors crucial to the operation of a good business: trust, the commitment to fostering the personal growth of employees, and the dedication to creating a product that helps mankind. Good Business is sure to become a must-read text for anyone who values the positive contributions of individuals in the changing world of business.

Customer Reviews:

***UW-Milwaukee Course Text*** - Great Read.......2007-03-29

Work can and should make you happy. If it doesn't something is wrong, according to the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning. We spend much of our lives working, and it is not just a waste of time and energy when we do not enjoy it. Our output suffers, which the author argues is bad for society, not just for ourselves. Hungarian-born Csikszentmihalyi wrote the groundbreaking 1990 book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience that brought his research into human behavior to a wider audience. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology. In 1999, after a long career teaching psychology at the University of Chicago, he began teaching the subject to MBA students at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He is also the director of the Quality of Life Research Center, a nonprofit institute in Claremont, California. The book centers on the topic of flow. Flow means being so absorbed in an activity that we shut out distractions and worries to devote all our energy to the task at hand. It can occur in work or play, but the focus in this book is on how people can find flow when they work, and how leaders can encourage flow in employees. Flow occurs when there is a balance between high challenges and skills. Flow is unlikely in an activity until we become proficient in it. It's also not static. Without continual challenge, boredom creeps in. "The important factor to keep in mind is that personal growth is contingent on the balance of opportunities for action and the capacities to act that a person encounters at work," he writes. He describes seven other components of flow: clear goals, immediate feedback, deepening concentration, focus on the moment, personal control, a sense of altered time and loss of ego. However, flow by itself is not sufficient for a happy, productive and meaningful life. We must be engaged in a worthy, ethical enterprise, working toward aspirations beyond ourselves and, ideally, with effects beyond our lifetime. Good Business contains snippets of interviews with top executives, such as Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, chosen not only for their success in business, but because of their strong social conscience. Csikszentmihalyi's argument is that business is now our most crucial institution, so it has an obligation to the quality of life not just of its employees, but of society. He also quotes people who find flow in such activities as writing poetry, rock climbing and surgery. Flow is not just for executives, or those with exotic jobs or hobbies. His research shows that flow happens in service workers, such as janitors, or in workers on assembly lines. Finding flow is important, but happiness is the bottom line. Csikszentmihalyi says happiness usually follows fulfilling our potential, which rests on two separate but simultaneous processes. One is differentiation, the recognition of our unique characteristics and our sense of responsibility for survival and well-being. The other is integration: realizing that we are "completely enmeshed in networks of relationships with other human beings, with cultural symbols and artifacts, and with the surrounding natural environment. A person who is fully differentiated and integrated becomes a complex individual -- one who has the best chance at leading a happy, vital, and meaningful life."

Good Business is a good book. But it's not a "how-to" with neatly compartmentalized bullet points and acronyms for success. There aren't simple strategies and steps that can be applied after you're through reading. There aren't quizzes or assessments to rank your or your organization's degree of Flow.

Opened my eyes.......2006-11-23

Haven't finished it yet, but its been great so far. It really broadens your perspective when it comes to achieving happiness in your career. Really changed my view. Definitely a good book to pick up.

On Hapiness & Success: Good Business.......2006-06-29

Hungarian author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, director of the Quality of Life Research Center (QLRC), and author of such works as: "Beyond Boredom and Anxiety," "Flow: The psychology of optimal experience," "Being Adolescent," "The Evolving Self & Creativity," and "Flow and the Psychology of Discovery & Intervention," can now add another work of art to his collection. "Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning" is the latest publication by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi. Like many of his works, "Good Business" relies on creativity, innovation, and the development of flow to achieve the bottom line. Through its explosive accounts of interviews by leading business men and women, Csikszentmihalyi presents a strong argument for developing human well-being in the work place. "Good Business" just might change the way workers and business leaders view success.

Average.......2006-06-28

Good Business is a must read if you are traditionalist in the business world, but can be skimmed if you are a modernist. Csikszentmihalyi enhances many modern beliefs in how leaders in organizations should engage in their activities and provides great examples from various CEOs and business leaders. I would give the book 2.5 stars out of 5!

Finding Flow at Work.......2006-06-22

Artists, when describing the act of painting a masterpiece, will often claim that they felt "lost" in their work. Likewise, a basketball player may describe the experience of setting up the winning play as having an altered perception of time, as if twelve seconds actually extended for hours. When we are truly engaged and at the highest states of enjoyment, we experience the freedom of complete absorption in activity. Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University, first coined the term "flow" in 1975 to describe this experience, and has written several books about the concept including the bestseller Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience in 1990. Through a series of interviews with successful business leaders who combine high achievement with strong moral commitment, Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning explores the connection between flow and work.

Csikszentmihalyi claims that our jobs have a significant influence on the quality of our lives. He explains that happiness is not something that happens to us, but rather is something we make happen. As such, work can be one of the most fulfilling aspects of life, provided that employees have an opportunity to do their best and to contribute to something greater than themselves.

He makes a profound distinction between the concepts of pleasure and enjoyment: pleasure is a conservative force that makes us want to satisfy existing needs and does not foster change, whereas enjoyment is not always pleasant, and can be sometimes stressful. Csikszentmihalyi describes enjoyment as the sensation of being fully alive, triumphing over the forces of entropy and decay. A mountain climber, for example, who is utterly exhausted after an dangerous climb but who wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world than at the peak of a mountain, perhaps does not experience pleasure, but does experience enjoyment. Likewise, while relaxing in a hammock at the beach may be pleasurable, it cannot compare to the exhilaration and "flow" felt by the mountain climber. Similarly, an employee who holds a demanding and stressful position may not experience pleasure on the job, but for some, the challenge presented by the work is often enjoyable and can lead to "flow." For others, however, a demanding job may be overwhelming and may be experienced as drudgery, not enjoyment. Csikszentmihalyi explores characteristics that are common to organizations that support flow.

Csikszentmihalyi claims that leaders of organizations can actively create conditions to ensure that every employee has an opportunity to fully develop and express their potentialities and as a result experience flow. He explains that clear goals, good feedback, and incremental challenges are important factors that facilitate employee growth. First, goals must be clear both on an organizational and individual level. An employee must not only embrace the goals for the organization, he/she must trust their leader's commitment to those goals and must see how his/her individual activities align with the larger vision. Likewise, employees must have access to effective and meaningful feedback, not only to improve performance, but to be reassured that the leaders of the organization care deeply about their work. Finally, challenges presented to employees must be matched with their level of skill. Tasks that are too easy make experiences of flow and enjoyment more difficult to create, whereas challenges that are too great are simply overwhelming. Csikszentmihalyi states that actively creating conditions for flow is one of the best strategies for getting employees to give their best.

The assertions in the book are not clearly substantiated by research. Most of Csikszentmihalyi's claims seem to be derived from his earlier works and mapped onto workplace situations, corroborated by anecdotal evidence captured in interviews. A careful review of the book's notes reveal that an overwhelming majority of the thirty-nine business leaders who were interviewed were male and over the age of fifty. It remains to be seen if a more diverse group would have provided different accounts of flow at the workplace. Nevertheless, the book is an uplifting read and reminds us that work can indeed be enjoyable. It contains many inspirational quotes and anecdotes from today's business leaders, and presents a unique perspective on finding happiness.

Taking Advice: How Leaders Get Good Counsel And Use It Wisely

Average customer rating:

Excellent Advice
Hands-on counsel about getting the most from good advice.
A GEM OF A BOOK ON A QUINTESSENTIAL TOPIC FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESS!
Not an area you see covered in management books...

Taking Advice: How Leaders Get Good Counsel And Use It Wisely
Dan Ciampa
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1591396689

Book Description

Leaders can find plenty of resources explaining how to give advice. But what about how to take advice? According to Dan Ciampa, too many leaders overlook this “demand side” of advice.

In Taking Advice, Ciampa explains that more outside advisors than ever are offering leaders advice in increasingly costly projects. Yet as advice has become more ubiquitous, leaders have grown less satisfied with it—especially when dealing with high-stakes, unfamiliar situations that require assertive action and speed but also wise judgment. Also, leaders too often overlook help from colleagues, board members, subordinates, friends, and spouses.

Good advice bridges the gap between a leader’s vision and realization of that vision. When leaders fail to solicit advice or obtain it from the wrong sources, the leader and his vision suffer. By offering the broadest perspective on advice to date, Ciampa helps you avoid this scenario. He provides a topology of advice (strategic, operational, political, personal) and defines four types of advisors (expert, experienced, sounding board, partner). He also identifies the defining characteristics of effective advice takers—illustrating them with a wealth of examples from business, the public sector, and history.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Advice.......2007-03-08

This book is written for leaders who can often find themselves insulated and isolated. The bunker mentality is not generally conducive to good decision making, by the way.

Ciampa says that every leader should be an advice taker. And, different situations call for different kinds of advice. But all good advice takers share these characteristics:

* Skilled advice takers are deliberate in choosing the best type of help and in constructing a network of advisers.

* They manage that network actively, putting it high on their list of priorities.

* They work at building good relationships. To derive the most help from their advisers, they understand that they must take feedback without becoming defensive and, above all, listen with understanding.

* They seek advice and counsel quickly when faced with situations that can affect their plans. They also involve their advisers early in anticipating hindrances.

Every good advice taker has to be a good listener. It's important to be brave enough to select folks as advisers who are not "yes-men" -- and then listen, actually listen, to what is being said. Especially if it's not what you want to hear. That's leadership, regardless of your job title. That's also being open to growth and learning.

Hands-on counsel about getting the most from good advice........2006-11-23

Leaders must be accountable for their decisions, but the best leaders do not make the most important decisions alone. The right advice is a key condition for success, however, even the best advice will not be useful if the leader is not adept at using it. In this to-the-point book, author Dan Ciampa provides a unique service: a clear, practical framework for making the most of help from both inside and outside your organization, including selecting the right advisers and shaping a balanced advice network. We highly recommend this groundbreaking book for its usefulness and insights to every leader or aspiring leader...and that's advice you can take.

A GEM OF A BOOK ON A QUINTESSENTIAL TOPIC FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESS!.......2006-09-23

As management consultants in organization and compensation, as well as management book reviewers, we are all-too keenly aware that the achilles heal of leaders is very often, their inability to seek, get and properly use good advice.This book addresses this need, by presenting critical, to-the-point insights into this quintessential leadership subject. To do so, it offers a framework for advice taking and an understanding of the attributes of great advice taking.

The core propositions of the author are:
1) actionable, timely and sustainable advice is essential to achieve organizational change;
2) it is the leader's responsibility to identify needs for advice and choose and use advisors wisely, and;
3) leaders must achieve the appropriate mindset to be good advice takers and master the skills to take maximum advantage of advice given them.

Among the nuggets in this book are rules and fundamental principles of advice taking, the four types of advice, and the attributes and abilities of a skilled advice taker. The book offers important insights into a subject that may seem a blatantly obvious dimension of leadership, but is often neglected, poorly understood, and taken for granted.

This book is a very important contribution to the essential literature on leadership. We highly recommended it all who are, or strive to become, leaders.

Not an area you see covered in management books..........2006-09-10

No one has all the answers when it comes to running a business, so it pays to have "experts" surrounding you to give you insight. There are plenty of books that cover the hows of giving advice, but there are far fewer (any?) titles that deal with how best to *take* that advice. Dan Ciampa covers an oft-neglected area in his book Taking Advice: How Leaders Get Good Counsel And Use It Wisely.

Contents: The Help Paradox; How Good Leaders Fail as Advice Takers; A New Framework for Advice Taking; Types of Advice - Strategic, Operational, Political, and Personal; Kinds of Advisors - Expert, Experienced, Sounding-Board, and Partner; The Art of Balance; Attitudes and Behavior of Great Advice Takers; Listening - the Master Skill - and Other Key Success Factors; Afterword - For Further Thought; Notes; Further Reading; Index; About the Author

It's not unusual to see leaders taking advice from a close friend or circle of insiders. What is more unusual is to see a leader pick a group of advisors that have specific roles and purposes in the advice-giving position. Ciampa breaks out the types of advice and the types of advisors that a leader will need, and then uses examples to show how these roles come into play. For instance, someone may be looking at moving into a new position at a company, and it's one they've wanted for a long time. The spouse might be uneasy about the change, and the person's current boss wonders if the new position is a wise choice. It's all too easy to tune out advice you don't want to hear, or to assign the wrong level of importance to the advice you *are* hearing. Recognizing the current boss has a vested interest to keep you is important, but they also see a side of you that includes things you overlook. Dismissing the spouse's concerns as "emotional" means overlooking insights from someone that sees you as a person rather than a position in a company. Using Ciampa's material in Taking Advice puts you on the right path towards building a solid advice team with specific roles, and will definitely help you learn how to effectively use that advice to be successful (even if it may not be what you want to hear)...

A worthy addition to the bookshelf of management at all levels...

Results: Keep What's Good, Fix What's Wrong, and Unlock Great Performance

Average customer rating:

Results: Keep what's good, fix what is wrong, and unlock great performance
Well-Done!
Finally, a diagnostic tool for the rest of us
Excellent reading
Anatomy of Change for High-Performance Organizations

Results: Keep What's Good, Fix What's Wrong, and Unlock Great Performance
Gary L. Neilson , and Bruce A. Pasternack
Manufacturer: Crown Business
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Organizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1400098394
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Book Description

Every company has a personality. Does yours help or hinder your results? Does it make you fit for growth? Find out by taking the quiz that’s helped 50,000 people better understand their organizations at OrgDNA.com and to learn more about Organizational DNA.

Just as you can understand an individual’s personality, so too can you understand a company’s type—what makes it tick, what’s good and bad about it. Results explains why some organizations bob and weave and roll with the punches to consistently deliver on commitments and produce great results, while others can’t leave their corner of the ring without tripping on their own shoelaces. Gary Neilson and Bruce Pasternack help you identify which of the seven company types you work for—and how to keep what’s good and fix what’s wrong. You’ll feel the shock of recognition (“That’s me, that’s my company”) as you find out whether your organization is:

• Passive-Aggressive (“everyone agrees, smiles, and nods, but nothing changes”): entrenched underground resistance makes getting anything done like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall

• Fits-and-Starts (“let 1,000 flowers bloom”): filled with smart people pulling in different directions

• Outgrown (“the good old days meet a brave new world”): reacts slowly to market developments, since it’s too hard to run new ideas up the flagpole

• Overmanaged (“we’re from corporate and we’re here to help”): more reporting than working, as managers check on their subordinates’ work so they can in turn report to their bosses

• Just-in-Time (“succeeding, but by the skin of our teeth”): can turn on a dime and create real breakthroughs but also tends to burn out its best and brightest

• Military Precision (“flying in formation”): executes brilliant strategies but usually does not deal well with events not in the playbook

• Resilient (“as good as it gets”): flexible, forward-looking, and fun; bounces back when it hits a bump in the road and never, ever rests on its laurels

For anyone who’s ever said, “Wow, that’s a great idea, but it’ll never happen here” or “Whew, we pulled it off again, but I’m tired of all this sprinting,” Results provides robust, practical ideas for becoming and remaining a resilient business.

Also available as an eBook

Customer Reviews:

Results: Keep what's good, fix what is wrong, and unlock great performance.......2007-05-14

A very reader friendly, handy and excellent reference book. A must have for future middle level managers and leaders

Well-Done!.......2006-03-18

Obviously, all human effort produces results, including no change of the status quo. What Neilson and Pasternack are talking about are efforts which sustain what is both effective and efficient, repair or eliminate what isn't, and thereby result in ("unlock") great performance. They identify four separate but interdependent "building blocks" (decision rights, information, motivators, and structure) on which to establish a program to achieve whatever the desirable results may be. Perhaps to manage growth. Perhaps to rightsize. Perhaps to introduce a new product or service and/or to penetrate a new market.

In Chapters One through Nine, they examine several different types of organizations:

Passive-Aggressive: "Everyone Agrees But Nothing Changes"
Fits-and-Starts: "Let 1,000 Flowers Bloom"
Outgrown: "The Good Old Days Meet a Brave New World"
Overmanaged: "We're from Corporate and We're Here to Help"
Just-in-Time: "Succeeding by the Skin of Our Teeth"
Military Precision: "Flying in Formation"

Each of the first six types has specific characteristics, most (if not all) of which are perversions of what would otherwise be desirable. For example, most executives would agree that an organization's operations should be disciplined, consistent, and lean; also, that there should be a well-defined chain of command. However, in a Military Precision organization, there can be serious problems which result from "command and control" management which discourages (if not punishes) principled dissent and individual initiative. Almost everyone involved awaits "orders" to be followed without question or hesitation. As I read Chapter Eight in which Neilson and Pasternack discuss the Military Precision organization, it struck me that it could run off independent thinkers and develop within those who remain a passive-aggressive attitude which results in subversive behavior. However, there are at least some organizations on which the appropriate emphasis should be on everyone knowing his or her role and implements it diligently, producing fluid and consistent execution of its policies and procedures.

As Neilson and Pasternack suggest, "7-Eleven exemplifies the Military Precision organization because it is top-down with a twist. It takes its direction from above, but its intelligence lies in the field...and it recognizes that. it's an organization bent on providing a consistent, quality customer experience to the thousands, often millions, that pass through its doors every day."

As for the Resilient organization, which Neilson and Pasternack describe as the "healthiest" of all, it also has several organizational traits which include entertaining the inconceivable ("seeing" what isn't yet...but could be); building a culture of commitment and accountability; "moving the goal post...every three years" at least; at all times and in every way demonstrating the "courage of its convictions"; recovering from adversity and then moving on; thinking horizontally (i.e. rather than in terms of hierarchies); Self-correcting (i.e. having mechanisms which identify small problems before they become major crises; listening to complainers to identify patterns and trends of dissatisfaction enterprise-wide; linking motivators to what is most important; and realizing any "success" is transient ("a little paranoia is good for you"). I presume to add one point: Today's Resilient organization can very quickly become one of the other seven. That is to say, each of the ten positive traits which Neilson and Pasternack identify, if taken to an extreme, defining characteristics of an "unhealthy" organization.

According to Neilson and Pasternack, the symptoms of a Passive Aggressive organization include smiles which conceal dissent, "shopping for decisions" (i.e. seeking until finding decisions preferable to those of one's supervisors); hoarding of resources which creates a "Bermuda Triangle" of information flow; "mixed message motivators" which create confusion and dissonance; and widespread use of the CYO strategy in anticipation of unfavorable consequences. These symptoms obviously suggest often deeply submerged feelings of dissatisfaction and perhaps even hostility.

What makes this volume so informative, indeed valuable is the fact that Neilson and Pasternack identify all manner of causes of dysfunctional organizations, suggest how those causes can be avoided or eliminated, and then explain what a "healthy" organization is but also how to establish and then sustain one. It occurs to me that most organizations proceed through phases during any one of which they exemplify one of the seven types. Therefore, some of the attributes of one type (e.g. Passive-Aggressive) should be replaced by some of those of another (e.g. Military Precision). It remains for decision-makers to understand which of the seven types best describes their organization and then, guided and informed by what Neilson and Pasternack provide in this volume, make whatever corrective or preventive adjustments may be necessary.

To Neilson and Pasternack, I now offer "Well-done!"

Finally, a diagnostic tool for the rest of us.......2006-02-27

The authors present extensive research on companies that consistently deliver results and those that do not. Their proposal is that the differentiator is a proper meshing of the following four building blocks:
* Decision rights: underlying rules about why and by whom decisions are truly made
* Motivators: incentives, career alternatives, corporate culture and values, and other elements that drive peoples' behavior.
* Information: performance metrics, and processes to coordinate activities and transfer knowledge.
* Structure: overall organization model, including, but not limited to, the "lines and boxes" of the organization chart.
The authors proceeded to investigate, in a very large number of companies, how the above four building blocks fit together, or fail to. Looking at their research results, the authors found out that the data tended to gather around seven organizational "syndromes" four unhealthy, two healthy, and one ideal, as follows:
The Passive-Aggressive Organization: Building consensus in such companies is easy, but execution is next to impossible. That's because people agree to things, but as soon as the meeting is over, begin to sabotage the implementation. Passive-aggressive companies are full of people looking like they support some initiative but in reality are - actively or passively - doing their best to guarantee it never gets done. The authors confess that this is the most difficult type of organization to fix. People are unable to take decisive action, because what looks like acquiescence is actually resistance in disguise. And when decisions are made they're almost certain to be vetoed or ignored. The solution begins when decision rights are placed with those best able and positioned to effect positive outcomes. But you can't stop there: a solution must make sure those people who are going to make the decisions 1) have timely access to good information and 2) are accountable, appraised and rewarded for making decisions that lead to successful execution. Finally senior management must streamline the decision process, removing obstacles and naming process owners to shepherd execution.
The Fits and Starts Organization: These attract intellect, initiative, and entrepreneurship, and these very special people, if they're highly self-motivated, will make great things happen, provided there's 1) a solid value system among the troops, and 2) senior management provides essential direction and redirects potential collisions/redundancies. Otherwise, the marketplace receives conflicting messages from their spasmodic behavior, and as result consistently undervalues these companies. What's going on? A Fits and Starts organization clearly shines in the Talents department, but lacks the management skills to effectively harness all this creative energy. Under pressure, they just work harder, thus bringing out even more their coordination shortcomings. Too many people are empowered to make decisions, often with little or no information beyond the data generated by that decision maker's immediate group. You can guess the rest: compensation schemes vary all over the place. Weak performance appraisals invariably lead to rewards largely unrelated to the company's strategic direction (if in fact there is one). Soon, people start updating their résumés. The best quit first. And the Fits and Starts company loses its chief competitive advantage: its people.
The Outgrown Organization: Outgrown organizations are exactly that - they're bursting at the seams because their management model was designed for a much smaller company. It may now be too large and complex to be run effectively by a small team of executives at headquarters. It reacts slowly to market developments. When it does, it's reactive and/or too late. Information pertinent to decision-making is placed as far as possible from those invested with the power of deciding, ie, it languishes in those units closest to the customer. People talk wistfully about the "good old days" when all one had to do before making a decision was shout across the hall or make a couple of quick phone calls. People close to the customer design intricate ways to circumnavigate headquarters. Ultimately, there are more exceptions than rules. Solutions must retain the benefits of scale while pushing decision-making out towards the client. Identify those who make a difference and reward them accordingly, keeping in mind that the best have probably already left. Because these companies have warm, powerful cultures, recharging people's batteries may be just a matter of broadcasting that the changes they've yearned for have finally come to pass.
The Over-managed Organization: These illustrate all the bad traits of the traditional Command and Control organization. Because the higher-ups spend most of their time checking on the information they receive, action is slow, misdirected, or non-existent. Over-managed organizations share a top-down decision system with Outgrown organizations, but their midsections are much fatter. In fact, wading through the middle ranks to get anything done can be a major task. Meetings generally take place in auditoriums because conference rooms are never big enough to contain all those involved. There, those who make presentations prepare much bigger backup presentations ("just in case they ask") that never get presented. The authors report that those inside Over-managed companies have the bleakest outlook and the most negative attitudes of all people surveyed. No wonder: there is no consistency to rewards and promotions, ownership and accountability are unclear, and the people with initiative have no permission to exert it. Senior management has no reliable information, and line managers have no idea how their division, let alone the total company, is doing. Summarily lopping off middle management is hardly ever a solution, because all those lines and boxes are a symptom rather than the cause. Rather, over-managed companies must single out key processes, find out who needs to make what decisions and when, design a new organization around them, make sure the proper information reaches them in time, and finally design and implement a new reward system that clearly reflects the new priorities.
The Just-in-Time Organization: These have a strong sense of mission, contain significant numbers of very talented people, and are able to change direction quickly in response to market trends, although seldom as a result of proactive measures to anticipate such changes. They are excellent places to learn, and foster an atmosphere of discovery, even of breakthrough. But, unless tight structures and consistent processes are in place, they can often be one-hit players rather than a reliable source of competitive advantage. These are companies that deliver results, but just barely. They may not be very good at nurturing long-term relationships with key clients. Also, they're seldom scalable. Their internal "heroes" are always people who snatched success from the jaws of defeat, just seconds before the Game Over bell rang. Yet right after one more such celebration they wonder how many times it was done in the past, and why nobody back then bothered to document that earlier victory so all this adrenalin would not be wasted again. Outsiders always get the impression that people are moving a little faster than they should be. But the human body is not designed to sprint a marathon, so Just in Time organizations are famous sources of management burnout. The solution is complicated by the fact that people in such organizations abhor greater emphasis on process and structure as initiatives that will render it "boring". All solutions must therefore slowly but deliberately take apart the "cowboy who shoots from the hip" mentality. Unfortunately, it may only come about after some high-profile executive burns out.
The Military-Precision Organization: Like flying in formation, everyone knows his/her role in a Military-Precision organization. It is disciplined and enormously coordinated. It is hierarchical and can process large volumes of similar transactions. They are run like good sports teams, drilling standard plays over and over until they become instinctual. While it brilliantly executes all activities that were carefully planned for, the same cannot be said for its ability to deal with the unexpected. Because future leaders must be groomed, not just drilled, their biggest challenge is finding and preparing the next generation of leadership. They can also get so wrapped up with continuous improvement of their internal processes that they fail to read - y compris between the lines - the information that flows into headquarters from the front lines. And because they typically don't deal well with the unexpected, this mistake can keep them ignorant of major but subtle changes in the marketplace until it's too late.
The Resilient Organization: Resilient organizations seem to have it all - their results are brilliant, their brands are respected, and they attract the best people. Everyone knows his/her priorities, and that the reward systems in place are closely tied to those priorities. Thus, if someone works 50% harder than his peer next door, he knows he's going to get paid a 50% bigger bonus. Yet Resilient companies hate media exposure, never rest on their laurels, are constantly scanning the horizon for change, and are ready to reinvent themselves every Monday morning. Resilience is not an end state, but rather a continuous journey. All Resilient companies have a "Secret Sauce", that changes from one company to the next, but that consistently includes the following four ingredients 1) an effective BS filter that separates fads from actual trends, 2) strong links to clients and customers (witness FedEx's Customer Summit), 3) a self-correcting mechanism that soaks up information about those market trends and turns them into effective internal redesign, and 4) an attitude of sincerity and frankness, sometimes brutally so, with all constituencies. On this last point, survey respondents mention the ability of top management to bring bad news across to employees, and take corrective measures swiftly. They know that complacency retains the mediocre and drives away the truly talented.
There is a website also http://www.orgdna.com where, by answering a simple questionnaire (19 questions, estimated total time 5 minutes) in one of 12 languages, you can submit your own organization to a test and find out which type it is. Some of you will gain some real insights about why some things are not working in your companies, and hopefully have the power or the influence to do something about it.
Most people will not be surprised to learn that 54% of questionnaire respondents work for unhealthy organizations (either Passive-Aggressive, Fits and Starts, Outgrown, or Overmanaged). Passive-Aggressive alone answers for 27% of questionnaires! Those 17% who work for Resilient organizations report that the experience is "fulfilling", and that returns are "higher than" their peers in the industry. The two other healthy profiles (Military Precision and Just in Time) account for another 14% of respondents. The 15% balance of survey respondents was judged "inconclusive" by the authors. Finally, the authors ranked responses by company annual sales, and, not surprisingly, find that very large companies (above US$ 10 billion in annual sales) can be extremely unhealthy, and are very difficult to run in a results-oriented fashion.
Succumbing to the instant gratification of being able to read the book a couple of minutes after buying it on amazon.com, I chose the e-book alternative, and, after some fiddling with the Adobe settings and my own sitting position, found that it was a very convenient way to read.
Results is not the silver bullet that the title suggests, but is a simple (sometimes too simple) diagnostic tool for ailing organizations. The cases and examples (and quite often the actual company name is mentioned) are excellent, and inserted at the right moment. I particularly liked the one about 7-Eleven, originally a Fits and Starts, Outgrew that model, filed for bankruptcy protection, reorganized as Military Precision, and is today on its way to becoming Resilient. The irony is that this last step has involved collapsing eleven management layers into seven, and that includes the CEO and the store managers!
All seven "syndromes" are beautifully described, although I would have preferred to see a more thorough treatment of Passive-Aggressive, exactly the one the authors contend is the most difficult of them all. The Resilient is beautifully covered, which is excellent, as it gives the rest of us - who don't work for a Resilient company - something to strive for.
If you're an executive and like to keep a dozen management books in the office that you can reference quickly, this should definitely be one of them. Also, this is an excellent book for coaches to recommend to clients who are at a loss for a diagnostic tool for their organizations' inability to consistently deliver results. Finally, those who, having read Execution (Gary Bossidy and Ram Charam), and afterwards felt that there was something missing, may find that something in this book.

Excellent reading.......2006-01-20

I found this book very interesting, full of practical examples and in general very illustrative

Anatomy of Change for High-Performance Organizations.......2006-01-06

I wasn't going to review this book, because I have a connection to it. I am the editor-in-chief of strategy+business (http://www.strategy-business.com), where an adaptation of part of Results appeared. But the first review, while complimentary, seems to have its own axe to grind, and someone should put Results in perspective.

This is a book about leverage for changing organizations into a high-performance, employee-energizing, model. There are a lot of books on that subject, but Results is distinguished by three things. First, it's theoretically rich. Drawing on both economic organizational theory and the authors' own extensive global surveys (still going on at www.orgdna.com), it has a coherent theory of the "building blocks" that leaders can either design effectively or not. These levers include decision rights, information flows, incentives, and other practices that are usually tackled piecemeal. Results shows how to put them together.

Second, Results is distinguished by the way it labels organizations. The link between the combinations of "building blocks" and the perceived personalities (resilient, passive-aggressive, military, and so on) is remarkably consistent, and it helps people see the nature of the organizations they work for - and the reasons why they got that way.

Third, Results is distinguished by its writing style. It's accessible, but not glib. The examples are substantial, and worthy of attention, like Caterpillar, whose story represents one of the most genuine transformation stories I know of -- from a company on the point of stagnation to an extremely successful high-performance global enterprise.

I spend a lot of time trying to make sense of the entity called "organizations," which are so influential - and so difficult to influence. I find myself continually returning in my mind to the stories and the building blocks of Results. It's a very pragmatic book, targeted directly at people who want to make useful change in organzations and not waste their time. It's deceptively simple on that level, but it's not superficial at all. It's not the only book a change-oriented manager might read -- there's a lot of organizational learning material that would represent a good complement to it -- but it has at its heart one of the critical things that an organizational leader needs to know: The way the tangible policies and practices of a company or enterprise shape the human culture of that company or enterprise, and the aspirations and sensibilities of the people inside it.

Average customer rating:

Nothing New

Leading Corporate Citizens
Sandra Waddock
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

General | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0072453907

Book Description

Waddock’s Leading Corporate Citizens is designed for the instructor interested in cutting-edge thinking and research in the 21st century. This innovative text incorporates important new features of the modern business landscape yet to be brought into Business and Society texts. Leading Corporate Citizens operates at 3 levels of leadership: individual, organizational, and societal. The premise is that businesses operate successfully in society when they respect and are responsible to stakeholders, that a balance is needed among sectors in society, and that vision and values can result in distinctive competencies that lead to value-added for companies of the 21st century.

Customer Reviews:

Nothing New.......2003-10-06

I am using this textbook for an MBA course on Social Issues in Management. Convincing MBA students of the importance of social issues is a difficult yet important task. Unfortunately this book is not up to the challenge. Its concepts are overly simple - attempting to reveal a framework in which business exists that once understood should magically reveal win-win opportunities for all stakeholders.

The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart

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Creating an Ethical Legacy
Wrestling with the Balance Between Ethics and Self-Interest
Running a Business Is One Thing; Learning to Think Another
May Be Well Intentioned, But Doesn't Cut The Mustard
A sound practical guide

The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart
Jeffrey L. Seglin
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

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Contemporary Management 4th Edition with Student DVD & Premium OLC Content Card

ASIN: 0471347795

Book Description

Does the need to make a profit outweigh the need to reward employees fairly? Should you tell your staff why you fired someone and risk being sued for defamation? Is it more important to make payroll or pay your vendors?

Business professionals face ethical decisions like these every day. Such dilemmas will keep even the most seasoned managers tossing and turning at night. You can rest assured that at some point in your career you'll be faced with making, or witness the making of, an ethical decision-and the action you take will not only define you, but also what your company stands for.

The pressure to make the right choices is incredible; indecision or one small misstep can be the kiss of death in today's highly competitive, fast-moving economy. Productivity can drop off, employee morale can plummet, dissatisfied customers can flee, and your competitor may take a large bite out of your profits-while the dilemma remains unsolved.

The Good, The Bad, and Your Business shows companies how to run more efficiently by improving their navigation of everyday moral business dilemmas. Respected writer and journalist Jeffrey Seglin reveals how otherwise decent people can make mistakes and find themselves in serious ethical trouble. His practical approach uses real-life examples to help you see the difference between a "gray area" and an outright misdeed so you can act faster when faced with such ethical decisions.

Without being preachy or theoretical, The Good, The Bad, and Your Business looks at how others have faced moral dilemmas and gives you the tools to help you reach your own decisions. You'll see firsthand how businesspeople have grappled with difficult issues, from how to draw the line between lying and posturing, to whether it's ever ethical to spy on competitors, to how to align personal beliefs with business practices.

You'll also discover the common misperceptions about ethics in business and learn how to define your "comfort" level so that you can conduct business knowing you've made thoughtful decisions with full knowledge of the possible consequences.

The Good, The Bad, and Your Business:
* Looks at how company owners and managers make difficult decisions as they try to keep cash flow strong enough to stay in business
* Examines how to deal with employee issues, from how far to go to help a troubled employee to what policy-if any-to take on romantic relationships between coworkers
* Reveals the motivations that lie behind how people decide where to "draw the line" on what they will and will not do
* Focuses on how the decisions you make can affect the common good-the larger community in which you're doing business

"Well-written and lucid, this book does not preach; it teaches the reader how to think intelligently about hard choices. Every executive who wants to build a successful business and wants to do so with integrity-should read this book."-Jim Collins, Coauthor, Built to Last

"It's a rare business book that can truly change your life, and Jeff Seglin's latest is just that. You'll find no grandstanding or buzzwords, but rather a compelling blend of research and worldly experience, written by a master. He's the perfect travel guide for the examined life we all must lead to achieve meaningful success. Don't miss this one!"-Steven Leveen, Cofounder and President, Levenger

"Finally a book about modern ethics and business that you don't have to get all dressed up to read! Writing with a sure touch, lively language, and a wonderful wit . . . Jeff Seglin has found a way to wake up his subject without once getting bogged down. He never lectures . . . he knows his stuff and he respects his readers' intelligence. This terrific book is the next best thing to talking to your smart, warm, and funny best friend about the toughest decisions you'll ever have to make. It's flat-out superb."-Nancy K. Austin, Coauthor, A Passion for Excellence

Customer Reviews:

Creating an Ethical Legacy .......2004-10-26

This is a general business book, rather than one about marketing (though there are some great examples from the marketing world, like the oil pipeline company that, as part of a court settlement, had to run ads acknowledging culpability in a pipeline rupture that polluted 23 miles of river; the company went well beyond its legal requirement to top the ad with a huge headline declaring, "We Apologize.")

Seglin's main point is that ethics have to be a part of all our working lives, of every decision, and that workers at all levels must be trained to wrestle with the tough decisions and to stand up for honest, ethical responses.

He sees a dangerous trend, though: instead of taking responsibility for their own and their subordinates' actions, too many managers simply kick the problem upstairs to the legal department. But just because something is within the law doesn't mean it's right, and managers get ever more rusty in making these decisions if they don't get to practice ethical decision making because the lawyers have already stepped in.

One of my favorite parts is a four-question "sniff test" taken from Lockheed Martin's former CEO, Norman R. Augustine (these four questions are a direct quote form the book):
1. Is it legal?
2. If someone else did "this" to you, would you think it was fair?
3. Would you be content if this were to appear on the front page of your hometown newspaper?
4. Would you like your mother to see you do this?

If you get a yes on all four, you're probably pretty safe, ethically.

Among many other tests, Seglin also suggests these: will you be ashamed to look in the mirror, and what kind of a legacy do you want to be remembered for?

Wrestling with the Balance Between Ethics and Self-Interest.......2004-03-24

The Good, The Bad, and Your Business is a generous gift to readers: articulate, thought provoking and lucid. The writing style is congruent with the author's message. Seglin gives the reader a flexible, yet coherent language to structure discussion and contemplation of ethical dilemmas.
The examples in the book foster identification with business executives who face brutal decisions and lure the reader into sympathizing with their behavior. Only later when the author shifts to the divergent view of the victim, does the reader clearly acknowledge the executive's behavior-with a shock-as being unethical.
The book awakens us to the process of how we can let legal parameters and legal experts shut down our awareness of good ethics. It highlights the importance of breaking the bonds of legal fear to create greater employee satisfaction that in turn leads to better employee performance.
Seglin takes a realistic view of how success is affected by dishonesty and astutely concludes that overall, it "just isn't worth the risk."
The Good, The Bad, and Your Business, displays a compassion for being human in an imperfect world while maintaining laser alertness and wrestling with the balance between altruism and self-interest. Seglin is not hesitant about diving into the trenches but can also climb with conviction to the pinnacle of "Postconventional Morality."

Running a Business Is One Thing; Learning to Think Another.......2003-05-14

If the past several years have taught us anything, it's that one of the serious shortages among some people touting themselves as industrialists and in-the-trenches businesspeople is the ability to think and make decisions. One of the most striking aspects of The Good, the Bad, and Your Business is that it not only shows an understanding of various experiences of being in the trenches, it also does a wonderful job of helping the reader realize the importance of weighing through decisions and the implications of their actions -- even when those decisions must be made at rapid speed. To dismiss a book written by a journalist (albeit one who seems from the jacket flap to have experience in business) is silly, particularly when the message is as strong as this: For businesses to regain the trust of the consuming public, integrity is required. And try as you might, you can't fake integrity...at least not for long. Business needs fewer silly thinkers and more explorations like this one that get businesspeople to really think about what it is they do and why they do it.

May Be Well Intentioned, But Doesn't Cut The Mustard.......2003-02-25

Business is my bag. From one who runs a company, I can only say that this book is trying to teach what it knows very little about from first hand experience. Anecdotal business stories are fine for the spectator. But, to then take these stories and presume to have the experience and expertise to write a book? That's questionable (and that's sugarcoating my full opinion). Jack Welch on big business, and almost any one of thousands of ethical and successful small business people, would have earned the right to be listened to. A book written by a journalist who evidently has little if any first hand experience with running a business in the trenches has not. As one who has spent my business life, so far, in the trenches of rough-and-tumble competition, I felt ethically compelled to opine that this book may be well intentioned, but doesn't cut the mustard.

A sound practical guide.......2003-02-25

Written well before the Enron affair focused people's minds on the ethical behaviour of large business, this book seeks to provide a simple and approachable guide to recognizing and thinking through the ethical dilemmas that everyone in business faces - the first step in which is to recognize that there is an ethical issue in a particular situation.

It is likely to appeal to people who are interested in these questions and want a practical rather than a theoretical or philosophical treatment of the subject.

A major part of the author's thesis is that ethical issues tend to be 'fuzzy', often present themselves as a complication to a difficult and even financially dangerous situation, and there is a mythology that ethics necessarily involves pain and suffering - and is damaging to business profitability. As a result these issues are often not recognized, discussed or addressed.

The book is written in the context of the explosion in litigation, which both confuses the distinction between ethics and legality and can also constrain ethical behaviour through fear of litigation - as recent experience with various churches has demonstrated. Its three parts - Money, People, and The Common Good - take common examples from each arena in order to help the business reader find ways of addressing these issues and continue to operate with due regard for profit but do so 'with an understanding of what we stand for in the way we make choices and decisions'.

In covering money, the author deals with issues such as the limits to monetary fiddling to ensure you can pay your payroll, the ethics of bankruptcy in the context of US law, what and when to disclose when a threatening situation arises. Chapter 4, How to Make a Decision When You Don't Know Enough, also contains some simple, even folksy, advice on how to check whether your decision is ethical.

The chapters on People include some extended discussion on the ethical failures of omission and commission that flow from fear of litigation - and the side effect of allowing ethical issues to be treated as purely legal questions to be decided by the lawyers rather than the managers. They also discuss the establishment of an ethical working environment and the limits to the help to be given when an employee encounters personal problems

The chapters on The Common Good go into the murky dividing line between (arguably legitimate) posturing, spin-doctoring and concealment and outright lying and spying. This is written from the point of view of the individual in business. It is a valid perspective, but does not provide coverage of the systemic impact on business - and indeed politics and governance - of the progressive debasement of the ethical coinage that flows from acceptance of these not quite dishonest practices.

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