Book Description
Applying this revolutionary management strategy to drive positive change in an organization
Currently exploding onto the American business scene, the Six Sigma methodology fuels improved effectiveness and efficiency in an organization; according to General Electric's Jack Welch, it's the "most important initiative [they] have ever undertaken." Written by the consultant to GE Capital who helped implement Six Sigma at GE and GE's General Manager of e-Commerce, Making Six Sigma Last offers businesses the tools they need to make Six Sigma work for them--and cultivate long-lasting, positive results. Successful Six Sigma occurs when the technical and cultural components of change balance in an organization; this timely, comprehensive book is devoted to the cultural component of implementing Six Sigma, explaining how to manage it to maintain that balance. The authors address how to create the need for Six Sigma; diagnose the four types of resistance to Six Sigma and how to overcome them; manage the systems and structures; and lead a Six Sigma initiative. This book applies the Six Sigma approach to business operations across the organization--unlike other titles that focus on product development. Plus, it provides strategies, tactics, and tools to improve profitability by centering on the relationship between product defects and product yields, reliability, costs, cycle time, and schedule.
George Eckes (Superior, CO) is the founder and principal consultant for Eckes & Associates. His clients include GE Capital, Pfizer, Westin, Honeywell, and Volvo. Eckes has published numerous papers on the topic of performance improvement and is the author of The Six Sigma Revolution: How General Electric and Others Turned Process into Profits (0-471-38822-X) (Wiley).
Customer Reviews:
Highly Recommended!.......2004-03-02
George Eckes' experience in quality control includes an instance where he had the temerity, just out of college, to ask W. Edwards Deming, then an octogenarian, to elaborate on his views about quality. "Those are the most stupid questions I have ever heard! Go read some of my books," the cantankerous quality czar responded. No one reading this volume can doubt that Eckes has done his homework ever since. His blend of experience, theoretical expertise and common sense make this a very effective Six Sigma manual, although it is a little light on case studies. One of the book's most valuable elements is Eckes' keen analysis of the pitfalls that can flush all your best Six Sigma intentions down the tubes, even as a row of consultants tell you it is a panacea for all your woes. We recommend this book to anyone who is about to call a consultant and venture into the Rasputin world of Six Sigma.
5 Stars= Six Sigma.......2003-09-28
Having read or attempted to read an assortment of books on Six Sigma, I must say this one was an easy, informative read. The book reads like what it is, written by a person who has taught people Six Sigma skills for years. The author seems to have used Six Sigma tools on his teachings. He has found out what areas people have had trouble comprehending and has come up with easier ways of explaining it or provides examples.
Could you read this book and come away knowing everything about Six Sigma there is to know. No, but this book will keep you interested, give you an excellent start. You could accomplish quite a bit with the tools provided here.
I would strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in Six Sigma. If you are in business today and aren't aware of the ideas of Six Sigma you are missing out.
I do have to admit to being a follower of W. Edwards Deming management methods for years and have always had a problem with Six Sigma "gurus" not admitting to using many of his ideas. I'm sure it helped win me over to see George Eckes giving Dr. Deming credit where credit is due.
The best book on Six Sigma.......2002-08-09
I like the explanations and the format of this book. Sometimes authors try to help by including strange diagrams that confuse you. This book is simple and to the point, from a person who knows how to explain things. Other books I have seen just describe what Six Sigma is or try to show why the discipline works but nothing more. I would have liked a bit more technical definitions and procedures. I hope this author makes an expanded 6Sigma book with more technical stuff, clear color charts , better paper quality, and to follow a project though from begining to end. Another great book (although with similar limitations) is Design for Six Sigma, by Subir Chowdhury.
Buy them both and compare the two disciplines.
Real-Life Success Stories are Through-Out the Book.......2002-08-08
The six sigma benefits are process management, improvement, and measurement implemented daily. Top company leaders recognize the six sigma is synonymous with constant reinvention of their business and gain success through sustained customer satisfication both internally and externally. Six Sigma business are held the highest standards of 3.4 defects per million opportunities. The belief that tool usage used for measuring results should be easy and simple. The silo-breaking effort produces strong communication and collaboration throughout the company. Core competence is improved as the company makes a strong commitment to learning and training as the standard. The six sigma way involves increase expense for training, resource, and employee time allocation; but numerous case studies suggest the end result is increase productivity. Increased productivity can apply effectively to both service and manufacturing businesses.
What is six sigma? 1. A focus on the customer 2. Fact based management style 3. Process focus and improvement 4. Proactive management 5. Boundaryless Collaboration 6. The drive for perfection but tolerance of failure 7. 3.4 defects per million opportunities performance standard.
What is the improvement Cycle? DMAIC (define,measure, analyze, improve, and control) 1. Identify the problem and define requirements 2. Redefine the problem and measure key steps 3. Analyze the root causes of the problem 4. Develop improvement ideas to remove root causes and create standards of performance measurement. 5. Establish control measures to maintain performance and correct problems as needed.
How does a company determine whether six sigma is right for them? The authors expand that six sigma is a company cultural change. Case studies indicate the change can be profitable but requires tremendous commitment, resources, and time to implement effectively. The authors assess readiness with three questions: 1. Is change a critical business need now 2. Can the company come up with a strong rationale for applying six sigma to their business 3. Will the existing improving systems be capable of achieving the change needed. A deeper understanding of what six sigma can do for the organization is requested. Scope analysis answers the question of what is feasible in terms of resources, attention, and acceptance. A timeframe analysis answers the question of how long will management be willing to wait for results.
Where to go from here. 1. Develop a strong rationale supporting six sigma methodology in your organization 2. Management plans and actively participates in implementation 3. Create a vision and market plan 4. Become a power advocate of the process improvement cycle 5. Set clear objectives 6. Hold yourself and others accountable 7. Demand solid measurements of progress and results 8. Communicate results and setbacks to the organization. 9. Organize roles (black belts, green belts, and master black belts) 10. Select the project with the biggest impact on the organization.
In short, The six sigma way is a big improvement over Total Quality Managment. It signifies a much higher standard of quality and connects management closer to the improvement effort. A ranking structure of black belts and master black belts brings the best expertise to facilitate improvement in the project. Accountablity and communication increase learning, cooperation, and leverage creativity and focus, in the problem solving stages. Because management is actively participating training, resources, and individual talent is effectively configured. The focus on the customer helps identify how to bring value and increase competitiveness.
The Six Sigma Revolution - The Best In Tactical Excellence!.......2001-11-25
The Six Sigma Revolution by Mr. George Eckes is an excellent road map to corporate tactical excellence.
The book leads us to a clear understanding of exactly how to implement the mission of Six Sigma: a scientific method of strategic business management by fact and data to promulgate Excellence in corporate performance and corporate culture through continuous planned quality improvements in business process management.
The Six Sigma Revolution is the best book that offers a complete process to achieve the key tactical component of Six Sigma: process management excellence!
Making Six Sigma Last, another book by the author, successfully teaches us the way to achieve the cultural component of Six Sigma: corporate cultural excellence.
The Six Sigma Revolution is an outstanding work that is enjoyable and very enlightening. It is an important contribution to Six Sigma practice that's very easy to read, comprehend, and implement.
The Six Sigma Revolution is perfect for corporate executives, managers, employees, consultants, quality practitioners, teachers and students of best business practice.
Thank you George, for the outstanding inspiration of The Six Sigma Revolution.
Regards,
Marc St.James
November 24, 2001
Book Description
How to make a fortune in the next big boom industry
The paperback edition of this revolutionary business book, by bestselling author Paul Pilzer, shows wellness professionals and entrepreneurs how to get in on the ground floor of the booming wellness industry. A legendary entrepreneur and speaker, Pilzer predicts that within the next decade money spent on disease prevention will surpass that spent on disease treatment-and he shows readers how to stake their claim while there's still time. The Wellness Revolution is a step-by-step plan for getting rich that will help entrepreneurs figure out where they fit in the industry, learn how to control demand, and how to get started. This insightful and well-reasoned book shows how to take advantage of the wellness boom, but its lessons can be applied to any new market.
Paul Zane Pilzer (Park City, UT) is a world-renowned economist, a multimillionaire software entrepreneur, a part-time rabbi, a college professor, and a bestselling author. As an entrepreneur, Pilzer earned his first $10 million before the age of thirty. A former commentator on National Public Radio and CNN, Pilzer has been a guest on Larry King Live! three times, and he has been on the cover of several national magazines. He speaks to nearly 500,000 people a year, and more than 10,000,000 video and audio copies of his speeches have been sold.
Customer Reviews:
Wellness is worth it!.......2007-08-07
Paul educates the reader about how to take part in the next trillion dollar industry by getting into health and wellness.
Question about something.......2007-07-30
I have read some of this book in the bookstore because it looked rather interesting - and is. And maybe I'm stretching things, but I was 'confused' by some things in it, and here is one example. He talks about Dr. Mercola's website, which I had previously learned about and registered on. Then later in the book, he touts how GREAT soy is. Well anyone that follows Mercola's website knows that Dr. M does not promote soy and actually has articles detailing the adverse effects that regular consumption of soy can produce. And with Pilzer writing about Mercola and later about how good soy is, well those two items are in conflict to me. I suppose I should see this book more along the lines of reference material as well as a promotion of how trends will tend toward pro-health activities and lifestyles, not forgetting to mention the potentially profitable opportunities that exist. I guess when I read a book, I expect topics and information to run along similar lines. It would be like say a democrat writing a book about his liberal views, with a chapter detailing how Roe vs. Wade should have been thrown out altogether. It just wouldn't be the expected fit for me. I welcome any comments to help me see things more accurately. Feel free to write to me at purpleshake on gmail if so inclined. Thank you.
The New Wellness Revolution - Rocks`.......2007-07-03
Being in the Health and Wellness industry i found this book to be state of the art. A definite read for everyone.
Brian Brown.......2007-04-11
This book was amazing. Paul is dead on the money. As the owner of a fast growing Health & Wellness company, it is affirming to hear that I am doing the right things. It also gave me a lot of new ideas for my current projects. If anyone is considering being involved in this trillion dollar industry, this book is a must read!
A must read for anyone concerned about their health and the future!!.......2007-03-22
This is a great book to open your eyes about health and your responsibility in being responsible for yourself. I was amazed to read about milk!!
Take charge of your life and read this book!
Book Description
The most successful business book of the last decade, Reengineering the Corporation is the pioneering work on the most important topic in business today: achieving dramatic performance improvements. This book leads readers through the radical redesign of a company's processes, organization, and culture to achieve a quantum leap in performance.
Michael Hammer and James Champy have updated and revised their milestone work for the New Economy they helped to create -- promising to help corporations save hundreds of millions of dollars more, raise their customer satisfaction still higher, and grow ever more nimble in the years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Reengineering the Corporation.......2007-01-12
Very satified with book, shipping, packaging, and timely fachion sent and received.
Burn this Book.......2006-11-21
There is NO EXCUSE for this book to still be in print. "Reengineering" was a trite meaningless buzzword of the early nineties, that when adopted by hack middle managers incapable of thinking anything through, or imagining unexpected results, cost tens of thousands of people their jobs. The authors of this book have already issued their mea culpa for getting so much, so wrong, in the Wall Street Journal. Management fads come and go. Your job is to figure out if the hot new book sweeping through management circles has any merit, or if it's garbage.
I am horrified that this book is even available. If ever there was a book that deserved zero stars, this is it. Stop paying these two moron authors for their incompetent advice.
Collins Busines ESSSENTIALS? Give me a break.
Text on Reengineering.......2006-11-14
Hammer and Champy do a great job of detailing through the reengineering concept and process. They use understandable examples, and communicate benefits, challenges, and necessities well. A bit dry to read and get into, once I got past the beginning, this book moved along nicely.
Reengineering the Corporation .......2006-06-02
The book is written by management consultants who suggest re-engineering the organizations as the most effective way for companies to remain competitive. This entails starting afresh to devise innovative ways to carry out business processes and serve customers more effectively. Managers, employees, business processes, among other things in the entire organization have to radically change so as to save costs, increase revenue, improve quality and serve customers better.
Business process reengineering requires visionary and competent leaders who exploit the vast opportunities availed by the latest information communication technologies, reorganizing employees into cohesive and productive working teams.
This is a well written book with clear explanations reinforced by case studies making it easily understandable to a diverse readership that may wish to understand the concept of business process reengineering and how they can implement it in the organization. They also make a good attempt to rescue business process reengineering from being just another fad of the 1990s and from the appalling image it had acquired for itself as a pretext to indiscriminately retrench people.
One major flaw I see is the perception that business process reengineering is the answers to all problems that an organization may be experiencing and that it is relatively simple and straightforward to implement. That is not always the case and one needs to analyze to see if reengineering is the optimal solution to the challenges of inertia and lack of customer focus and other ills that an organization may be experiencing.
A great book........2005-09-10
I thought this book was very informative and interesting. The writing style used was also good. It was especially nice to read specific stories of successful reengineering.
Book Description
"True to Our Rootstells how Paul Dolan, CEO of Fetzer Vineyards, has led his company to sustained growth and excellence through groundbreaking concepts of management, coupled with a keen sense of environmental stewardship. Dolan's revolution is outlined through his six principles of sustainability leadership: - Your company's culture is determined by the context you create for it- Your business is an integral part of a much larger system- Your only real power lies in your willingness to live what you know- The soul of your company can be found in the heart of your people- You can't predict the future, but you can create it- There is a way to make an idea's time comeThis book provides inspiration and guidance for executives and managers attempting to build or sustain a modern and healthy organization--balancing values while creating value.
Customer Reviews:
Taking a stand..........2004-06-11
What could be more fitting than a recommendation for Paul Dolan's book, "True to Our Roots: Fermenting a Business Revolution"? Through this book, I became aware of Fetzer's attempt to reengineer the entire American wine industry along sustainable principles.
A few quotes:
"Fetzer Vineyards increased earnings an average of 15 percent a year through the 1990s, while keeping its environmental and social responsibilities as top priorities. Our experience proves that operating on a more sustainable basis is not an economic liability. If anything, we see sustainability as an economic asset and a competitive advantage."
"A successful sustainable business... reaches out beyond the next four quarters, beyond the next five years, to consider what's ahead for the next generation. I is prosperous without being wasteful. It grows without mortgaging its future. It shares its discoveries without giving up its leadership. A successful business lives by its principles, and each new challenge is an opportunity to express those principles more fully, not abandon them conveniently."
Taking a stand is different from taking a position. Gandhi did not take a position that the British salt laws were bad, or unfair, or illegal. They may have been all that, but he was not interested in taking a position about them. He wanted to end them. So he took a stand. There is a huge difference."
(I wish I had space to reprint Dolan's vision of a sustainable society based on sustainable business. If you get the book, it's on pages 150-151.)
Color Me Green!.......2004-05-15
True to Our Roots is a combination of one man's evolution as a leader and a case history of how to engage business in serving its stakeholders in more ways. This is one of the rare books I have read where a company has used environmentally friendly policies and practices to enhance its business performance on a sustained basis while influencing its industry to make the same kind of improvements. Any business leader can learn helpful lessons from this book.
Mr. Dolan came to Fetzer as a winemaker and helped the company make great strides in that role. One day he had an epiphany. Tasting grapes to see if they were ready for harvest, he noted that the flavors were much richer in one section than in the next. They were the same type of grapes, grown in the same microclimate. What could be the difference? Then, he remembered that the better tasting grapes had been tended with organic farming practices while the less good tasting grapes at received conventional chemical fertilizers and pesticides. His conclusion: His customers deserved the better tasting grapes. From that epiphany, he began a life journey that has led him to becoming a new type of leader and one who hopes to influence everyone in the world.
As a young man, Mr. Dolan was like many young people -- anxious to prove his worth. Working like a maniac, he wanted everyone to cater to his decisions and purpose. That kept people from becoming close to him, and led to the break-up of his first marriage. He later remarried one of the Fetzer daughters, and tried to cure his over-controlling nature. Eventually, he learned that he should listen to, encourage, and inspire other people to do what they thought was right . . . rather than expect blind compliance to his ideas. That shift made all the difference in his personal life, and to the business.
One of the surprising things about this story is that Mr. Dolan made most of these changes after Fetzer had been acquired by Brown-Forman, the alcoholic beverages giant. It's even rarer to find such industry leadership innovations coming from the heart in a small division of a large public company. But Brown-Forman has encouraged the changes. No doubt the support was enhanced by the Fetzer company's extraordinary success . . . growing earnings by 15 percent a year -- a remarkable feat in the wine business.
One of the interesting lessons of the change to environmentally friendly practices (called "sustainability" in the book) is that it drew on the preferences of employees to do the right thing, and provide higher quality.
Most of the book is devoted to explaining the six principles of the company's management style (with one chapter for each).
Your Business Is Part of a Much Larger System -- The focus here is to see the linkages between what you do and the effects on your stakeholders and those who are connected to them. For more on this kind of systems thinking, see The Fifth Discipline.
Your Company's Culture Is Determined by the Context You Create for It -- By setting appropriate goals that inspire people, you establish a way of thinking to creates the changes that you seek to make. For more on this thought, see Peter Drucker's The Effective Executive.
The Soul of Your Business Is Found in the Hearts of Its People -- Letting people know that more than profits count leads to innovation by everyone in taking responsibility for the rest of the company's relationships. For more examples, see any of Millard Fuller's books about Habitat for Humanity International.
True Power Is Living What You Know -- Living with integrity creates great personal and organizational power and effectiveness. See Tony Robbins for more examples of personal and organizational power.
You Can't Predict the Future, but You Can Create It -- Your vision of what's missing to create a better future liberates the process of making the changes that are needed. The example of establishing leadership in the Merlot category is a very good one here.
There Is a Way to Make an Idea's Time Come -- Set a good example to ease the process of change makes good ideas become real.
The book has many good qualities, but I have to note what seems like a potential deficiency in the case history. While all of us like to think that alcohol is harmless, it actually destroys many lives and harms the families and friends of those whose lives it destroys. Alcoholics drink fine table wine just as much as they drink anything else. Although there is one brief mention of standing for wine consumption in moderation, the Fetzer story doesn't include any ideas for making itself more sustainable by dealing with alcoholism. It's a startling omission. I also wondered how much of the company's efforts to be "green" and respectful to stakeholders and stakeholders' stakeholders are related to residual guilt over the harm created by alcoholic beverages. For example, if you grow consumption of wine in the United States by increasing overall alcohol consumption, have you just created more alcoholics? Is that sustainable progress?
I graded the book down one star for failing to adequately address this issue.
Be sustainable in every way you can!
Sustainability and growth at Fetzer Vineyards.......2004-04-04
You don't have to be in the wine business to have noticed the rise of Fetzer Vineyards over the last decade or so. As a Californian and a long time devotee of the vintner's art (as well as a consumer!) I can tell you that Fetzer makes six and seven dollar bottles of wine with the best of them, and their more expensive labels are outstanding. And maybe this has always been the case, but before Paul Dolan was picked to head up the company in 1992 most of us didn't know much about Fetzer Vineyards.
In this candid memoir (and frankly, part manifesto) about corporate culture and responsibility, Dolan gives us some insight into how he was able to grow the company by more than fifteen percent a year as he shares with us his ideas about how businesses should be run in a time of dwindling and strained natural resources. Fundamentally he believes that "it's time for business, one of the most powerful forces on Earth, to become a positive force for change. We already know that we can create tremendous wealth and technological progress. The new possibility...is to preserve that progress and wealth for the generations to come." (p. 8) This is the mantra of "sustainability" which rewards employees as well as shareholders, customers as well as executives. For someone involved in viticulture this means sustaining the land as well, and for Dolan this means organic agriculture.
But Dolan also wants to make a difference in a larger sense. He wants to win awards for environmental excellence (and he has) by filtering the winery's wastewater and using renewable energy for the winery. He especially wants to show the world how Fetzer is both an economic success and a leader in environment-friendly practices and community and worker relationships. His "green" credentials might be judged from this statement: "The true cost of a gallon of gas is not the price you pay at the pump. The true cost" includes "what it costs the earth when oil is extracted and the cost when some of its byproducts return to the atmosphere..." (p. 17)
He also recognizes that "Nonrenewable resources are running out," and that "Nothing takes place in isolation." (p. 18) Would that more business leaders recognized these facts and acted appropriately.
This is also a book about how to become an effective manager. Dolan describes how he learned to listen, to his employees, to his son, and how he learned to put aside preconceived ideas and realized that sometimes the problem was himself. He tells a story about an annoying person (to him) named Tracey and the clay model they were trying to make (pp. 81-83) and how his change in attitude (inspired by his competitive nature!) allowed them to be successful in their project, and how that led him to stop regarding his son as "My Son The Jerk" (p. 84). This impressed me because it is not easy being that honest in public and in print. Later he even tells of a boldfaced lie he told and of an environmental mistake he made.
But Dolan can afford to reveal his shortcomings because when you read the chapter devoted to his third principle: "The soul of a business is found in the hearts of its people" it easy to see that he not only respects and appreciates the efforts of others, but that he knows that such respect and appreciation allows them to do their best work. He sees this as part of our "inner psychology engine...that gets us to put our heart and soul into something." (p. 101)
Another part of the book is actually about the wine making business, about how he grew the business by acquisition and branding, and how Fetzer committed, for example, to making a lot of Merlot and why (see especially pages 143-146). And there is an Afterword on how wine is made. The book ends with a Fetzer history time line and Resources for future study including books on sustainability.
This is an inspirational book by a man who is proud of his achievements and wants to share that pride with the world. And it is a story about growth, not just the growth of Fetzer, but the growth of Paul Dolan. I should add that this is a beautifully produced book, clearly written (wine writer Thom Elkjer had something to do with that) and meticulously edited.
More than just a "business" book!.......2003-11-22
Paul shows how a big business can have a much bigger and healthier effect on society not just the company's bottom line. The integrity of Paul Dolan and Fetzer vineyards in their goal to be sustainable should inspire everyone.
Dolan's Book captures context for leadership.......2003-11-12
Paul Dolan's book is different from many of the other leadership books on the market in that he develops the "context" for leadership. His description of his own experiences allowed me to understand more about how great leadership is developed individually. This is not a recipe or formulaic book, but a well written, heart-felt attempt to appeal to our humanity while those of us charged with leadership lead.
Book Description
Provides a comprehensive framework for achieving higher levels of corporate information disclosure and transparency
In order to decide whether or not a company is a good investment, analysts and investment professionals need to know as much as possible about the company's tangible and intangible assets, as well as a variety of critical performance measures. Written by an international team of experts, The Value Reporting Revolution clearly explains why corporations must move toward greater transparency and, more importantly, it provides a comprehensive framework for achieving that goal. Among other important lessons, readers learn how to identify the gaps between how corporate managers perceive their disclosure practices versus how the markets see them, as well as how to leverage their organizations' electronic communications technology and tools to ensure easy access to vital information and more meaningful data analysis.
Robert Eccles (Jupiter, FL) is President of Advisory Capital Partners, Inc. Robert H. Herz (New York, NY) is a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, US. David Phillips (London, UK) is a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, UK. Mary M. Keegan (London, UK) is head of Global Corporate Reporting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, UK.
Customer Reviews:
Good "second book" on accounting reform.......2002-08-01
If you want to learn about accounting scams, you probably need Mulford and Comiskey, The Financial Numbers Game. But for a broader view of the virtues and limits of accounting, Eccles and company have a lot to offer. You can skip or skim the somewhat overhyped stuff about the "ValueRevolution" itself (note that three of the authors come from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where they seem to be having some trouble with their space bar, or spacebar). Keep your best brain cells for chapters three through eight, where you get a look at the earnings obsession -- and just as useful, a suggestion of what investors really need and want. Note that one of the co-authors (Robert H. Herz) is the new head of the Financial Accounting Standards Board).
Fantastic ! A must read ! Breakthrough thinking !.......2002-03-29
I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !
Fantastic ! A must read ! Breakthrough thinking !.......2002-03-29
I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !
A Call to Arms.......2001-04-07
"ValueReporting" smoothly describes many broken financial reporting processes, including "whispering", a time-consuming process that CFOs play with analysts, where CFOs "whisper" their earnings expectations to the analyst, making the analysts appear intelligent. A great deal for the analyst cause they don't have to do any real analysis. If the CFO does not play this game, they risk the wrath of Wall Street.
The problem with this is that it is in violation of the spirit (if not the law) of the yet to be enforced SEC Fair Disclosure Act which states that Sally Q. Public gets to know material information the same time that John Q. Analyst does.
"ValueReporting" does offer a practical solution through XBRL technology. As a member of XBRL.org I strongly agree with the authors that if business reporting, both financial and non-financial, is standardized, Web technologies are in place to distribute this information uniformly to all investors and in a richer format than at present. With the gentle prodding of regulatory agencies like the SEC and FDIC, this will happen sooner rather than later. Let's hope that SEC Chairman Unger reads this book, and fast.
For me as a consultant and a technologist "who can spell XBRL", The ValueReporting Revolution was a call to arms to apply my knowledge to the inequities of financial reporting. Helping clients sell their wares over the Web is nice, but to level the financial playing field for small companies as well as large, for the small investor as well as the institutional, is ennobling. And forcing Wall Street analysts to actually work for a living, would be, well, just icing on the cake.
Pass Go & collect $200 for this short cut to the future.......2001-03-14
First I should explain that I'm not a neutral reviewer: I have known one of the authors of this book (Bob Eccles) ever since he woke some of us up with his HBR article "The Performance Measurement Manifesto" almost ten years ago, and I've also met another of the authors (David Phillips) in the last year. Coupled with that, some of the work of my company (Metapraxis) on Business Driver Diagrams is mentioned in Chapter 1. I mention these points up-front in the interests of transparency, which is a core theme of the book itself.
The book's thesis is that the investors of the future will reward companies for such transparency - in other words, those companies that understand, measure and publish information about leading indicators such as growth of market share as well as lagging indicators such as profit will be better rated than their competitors, other things being equal.
This is pretty controversial stuff. After all, if you're the CEO or CFO of a major global multinational that's just announced on-target quarterly earnings, but your (currently confidential) internal leading edge indicators say that your market share is starting to fall, how exactly are your investors going to react if you decide to be brave enough to tell them all about it?
There is clearly something of a problem here and I refer to it as the Paradox of the World's Bravest Customer. You don't know who that was? I think it was the guy who bought the world's first fax machine. Think about it.
So undoubtedly there'll be some short-term pain for the pioneers, but once the markets start to see that a core group of innovative firms has the courage to disclose this kind of information (whether good or bad) then it's obvious that this disclosure will reduce the risks involved in these investments. And as John Maynard Keynes pointed out in 1910:
"What would be a risky investment for an ignorant speculator may be exceptionally safe for the well-informed expert. The amount of risk to any investor practically depends, in fact, upon the degree of his ignorance respecting the circumstances and prospects of the investment he is considering." *
The book is all about the revolutionary implications that follow through from this 90-year old observation. Whether you agree with the thesis or not, it will change the way you think about corporate information, business management and investor relations. I recommend it highly to CEOs, CFOs, IR heads, financial analysts and auditors, business school students and indeed to anyone embarking on a career in these areas.
Robert Bittlestone: Managing Director, Metapraxis - London & New York
* JM Keynes: Hopes Betrayed 1883-1920 by Robert Skidelsky (Vol 1); Ch. 9 Economic Orthodoxies. Skidelsky is quoting in turn from the "Collected Writings of JMK": xv 46-47....
Book Description
Wal-Mart is under attack--from labor unions, urban planners, globalization critics, and community activists. The company's detractors argue that Wal-Mart reduces living standards, hurts retail trade, causes unemployment, and relegates Third World workers to poverty. In the Wal-Mart Revolution, Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox examine Wal-Mart's true role in the economy. The authors look briefly at the history of retailing in America and the contributions made by James Penney and Frank Woolworth. Looking specifically at Wal-Mart, they review conditions before and after Wal-Mart entered a local market and look more broadly at Wal-Mart's impact on wages, productivity growth and inflation. Vedder and Cox show that the retailer has been a force for good.
Customer Reviews:
Boring and Easily Summarized.......2007-07-09
The authors begin by using other peoples' data to estimate at least $55 '05 benefit per consumer, double that if Wal-Mart practices adopted by competitors is included. (My own experience, buying both grocery and non-food items at Wal-Mart, suggests a much higher figure - about $600.)
As for negatively impacting producers, the authors use arcane and skimpily covered methods to estimate that the net benefit is still about $110/year. Again, I suspect the negative impact on American workers is much greater than the authors contend.
Regardless, "The Wal-Mart Revolution" then adds on charitable giving - as though the Mom and Pop stores it often replaces never made charitable gifts.
Many blame Wal-Mart for hiring workers at relatively low pay and offering skimpy benefits. Wal-Mart is not the source of the problem, however. The real problem is our government allowing such extensive outsourcing that employees are left with no choice but to accept such positions. If Wal-Mart didn't do it, others would - and to a large extent they do.
Look at the packaging on boxes being brought into department stores and specialty shops - far too often they show the same "Made in China" printing that is found on Wal-Mart merchandise. Lately we have even learned that much of our food is also produced by China.
Bottom Line: Don't blame Wal-Mart for offering the best deal while protecting itself from others. Blame the American government and short-sighted economists that think losing millions of jobs to outsourcing is a good thing.
fast, excellent packaging: perfect!!!.......2007-05-28
I received the book fairly quickly. I was new and looked great1
Wal-Mart Revolution.......2007-05-12
If you favor truth and empirical observation regarding Wal-Mart rather than the hyperbolic PR of green advoacates and union web sites this is required reading. It is excellently documented and the authors have no particular axe to grind since they are not affliated with Wal-Mart in any way.
Uhh..It's Called Reality, Folks........2007-03-18
Is this book a joke? What planet are these authors living on?
It is an undeniable fact that Wal-Mart's "success" is achieved through predatory pricing, union busting, and forcing workers to work off the clock. One example of many: In March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle allegations that it had failed to pay overtime to janitors, many of whom worked seven nights a week. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 11/7/05, Forbes, 10/10/05]
Not only that, but Wal-Mart is the indirect beneficiary of billions of taxpayer dollars. In many states, like California, the average Wal-Mart "associate" makes only $17, 114. How do these associates survive on such a salary? By collecting welfare benefits from the state in the form of low-income housing assistance, food stamps, low-income energy assistance and Medicaid.
As far as Wal-Mart suddenly going "organic" to satisfy consumer demand, as the book suggests, the company gets its organic products from places like China. Why? The whole concept of organic is not simply buying foods free of pesticides. It also involves supporting LOCAL farmers and insuring sustainable wages for local farming communities. THIS is how localities would be benefited by companies like Wal-Mart. China has a horrible human rights record and is able to supply cheap goods to Wal-Mart by banning independent labor unions and "employing" millions of workers as virtual slaves. How are workers kept in this bondage? By an authoritarian state apparatus that "free market" adherents like Vedder have somehow made peace with.
This is the real world, folks! The free market does not exist-- except in the fevered imaginations of capitalist hacks.
Leftists are not opposed to "success", as a reviewer suggests below. What we're opposed to are parasites that live off the backs of working people. Leftists support all types of companies--very successful ones, I might add, that place people before profits. Companies like Whole Foods, Working Assets, Ben and Jerry's, Seventh Generation, Gateway Inc., Office Max, etc.
Free market ideologues will scoff at this assertion, claiming that it's just a bunch of Marxist drivel, that Wal-Mart provides jobs for thousands of people that they otherwise wouldn't have, offers low prices for poor people, blah blah...
However, what these people doesn't understand is that labor is not just a commodity to be treated like any other commodity. It is much more than that.
For more information on this subject, check out "Debunking Economics: The Naked Emperor of the Social Sciences" by Steve Keen. Also, check out "No One Makes You Shop At Wal-Mart: The Suprising Deceptions of Individual Choice" by Tom Slee.
A fascinating discussion of the actual history of Wal-Mart, the retail trade, and Wal-Mart's critics.......2007-02-25
One of the worst aspects of politics is that the issues politicians use are too often used to commit people one way or the other based on emotions rather than reason or a set of facts. In recent years, with the advent of very accurate polling, politicians and those dependent on them for government largesse have found it convenient to pick out a "bad guy" (the "bad guy" only has to be someone they can smear, not someone who is actually guilty of bad behavior) and then blame a popular set of ills on them that the politician will claim to "fix".
For example, the Clintons went after the "profiteering vaccine makers", as noted in many newspapers in 1993. (The calculating nature of this attack is discussed in Bob Woodward's "The Agenda".) The result? They all but killed off the domestic vaccine industry. Good job! But it got them something to rant about, divert attention from their early political blunders once in office and the ability to garner some votes in the next election. No matter that they made people worse off. The GOP tends to pull out the flag-burning amendment whenever they need to divert attention from some unpleasant political reality they stepped into, although that is getting a bit worn.
Wal-Mart has been taking any number of hits from unionists, mostly Democrat politicians, community activists, and anti-globalization folks. This book is a very helpful way to get some clarifying information about what is actually going on in the retail industry and Wal-Mart's place in it. The authors also consider the validity of criticisms leveled against the world's largest retailer.
In the preface the authors head off the criticism that will inevitably be made of anyone who fails to go along with the criticisms made against Wal-Mart, that the writer is a company stooge. The authors note that while Wal-Mart has made a modest contribution to the AEI, they knew nothing at all about it until after the book was completed and had little contact with Wal-Mart while writing the book. The introduction sets the stage for the book, which consists of twelve chapters divided into four parts.
Part I is "Why Wal-Mart Matters" and provides a simplified explanation of how innovation and efficiency in retail makes customers better off through consumer surplus, the positive and negative externalities caused by changes in the marketplace, public attitudes towards the retail trade in America, the criticisms leveled against the company, and who these critics are.
Part II is "The Wal-Mart Revolution". It begins with a fascinating discussion of the history of retailing. When the first chain stores began putting the local shops out of business, people were just as upset as they claim to be today and yet shopped at the more efficient stores with the lower prices, as they do today. Here is a quote from the speaker of the Indiana house: "The chain stores are undermining the foundations of our entire local happiness and prosperity." Sounds quite familiar, doesn't it?
The authors also provide a history of Wal-Mart as well as its competitors and imitators. I found the charts on pages 47 and 48 quite fascinating. The retail trade in America has grown from around $250 billion in 1960 to around $800 billion in 2004. However, the retail trade for all those years has stayed at right around 8% of a growing GDP. It is interesting to note how these imitators and competitors are all more similar than different. Why? Because they are constrained by the marketplace and its competitive forces. People have only so much discretionary income and want to get the most for it. Therefore, those who offer the most equivalent goods (as perceived by the consumer) at the lowest cost will almost certainly be the winner in the marketplace. This has been proven out multiple times over the past century and more.
In Part III the authors consider "Wal-Mart: Good or Bad". They look carefully at the employment information available, the impact the store has on communities, its cost/benefit to the taxpayer, its impact on the poor, the impact of the big box revolution on productivity and compare what is known to the claims and assertions made by the company's critics. The claims are often over blown or unsubstantiated. However, even when they do have a point stated more or less fairly, they fail to balance the negative with the positives.
Part IV looks at Wal-Mart's future. It notes the impact the criticisms of Wal-Mart have had on its behavior, how it is faring in its moved outside the borders of the United States (mixed), and further evaluation of the critics of Wal-Mart and a consideration of what "we should do about Wal-Mart".
I found this to be a breath of fresh air and a helpful source of information to balance the popular notions all too often that Wal-Mart is a force for evil in our economy. While this negative image cannot be squared with the reality of consumer and employee behavior, it is one that is too often accepted and discussed as if it were a fact. If you are interested in this public discussion and want to know the other side of the issue and get a more balanced view of the situation, then please read this book. It is not very long, easy to read, and I found it very interesting.
From the Publisher
Leading Conservative Economist Explodes the Myths of the "Decade of Greed" and Investigates the Conspiracy Against Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham
In his controversial new book,
Payback: The Conspiracy to Destroy Michael Milken and His Financial Revolution, Daniel Fischel, a prominent conservative economist and advisor to both leading figures in the financial world and the government, challenges what he calls the myths of the "Age of Greed," taking on the popular notions of the causes and villains of the 1980s financial crises and standing them on their heads. Fischel draws on his expertise in economics and his first hand experiences of Wall Street in the eighties to write a revisionist history of the events and characters that resulted in the defining moments of that decade: the prosecutions and downfall of the leading figures of the junk bond industry, Michael Milken and Drexel, and the S&L crisis that cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Fischel makes a compelling argument that Milken, Drexel, and others in the junk bond business that fueled the corporate takeover frenzy in the eighties were not the villains that the government and press made them out to be. Rather, the financial innovations championed by these young Turks of Wall Street, such as junk bonds and leveraged buyouts, breathed new life into the stagnant investment banking world and helped produce a much-needed restructuring of the outdated American corporate system. A jealous and fearful financial establishment repaid Milken and Drexel for making them obsolete by waging an overwhelming propaganda campaign against them and enlisting the government and press in an "unholy alliance" to bring about their downfall. The book demonstrates that Milken was innocent and not guilty of any crimes, even the crimes he plead guilty to.
Fischel's extensive investigation leads the reader into the backgrounds, motivations, and actions of principal figures such as Milken, Ivan Boesky, Rudolph Guiliani, and Charles Keating, and guides us through the rhetoric and lies surrounding the unfolding drama of the rise and fall of the junk bond market and the crisis in the Savings and Loan industry. He also attacks Judge Ito for bungling the Charles Keating trial. Fischel's sophisticated and in-depth research of these events is devoid of academic jargon and accessible to the reader unfamiliar with the ins and outs of high finance.
His conclusion, that the U.S. government-not Milken, Drexel, or the other modern-day robber barons-was responsible for the economic dislocations that ensued, is certain to shock readers and force a reevaluation of the "Decade of Greed."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Daniel Fischel is a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, and is affiliated with the economic consulting firm, Lexecon, Inc. His clients have included Michael Milken, Charles Keating, and David Paul, and he was involved in the prosecutions of James Sherwin and the Princeton/Newport defendants. He has also served as a consultant to the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission.
Customer Reviews:
No good deed goes unpunished.......2004-01-06
Michael Milken, so says David Kelley, has done more to help humanity than Mother Teresa ever did (it'd be interesting to hear what Christopher Hitchens has to say about it). He could be right; Milken's ideas about an overlooked "niche" in corporate paper - the region known as "junk" - turned the staid banking industry on its head, and in the process cleaned house in a number of other industries. MCI and McCaw cellular were created with Milken's help, and put an end to the AT&T monopoly; indeed, many people today are disconnecting their wireline phones as they talk on a cell and surf on a cable modem. T. Boone Pickens was able to bring the oil industry to a more rational level after it overbuilt for the 70's oil crisis. Ted Turner took a little TV concern in Atlanta to a nationwide audience, then went on to start CNN, and today the cable industry is far more interesting than the Big 3 networks.
In the process, Milken made many powerful enemies, who eventually turned to the federal government, and an ambitious prosecutor by the name of Rudolf Giuliani (who wanted to become Mayor of NY, NY) to pay Milken back. Milken's marketable and profitable bonds were known as junk because Standard & Poor's and Moody's services often overlook talent and entrepreneurial vigor in favor of longevity. It was only government interference in the market in the late 80's that brought down the market (by such atrocities as FIRREA); this fact did not stop critics of Savings and Loans from blaming Milken for that fiasco. Fischel explains the major S&L trials, as well as the Milken trial, and finds the government guilty of propping up an industry that was insolvent by 1980, made no sense after Congress bailed it out, and ultimately cost taxpayers more than if Congress had merely let it die in 1980.
Still, the conspiratorial tone is a little much, and Fischel accepts a fool's errand in trying to defend people whose names have become euphemisms for greed. People actually think that the Michael Douglass character in Wall Street, Gordon Gekko, was a real person. It would be worth reading Burton Folsom's _Myth of the Robber Barons_ and understand his differentiation between business entrepreneurs and political entrepreneurs before reading _Payback_.
Good counterweight but author out of his expertise.......2003-05-05
Watch out when an economist begins talking about law (or, like Posner, a lawyer talking about economics).
Another good book in this general line is Fenton Bailey's "Junk Bond Revolution". Very well written, probably by a ghostwriter.
A useful counterweight to conventional received wisdom, but, keep in mind, that experts are hired mouthpieces, and Alan Greenspan once testified on behalf of Charles Keating.
Very interesting, but doesn't live up to its title.......2001-05-15
I bought this book, looking for a history of Drexel and Milken, and what they did, and what junk bonds were.
I found a defense of Drexel and Milken, and a rebuttal of the charges against them.
Most of the book is a description of their trials, and how they defended, and how the charges were 'put up' by attorney Guilani.
But, I think the book went too far in the last 100 pages. Having run out of things to say about Drexel and Milken, the author diverted his attention to the Savings & Loan scandal, and has the gall to defend Charles Keating, and then go on to defend other S&L 'criminals'. What this has to do with Milken or Drexel is beyond me, and thus only the first 2/3rds of the book lives up to its title.
Also, he never concretes the evidence that there is a conspiracy, only that a top guy in government (who is jealous of Drexel), and Ralph Guilani, (not to mention the government's policies) are against Drexel.
Must read for one who is not afraid of the hurting truth.......1999-08-24
Payback - the conspiracy to destroy Michael Milken and his financial revolution is an outstanding book that changes your way of thinking about the american dream, the junk bond decade and I recommend it unconditionally to anyone who is willing to have a lot of conventional wisdom and preconceived ideas turned around.
The author starts with a strange question - is there something like too much wealth ? Is it embarassing to earn too much money in a short period of time. Is there something like if you are born like this you must utmost become that ?
This book is a story about a man who I believe was on the way to become the most important financial thinker in our 20th century, a man whou should be seen as a scholar more than as a businessman, in particular because he prooved what scholars before him erected as a hypothesis.
His crime: working unnormally long hours, thinking the impossible paths of financing, not considering the estalished rights of normal banks (which would after him cease to exist) and not bending over to the politicians who turned an industry, that should have been killed in the early 80s into a nightmare of dimensions never heard of before. Milken just helped to open ways to a new wave of shareholder- value-oriented management, and he helped to get the best result out of the S&L legislation, in principle just the way the politicians wanted it - only that they wanted to reverse everything after they had seen what had gone completely wrong,much too late at a much too high cost.
I admit I have always liked Mr Michael Milken, already in the late 80s, when he was convicted, beacause the accusations seemed not plausible. This book shows, that he was sentenced to 3 years in prison (not 10 as one so often reads) for a crime that n-o-b-o-d-y can commit, because it is not a crime. It was just an accusation and a judge who lost control over the PR-work of a selfish State attorney Ralph Guliani. I admit that since reading the book I also admire Mr Milken for his proof, what a man, his wife and chidren can endure.
Read this book just to show reverence to a great man of history who will never surrender, be it to unjustified accusations or to death in form of cancer, and to whom scholars in the next century will look as a magnificent thinker of the last century.
Dr. Rudolf C. King
Payback: A Must Read!.......1999-04-16
Mr. Fischel does an excellent job explaining what exactly happened with high-yield financing by Drexel Burham Lambert (Milken) in the 1980's. The book also goes into great detail about how Milkens financing of raiders helped evict the "entrenched" risk averse management of many US companies. These managers filled with anger and evny, join with their former college buddies (such as Nick Brady) to form an unholy alliance and stop Milken, Pickens, Icahn and their ilk. Mr. Fischel also describes in great detail of how a zealous prosectuor named Guiliani stopped at nothing to get Milken, et. al so he could boost his chances at the 1989 mayoral race in NYC. Fischel also speaks of some anti-semitism that might have been behind this. The book doesn't make apologies for most of what transpired on Wall St. in this era. Fischel declares Boesky and Levine to be "crooks" and shows no quarter when it comes to any of the other thieves who profited from insider trading. However, he justifies what Milken did to improve the US economy both then and now. The book also talks about Keating and the S&L problem. A great book, I couldn't put it down!!!
Amazon.com
They're everywhere, but where did they come from? Silicon chips drive just about everything that sucks power, from toys to heart monitors, but their inventors aren't nearly as widely known as Edison and Ford. Journalist T.R. Reid has thoroughly updated The Chip, his 1985 exploration of the life work of inventors Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, to reflect the colossal shift toward smarter gadgets that has taken place since then.
Satisfying as both biography and basic science text, the book perfectly captures the independence and near-obsessive problem-solving talents of the two men. Though ultimately only one of them (Noyce) ended up with legal rights to the invention, they shared a respect for each other that persisted throughout their careers. Since Kilby won the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work, the story is all the more compelling and intriguing over 40 years after the invention. Reid's work uncovers human dimensions we'd never expect to see from 1950s engineering research. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
Barely fifty years ago a computer was a gargantuan, vastly expensive thing that only a handful of scientists had ever seen. The world’s brightest engineers were stymied in their quest to make these machines small and affordable until the solution finally came from two ingenious young Americans. Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce hit upon the stunning discovery that would make possible the silicon microchip, a work that would ultimately earn Kilby the Nobel Prize for physics in 2000. In this completely revised and updated edition of
The Chip, T.R. Reid tells the gripping adventure story of their invention and of its growth into a global information industry. This is the story of how the digital age began.
Customer Reviews:
The Chip.......2007-03-08
This book was very interesting, and the author did well at explaining things in terms that all could understand.
reader's digest version of semiconductors and IC's.......2007-01-26
I was literally stunned by the first three chapters in this book. The author seems to have gleamed what little he knows
of electronic history from Life magazine or maybe popular mechanics. There is very, very little mention of the impact of Germany and quantum theory in his history of semiconductors. His description of valance electrons and holes is almost comical.
I was expecting him to pronounce Sarnoff as
the wizard of the age, which he sort of does with Edison -
one of early electricity's greatest hacks and the 'great'
marconi,he who was so fond of ripping off tesla's patents.
Maybe the later edition is somewhat more worthwhile, the edition I bought was from amazon marketplace and although
I thought I was receiving the current edition, I was sold the book with a 1984 copyright. People it pays to have
merchants actually sell you the book that is listed.
I guess if you like really easy going and simplified story telling this book is for you.
a good introduction to the history of integrated circuits.......2006-09-22
TR Reid, who studied ancient Greek and Latin at Princeton, has written an excellent short history of integrated circuits, or microchips, which is accessible to any high school student. The basic concepts and main figures, such as Kilby and Haggerty at Texas Instruments, Noyce at Intel, and others are described extremely well in language that is easily understandable, interesting, and enjoyable to read. On top of that, it is good pointers to other, more detailed books at the end.
If you have a PhD in electrical engineering, or are a veteran of the industry, you may, on the other hand, feel that this book is to short for your liking.
A brilliant approach to cover a imporant invention - The Chip.......2005-10-24
I too am a `techie' - worked with Kilby in the 60's and left to join a Silicon Valley IC firm from which I retired in the 90's. I did not read this book from a technical standpoint, but was impressed with how simple Mr. Reid handled the technical aspects and made them understandable even to the readers who are not technical.
I think this book and the job Mr. Reid did was great. 100% accumulate or correct, maybe not. But worthwhile reading, YES, definitely. A brilliant job of explaining complicated subjects and how they fit together to get us to where we are today with microelectronics. Jack and Bob changed our world in ways most people will never realize. Any book that highlights their contribution is welcomed. They were giants in their time and too little recognition has been given to them. I recommend Reid's book to all who want to know what all this "Chip" stuff is about.
An excellent introduction and history.......2004-12-12
I recommend this book highly for anyone who wants a good introduction to the technical and political evolution of a modern societal revolution. Semiconductors and the subsequent development of integrated circuitry have fundamentally altered the way we conduct ourselves on a day to day basis. We need no better example than Amazon.com itself.
Book Description
"If management is an art, then surely Jack Welch has proved himself a master painter." - BusinessWeek
Boardroom legend Jack Welch is widely regarded as one of the most effective CEOs in business history. Welch’s groundbreaking programs—including Six Sigma and Work-Out—along with his numerous strategies on business leadership have helped transform GE into the global benchmark for maximized productivity and labor efficiency.
Now, The GE Way Fieldbook explains how you can implement the same programs that helped turn GE into a $100 billion juggernaut. Drawing from his unprecedented access to GE’s top-level corridors of power—including a never-before-published full-length interview with Jack Welch—veteran business author Robert Slater packs innovative strategies, easy-to-use diagnostic exercises, detailed questionnaires, and more into the most hands-on, applications-oriented book ever written on General Electric. Only in The GE Way Fieldbook will you find:
*"The Boca Raton Speeches"—Never-before-seen excerpts taken from Jack Welch’s internal speeches to GE employees
*More than 100 exercises, overheads, and exhibits from the files of Jack Welch and GE
*The most complete treatment of GE’s Six Sigma program ever published
*Step-by-step action plans that are blueprints for implementing Six Sigma and Work-Out—and creating the boundaryless organization
The fieldbook has become one of today’s most popular, effective teaching tools—but never before has one focused on the inner workings and strategies of a specific company. Let The GE Way Fieldbook give you an inside look at the stunningly successful Jack Welch era at GE, provide the techniques and tools you need to focus every worker in your organization on progress and growth, and outline a strategic roadmap for implementing GE’s business practices—and removing the boundaries to success—within your own organization.
Download Description
Strategic tools and techniques for implementing GE leader Jack Welch's innovative business practices--and removing the boundaries to success--within your own organization.
Customer Reviews:
Jack Kills the GEnie.......2005-05-06
Those who think Jack Welch is such a visionary should think again since in my opinion he cost the company billions. In the eighties I was involved in General Electric's GEnie which was the #3 online system online community with a very loyal customer base. AOL had not existed at the time. GEnie had a chance to dominate the online market because it had the knowledge and expertise at the time and a very loyal community. I remember one infamous meeting when I stood up and said basically "it's the Internet stupid." My comments went over like a lead balloon and basically the executives said ok any other questions and went on as if I had not made a statement at all. With just a few thousand dollars GEnie could have been one of the first to emphasize Internet access but GEnie was short-sighted with little or incorrect guidance from Jack Welch who supposedly was engaged in GEnie. With a very small capital infusion GEnie could have been the #1 online system. Where was Jack's six sigma? Make a long story short, GEnie never got real support from Jack just talk. The death knell for GEnie was when one infamous weekend the online resources were pulled to run some back office accounting program and thus denying online access to its GEnie customers. The customers weren't even informed why they couldn't access their email and never any apology. Where was Jack Welch? GEnie quietly faded away after that. Why haven't the hotshot investigated reporters reported this part of GE and Jack's history?
Bad ideas made simplistic.......2001-12-20
This book is quite simply, horrible. I could overlook the fact that it assumes the reader just graduated first grade, if the ideas, methods and tools were any good. Reading this book, I have to believe GE got where it did in spite of Jack Welch, not because of him. These are not the concepts that revolutionize a business. The first great idea offered? An employee suggestion program. Wow, thanks. An entire book could be written on the futility of such efforts. Employees can't change the bad systems they are trapped in. Then we get the 4 E's. This is Jack Welch's idea that all managers in the organization must posess four ingredients: energy, be an energizer, edge, execution. Anyone familiar with Myers-Briggs, or True Colors personality type methodologies will see that Welch is basically saying he's after one personality type (I'll let you guess which one). This is nuts. The strive should be for diversity in personality types, especially on a leadership team. A good mix of idea people, action people, detail people, people who care about people, etc. And on that topic - caring about people, I hope the Jack Welch way doesn't become "the way". The ideas presented here about performance appraisals and forced distributions are not only stupid they are inhumane. I would refer you to the fine book "Abolishing Performance Appraisals" by Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins for a more enlightened view on people and performance.
The stuff about six sigma is not bad, although I'm not a big believer that you can problem-solve your way to excellence. It is possible to make entirely defect-free that which you should not be making at all.
In short, skip this book. The ideas are nothing new, and in many cases wrong, and the tools and illustrations are too simplistic to be of value.
For those who need training wheels.......2001-08-25
The text of this book could be reduced to 20% its original size if the author addressed the reader as a competent, intelligent manager. Instead, it's filled with cute pictures and 'how to's' I've heard the GE Way is good; don't opt for the Fieldbook.
The Jack Welch Way is the Only Way.......2001-03-10
I have read everything that has ever been written about the golden boy of corporate america - Jack Welch. He is a genious for our times and this book is just another example of his legendary managerial style. An easy read that is filled with key information to turn any company into an industry leader and any manager into a corporate leader. This book details everything a manager will ever need to know. A MUST BUY !!!!!!
Microsoft Reader makes this title a mistake.......2001-01-09
I wish I had purchased the hardcopy. Ebooks have a long way to go! I have a laptop and a desktop but there is no way to share this between the two devices. Also, I can't tell how to back this up and restore it if my hard drive crashes. When I'm done with it, I can't give it to someone else. The bookmarking and highlighting is kind of cool, but nothing you can't do with a paper copy. I'm very unimpressed. I'm really regretting that I bought this in electronic format!
Book Description
Tucked away in one of Europe's most far-flung corners, the Finnish Nokia Corporation has emerged in the past decade from near-obscurity to become a global powerhouse in mobile communications and a leader in the development of third-generation wireless services.
How did they do it? How did the 140-year-old company manage to survive the political upheavals of its age? What re-creations did the company undergo as it moved from forest-industry enterprise to European technology conglomerate to global cellular phone maker--and now, to its latest incarnation, as a mobile Internet vendor?
The Nokia Revolution probes behind the company's official, often enigmatic veneer to uncover how Nokia operates, how its chief executives think, and how it listens to the pulse of the market. As such, it is the first strategic study of this extraordinary company, focusing on the way Nokia has built its existing capabilities into competitive advantages.
The book probes far beyond the breezy articles and lightweight press release recyclings. It concentrates instead on the company's extraordinary historical evolution, the creation of its global focus strategy, and the innovations that are preparing Nokia for a mobile information society.
The Nokia Revolution transcends the immediacy of a single company or industry profile. It offers keen insights into what it's like to compete in a fast-cycle, cutthroat, volatile environment. And it offers compelling lessons for both established industry leaders who need to sustain and renew their marketplace dominance and upstarts seeking to topple the giants.
Customer Reviews:
A staggeringly in-depth study of a fascinating company.......2006-03-04
There is no doubt that Nokia has grown from a small Finnish firm into the worldwide leader in cellular and mobile communication technology. How did the firm accomplish this revolution? In this book, Dan, Steinbock, answers this question by tracing the history of Nokia. Looking at the steps Nokia took, including the missteps, the author accurately traces both huge successes, and mistakes. More importantly the author shows how Nokia learned from its mistakes and came back from each misstep stronger. The author hits on some key factors that make Nokia such a strong firm:
· Strategic Intent. In an ever changing market, learn how Nokia took some early missteps. These missteps made Nokia stronger because in 1992 these missteps forced Nokia to move toward process-based management. It used this style to successfully transfer a strategic intent that would motivate every employee.
· Global Focus. Nokia's leadership recognized that in this new environment, the ability to segment markets and target niche segments within those markets was critical to success. In order to compete, Nokia would need to focus globally.
· Strategic Market-Making. With the dynamic market of cellular technology, Nokia's executive board managed to discover and implement a strategy that delivered success.
· Focus on People. Nokia treated its Human Resource management as a strategic issue. Nokia focused on utilizing a drive to achieve customer satisfaction, a respect for the individual, a willingness to achieve and belief in continuous learning, and by encouraging sharing of information and responsibility.
· Global R&D. Nokia spends less than its rivals on R&D. What there efforts lack in funding, they mak
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Making Six Sigma Last: Managing the Balance Between Cultural and Technical Change (Six Sigma Research Institute Series)
Six Sigma Team Dynamics: The Elusive Key to Project Success
Six Sigma for Everyone
Six Sigma Execution
The Six Sigma Way Team Fieldbook: An Implementation Guide for Process Improvement Teams
