The System: A Story of Intrigue and Market Domination

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Summary: The System: Interesting and easy read
Review: An interesting book mixing fiction with strategy. Provides a good insight on business and is a must read for the modern corporation executives.

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Summary: Waghorn's The System Works for Me!
Review: On recommendation from a freind, I read The System. I am in the process of starting a new company and we were scheduled to have a marketing strategy session. Using the principles set forth in the book I was able to have my new team understand the process which is straight forward but challenging to decide on what name to own, what channels to target,how to focus within a broad category of products and come out of the session with a workable plan to execute. I really enjoyed the book and it is a quick read with great results and impact.

That is how enthused I was about the content of the book. Oh, by the way the fictional part of this book is great too! It is fast paced with a well weaved story of intrigue that anyone in a executive leadership position can understand on how the world can close in on you and you find the inner strength to circle the wagons of your close freinds and advisors who will help you make decisions to lead your company into a new and winning direction. You realize that you have to have your head out of the foxhole enough to recognize that you must change direction and move or die.

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Summary: Should be called "Business in Fantasyland"
Review: This book is billed as a model for successful enterprise tansformation, however, the only real thing you learn in this book is how lazy writing and an even lazier plot make for an extremely dull and predictable "book-fomercial" for the author's employer and for the strategy consulting industry in general. If you've never been in business, any kind of business, you might be able to believe that companies in trouble can be transformed into market dominators by: a) a simplisticly-trite, four step methodology that, by the way, includes, b) having a friend who has just turned his own company around, and c) is a multi-multi-millionaire who has tons of bucks and time to analyze your business for you, d) just happens to own (as a side business) the hottest, wiz-bang, most revolutionary product the marketplace has seen since Microsoft, (he actually even says this in the book) and e) Oh yeah, this product just happens to complement your company's business.

Those are just a few of the amazing cooncidences that make this book not only a poor read from a business perspective, but also a disappointment from an entertainment point of view. Take my advice, if you really want to read the book, save your investment capital for something more useful and check the book out at your local library.