<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Looking at Bad Company
Review: Bad Company
Richard Milton
House of Stratus
London, 2001
ISBN 0 7551 0151 0Bad Company makes us sit up and think about how and why companies perform as they do. The book reads like a thriller in which the major characters are Plcs, and has everything the thriller reader could want, and then some.
Whether it's explaining how Shell incongruously dumped its corporate image, how Coca Cola soured its taste, or how, despite the evidence staring them in the face, company executives implement changes that lead to predictable slides in sales, Bad Company addresses most of the things we thought companies did, and many that didn't even cross our minds.
Through example, anecdote, analogy, and sheer good journalistic reporting, Mr Milton takes us on a tour of the corporate vista, and shows us precisely how it looks close up. In some respects the book reminds you of the writings of the archetypal corporate knocker, Ralph Nader. However, emphasis aside, the difference between the two is in the deftness of touch Milton has, and the sheer originality of the material he cites.
As a former company executive myself, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's interesting, surprising, and, most important of all, true. Qualities that enable us, not only to enjoy a rattling good read, but also to spot the tell tale signs of a heading-for-bad company too.
<< 1 >>
| 
