In Search of Excellence

Rating:
Summary: A classic whose lessons still offer benefits
Review: It is hard to appreciate the impact this book had when it was first released. Some of the cases (business stories) it contains still inspire although some seem a bit dated, but the underlying ideas retain some power if you take time to think about them. As the authors say in the new preface, this is a book about attributes rather than specific recommendations for action. I like their response to those who point out that many of the companies included have since fallen on hard times. They point out that we still learn the past accomplishments of great athletes no longer in their prime.

I think the best points the book makes involve the way people react under pressure in pulling back to numbers, research, and rationality in ways that won't help them. Numbers, research, and rationality are all extremely important, but will not in themselves enable you to innovate and see new ways to compete. Although this isn't in the book, I love the story about the driver side door for the minivans. Chrysler stole the march on that and when one of their competitors was asked why they didn't come out with such an obvious innovation he responded that none of the customers in their focus groups asked for such a feature. Game, set, and match for Peters and Waterman.

This is a book that should still be read. It has a lot more to offer than many business books being printed today at great cost to our forests and our precious time. This is still a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: A classic whose lessons still offer benefits
Review: It is hard to appreciate the impact this book had when it was first released. Some of the cases (business stories) it contains still inspire although some seem a bit dated, but the underlying ideas retain some power if you take time to think about them. As the authors say in the new preface, this is a book about attributes rather than specific recommendations for action. I like their response to those who point out that many of the companies included have since fallen on hard times. They point out that we still learn the past accomplishments of great athletes no longer in their prime.

I think the best points the book makes involve the way people react under pressure in pulling back to numbers, research, and rationality in ways that won't help them. Numbers, research, and rationality are all extremely important, but will not in themselves enable you to innovate and see new ways to compete. Although this isn't in the book, I love the story about the driver side door for the minivans. Chrysler stole the march on that and when one of their competitors was asked why they didn't come out with such an obvious innovation he responded that none of the customers in their focus groups asked for such a feature. Game, set, and match for Peters and Waterman.

This is a book that should still be read. It has a lot more to offer than many business books being printed today at great cost to our forests and our precious time. This is still a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: INSPIRING EXAMPLES OF EXCITING LEADERSHIP
Review: Life (and business) are a lot more fun if we are excited and committed to what we are doing. This book reawakens our sense that organizations can be exciting and meaningful places to be, filled with the potential for great results and enormous impact. We all have been touched by an outstanding leader and inspired to do more. Most of us would have a hard time spelling out what those leaders do. This book is a very practical guide to being a good example and a source of daily inspiration. You can read other books to figure out what to inspire people to do specifically and so forth, but this one is unique. You may find that you do not "get" a particular recommendation. To deepen your understanding, I recommend that you read A PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE in those areas where you are unmoved or unclear. It is filled with examples on the same points as IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE. I also like the title. Finding excellence is a never-ending task for us all. If you want to read a terrific book on how successful companies differ from their less successful competitors, be sure to read BUILT TO LAST. It is also a great companion for IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE.

Rating:
Summary: Use Positive Emotions for Positive Results
Review: Life (and business) are a lot more fun if we are excited by and committed to what we are doing. This book reawakens our sense that organizations can be exciting and meaningful places to be, filled with the potential for great results and enormous beneficial impact.

We all have been touched by an outstanding leader and inspired to do more. Most of us would have a hard time spelling out what those leaders do. This book is a very practical guide to being a good example and a source of daily inspiration.

You can read other books to figure out what to inspire people to do specifically and so forth, but this one is unique. I suggest Peter Drucker's MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY as a good place to begin.

You may find that you do not "get" a particular recommendation. To deepen your understanding, I recommend that you read A PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE in those areas where you are unmoved or unclear. It is filled with examples on the same points as IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE.

I also like the title. Finding excellence is a never-ending task for us all.

If you want to read a terrific book on how successful companies differ from their less successful competitors, be sure to read BUILT TO LAST. It is also a great companion for IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE.

Rating:
Summary: In S. of Excellence is right...and Peters should start by...
Review: searching himself, cause he will be amazed at the lack of excellence. The data he quotes IS FAKED. As in, made up, pulled out of thin air, guessed, etc. And it took him YEARS to admit it. DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!!!

Rating:
Summary: unscientific & misleading
Review: The notion that successful companies uniquely exhibit certain characteristics should have been demonstrated by comparing these companies with unsuccessful companies - by only having a successful population, no conclusions are valid.

Rating:
Summary: A classic and it deserves to be.
Review: This book is incredibley well-researched on the subjects of what motivates people and what makes organizations work. It's a classic and deserves to be read and re-read. The book gets criticized because the company examples are outdated but the authors anticipated that. They wrote about companies with lumious histories that had something to teach. They were not trying to predict, nor did they believe in, forever excellence.

Rating:
Summary: Good from historical perspective, faulty in hind-sight
Review: This book was the 1982 best-selling look at what were then excellent companies and an attempt to distill the eight attributes they had in common. It still ranks high as an important historical contribution, but two-thirds of the "excellent" companies disappeared, got acquired and disassembled, or went through extreme difficulties. Hindsight tells us the eight attributes were simply things those companies did well at the time, but were not the answer to longevity. In fact, at least five of the eight attributes appear to be detrimental now. However, this book is still a good read for those wishing to track the evolution of management thinking from at least early Drucker to the present.

Rating:
Summary: Stood the Test of Time
Review: This book was written 22 years ago (in 1982) and seems to have stood the test of time. In fact, the business 'ingredients' delineated in this book have been demonstrated in many major corporations since the book was first published.

Essentially the book hinges on 8 basic principles. If any business can put these 8 basic principles into practice, Peters and Waterman say that business can not help but succeed. Now the success may not be as large as Microsoft, but success will occur at one level or the other. If you do not agree then that is fine, Peters and Waterman give several examples of small business that became huge business on the basis of these 8 principles (e.g. Walmart, Hewlett-Packard, Delta Airlines, McDonald's, IBM, etc.). In fact, when you read the book (which is actually structured around describing and demonstrating these 8 principles) you will see why and how these principles actually work.

One of the most interesting things I found in this book was the fact that the 8 principles are essentially common sense ingredients. For lack of better way to describe them, 'boy scout' type principles that can be incorporated into business action on an every day basis.

The book itself is very interesting, easy to read (even if you are not very interested in reading about businesses, business growth and management, etc.) and easy to understand. There are some great business stories about customers, business action, business men and their thinking, etc. Chapter 4 is quite theoretically and somewhat difficult to wade through, but has some great insights on management, measuring earnings, business theories and strategies, and how culture plays a part in business growth based on a businesses values in relation to the culture as opposed to a business values in relation to just making money.

This is one of the better business books I have read in a long while and I do recommend it for anyone who is about to start a business, who actually own a business, or for anyone who merely love reading business books.

Rating:
Summary: Great Prequel to Built to Last
Review: This is an excellent and useful book for anyone wanting to understand how to manage a company or organization well. Built to Last is similar and more rigorously researched.