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Summary: Secrets of Efficient and Productive Companies
Review: "Secrets of Efficient and Productive Companies"
Consultant and author Jason Jennings had always been fascinated with two vital aspects of successful enterprises, efficiency and productivity. In other words, getting more done with the same or less.Jennings states in the introduction to his book, Less is More: How Great Companies Use Productivity As A Competitive Tool In Business, "why wasn't there a book about how the most efficient and productive companies got that way, with lessons that anyone or any company could follow?" To fill the gap Jennings assembled a team of researchers, some of whom were recent graduates of Princeton, Stanford and Berkley, to search all over the world for the most productive and efficient companies. The primary objective was to determine what made these companies tick and why were they successful. The culmination of the research was the publishing of his book describing a mix of companies such as a European airline, a chain of New Zealand and Australian discount stores, a steel maker, a Swedish and Danish furniture retailer, a financial institution, a manufacturing company and a trucking company. The criteria for selecting the companies included in the book was broken down into revenue per employee, return on equity and return on assets, operating income per employee, has the company been overexposed, and might this company pull an Enron.
Five principal sections make up the book: Focus, Streamline, Digitize, Motivate, and Embody. Within each section the author explains the component parts that provide the reader with the lessons that will prove less is more. According to the Jennings business is a game and in order to win you must understand how to play the game. Concepts such as understanding the big objective, streamlining, truthfulness, destroying bureaucracy, avoiding layoffs, productivity, leanness, compensation, and financing, are all analysed in simple language. The end of the book summarizes all of the lessons presented with a listing of twelve rules that will show you the way to building a successful business organization. Although much of what Jennings presents in his book has been rehashed in a variety of ways in other business books, nonetheless, it does serve as a useful primer for anyone who does not want to be bogged down with charts, tables, and long-winded self-praise narratives. This review first appeared on the reviewer's own site
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Summary: GFagen
Review: A great study of how business should be run. Stay true to yourself, your employees and your customers and success will be yours. This book highlights companies from widely ranging industries and shows that "common sense" always trumps complicated process. If you read Jennings's first book, you will thoroughly enjoy this one. An easy and entertaining read. This book does what most don't.....get you thinking and start applying paradigm shifting practice right away.
In the age of ENRON, MCI, Arthur Anderson and the DOTCOM bust, this book proves that the true maxums of successful and long lasting business have always applied. Truth, Honesty, and Integrity.
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Summary: "The Diet for Any Long Term Business Success"
Review: Addition by subtraction is what this book is really about! It supports in great detail the setting aside of the manusia that organizations get caught up in that demonstrates how most get in the way of their own potential and consistent success and growth over time. It is about the simple, not rocket science, "SOUL" that should guide and drive your business every day. The book gives example after example of the common denominators that have allowed top performing organizations to vastly outperform other companies in their industries each and every day over many many years. Every manager and employee in your organization should have a copy of this book. When inspired porductivity drives everyone in your organization the sky is the limit! Less really is more! Onward and Upward! John Cassidy - CEO Sierra Central Credit Union
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Summary: Powerful Book
Review: Another powerful book from Jason Jennings. Jennings is proving to be one of the most insightful examiners of today's successful companies. He does a masterful job in uncovering the key ingredients that go into making a business a winner in the 21st Century. It's an exciting read for managers, future managers and anyone who wants to own a business. Clever insights and practical tools. I urge you to read this book.
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Summary: "Less is More" is a Must Read
Review: As Jennings did in his previous book ("It's Not the Big That Eat the Small, It's the Fast That Eat the Slow" with co-author Laurence Haughton), this one is full of take-away value. The companies Jennings studied are remarkable examples of what can be accomplished when everyone is on board and can connect the dots between productivity, REAL customer satisfaction, increased profits and job security. It's also interesting that the CEOs of these companies didn't just inherit healthy situations and ride them into the sunset. Some started with nothing, others were brought in to disastrous situations and some had a number of serious setbacks over the years. I was especially struck by their humility and how they treated their employees the same way they treated themselves. Jennings expertly weaves their stories together to demonstrate that real productivity is achieved by adhering to a set of guiding principles. It's hard work, but in the long run it's the only way to go.
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Summary: let's have more of Less is More
Review: Big Objectives,Hardwork,and Truth. Is this keeping it simple,or what? Read on. The rest of Jenning's book provides clarity to a pathway of business success. Are these featured businesses an aberation to the way in which the majority of businesses both large and small are run? Cynicism in current times aside,Less is More gets it right from the get go.Presented succinctly and with passion.
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Summary: Less is More
Review: Great book. Gave me lots to apply in my own business.
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Summary: Kudos for Mr. Jennings!!
Review: Here's a business book that is very meaningful in content and whose style is accessible. Our group of highly divergent folks used this for our book club at the plant with universal enjoyment. There's actually a chapter (#5) titled "Get Rid of the Wrong Executives and Managers...Fast" which is followed by a chapter titled "No Layoffs" putting the onus on the big wigs who are responsible for the sad state of affairs that all too often result in the wrong people being unemployed. Thoroughly enjoyable.
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Summary: Less is More is what we need More of
Review: I first heard of "Less is More" in a recent HBR issue and immediately purchased a copy. I promptly read the book cover-to-cover over one weekend. Jason Jenning's insights and writing style riveted me as well as any mystery novel. In a simple and evincing style Jennings tells the story of several great companies that are essentially poster children for productivity. He not only sets out the "what" and "how" these enterprises blow away their competitors by focusing on productivity drivers, but also the "why". The "why" of what drives the great leaders of these great companies. I've recommended the book to several friends and colleagues and they in turn to their friends. To those who have read this review you have one simple "BIG" objective. Buy and read the book. Because it will answer "WTGBRFDT" for you.
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Summary: An Absolute Must-Read for Anyone in Business
Review: I heard a teaser spot on a radio ad for the book. They used the "WTGBRFDT" question used by one of the most productive companies in Jason's book. That hooked me, and am I glad it did. This book is full of real-world situations and strategies for how to become productive in any business. As a manager and entrepreneur, I know how many businesses struggle to achieve "productivity", and I know how many miss the goal..sometimes badly. Stop guessing and get this book. This guy has done the research and he knows what he's talking about. Without a doubt, I think this book is one you should buy for your entire office, read and discuss, and then go to work on making changes that will make a difference.
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