Hope is Not a Method

Rating:
Summary: Should be required reading in every organization.
Review: I cannot remember a book so well written, so full of business principles, and yet so easy to understand. I am a management consultant in the housing industry, and this book is required reading for every existing client, and I do not take on a new client until this book has been read by the management team. Sullivan and Harper, with pinpoint accuracy, identify the principles which make good companies great, and great companies, untouchable.

Rating:
Summary: Does not meet commander's intent. Lacks concept of operation
Review: I'm an active duty soldier and business student. I have experience in the civilian business world, and will re-enter business upon completion of my term. Mr. Sullivan apparently has little experience outside of the military, and it shows. Although much can be learned from the military in terms of structure, team development, and decision making, it must be severely tempered with a dose of good business sense. The Army does not operate for profit, and therefore will never achieve the same level of pursuit of excellence that a highly motivated businessman can. Because the Army lacks both customers and shareholders, underperforming leaders routinely get away with murder in their progress reports, since much of what they do in peacetime is subjectively interpreted. In business, profit and loss are not easily concealed, and underperformers are shown the door. Change is painfully slow in the Army's layered bureacracy, and a modern business this sloth-like soon becomes lunch. The authors obscure any possible connections to civilain business practices by conspicuous absence of examples and analogies, instead substituting "there I was" war stories and abstracts that a civilian will not easily relate to or care about. The introductions to each chapter read more like West Point commencement addresses, and are about as interesting and as long. Overall, the book could be useful if more concise and relevant. However, since it's more likely to be read by Army officers rather than business people, it will still sell. For real business generalship, study Al Dunlap.

Rating:
Summary: Hope is Not A Method
Review: The reader would have to be the same age and gender, and possess the same beliefs, values and military experiences as the authors to stay awake while reading their book. I could not begin to relate to all the "war stories" coupled with the dry, tedious writing style, I found myself craving a wet martini.

I have read before on many topics I can not personally relate to; I just finished a fascinating story about a man being caught in an unexpected avalanche and trapped in its snow for an hour or so. The writing style literally picked me up and placed me in his journey. Unfortunately, all 260 pages in "Hope Is Not A Method" evoked a feeling like being stuck for all eternity in a dark snow bank. The authors' beliefs are so focused as to be beyond narrow-minded.

"We believe that by applying our ideas from the battlefield that we were able to effect ..." was a concept played over and over again. The authors boldly tried to transfer battlefield principles to the world of business. A fundamental flaw, as successful correlations were not made from the war room thinking the business boardroom, where profit is the goal. A perfect book for aspiring military leaders. Not useful for all others