BROUGHT TO BOOK: Thinking is the oxygen of business, driving not only what is set up but also what will survive and thrive. It's the "big bang" that sets everything else in motion. If you want to change your results, write the authors of businessThink, you must first change the way you think.
businessThink (Rules for getting it right - now, and no matter what!) By Dave Marcum, Steve Smith and Mahan Khalsa John Wiley (no price given)
Half of all decisions don't work out as planned. And it shows in the market. From 1917 to 1987, 39 of the original Forbes 100 companies survived. Of those still here only two, General Electric and Eastman Kodak, outperformed the market in that period.
Only 74 distinguished members of the original Standard & Poor's 500 made it to 1997 and just 2.4 per cent outperformed the market from 1957 to 1997.
According to Marcum et al, "standard" and "poor" is a pretty literal description of S&P's performance.
Harsh words, but tough talking is the tone of businessThink, which is a standard type of US business manual. The formula goes something like this: identify the problem, provide the solution, summarise the main points and repeat the message endlessly.
This is the hard-sell school of business writing, full of confidence but lacking in imagination.
The authors of businessThink are very confident. Just follow the rules and you can turn the worst of times into the best of times. They have no time for the idea that nobody is indispensable. Walk the walk and you will be indispensable to your organisation.
However, the macho tone doesn't do justice to what the authors actually have to say, which is to emphasise that brains, not brawn, is where it's at in these fast-moving times.
They say that ego is the one thing that shuts down people and companies. You won't get the best out of people if they are defensive or fearful because of the boss's arrogant ego trip.
Making the right decisions requires good information and clear thinking from colleagues. If you only get the type of thinking that makes everyone feel safe, then the potential to succeed will be shut down.
Inductees in the businessThink hall of fame include Colman Mockler, who built up the Gillette empire, and PalmPilot inventor Jeff Hawkins. The qualities highlighted are humility and curiosity, not showing off or bullying.
This book is replete with good advice and commonsense, although the John Wayne-type presentation is a little off-putting on this side of the Atlantic.
