Reviews (37)

Customers can't tell you what they can't tell you
Why do I like fast cars? If you ask me, I'll tell you that as a purely rational man, I read the automotive press, can speak intelligently about my Quad Four engine and my Northstar System, and always make highly intelligent buying decisions. The reality is that forty years ago, I was standing in front of the Dart Drug in NW Washington, DC, and I was holding my father's hand at the curb in the parking lot when a red convertible flew past us driven by guy in sunglasses with a big smile and next to him was a beautiful, laughing girl. My father looked down at me and said, "son, do you know who that was? That was Sonny Jurgenson, the quarterback of the Washington Redskins." He said it with respect, and my father wasn't a very gushy kind of guy. And that's the real reason I like fast cars.
Watered down with....
This book has some good concepts, but the majority of the text deals with the workings of the brain, neurophysiology and neuropsychology. The book is entirely mislabeled as a business/marketing book when only 10% of the overall text addressesbusiness, marketing or even consumer science. It is a cleverly disguised neuropsychology book.

Challenging read - dig for the nuggets and you will find them...
The book has over 300 pages, and is written in a very elegant style.Most likely - you will require multiple passes to get the nuggets out; what worked for me was to make notes of key ideas as I went through it.The connections to such key ideas I found were woven in multiple places, and in different ways.There were times the same ideas were presented in a different light.
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Subjects:  1. Advertising & Promotion    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Consumer behavior    6. Consumers    7. Marketing    8. Marketing - General    9. Marketing - Research    10. Psychological aspects    11. Psychology    12. Sales & marketing   

Reviews (4)

This is destined to be a classic management text
This is destined to become one of the classic management texts. I found the authors treatement of the subject matter to be insightful and well thought out. This is a must for any person of color who is wondering whyit's taking them so long to move into the executive level.As a trainer Iwill be using this as one of my texts, and I plan on sending a number ofcopies to my friends.

Enjoyed it
I just finished reading Breaking Through and learned quite a bit. Recommend it to you. I wish the subject of leadership, and how to properly use it to get results on the job, was addressed more.I recommend you alsoget a copy of another book that addresses this issue and is very applicableto the subject of minorities as leaders:"The Leader's Guide: 15Essential Skills." It's at Amazon too.

A Must Read!
Breaking Through is a multifaceted book that speaks to a spectrum of audiences: the business leader committed to creating a diverse workplace; the human resource professional charged with designing and implementingdiversity initiatives; the minority professional aspiring to breakthrough.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Executives    4. Business/Economics    5. Discrimination    6. Discrimination In Employment    7. Diversity in the workplace    8. Executives    9. Leadership    10. Management - General    11. Minority Studies - General    12. Minority executives    13. United States    14. Ethnic studies    15. Organizational theory & behaviour    16. USA    17. Work & labour    18. Management    19. Human Resources    20. Diversity   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Human Resources & Personnel Management    5. Leadership    6. Management - General    7. Mentoring in business    8. Business & Management   

Reviews (2)

Given the Quality, an Exceptional Value
This is one in a series of volumes of articles which previously appeared in the Harvard Business Review. They offer direct and relatively inexpensive access to cutting-edge thinking on a major business subject. This volume provides eight essays, each preceded by an "Executive Summary." The first selection "What Makes a Leader?") was written by Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, and the most recently published Primal Leadership.After years of wide and deep experience with all manner of executives, Goleman has found that "the most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence [which Goleman asserts] is the sine qua non of leadership." He then identifies and briefly discusses what he calls "The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at Work": Self-Awareness. Self-Regulation, motivation, empathy, and Social Skill." These are the titles and authors of the other seven essays: Some valuable insight
This book contains a collection of essays about the makings of a great leader.Some essays, particularly the one about emotional intelligence, I found invaluable.Others, were interesting, but not new news. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Entrepreneurship    3. Executive ability    4. General    5. Industrial management    6. Leadership    7. Management    8. Philosophy    9. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (3)

Very disappointing.
I regularly read great articles from the subscription program of HBR and rely on its contents for great insight into today's business environment.
Readable papers on broad topics in management
Whether you're just entering people management or have been doing it for years, this book grabs a selection of readable papers on a variety of topics from compensation to handling 'poor performers' to more effective (but non-manipulative!) means of persuasion.
HBR Managing People
Definitely one of the better books in the series.Discussion of common corporate issues.Provides good solutions.I've read 4 in the series and like this one the most. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Commodities    5. Entrepreneurship    6. Human Resources & Personnel Management    7. Management - General    8. Personnel And Human Resources Management    9. Personnel management    10. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (7)

Great book withreal life application
I bought this book with not much idea of what it has got for me.
Great book. If you liked the HBR article, you'll love this!
Frequently organizations face the challange of what not to do. They tend to believe in the person presenting the idea, rather then creating a rigorous process for evaluating the options before them. Companies adoptingbest practices in managing their investment options realize substantialgains in their long term bottem line. This book quantifies this performancedifference, and what the best practices are across a range ofindustries. Ideas in the book come to life!
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of The Smart Organization.I have completed only two chapters, but find the book to be thoroughly engaging. Especially, the six dimensions of decision quality.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Decision making    6. Forecasting    7. Management    8. Management Science    9. Marketing - Research    10. Research And Development Management    11. Research, Industrial    12. Strategic planning    13. Value added    14. Research & development management   

Reviews (18)

Useful message
I always thought that by the time I turned 40 I would have all the answers about my life and career only to be proven wrong.And the awareness that my questions are common to so many individuals is comforting indeed.This book (I am about halfway through it as I write) brings home the message that it is ok, almost natural, to question the path taken and to ask whether there is more to life than what we are doing and that there is no easy way to find an answer.I have always had doubts about a lot of the testing done to figure people out starting with SATs and down to the psychological ones we all go through at some point.And having someone like the author highlight how these are often pointless and the answers are within us is important.
A must have book for anyone
When I first picked up this book, I was a bit disenchanted with the accounts of the doctor turned monk or business professional turned non-profit.The examples didn't seem realistic and, in my mind, I was suspicious of some kind of artificial support strucuture or negative personal outcome that wasn't being told in the story.
very good for the over educated
This is a great career change/re-think book if, like me, you are over-educated. I do agree with one of the more negative reviews that if you are not in this group, this book is likely not for you. In my case, it fits like a glove, and I recommended it to a friend who read it in one bang and she also thought the book was very useful. I have already done a career change once and the author's comments about self-doubt and the transition period are on-target: your old-self is the naysayer, if you are lucky you find a guide or two, and after you are done, you have taken risks that your old self would have never taken, AND, the transition works well for you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Careers - General    4. Careers - Job Hunting    5. Careers / Job Opportunities    6. Personal Growth - Success    7. Advice on careers & achieving success   

Editorial Review

Recall the old saying about all work and no play making Jack a dull boy? World-class companies today need play--serious play--if they want to make truly innovative products, argues Michael Schrage, an MIT Media Lab fellow and Read more

Reviews (18)

Readable User-Friendly Book on Innovation
I am enjoying this book. I like the title "Serious Play", but I dislike the sub-title "How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate".Companies don't innovate people do is my thought.I think the author could have taken this concept one step further.That is tie in the concepts of how innovation relates to chaos theory and fractals and larger concepts.The author's ideas are not that new to me because I am a project manager in a software engineering environment where prototyping and iterations is the name of the game.We have at most 3 months to make a difference, to deliver and then we are swept into the ocean of change.You have a small window of opportunity before both the game and the players change.
Three years on, still a great book
Here's the best review I can give Michael Schrage's "Serious Play": Three years on, it's consistently the first book I pull out of my bookshelf when I'm looking for ideas for presentations, thoughts on introducing new products or services, etc.His commentary on "mean-time-to-payback" is something that will stick with you for years.It's brilliant stuff, written in clear, concise terms.And, surprisingly, very little of it is dated.Unlike many books from that era, there's no .com or Enron fixation for the author to be embarrassed about.Schrage's examples are pulled from health care technology, animation, theater...in short, an eye-opening spectrum of ideas.I consider "Serious Play" one of my best purchases ever.

Preaching to the choir
This is a good book for someone to read if they are skeptical of the benefits of prototypes. However, since I already know the value of interactive prototypes I became quickly tired with the book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Corporate & Business History - Strategies    4. Corporate Planning    5. Decision Making & Problem Solving    6. Management    7. Models and model making    8. Nanotechnology    9. Simulation methods    10. Strategic Planning    11. Technological Innovations    12. Technology    13. Business strategy    14. Computer modelling & simulation    15. Organizational theory & behaviour   

Reviews (33)

IT is about Distinctiveness
You gain an advantage over your competitors by having or doings something that they can't have or do. This means that in the end business profits are based on you ability to differentiate yourself.
verbose
This is just an article from Harvard Business Review blown up into a book. Get the article reprint and save yourself time and money.

Putting a lid on IT's "irrational exuberance"
Carr provides a stirring indictment to the belief that IT brings with it the promise of competitive advantage. Instead, he posits that IT is merely a cost of doing business, cut in the same cloth as other innovations that once held a lot of promise like electricity and the railway system. Though no company can ever hope to operate much less compete without the above, its homogeneity and prevalence has somehow blunted its value.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Information technology    6. Structural Adjustment    7. Technological innovations    8. Business & Management    9. Computing and Information Technology    10. Technology   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Life - Inspirational    4. Business/Economics    5. Economics - General    6. Executives    7. Management    8. Management - General    9. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (24)

John Beck Gets Gamers
As a member of the millennial generation, I grew up with video games values and the internet. Now as a professional, I find that my supervisors sometimes do not understand me. John Beck understands the essence of my generation, and has written a book that helps individuals such as my supervisors understand me better.
Try that again?
First a little background... I'm 53 with a preteen son. I'm not quite a Luddite.I make my living from an online business that I own and operate. Our "big" present to our son last Xmas was a computer -- one he and I were going to build from scratch. The main use of the computer was going to be video games and school work. We gave our son a budget (not big by gamer PC standards) to shop for the parts.
Intergenerational Reading
If you are over 34 and want to understand how those young multitaskers manage their hectic lives, and if you are under 34 and want to understand how those mono-attentional dinosaurs maintain concentration, this book is for you.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economic aspects    5. Management - General    6. Psychology    7. Video & Electronic - General    8. Video gamers    9. Video gamers as businesspeople    10. Video games    11. Personnel & human resources management   

Editorial Review

No one has influenced the practice and study of management more than Peter Drucker. Ever since the publication of his first management book in 1946, Read more

Reviews (12)

A must have for managers
Peter Drucker has 60 years of experience teaching and writing about management.This collection of essays, first published in Harvard Business Review, outline Drucker's views on managerial responsibility.Among other things, this book also includes his insights on making more effective decisions, improving staffing choices, locating innovative opportunities, and aligning your theory of business.
A textbook for M.B.A. students.
It should be mandatory for every M.B.A. student in the world.

A priceless collection of Drucker's most significant work
For nearly half a century Peter Ferdinand Drucker (1909- ) has inspired and educated managers-and influenced the nature of business-with his landmark articles in the Harvard Business Review. Here, gathered together and framed by a thoughtful introduction from the Review's editor Nan Stone, is a priceless collection of his most significant work.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Management - General    5. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (2)

A compendium of business wisdom which should be in every business library collection
If the name of Peter Drucker sounds familiar, it should: he's inspired managers with his works for nearly half a century, with his articles in Harvard Business Review - gathered here for the first time under one cover and offering his best works to audiences of business learners. From how to remain productive throughout your work life and choose careers which are lasting to learning how and when to make changes, Classic Drucker is a compendium of business wisdom which should be in every business library collection.
Simplicity on the other side of complexity

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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Life - Inspirational    4. Business/Economics    5. Industrial Economics (General)    6. Industrial management    7. Industries - General    8. Leadership    9. Leadership In Business    10. Motivational    11. Success in business    12. Management & management techniques   

Reviews (6)

V. good read
Gives good sense of American economy combined with history and the leaders who shaped the economy.
A UNIQUE, OUTSTANDING APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP!
This book explores how context, over time, creates different types of opportunities, and how business legends can be defined by the types of opportunities they pursued. What distinguishes this book from similar studies of legendary leaders, managers and entrepreneurs, is the underlying theme of contextual intelligence-the profound awareness and sensitivity to macro-level factors driving the creation, growth or transformation of business at a particular time. The authors discuss and assess the great names in business in the context of their time, organizing the book by decades, beginning in 1900 through the end of the last century. The book makes for fascinating,d enjoyable reading. This is a top-notch contribution to the study of those who have created and shaped business enterprises.

Pathbreaking Book on Leadership
The field of leadership is littered with numerous books that are nothing more than anecdote based accounts that conclude with a list of platitudes for successful leadership. For those who want to go beyond the cute lists of success factors for leadership that lack much substance to a well researched, historically grounded, and comprehensive account of what really makes great leaders, this is your book. This book is among one of the first to try to go beyond contemporary fads and fashions that may be in vogue to take a detailed look over a 100 year time period and distill the essential qualities that have made great leaders across this extraordinary century in human history. The authors uncover the important quality of contextual intelligence evident in great leaders across this time period and provide inspiration and insight for those who aspire to follow in their footsteps. A must read for anyone on the journey to great leadership!
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Business    4. Business & Economics    5. Business Executives    6. Business/Economics    7. Executives    8. History    9. Leadership    10. Leadership In Business    11. Success in business    12. United States    13. Biography: general    14. Business & Management   

Reviews (5)

Mere markets?
The fact that this book is published by the Harvard Business School and the author is a professor there tells us much about how this topic is broached. The main focus of the book is on how the infertility industry (the baby business) and the market interact. Other vital elements, such as moral considerations, are barely mentioned. And this is where the book breaks down. Yes, the market side to the question is very important, and rightly needs to be explored, but taken out of a bigger social and ethical context, the approach comes across barren and empty (no pun intended).
The Birth of the Scholarly Page Turner
This is good stuff-if not juicy, and Spar casts a wide net that doesn't miss a thing: conception techniques, fertility markets, surrogacy, designer babies, human cloning, and adoption.The writer also has the guts to have a lucid, constructive point of view-never backing away from the controversial subjects many would balk about discussing.This book is a must read for anyone who might, is, or has gone through any of the processes above, and for the rest of us like me, just a great eye-opening read.In fact, I kept thinking as the pages turned: "I had no idea..."As a piece of scholarly writing it is immaculate (check out the pages of footnotes!), but more impressive is the fact that Spar's writing style is trenchant, entertaining and unwavering in it's ability to present a point of view to the reader.I wasn't expecting it, but Spar continually challenges and provokes as she weaves her riveting tale of the dynamics of a topic-both moral and technical-that is dear to the hearts of us all: babies.Wow.A scholarly page-turner!?Shouldn't there be an award for that? It's great read, and I highly recommend it.

Informative book, but problems in adoption industry overlooked
This was a very informative book, and I'm glad I bought it.However, the chapter on adoption glossed over the serious problems with the U.S. adoption industry.The book says that "adoption works."It may work for the baby-buyers and baby-sellers, but evidence shows it does not work well for mothers who are separated from their children by adoption.The book also implies that mothers choose to surrender their children for adoption, when in fact, most mothers who surrender their children to adoption believe that they have no other options, are uninformed about their options for keeping their child, are uninformed about the consequences of adoption, and/or are pressured or coerced to surrender.While the adoption industry provides privileged women with the choice of aquiring someone else's baby, it takes away poor women's choice to keep their child.See www.OriginsUSA.org and http://www.originscanada.org/adoption_coercion.html ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Consumer Behavior - General    5. Economic aspects    6. General    7. Human Genetic Engineering    8. Human Reproduction    9. Human reproductive technology    10. Infertility    11. Marketing - General    12. Surrogate motherhood    13. Treatment    14. Economics    15. Parenthood   

Editorial Review

How many times has your PC crashed today? While Gordon Moore's now famous law projecting the doubling of computer power every 18 months has more than borne itself out, it's too bad that a similar trajectory projecting the reliability and usefulness of all that power didn't come to pass, as well. Advances in information technology are most often measured in the cool numbers of megahertz, throughput, and bandwidth--but, for many us, the experience of these advances may be better measured in hours of frustration.Read more

Reviews (48)

An interesting and useful antidote to technotopia
Most books on internet and computing are optmistic in a 'infine linear projection' fashion - the common bane of all futurological speculations. Others are characterized by Luddite approaches to technology and media. The Social Life of Information
John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid present an interesting look into the future relationships of technology and social life.The book is aptly titled, "The Social Life of Information," and delivers on a promise to study the past, present and future of information.Brown and Duguid point out early on that as a society we often feel that technology will replace the need for social contact at work and at play.However, they also point out that specific users rarely experience this.In fact, they argue at several points throughout the book that just the opposite is true, humans need social contact for work and play.
Excellent shape!
The book arrived in time for my class.It's in excellent shape and the price was more than fair! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Information Management    6. Information Technology    7. Information society    8. Social aspects    9. Business communication & presentation    10. Impact of science & technology on society   

Reviews (9)

An Excellent Treatment of an Important Issue
Rayport and Jaworski make a strong case for an integrated approach to managing customer touchpoints. They identify unique capabilities and costs of people and machines, and then go on to lay out a purposive and logical approach for combining people and machines in order to deliver a solid customer experience at a cost that does not break the bank. The book contains a large variety of interesting ideas and examples, and is worth reading just for them.I would have liked the authors to have gone further in terms of pulling together their many ideas and providing more detail regarding the 5 A's approach-how to think about each element in a variety of settings.All things considered, it is a very useful book for anyone interested in engineering customer touchpoints to gain competitive advantage through customer experience.

Valuable insights into the customer experience
This book is valuable not only for the examples and points the authors make, but also for the way it triggers ideas about one's own organization. Working through just the first step of the authors' model presented in the last part of the book is eye-opening with respect to your customers' experience of the business. There are great insights here on how to think about what your interface systems are demanding from customers and employees and how you can go about transforming a poorly integrated set of interfaces into a coherent, integrated system that satisfies your various customer segments. I recommend the book to people interested in marketing and also technology people involved in designing customer interfaces.

Very interesting book on importance of interfaces
This is a very interesting book. I saw it in the bookstore and the title captured my attention. I am glad I bought it. The examples are fascinating and comprehensive, the amount of facts and information is very good, and the explanation of why it is critical for companies to think about their interface systems is compelling. Best Face Forward not only supports the argument of why creating a differentiated experience for the customers is important, but in the last chapter it provides a good framework to help business managers diagnose and assess the ability of their company's interface system to create competitive advantage. I recommended my friends to read it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Competition    5. Customer Service    6. Customer services    7. Industries - Service Industries    8. Management    9. Nanotechnology    10. Service industries    11. Technological Innovations    12. Business & Management