Reviews (4)

Using IT to support the business, not the other way around...
All too often, an "enterprise architecture" is designed for a company by IT, and then it gathers dust as everything continues along the same path it always has.The book Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating A Foundation For Business Execution by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David C. Robertson approaches the whole subject from a different perspective, and it's one that actually integrates IT and business...
Pointing the way to how successful companies operate
The typical path taken by the CEO of the company is typically up the channel ofproduct, sales, or financial -- in today's world, a lot of financial types are reaching the big corner office. Unfortunately none of these paths to the top tend to educate the executive into the relatively arcane world if the information technology specialist.
How to achieve and then sustain superior execution

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Subjects:  1. Automation    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business/Economics    5. Industrial management    6. Information Management    7. Information technology    8. Management    9. Strategic planning    10. Business strategy   

Reviews (13)

Very boring
I bought this book based on the good reviews it had received. I could not find any useful infomraiton in this book and the Author seems to go to such great lengths trying to explain governance, but in a very rigid style.
IT Governance
This is an excellent book which should be read by everyone looking for results from their technology systems and not just Techies and IT managers. The overall premise is straightforward: your IT management directly impacts all facets of your organization and therefore to seperately manage your IT from the rest of your organization is impossible and to attempt to do so is inherently foolish.
Good models and a healthy dose of common sense.
The notion that good IT governance is the single biggest factor in generating business value from the IT department seems like a no brainer. Still, an astonishing number of companies get it wrong. Weill and Ross provide a book with an array of governance models that should be able to help many of the IT managers reading this book to get it right.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Information Management    5. Information technology    6. Management    7. Business information systems   

Reviews (7)

Standing on the shoulders of Kouses & Posner
Broadbent and Kitzis have produced a remarkable work.I have found their work to be like a capstone, integrating many streams of thought that have gone before.Unfortunately, the work suffers from lack of awareness of the leadership literature."The Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes & Posner predates this work by more than 3 years, yet Broadbent and Kitzis, while seemingly familiar with "The Leadership Challenge" do not acknowledge their debt.Readers who enjoy "The New CIO Leader" will benefit from Kouzes and Posner's seminal and very readable work on leadership.
You Want To Fix The Mercedes or Drive It?
The times they are changing. The direction of change for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) has had different answers from different people. In their December 2004 book, entitled The New CIO Leader: Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results (2005, Harvard Business School Press, 338 Pages, ISBN 1591395771), Marianne Broadbent (Associate Dean of the Melboune Business School) and Ellen S Kitzen (Group Vice-President of the Gartner Group's Executive Programs) argue that the choice is yours. You can choose to be a new CIO Leader or be relegated to Chief Technology Mechanic. The authors do an outstanding job of discussing the seas change, until the book loses some of its luster from what appears to be their interpretation of Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (CobiT).
Pedantic and boring
Buried in various places in this 287 page book are few intellectual gems which strikes a chord with reality. Otherwise, the authors of this book never seemed to have touched a server nor managed an IT department.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Chief information officers    4. General    5. Information Management    6. Information resources manageme    7. Information resources management    8. Information technology    9. Leadership    10. Management    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. Management & management techniques   

Editorial Review

Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster think that the Internet can blow away practically any business, and in Read more

Reviews (65)

A knowledge economy classic
Traditionally, companies have had to focus their information strategy on either richness or reach.
Learn from the past & avoid being swept-away by E-commerce 2
Although tempered by the DotCom bust, information technology is still very real and continues to shake up industry after industry, and an untold number of companies are being swept-away by the resulting riptides. Clearly written and tough-minded, Blown to Bits is required reading for entrepreneurs, and others wanting to transform their companies before it's too late.
A valuable e-business classic - but lacks an epilogue
This book is an important e-business classic. But despite the authors' clever recommendations, an epilogue is missing, as the Internet revolution they announced did not materialise. The Internet EVOLUTION, however, lives on.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Decision Making    4. Business/Economics    5. Economics - Theory    6. Information Management    7. Information technology    8. Knowledge management    9. Leadership    10. Strategic planning    11. Business strategy   

Editorial Review

Chapter 1 of Read more

Reviews (68)

A must
If you're in the software business and you haven't read this book, chances are you don't know what's going on.

An Corporate Information Seller's Handbook
Both authors are professors at the University of California at Berkeley.This book deals with how unchanging principles are being applied to the changing conditions and technologies of information marketing (software).
Very Practical
The arrival of the Internet and the information explosion it created has made it possible for inventors and entrepreneurs to build a business from scratch to worldwide marketing capability in a very few years. The authors of this book take the position that all too often we are deluded into thinking certain and tried and true economic principles have been abolished by this new Internet economy. They argue their position without jargon and with examples taken from the real world.
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Subjects:  1. Information Management    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Management Information Systems    4. Information society    5. Business strategy    6. Computer Communications & Networking    7. Economics - General    8. Information technology    9. Business & Economics    10. Business/Economics    11. Economic aspects   

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   

Editorial Review

Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter is the Eartha Kitt of change-management gurus. Just when you think the grand dame has taken her final bow, she comes bounding back onto the scene with a new act that's as shrewd and insightful as anything any young kitten has to offer--but benefiting from decades of wisdom and experience that puts the whole litter to shame. Take, for instance, Read more

Reviews (40)

New Economy Lobotomy & more....
Author Kanter is the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard (or was when she wrote the book), She has been named as on eof the 50 most powerful women in the world by the TIMES of London. Based on more than 300 inteviews and a global survey of more than 700 companies, the book Evolve! is a study in e-culture, strategy and community. Written back in 2001 -- the book still deserves to be on the shelf of every business exec or entrepreneur in this continually evolving new economy (and at the bargain price it's available on Amazon.com -- add it to your collection now). Kanter talks about talent, change (not just cosmetic) and social evolution...community takes a big role. Perhaps the one element she could have covered better is content-- since so much of what we see today is user generated content and content that is 2-way interactive. Commerce is not a one way street anymore....still the book covers many basics I'm sure you did not learn in B School and it gives insight and strategy into the why's and e-culture and how the Internet fits into the corporate structure of today and tomrorow...or perhaps how it is shaping it....The index is very good and can be used as a reference for making presentations at work or in developing your next-gen digital commerce start-up!

Still relevant for e-business managers in traditional firms
This book is to some extent out-of-date. It is written in the dot-com era. And there is indeed a lot of hype on the young start-ups' heroic characteristics such as speed, flexibility, and courage that traditional large companies couldn't compete with in the short run. Today, we all know that these characteristics didn't stand the test of time in a ruthless competitive landscape.
About the author...
This review is not so much about the book but rather about the author. I had the chance to have Rosabeth Moss Kanter as a Professor for a semester last year while doing an MBA at Harvard. She has an extraordinary personality, full of passion, full of colors and surprises. A fresh, insightful and pragmatic perspective of the world. A Grand lady who constantly evolves with her time. In my opinion, that's why her books, and Evolve! in particular, are so well written and so inspirational for all of us. Grand books are the reflect of Grand personalities. I cannot wait to get her new book "Confidence". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Corporate & Business History - General    5. E-Commerce - General    6. Economic aspects    7. Information technology    8. Internet    9. Management - General    10. Organizational change    11. Structural Adjustment    12. Success in business    13. Business & Management    14. Management & management techniques    15. Management    16. Computers    17. Internet - General    18. Electronic commerce    19. Technology    20. Social Aspects   

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   

Reviews (7)

Not Quite the Whole Story
The book is written by insiders.They make the new CEO out to be quite a hero.Better ask some Intuit customers about that.

Great Case History of a Continuing Business Model Innovator!
How many companies have survived direct battles with Microsoft?Not very many.How many lived to win over direct battles with Microsoft?Even fewer.Intuit is in that elite company.That experience alone would make the book worth considering. Wonderful!
When Inside Intuit arrived in the mail, along with four other books I'd ordered, it was the first one I picked up to browse. Seven hours later, I finished the book! Reliving the experiences, placing myself in the events (I worked for Intuit for over fourteen years - by way of ChipSoft), was an overwhelming experience for me.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Competition    5. Computer software industry    6. Corporate & Business History - Strategies    7. History    8. Industries - Media & Communications Industries    9. Intuit (Firm)    10. Leadership    11. Marketing - General    12. Microsoft Corporation    13. Quicken (Computer file)    14. United States    15. Business & Management    16. Information technology industries    17. USA   

Editorial Review

From the advent of electronic communications, there's been talk about how the world has been shrinking. Frances Cairncross, senior editor for the Read more

Reviews (14)

Prudent Optimism
I recently read this brilliant book before reading Cairncross' more recently published The Company of the Future. I highly recommend both and suggest that they be read in the order in which they were written. A look into the future
In this updated paperback edition of the 1997 original, Frances Cairncross of The Economist expounds the theory that, with the introduction of the Internet and new communications technologies, distance as a relevant factor in how we conduct our business and personal lives is becoming irrelevant. This, she claims, will be the single most important economic force shaping all of society over the next half century. Written by an economist?No kidding.
It would appear that this book continues the line of technological revolutionists/determinists - who provide no reasons as to why this new 'communications revolution' should be able to change our society apart fromwide-eyed 'look at what this technology will allow' type suggestions.Justbecause we have the ability to do something, doesn't mean everyone will doit and thus change society.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business Communication - General    3. Business/Economics    4. Forecasting    5. Information Technology    6. Social aspects    7. Technology    8. Technology And Social Change    9. Telecommunication    10. Telecommunications    11. Business & Management    12. Media, information & communication industries   

Reviews (4)

Dated applications but the core concepts are still relevant

Hopelessly out of date
Although I am a fan of HBR collections in general, this one is now out of date. Most of the articals are from the early 1990's, and in IT, 10+ years is an eternity.

Nice collection of articles
I really liked the article on Enterprise Systems, it gives a good understanding of what you are getting into when buying solutions like SAP. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Forecasting    5. Information Management    6. Information Technology    7. Information systems    8. Management    9. Management - General    10. Management Information Systems    11. Management & management techniques    12. Spreadsheet software   

Reviews (12)

Good book on balancing the project portfolio thru process
Many organizations approve any project that sounds like "a good idea".This "soda straw" perspective is a sure way to over-task people, make project cost and delivery unpredictable, an