 [Larger view] | Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance, 6 x 9
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 Solid research for the serious manager | |
| Business is about getting results. And "Getting results" gets down to business in a very direct fashion, using research and the authors' work with senior executives to construct basic guidelines for enabling and empowering managers and organizations. The survey results on the top twenty things a leader needs to do to be effective is probably worth the cost of the book. Some of the ideas and data went straight into my classroom. This might even work for many business faculty as a text for a basic graduate course in management or leadership. The book lacked a little bit of the 'Tom Peters verve' that wins over large numbers of readers and gets books recognized by business magazines. But serious, thoughtful students of the science (and art) of business will not be disappointed. | |
 Top down management is still "Getting Results" | |
| This is a wonderful book. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in reading how most of the successful companies are getting the job done. The survey and follow-up interviews from thousands of companies are well documented. It is easy to read and easy to ferret out solutions to specific problems that you may be experiencing in your business. What was striking to this reader was the general lack of the use of self-directed work teams in the businesses that were surveyed, and the continued reliance on the use of individual performance reviews and appraisals to motivate and direct employees. Successful businesses today are still following the basic rules of top down management that have been in place for many years. One must draw their own conclusion about whether this is the BEST way to do business. It certainly appears to be THE most popular and maybe the easy way to do business. | |
| Thoughtful and Practical | |
| This is one of the volumes which comprise the University of Michigan Business School Management Series. According to Longenecker and Simonetti, there are "five absolutes for high performance" and they examine each with both precision and eloquence. Few (if any) are original. The most effective managers probably practice them (and others) to achieve superior results. Whichever "absolutes" are embraced, they are obviously worthless without effective implementation in combination with both a determination and an ability to adjust to circumstances which can change quickly at any time. Here are the five absolutes: #1 Get Everyone on the Same Page: Focus on the Purpose of Your Organization #2 Prepare for Battle: Equip Your Operation with Tools, Talent, and Technology #3 Stoke the Fire of Performance: Create a Climate for Results #4 Build the Bridge on the Road to Results: Nurture Relationships with People #5 Keep the Piano in Tune: Practice Continuous Renewal No doubt each reader can easily rephrase each of the five or at least cluster several synonyms which suggest each absolute's key point. For example, #1 suggests the importance of agreement (or consensus) on which teamwork always depends whereas #5 suggests the importance of constant attention to the progress of any initiatives so that appropriate modifications can be made. The Japanese word "kaizen" means more than continuous renewal; those involved in such efforts must always be aware of maintaining proper balance (or proportion), especially when responding to a crisis of some kind. For whom will this book be most valuable? The authors wrote it for "managers at all levels who are looking for ways to improve the performance not only of themselves but also of the people they are directly responsible for." I presume to suggest that this book would also be valuable to recent graduates who have only recently begun a business career. Every organization (including non-profits and family-owned businesses) needs to have an easily understood system (as well as sound strategies) by which to achieve the desired results. Longenecker and Simonetti provide such a system in this book. It remains for decision-makers, especially, "at all levels" to modify the system to their organization's specific needs and objectives. In the Afterword, Longenecker and Simonetti suggest how to "get the ball rolling" toward getting results: Always start with the end in mind, build a model of the absolutes to your organization to be effective as a leader, identify the practices that are most critical to your success, and develop the talents needed to implement and sustain the absolutes for high-performance. Heard all this before? Probably. Are you satisfied with the results you and your organization are now achieving? If not, here is a source to help clarify and assist your initiatives in weeks and months to come. Longenecker and Simonetti conclude their book and I conclude this review with an especially appropriate observation by Henry David Thoreau: "This time, like all time, is a great time, if we simply know what to do with it." |
