Management Book Reviews

"Small Giants," by Bo Burlingham

Reviewed by Alyssa Eliasen

In his book "Small Giants" Bo Burlingham offers a non-traditional approach to business management. His main argument is that businesses do not necessarily need to expand in order to be successful. Rather, small giants, or companies who consciously choose to remain small, keep the focus on important aspects of business, not just on profits and outward expansion. These aspects include intimacy with clients, closeness with the community, and a close- knit environment between employees and management; Burlingham calls the sum of these facets the "mojo" of a company.

To prove his point, Burlingham chose fourteen companies and describes their business practices, leadership style, and governing philosophies in his book. The businesses range in size, age, and profits, but they all have the characteristics that make up the noteworthy mojo. When choosing the companies for his book, Burlingham had three criteria: each establishment remains small today despite facing a decision to grow or acquire other businesses, the chosen companies are imitated and respected by others in their industry, and they are recognized for their success by an unrelated observer.

Many, if not most, of the names on his list are not well-known; however, that is exactly Burlingham's point. The companies are successful in that the owners and founders are engaged in their industries because they are passionate about the company and its people. They believe that success is measured not on quantity, but rather quality. Innovation and community- building are the driving forces for small giants. The leaders of these companies set an example with their enthusiasm that carries on to the employees, and, in turn, to clients.

The examples in "Small Giants" show that when a company leader shifts his or her focus from physical growth and does not make impulsive decisions, the company reaches its goals and missions. The company's reputation grows, and thus relations with customers thrive. The leaders also believe that it is important to keep the control of the company within a group of people who are equally as dedicated to preserving the personality and environment of the business. For this reason, the companies that Burlingham studied are not publicly traded, so they do not have to answer to shareholders who may not understand the personality of the business.

Although Burlingham limited his list to those companies previously mentioned, he claims in "Small Giants" that such companies with mojo are not rare. In his final chapter titled "The Art of Business" Burlingham writes that although companies with mojo are not the majority in America, they certainly lend to the heart, soul, and "new standard for excellence on Main Street." Their commitment to quality and passion sets a new tone for businesses today.

Burlingham's method is idealistic, but he has shown, at least for the fourteen companies, that success can result. A common belief is that businesses must grow and sell to the public to be considered truly successful. His selection of small companies dedicated to maintaining the highest quality possible demonstrates the ideals Total Quality Management in practice. The whole reason that these companies chose to remain small is to increase the quality of customer service and relationships. Through these relationships, the companies can determine the customer's needs and fulfill them. The businesses harness the know- how of employees in order to raise the standards of excellence and innovation. The high levels of quality that these businesses produce give them positive reputations, and thus, they have a strong control of their respective industries.

On the other hand, this process requires extreme dedication to the company and in today's business environment, it proves to be difficult to maintain. Burlingham stresses that the leaders each faced a decision to grow, and struggled with it. Eventually, after careful consideration, they consciously chose not to expand, knowing that their decision could possibly be detrimental to their company. With such low numbers of employees, dollar amounts of profit, and levels of production, it is hard for smaller companies to reach a national, or even a global audience. They are very specialized in their products and must innovate constantly to keep up with larger companies with bigger budgets. Finally, with such a globalized economy, large companies are taking over large chunks of industries, cutting off smaller companies. For these reasons, Burlingham's "Small Giants" theory requires firm adherence to the plans and goals set by the leadership.

I would recommend this book to other public relations students because of the ideals that Burlingham stresses through his sample companies. The book is very well written, and contains several examples of companies who successfully remain small. I agree with Burlingham that a commitment to excellence and quality should be a goal for any company, regardless of size. Consumers are attracted to a company that focuses on more than just profits and expansion. A company with a dynamic corporate environment and exceptional customer service will attract a loyal client base which will continue to patronize the company because of the mutual respect and dedication to high quality goods and services. As stated earlier, small businesses with mojo are not the bulk of American companies, but they stand out and prove that high quality leads to corporate success. They will continue to show that business size really does not guarantee higher quality or satisfaction levels for today's consumer.

“Our Iceberg Is Melting,” by John Kotter & Holger Rathgeber

Reviewed by Irina Binder  

Award-winning author and Harvard Business School professor John Kotter teams up with Holger Rathgeber to redefine the way business concepts are taught. Instead of focusing on statistics and research, the book is written as a children’s fable. The simplicity of the story makes it an easy read for a child yet relevant enough for a business professional, which is why I would recommend it to all public relations students.

The central focus of the book is change. The story is set in Antarctica, where one inquisitive penguin, Fred, discovers that the iceberg he is living on is melting. He goes through a series of eight steps that help motivate the colony into a change that is beneficial for everyone. When he first presents his idea no one seems to believe him. Fred builds a replica of the iceberg as an innovative way to convince the members of the Leadership Committee the accuracy of his beliefs. He even performs an experiment to prove the concept of water expanding when frozen. Fred fills a glass bottle with water and explains that if it breaks in the cold it explains why there are canals full of water in the iceberg. When his experiment works and the bottle breaks, the group starts to believe him.

The iceberg in the fable can be compared to any crisis or problem occurring in anyone’s life. The writers divide the eight steps into four categories: set the stage, decide what to do, make it happen and make it stick.

The first step is to create a sense of urgency. When the Leadership Committee realized that Fred was correct in his assumption, the head penguin Louis called for a general assembly to inform the colony of the risk the iceberg could cause. Louis stressed the need to act and although he was not sure how, he was confident they would find a solution. The next step is to put together the guiding team, which was comprised of five penguins all with different strengths, personalities and outlooks. The third step is to create a vision which occurred when the penguins spoke with the seagulls and learned about their nomadic lifestyle. This led to their idea of moving to a different iceberg. Step four is communicating the vision so everyone understands. The entire colony came together to spread the message of a nomadic lifestyle through posters, and Louis even  gave a speech on the iceberg not defining who they were, only where they live. The fifth step is to empower others to act, which was achieved when a kindergarten student organized a “Tribute to our Hero Day.” This was to thank the scouts who were searching for other icebergs that met the colony’s criteria such as a safe home with no evidence of melting, close to fishing sites and located on a route with smaller icebergs so older and younger penguins could make it to the new site with resting spots. Step six, producing a short-term win was achieved when the scouts came back with positive feedback on their search. The journey to the new iceberg was successful because of the great leadership. The next season the scouts found an even better place to live. Even though it was inconvenient to move yet again, they did not let up, which is step seven. The move was easier this season since they had done it before. The final step is creating a new culture which was achieved when the penguins became less afraid of change, learned to work together and realized the value of moving to better icebergs in the future.

Vision, passion, integrity, trust and curiosity or daring were five ingredients of leadership discussed in class. The penguin colony used these ingredients when handling their crisis of the melting iceberg. It was Fred’s curiosity that led to everyone realizing the threat of the iceberg. Although he was not a leader in his community, he was daring enough to approach the leaders. His passion for what he believed to be true led him to inspire others to help. The honesty and integrity Louis showed was evident when he was straightforward with the colony about the problem and how he was not sure of the solution yet. This lead to trust within the entire group enabling them to work together. Most importantly, the encounter with the seagulls developed the teams vision of moving to a new iceberg.

I would recommend this book because it is inspirational. Readers can relate to the different characters that make up the team in the story. It is encouraging for the reader to see how someone like Fred, who was not on the Leadership Committee, ended up being the hero who saved his colony because of his observation skills. John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber have created a story that a variety of readers will enjoy, which later can be turned into a discussion. An organization could even use this story and the eight steps as a reference when discussing problems that are effecting them. Writing the book as a fable is an innovative approach to teaching business professionals important concepts that will be remembered easier than just facts and figures. Who knew something so simple could be so informative

“High Output Management,” by Andrew S. Grove

Reviewed by Ashley James 

In the book “High Output Management,” Andrew S. Grove, the president of Intel, discusses the art of business management and the tasks associated with being a manager. The first issue Grove points out that managers in this day and age must recognize is the issue of globalization. Grove says that managers today must recognize the importance of globalization and the information revolution to succeed. He says companies today must adapt in the face of these issues or they will die. It is the duty of managers to make sure companies adapt and forecast for the future. In order to adapt to the pressures of globalization and the information revolution, Grove says companies must have a higher tolerance for disorder and anticipate the unexpected.

Grove gives lots of advice to managers of all kinds. He makes it clear that his book is geared towards every kind of manager, from those who run huge corporations to those in charge of small operations. He says managers of all kinds must find the most cost-effective way to deploy resources and that the key to optimizing all types of productive work is to understand trade-offs. Grove says that to run an operation well, the manager must use a good set of indicators or measurements. Each indicator should be focused on a specific operational goal.

Grove puts great emphasis on output in his book. He says stressing the importance of output to workers is the key to improving productivity in a company. He also writes that a manager’s output is the combination of the output of his or her own organization as well as the output of neighboring organizations. Grove believes that a manager is not just responsible for his or her own job, but for the output of those under him too, as well as everything that happens with the company under his or her management. Grove puts great importance on the role of the manager, and that is probably why he has been so successful.

Grove also stresses that output and activity are not the same thing. Some important activities of a manger include information gathering and decision-making, but those activities do not necessarily result in successful output. Grove believes that output can be increased by managerial productivity which means increasing the rate with which a manager performs and increasing the leverage associated with managerial activities.

An important example of managerial leverage Grove points out is delegation. Grove stresses the importance of delegation but warns managers that they are still responsible for a task even when they delegate it to their employees.

Grove also advises managers to learn when to say “No.” He says that time is a valuable resource of mangers and that managers should have times they are inaccessible to their employees and close their office, while there should also be times they hold open office hours because many people depend on them for advice. Grove says that while many feel otherwise, meetings are not time wasted. He believes they are an important medium through which managerial work is performed. Grove points out that Peter Drucker believes “25% of time spent in meetings is “malorganization,” but Grove says only “25% of time in mission-oriented meetings is “malorganization,” the rest of time in meetings is time used efficiently.

I believe Grove does offer a good approach to management. He has obviously been successful in corporation management as the President of Intel. He puts great emphasis on planning which I believe is crucial to successful management. In the book, Grove writes about how he agrees with Peter Drucker’s approach to management, MBO. We discussed this approach in class and Grove follows it very closely. Grove agrees with Drucker that management must set objectives, organize, motivate and communicate, measure, and develop employees.

Grove says that the MBO approach to management is based on good judgment and common sense. Like Drucker, Grove believes employees should be evaluated by their results and held accountable. The MBO approach advocated by Drucker and Grove stresses the importance of evaluation and accountability.

Grove’s approach to management is easy to understand because he emphasizes three main ideas: the output oriented approach, the importance of teams and not just individuals, and motivation understood in terms of sports analogies. The MBO approach has many similarities to the military and uses military terminology, while Grove uses sports terminology and analogies.

I like how Grove uses the MBO approach to management and his belief in the importance of objectives. I feel that if a manager does not understand what he and his company are trying to achieve, it will be difficult to achieve and measure their success. I like how Grove stresses the importance of organization and the measurement of achieved objectives. I also feel that evaluation of employees used by Drucker and Grove is extremely beneficial because otherwise managers would not recognize the output achieved by individuals. I agree with Grove in the importance of teamwork, but mangers must recognize the significance of individuals in order to put together a successful team. As the old saying goes, a team is only as strong as its weakest link.

I would recommend this book to fellow public relations students looking to learn more about management. Grove is a successful manager of a major company, so students looking for management guidance should look no further than Grove. His book advocates the MBO approach to management so students who prefer the MBO approach to management would enjoy Grove’s take on running a business. Grove explains all aspects of management very clearly and then gives detailed examples of what he wrote about to help readers clearly understand the concepts he discusses. At the end of the book Grove gives a detailed list of steps for mangers to follow. Mangers looking to implement Grove’s guide to management in their own workplace will appreciate his step-by-step guide to improving output in their own company.

"The Leadership Pill," By Ken Blanchard & Marc Muchnick

Reviewed by Emily Thomas

The Leadership Pill is an inspirational and educational book on instructing people how to become effective leaders. The book illustrates a fictional situation were a company called LPI, Leadership Pill Industries, markets a "leadership pill" that when taken, creates leaders. LPI's PR director promised that the pill would "enhance one's ability to lead." The corporate society was intrigued by the idea that creating leadership could be so simple and quickly began supporting the product. There was only one problem; the pills ingredients overlooked several key elements that in reality create effective leaders.

The Effective Leader, a critic of the leadership pill, came forward in the corporate world and accused LPI of distributing a phony pill. This caused a media uproar and soon a challenge between the two competing ideas would begin. "The Pill-Free Challenge" consisted of one company who was given the leadership pill and another company, under the direction of The Effective Leader, was given nothing. They had one year to prove themselves as a company and succeed.

The challenge began and the team taking the pill seemed to be doing great. However, The Effective Leader's team got off to a rough start. The team members were producing bad morale and had no promising goals of success in mind. The Effective Leader started at the bottom and began teaching his team about "The Secret Blend." He said that the leadership pill was missing ingredients; therefore he began teaching his team exactly what those missing ingredients were that would in turn give them success.

The first missing ingredient is integrity. Having morale and ethical principals is a strong base for building not only one person into an effective leader but more importantly turning a corporation into a strong and successful corporation. A company that is based on honest values will earn the trust of there customers and see more long term success. Second, the pill was missing partnership. The Effective Leader taught his team that "partnership harvests the potential of the team." The book insists that leadership is a two-way street and that leaders need to help their team work, learn and grow together in unity. Lastly, the pill was missing affirmation. People need to feel wanted and encouraged. When looking towards a long-term goal people need to feel that there input is accepted and respected.

Six months had passed and the company taking the pill was still beating the Effective Leader's team on a short-term scale. There was still six months to go and The Effective Leader began seriously implementing "The Secret Blend" into his team. His goal was to build more effective leaders to a point that they did not need his guidance at all times.

The Effective Leader instilled integrity by distributing responsibility and teaching each team member to find and act upon there ability to self-lead. The key ingredients of integrity are trust and respect and by trusting and respecting his team, they in turn trusted and respected him. Leading into how he found partnership within the corporation. A two-way street was formed and the team members felt and open and positive morale among one another. Affirmation came naturally for this new and strongly developed team. The team had something to be proud of and gained an understanding of self-affirmation.

In the end, obviously the team taking the leadership pill failed. Leadership is not as simple as taking a pill and dictating people in order to have a maximum amount of productivity. The Effective Leader's team soared to new heights and continued to succeed. The set a long-term goal and achieved it while gaining the respect of there customers, the corporate world, and most importantly one another.

I believe that the authors presented there take on leadership in a very positive manner. Their stance on building effective leaders was encouraging and seemed to have great results. The approach that they represent can be closely related to that of TQM. The 14 points that we discussed in class closely align with that of the author's viewpoint. Three of the points in particular: institute training on the job, institute leadership, and driving out fear all represent the same stance that The Effective Leader took.

TQM is based on creating consistency and setting long-term goals. Blanchard and Muchnick also agree that long-term goals are necessary for a company to succeed. The standpoint that TQM takes also encompasses a concern for the company's customers. Effective leaders have to understand that if your customer is not happy then no one will be happy. The book encourages developing each and every person in your company into a leader who can strongly represent your name in a positive way. Both Deming and The Effective Leader know that you must develop leaders through example and create a two-way street for communication in order to succeed. In doing this you will create effective leaders all throughout your company who don't need continuous guidance in order to have personal career success.

I would strongly recommend this book to other students and anyone interested in becoming a better leader. Yes, this book can be very applicable to leading in the corporate world but it can also have a strong impact on leading any type of group. It teaches people that leadership is a blend of several things. The analogy that leadership is a simple as taking a pill is a great representation that it is actually more complex that most people believe.

This book is a very easy read and breaks down the components that a leader needs in a very organized way. It illustrates what one needs to consider when leading a group of individuals. It teaches people that in order to lead you can not control and in order to succeed you must gain respect and trust among one another. Overall, I found the book very educational. I will take "The Secret Blend" of integrity, partnership, and affirmation and apply it to my personal leadership roles in order to become a more effective leader in my own life.

“Developing the Leaders Around You,” by John C. Maxwell

Reviewed by Kaitlyn Dennihy

 

Leadership is often described as a trait innate within a person; something one either possesses or does not; however this is not always the case.  It has also been said that leaders are not born but made, and John C. Maxwell makes a strong argument for exactly why it is important to groom one’s surrounding coworkers into becoming leaders in his book, Developing the Leaders Around You.

 

Maxwell focuses his ideas of business not on results, but on the people performing those results. Contrary to other popular leadership styles, Maxell suggests that everyone has the capability to become a leader, if only they are nurtured to do so. He stresses early on in the book a sentiment that carries throughout,

Water boils at 212 degrees, but at 211 degrees, it is still just hot water.  One extra degree, increase less than half of one percent, can make the difference between a pot of languishing liquid and a bubbling cauldron of power … That one degree is usually momentum.

Maxell’s driving idea behind his leadership style is not that of a single executive on top who demands results, but a team of leaders who by working together can produce results far beyond the typical checklist.

 

By producing a team atmosphere, Maxwell believes employees become more apt to not only execute their own jobs effectively, but also ask for help or provide help to other to develop better results. This in turn helps to foster each employee’s personal leadership development.

 

In order to create this environment, Maxell relies on the structure of what he calls the big three: responsibility, authority and accountability. It is not adequate to simply give employees a list of tasks, but rather develop each employee in a foundation of tasks that demand more from them. By reaching for responsibility, authority and accountability, Maxwell believes each employee will gain leadership skills and the feeling of becoming an asset to the company, a part of a team. He believes with guidance and development from the start, employees will value their role, delegate to other employees and increase morale and productivity within the team.

 

Maxwell stresses that “personal growth must be deliberate, planned and consistent” by all members of a company or organization, once again indicating that the top executive is not the only leader within an organization. Without subsequent leadership within an organization, not only will it become far less productive, it will have no future to build upon.

 

Although Maxwell does stress the importance of the development of the employee, many of his viewpoints also align with those of Peter Drucker and his management by objectives strategy. He calls upon Drucker early in the book, quoting him in saying “no executive has ever suffered because his people were strong and effective.” The management by objectives model set byDrucker does in fact focus on the idea of setting goals, planning, implementing and evaluating. Maxwell seeks to do this with each employee. He believes each employee should be developed continuously and thus the company will grow and succeed in turn. Like Maxwell, MBO also focuses on the future: how the company will succeed and where it will go once its top leaders are gone. Drucker also argued that subordinates should play a major role in setting their own objectives—a common theme repeated throughout Maxwell’s book of how to develop a team of leaders rather than leaders and followers.

 

However, MBO and Maxwell’s approach do have negative aspects. One of the main concerns of MBO is the artificial reassurance it gives to leaders. Maxwell stresses the need for accountability, and although it would be ideal that each employee develops into his or her own leader, this is sometimes not the case. Employees do not always perform to the potential desired by management and giving employees this responsibility can cause for a higher degree of failure later, an issue that Maxwell does not address.  

 

Often times throughout the book, Maxwell provides suggestions on how to build leaders relying on the tactics of other management leaders, but he does not provide a laundry list of steps to make this happen. Although this aspect may seem to be missing, it also feels to be done on purpose. To be a leader, much of what needs to be taught is done through experience, not a step-by-step program.  Throughout Maxwell provides suggestion on how you may succeed in leadership and how you can lead by example, not necessarily tell others what to do. This could ultimately distract from their abilities to flourish.  

 

Though Maxell’s book may not face various issues, it does provide one very important strategy to public relations and that is the idea of the relationship. Public relations practitioners are required to not only make and keep external relationships with clients, but also internal relationships within a company.

Maxwell’s viewpoints on leadership can prove very valuable to anyone from a CEO to a starting account manager. He stresses the importance of respecting each other and working as a team, which is key for those working in public relations. Without a strong foundation of knowledge in an organization or company’s own employees and their respective departments, a public relations practitioner would not be able to accurately represent all members of that organization or company. It is essential to build and maintain working relationships with all employees so that when a situation arises, the public relations department knows which department to turn to for advice and information and how to appropriately work with each. Maxwell’s book teaches that if each employee is successfully developed into a leader of his or her own accord, failure can and will become less of an option for any company and accomplishment will be achieved, a lesson that can be applied to all.

“On Target,” by Laura Rowley

Reviewed by Laura Lyn McLeod 

No matter the spoken goal or purpose of an organization, every organization, especially in corporate retail, is ultimately driven by the quest for profit. Realistically, making profit relies on a focus on customer relations, management, marketing, advertising, and all other aspects of business. In On Target, Laura Rowley reveals the evolving journey of the Target Corporation to its present esteemed position and the driving management forces behind the company’s success. Rowley details how Target establishes itself as a discount store with comparable style to leading department stores.

Rowley gives readers insight on the Dayton family’s history in retail sales that jump-started the now well-respected Target Corporation. Target stores were first opened in 1962 by the five brothers in the Dayton family. Because the Dayton family’s business experience was in department store sales, their aspiration for Target was to offer discount shopping as an up-scale, chic, stylish, and enjoyable experience.

One of Target’s biggest concerns highlighted in the book was capturing the interest of the bargain hunter. Rowley covers some of the customer relations measures taken by Target from the foundation to the present. From the easy, racetrack format to the merry red shopping carts, Target works to create a fun, convenient, and enjoyable store environment. In order to improve customer service, Target was one of the first retailers to use a real-time customer relationship management system. (Rowley, p. 13) This allows a customer’s records of transactions to be easily accessed for future service. Another customer relationships protocol that the book describes is the Target Visa Smart Card, which allows loyal customers to choose a school for Target to donate money equal to one percent of their purchases.

In the 1990s, Target referred to Walt Disney’s staff training initiatives to improve customer service.  The book gives examples of the measures Target took to improve internal operations. The store began referring to employees as “team members” and customers as “guests” (Rowley, p. 68). A training workshop was started in order to educate staff on the principles, history, and mission of Target. The courses cover Target’s traditions, understanding the guests, and displaying a fervent attitude. The book also states that executive visits were made more frequent and informal in nature (Rowley, p. 68). Rowley does an excellent job detailing the strategies taken for improvement in customer relations.

A great portion of the book is dedicated to the management of the corporation and the history of Target’s principles. Most of Target’s internal growth was over the past two decades under the leadership of Robert Ulrich. An interesting custom discussed in the book is “jetiquette,” where the highest present official in the corporation serves all the other passengers when on the corporate jet (Rowley, p. 86). This is a small example of the breakdown of barriers between levels of management in Target. The Target executive team created a substantial document for management called the Guides for Growth (Rowley, p. 144). This document is still used today in Target operations. The document explains issues of operation and plans of action to continually improve quality service. Plans of action are broken down into objectives for employees all the way down the management ranks.

In the context of management, I believe that the Target Corporation has a very successful system in place. Target understands the importance of branding and representing its products. For example, Target uses fashion icons, marketing programs, and highlights of its philanthropy in visual advertising in order to appeal to all types of people and make its logo universally recognizable. The Target Corporation also does an excellent job balancing the realms of great leadership and management. Target leads by individually delegating objectives to every employee in the company. In addition, the company exemplifies its focuses on people through employee benefits, customer service, and community philanthropy. Target uses an internal evaluation system to insure excellence in internal operations. Every level of employment is evaluated, all the way up the ranks to the CEO.

There were many aspects of Target management that have remnants of collaborative management and the TQM model of managing. Target promotes individual knowledge and competence through the Guides for Growth, which outlines the development of authority. Also, decisions are always being made, and the decisions incorporate opinions from all levels of employment. For example, the book says that Ulrich once pulled aside the best ten, female, front-end managers to tell him how to fix the efficiency problems of the line (Rowley, p. 152). Rowley also explains how upper management uses “walkarounds” to obtain input from employees. Quality is also very important to the Target Corporation. The company works to offer upscale shopping at a bargain price. Target purchasers work with designers to market valued, well-respected name brands. In addition, management and the inviting store environment are structured around customer service. The Target Corporation is always focusing long-term on building customer loyalty through its service.

If a public relations student had time to sit around and twiddle their thumbs, I would recommend reading this book. Although it highlights some keys to successful management, it intertwines a lot of useless information as well. There are parts of the book that really drag. However, I do feel that if a student has an interest in retail marketing, the book is very beneficial to read. Rowley stresses the importance of treating your employees well if you want happy customers. Target offers many examples on how to create a positive work atmosphere and instill leadership qualities in employees. In addition, Target has an exemplary model for diffusion of power in a corporation. The book is a great teaching resource for team management and management strategies to success in the retail sales industry. 

“The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader,” by John C. Maxwell

Reviewed by Emily Shuffield

“What makes people follow a leader?” This simple, yet commonly explored question is what opens John C. Maxwell’s book The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the person people will want to follow.  People have spent years researching the answer to this question. Thousands of books have been written to coach people on the actions they must take. So many people seek one answer, but there really is not one straightforward answer.  Everyone has his or her own opinion and solution on how to become a leader. 

According to Maxwell, the answer lies in the character qualities of the individual person.  The purpose of this book is to help one recognize, develop, and refine the personal characteristics needed to be a truly successful leader.  In order to write this book, Maxwell spoke with some of the world’s top leaders and listened to their stories.  In addition, he researched leaders of the past who have really made an impact in history. After a lot of time and reflection on the traits these individuals shared, he was able to establish the twenty-one qualities of this book.  Each chapter presents a quality and begins with an inspirational story of a leader who has exemplified that quality.  Then the chapters are broken up into three main sections: “Fleshing It Out,” a section that explains the quality and how to embody it; “Reflecting On It,” a section that encourages you to consider whether you possess the quality and how to develop it; and “Bringing It Home,” a section of tips on how to improve the quality. Each chapter ends with an uplifting quote or advice from a person who epitomized that quality. The twenty-one qualities that Maxwell believes each leader must have are: Character, Charisma, Commitment, Communication, Competence, Courage, Discernment, Focus, Generosity, Initiative, Listening, Passion, Positive Attitude, Problem Solving, Relationships, Responsibility, Security, Self-discipline, Sevanthood, Teachability, and Vision.  Because many of these are self-explanatory, I am going to focus on three qualities that were less obvious. Maxwell defines the quality discernment as “the ability to find the root of the matter…it relies on intuition as well as rational thought.”  Truly effective leaders must combine their intuition with their intellect in order to determine the cause of a problem or make important decisions.  Maxwell believes that leaders are not necessarily lucky people; instead, it is their discernment that allows them to create their luck.  Security is imperative in a leader because even if a leader is competent, they must have enough self-confidence to handle all the criticism and harsh words they may encounter. No one wants to follow a leader who is not confident in themselves and their beliefs. Another quality that Maxwell touched on was servanthood:  “You’ve got to love your people more than your position.” Servanthood is about attitude.  Followers can sense when a leader truly wants to help them or if he/she is apathetic to their problems.  Security relates back to this quality because it takes a secure leader to have the confidence to serve others. The main point of the entire book is that leaders are effective because of the qualities they have on the inside.  If you can fully embody all twenty-one of these qualities, then you can be a successful leader who people will want to follow. 

John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold over thirteen million books.  He is undeniably highly educated on leadership and the skills it takes to be a leader.  He presents what individuals need to be an effective leader and demonstrates how those requirements can be met. I believe that it is a good approach because of how he breaks each chapter down into the sections I described earlier. The story at the beginning of each chapter grabs the attention of the reader and allows them to start developing an idea of what it takes to possess that quality. His writing is very simple and straightforward when he explains each quality and what it takes to possess that quality.  He also uses bullet points for each step that you need to follow in order to improve that quality in yourself. The book as a whole is very well organized and well written for a wide variety of people who are seeking guidance on leadership.

I would recommend this book to other PR students because it is an easy and engaging read that I truly believe can aid in the development of becoming a leader.  It is not life changing and it does not contain any new groundbreaking ideas, but it definitely can be helpful if used properly. In order to use it correctly, you need to have the time to follow Maxwell’s instructions.  He believes that you should absorb the book “strategically and methodically.” If you read a chapter a day, each day you have to truly think about that quality and reflect on how you can develop that trait as a leader. Due to time constraints, I was not able to follow the instructions that Maxwell encourages the reader to follow.  I read it all in one sitting- the one thing he tells you not to do.  If you are to truly benefit from this book, you have to take it one day at a time and really evaluate yourself.  I would encourage other PR students to take the “Bringing It Home” section seriously and really try to improve and implement these qualities into their everyday self.  In addition, I would encourage PR students to read his first book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, before this book. He believes that it is necessary to read his first book to understand how leadership works.  According to Maxwell, before you can actually start being a leader, you must understand how leadership works. (Or this could just be a ploy to get you to buy both books!)

“Good to Great,” by Jim Collins

Reviewed by Molly Davis

Good to Great is a book about how to use different management and leadership strategies to transform a “good” company into a “great” one.  Curious about how a company can become great, Jim Collins and his research team decided to compare and contrast 28 companies in a five year long research experiment. The team identified the companies that took the leap from good to great, and compared them to companies that either failed to make the leap, or failed to sustain it. Of the 28 companies involved in the research, the team chose only 11 companies they considered to be good-to-great companies. The good-to-great companies are Abbott Laboratories, Circuit City, Fannie Mac, Gillette, Kimberly Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens and Wells Fargo. These companies made three times the market for a period of 15 years and were able to sustain these great results beyond the initial transition point. The team then compared the strategies and tactics of the good-to-great companies to 11 direct comparison companies and 6 unstained comparison companies. The direct comparison companies were in the same industry as the good to great companies and had similar resources and opportunities, but did not become great. The six unstained comparison companies were able to make a short term leap into the good-to-great category but were not able to sustain these results.  After analyzing the similarities and differences between all 28 companies Collins and his team were able define the transformation from good-to-great as “a process of buildup followed by breakthrough, broken into three broad stages: disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action” (Collins 12) 

In all three of these stages, Collins focuses on the key concepts that enable the process from buildup to breakthrough. The research team discovered that the key concepts of the process were as follows: Level 5 leadership, finding the right people confronting the brutal facts of reality, establishing a culture of discipline and understanding the Hedgehog and Flywheel concepts. Collins describes a successful buildup as getting the right people, in the right positions and then deciding on a plan of action. He acknowledges that although people are an important asset to the company, the right people are the crucial factors in becoming great. As a transition from buildup to breakthrough he emphasizes the importance of making the right decisions for the company as a whole, and this means confronting the harsh realities of their current situation. Collins makes the point that by confronting reality the right decisions will become clear, even if the company is not currently headed in the direction in which it has the potential to be the best.  To go from good-to-great a company must have an understanding of the three intersecting circles of the Hedgehog concept: what they are deeply passionate about, what drives their economic engine, and what they can be the best in world at. Collins suggests that the company’s understanding of these three circles is necessary if the company is to make the leap from good-to-great. Each chapter of the book is dedicated to explaining how all of these concepts play a role in the transformation process from good to great. Throughout the book, Collins compares and contrasts similar situations between the good-to-great companies and the comparison companies by analyzing the steps taken by each company that either lead to success or failure.

I think that Collins offers a great approach to management and leadership in Good to Great. Collin’s explanation of the transformation process offers new and interesting insight to the management and leadership fundamentals discussed in class. Collins notes that good-to-great companies have several similar characteristics of the process team or “new management” system.  He found that companies who redesigned their management systems using horizontal organization often became good-to-great companies. By flattening the hierarchy but not completely disregarding it, companies were able to effectively combine related tasks and get rid of irrelevant ones. Collins found that good-to-great companies also compiled management teams of the best people for the company and worked as team to become successful. For example, when David Maxwell, CEO of Fannie Mae, completely reorganized his management team, he hired whomever he thought was best for the position, including those who had previously been lower level employees. Assuming that employees in a company have multiple competencies, Maxwell demonstrates another characteristic of horizontal organization. In Good- to-Great Collins states, “Great management teams consist of people who debate vigorously in search of the best answers, yet who unify behind decisions, regardless of parochial interests.” The comparisons of the success and failures of the different companies made it relatively easy to understand the importance of a company’s management structure. After reading Good to Great, I have a better understanding of the management systems discussed in class and how each system can work differently for individual companies.

I would definitely recommend Good to Great by Jim Collins for other PR students to read. The way he explains the key concepts can be easily understood by people who aren’t necessarily business savvy.  Although the main focus of this book is how to become a good-to-great company from a management perspective, Collins also emphasizes the importance of public relations practices. The ideas and concepts explained in Good to Great gave me additional insight to the administrative side of how a company works, and as a PR student it is crucial to understand your company inside and out. Good to Great would be a beneficial book to read for any PR student because Collins talks about PR practices and how good management strategies are important to maintaining an effective relationship.

“How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In,” by Jim Collins

Reviewed by Bridgett Johnson

 

Jim Collins' management book How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In explains how even big successful corporations can crumble if they are not managed properly. On the second page, Collins recalls the famous empires of the world that fell. He says:

History shows, repeatedly, that the mighty can fall. The Egyptian Old Kingdom, the Chou Dynasty, the Hittite Empire—all fell. Athens fell. Rome fell. Even Britain, which stood a century before as a global superpower, saw its position erode. Is that the U.S.'s fate? Or will America always find a way to meet Lincoln's challenge to be the last best hope of Earth?

From the very beginning Collins draws the reader into the theory that America might not live on top of the capitalist world forever. Fortunately the book does not stop on page two and Collins leads the reader into hope that the current economy situation can be reversed. With the help of the quote – “Don’t try to come up with the right answers; focus on coming up with good questions" – from his mentor, Stanford professor Bill Lazier, Collins uses research to understand why leading companies seemingly in possession of every competitive advantage so often manage to fall from greatness or out of existence.

 

 Collins’ research shows that there are five stages of decline. According to the book, Stages One through Three are invisible from the outside because a company can look great on the outside but be failing from within. By the time a company hits Stage Four, things are certainly in turmoil. Even though the road to recovery is challenging, a company can recover and return to greatness as long as it avoids Stage Five. The five stages are:

• Hubris born of success: In this stage, success entitlement turns into arrogance, leaders neglect a primary flywheel, “what” replaces “why,” learning orientation declines, and the company refuses to see that luck might have been apart of their success.
• Undisciplined pursuit of more: In this stage, companies confuse size with greatness and therefore cause an unsustainable quest for growth. Another characteristic of this stage is the decline of having right people in their key seats.
• Denial of risk and peril: In this stage, the company starts to see that there is a problem, but denies that anything is wrong. Leaders take a positive view of the problems instead of attacking them head on. Communication between departments is becoming nonexistent and instead of taking full responsibility leaders point to external factors to affix blame.
• Grasping for salvation: In this stage, the company looks for some type of “miracle worker” to come in and save the corporation. Expectations are set very high and instead of settling for small results, the leaders of the company want big changes to be made fast. If results don’t happen in a hasty manner, great disappointment and confusion will follow.
• Capitulation to irrelevance or death: When all the resources are used and every measure has been taken, the company has no choice to sell out to someone else or give of the fight and dismantle. Of course this is the hardest stage for leaders, shareholders, managers, and employees.

After each stage, Collins sums up the chapter by setting out bullet points that tell the reader what problems to look for and how to avoid falling into each particular stage.

 

At the end of the book, Collins lays out his hope and advice for the future of the economy. He uses the life and accomplishments of Winston Churchill as an example of how decline can happen to the most charismatic leader but redemption is possible with time and effort.

   

I believe that the five steps outlined by Collins are a good representation of the concept of new management. Characteristics discussed in class about new management include: being flexible, fluid, decentralized, tied together by a shared vision and value, and communication between groups. Collins believes that the only way for a company to have true success lies within internal leadership and communication between the higher leaders and the lower employees. Collins’ five steps also follow closely with Peter Drucker’s five roles of management, which include: setting objectives, organizing, motivating, measuring, and developing people. Collins says that the CEO of a company should most likely be an internal person who has worked with or for the company for many years. This internal person is best fit for the position of CEO because she or he not only knows the failures, successes, and structures of the company but also knows which people are best sued for positions within the company. Preparing for success and failure outcomes is crucial to the survival of a company. The financial and communication problems many companies face can be avoided by listening to the steps and advice given by Collins.

 

I would definitely recommend How the Mighty Fall to public relations students because it uses research findings to explain and correct common problems made by big and small corporations. The book is a good and easy read that clearly outlines the main and important points from Collins study. The bulk of the book is not filled with complicated charts or graphs, but Collins does include several appendices at the end for those who want to review his research. No matter how stable or great an institution might be it is vulnerable to decline. Decline does not have to be a permanent state and usually there are many measures a company can take before it reaches a point of no return. PR practitioners have active roles in recovery of a company’s image after a financial situation. It is important for the PR department to work with the CEO and leaders to make sure that the employees and customers know the plan of action to escape from decline. One of Collins’ key points said that communication is key to resolving the existing issues within a failing corporation. Because PR is all about communication and relationships, it is useful to learn from this management book about how relationships work in the business world. 

“Leadership Jazz,” by Max DePree

Reviewed by Kaki Read

In “Leadership Jazz,” author Max DePree cunningly compares one’s leadership position to the complex task of conducting a jazz band:

Jazz band leaders must choose the music, find the right musicians, and perform—in public.  But the effect of the performance depends on so many things—the environment, the volunteers playing in the band, the need for everybody to perform as individuals and as a group, the absolute dependence of the leader on the members of the band […]. (DePree, 8-9)

The conductor’s role is complex and important, as is the leader’s in the eyes of both his followers and his community. DePree continues his insightful assessment throughout the text, highlighting four particular correlations that stand out in the reader’s mind—their similar need to implement servant leadership, to embrace diversity, to effectively communicate, and to responsibly delegate.

The first similarity is both the conductor’s and leader’s commitment to servant leadership, a multi-faceted activity that will not only improve the community’s opinion of its leader, but strengthen the leader’s opinion of him or herself. According to DePree, the leader must practice integrity, open doors for amateurs who need such access to learn and develop, and advocate individual creativity that, sometimes, unexpectedly produces the organization’s most valuable surprises.  Like a jazz conductor offering a solo to the beginning saxophone player, the leader must relinquish some of his own talents in order to showcase those standing upon the lower steps of the totem pole.   

Second among the jazz band and leadership similarities is the need for both entities to embrace diversity. According to Dictionary.com, jazz music combines, “various increasingly complex styles, generally marked by intricate, propulsive rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, improvisatory, virtuosic solos, melodic freedom, and a harmonic idiom ranging from simple diatonicism through chromaticism.” What characterizes this musical type is its unique combination of traditional, soulful, and modern sounds, creating a distinctive juxtaposition that somehow creates perfect harmony and has since made jazz a timeless genre. Leaders create similar harmony when hiring individuals of all personalities, demographics, ages, and academic specialties. DePree offered the example of a business executive faced with the opportunity to hire Leonardo da Vinci. Though balancing account books and analyzing stock exchanges may not have topped Da Vinci’s list of qualifications, what manager would pass the opportunity to one of history’s most brilliant creative thinkers? Embracing diversity, the path to a group’s true potential, offers organizations access to a world of exceptional possibilities. 

“One of the most sacred relationships is that between leaders and followers,” emphasizes DePree, which leads us to the third connection between commendable leadership skills and the successful jazz ensemble—successful leader/follower communication (126). Without an accomplished conductor swaying his hands in the proper motion, musicians would be lost. Similarly, a leader must clearly provide goals, objectives, rules, etc. in order for his employees to work efficiently. On the opposing end, an employee and member of the music group must inform his or her leader when communication is not presented effectively, or when hardships of which the leader may not be aware appear within the general staff. Management doors must remain open in order for both groups to progress toward both personal development and a promising future for the entire organization.

Finally, DePree insists that both the conductor and leader must delegate. Just as a conductor cannot satisfy an awaiting audience as he solely attempts to play one jazz instrument after another, a corporate executive cannot possibly manage a successful company without a few helping hands. As organizations become increasingly complex, delegation becomes more and more imperative. Sometimes, “hard-driving business managers are often suspicious to abandon themselves to the consequences of real delegation […],” DePree sighs, but “jazz-band leaders know it for what it is” (153). Egotism cannot impede upon one’s responsibility to outsource tasks; not only will delegation provide for more effective time management and more attention to detail, but it offers amateur employees requisite real-world experience. The author concludes his comparison describing how a leader must effectively delegate—first providing the task’s who, what, when, where, and why (leaving the how up to the recipient), second expressing high expectation for the resulting product, and third, and perhaps most importantly, exuding unwavering confidence in trust in the task recipient’s abilities. 

Does DePree offer an Effective Approach to Leadership?

DePree discusses several theories that coincide with those we have discussed in class, making me consider his leadership approach effective. Edward Deming’s “Fourteen Points” reappear throughout DePree’s writing; for example, Point Six, “Institute Training,” reiterates DePree’s belief that a leader should allow avenues for both managers and amateurs to develop, whether that involve “open-door policies,” delegating responsibility so that everyone gains real-world experience, or offering training programs that will improve both the quality of work and employee self-esteem. Both DePree and Deming insist that the learning process does not slow as one climbs the organization’s hierarchy.

Deming’s Eighth Point, to “Drive Out Fear,” coincides with another quality DePree puts on his final list of requisite leadership characteristics—“comfort with ambiguity” (224). DePree stresses that all organizations exhibit a degree of chaos, and that the leader is responsible for honing that chaos (224). A successful leader channels such chaos into a steady pulse that breathes life into the work environment.

Diversity, another theme DePree considers requisite for successful leadership, was similarly suggested by our recent guest speaker, who deems that the inclusive practice breeds progress. Statistics reiterate this theory; for example, fortune 500 companies with women serving on the executive board have proven more successful. As our speaker suggested, diversity is a proven beneficiary and should not be a superficial goal, but should be a priority to “improve the critical mass where all viewpoints are welcome.” Because DePree emphasized these theories in conjunction with other scholars, I consider his leadership approach valid.

Would I Recommend this Text to Other PR Students?

Although I found his final few paragraphs helpful, as a whole, DePree’s book was unorganized, somewhat typical, and bogged-down with wordy language that made the reading process repetitive. Firstly, the text was not organized properly. I started reading the material expecting (from the title) it to be a thorough comparison between jazz and leadership. I also expected DePree to outline that objective in the introductory chapter, as well as provide a thoughtful definition of the jazz music genre. Rather, his comparison was only briefly addressed and then revisited sporadically throughout the book. I was never sure where DePree’s message was headed next, or if he had a unique objective that made his message different from any other scholar

Each of DePree’s chapters conveyed an important message; however each could have been stated in a more concise manner. DePree’s personal convictions, work stories from Herman Miller, and stories illustrating life experiences were exceptionally interesting, but his lists and other suggestions were repetitious. I would not think his book worth reading again, nor do I think it a vital source for leaders in complex positions; however, I would suggest that those entering a leadership position skim Leadership Jazz for its basic, helpful tips and empowering message.