Handbook of Entrepreneurship (Blackwell Handbooks in Management)

Book Description

Entrepreneurship studies have suffered from misleading and inaccurate information in the past that makes it hard to separate the myths from realities. By identifying some crucial issues that need to be resolved, and by discussing what past analytical errors may have occurred, this book makes a significant contribution towards enhancing our overall understanding of the entrepreneurial process.The Handbook of Entrepreneurship brings together the best researchers in the USA and Europe to review the most up-to-date thinking on the most crucial topics in entrepreneurship studies. It is the first book to combine the research activities of Europe and the United States, and reflects cutting-edge research with a multicultural perspective.The 21 chapters in the Handbook have been written by 28 experts representing a entrepreneurial Who's Who. The chapters are grouped into four major sections:Public Policy, which examines the different contexts in which businesses operate around the world.Growth which looks at the theoretical perspectives and issues of growth, the impact of entrepreneurial teams and strategic alliances, and the management of transition and rapid growth.Finance which covers the broader issues of financing growth, formal and informal venture capital, and initial public offerings.Strategy/Research Methods which provides an overview of current European and North American research methods and identifies further research needs.

Customer Reviews:

opened my eyes.......2001-10-10

I didn't even know what the heck "entrepreneurship" meant before I read this book. It's kind of a long word and I don't have a very good, like, vocabulary. Geez, I even had to look at the title to see how to spell it here.

See, I didn't learn how to read until I was about 10 years old. I was always the "dumb one", you know? So as soon as I could muster up the courage, I skeedadled to South Carolina because I "fit in" here. The real reason I even bought this book is because when somebody saw me carrying it around, they knew that I had got some learnin. It's a big book, and if you want to impress your co-workers, I highly suggest that you carry it around with you and throw around the word, "entrepreurship" a lot. So as you can tell, this is a good book to buy. The end.

One Entrepreneurial Book About Entrepreneurship.......2000-12-04

When I first sat down to read this book, I was pretty sure I would fall asleep within seconds of starting it. How do I know this: I always fall asleep when I read books about entrepreneurship and I also have a case of narcolepsy. This being said; I was pleasantly suprised that I read it cover to cover in just one setting. I was like "Dizang" (Of course, I speak facetiously. I actually said "Wow".) There is so much about the field of entrepreneurship that I did not know. Who knew SME stood for "small and moderate sized enterprises". Let me tell you, I do now. Little nuggets of wisdom such as this one await to be mined from this book with ease and without the use of nitro, pick axe, or migrant workers.

The only bad portion of the book was that there was no article concerning the term "entrepreneurship". I think it would have been nice to have seen the orgins of the word and how it relates to the current state of the field. I would also like to see why no entrepreneur has entrepreneured a short word for entrepreneurship. I think there is money to made in this field for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit. Let us face it the word is just to long to use that often. I make the following suggestions: money-makership, bill-bankership, and ching-chingship.

I agree with all the statements of Colonel Alan about the quality of this book. Che Sara, Sara. Viva Entrepreneurship.

A utterly delightful handbook.......2000-10-25

I have been making excessive use of "The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship" of late. I have to say, this is the finest handbook of entrepreneurship I have ever come across. I am a consummate student of entrepreneurship and I have often grappled with the trouble of carrying four, five, sometimes even ten books on the subject with me at one time. My back was aching and my arms were tired. Now that I have discovered "The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship", this is no longer a problem - all the entrepreneurship I need in one convenient package! Marvelous!

They are all here: Dennis De's "SME Policy in Europe", Barley and Stockley's "Entrepreneurial Teams and Venture Growth" , Bengt Johannisson's "Networking and Entrepreneurial Growth", and of course the all time favorite, "Conceptual and Empirical Challenges in the Study of Firm Growth" by Per Davidsson and Johan Wiklund! In other words, all the modern classics that the modern innovator needs.

Because I feel so strongly about "The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship", I wish to lend it my strongest endorsement. It has proved to be a tremendous help for me in my research. Kudos! Bravo! Good Show! Amore! Hooray! Right On! Je Temme! Yo La Tengo! Encore!

Average customer rating:
BLACKWELL HANDBOOK OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SEXTON Landstrom
Manufacturer: BLACKWELL PUBLISHERS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5CCJE

Book Description

Distance education is nowadays widely offered by fully-fledged distance teaching universities (DTUs), by conventional mainstream universities and by many professional and educational establishments. Its importance in higher education is likely to grow in the coming decades with the enhancement of universal access to universities, and in the face of decreasing student-faculty ratios, continuous cuts in government funding, and the growing importance of concurrent lifelong education for personal and professional development. International in scope, this volume compares the emergence and growth of autonomous DTUs in five higher education systems: the UK, Spain, Germany, Canada and Israel. An innovative cluster of each DTU in its national context is constructed, and the subtle and intricate relations and tensions between distance and campus universities, and the impact they have on each other are examined. One of the major thrusts of the book is to analyse the divergences between the different DTUs, all of which have been based declaratively on the UK Open University model. Future directions of both DTUs and conventional universities are projected and elaborated. The existent trends indicate that in the coming decades the boundaries between distance and conventional higher education will become more and more blurred. Paradoxically, both collaboration and competition between distance and campus universitites will grow in the future.

Customer Reviews:

A very good book on QA for UML Based projects.......2004-05-23

This is a substantially well researched book that was helpful to me as I looked for non-prescriptive material on quality. There are several books on quality and testing directly dealing with how to do it, without going through the theory and background of why. I found this book extremely helpful in setting the scene for quality. A must read for team leaders and project managers dealing with quality.

Very, very disappointing.......2004-02-24

This book is nothing more than a poorly written re-hash of the work of others.

The book ignores many key influences on quality. For example, there is very little discussion of requirements management, or the development and management of real test suites. There is no real discussion of testing tools. There is also virtually no discussion of real problems that affect testing (e.g. scope changes or loss of information). Much of the information in the book is theoretical, and borrowed from elsewhere. Apart from that, the processes are heavyweight, and not suited to the efficient execution of real software projects.

It's a very dull book, and the author's self congratulatory tone soon becomes irritating. Needless to say, I was very disappointed.

Do yourself a favour and buy a real book on QA!

Practising Quality Professional's Viewpoint.......2003-06-20

As a quality manager employed at a very large global IT Player organization, I immensely appreciated the value of this book. I like the practical approach adopted by the author.

I especially liked the conceptual framework provided to levels of quality (Section 1.3); often these aspects are not realized as most of the time the industry emphasis seems to be on code quality only. Other particularly appreciated sections are: connection of modeling with quality (1.5), Re-use patterns (1.9), Quality Management (2.1) and Process Architecture for Quality (Chapter 3) We have used some of the quality techniques/ approaches that the author has suggested his book.

The author has a great sense of humour which he deploys while expalaining abstract concepts. This puts the reader at ease. His grip on the UML methodology comes out clearly in this book. I have read the other books from the same author and feel that he has an exemplenary style.

In all, I'd strongly recommend this book to all interested in software quality as a topic.

A realistic approach to quality assurance.......2003-06-17

Being so long in the software development field, I have always been fascinated by the quality process. Up until I read Dr. Unhelkar's book, I always considered the quality process in software projects, to be "a knack". After reading this book, I am convinced that there is definitely a scientific method to the quality assurance, which every project manager or developer should adopt. The concepts covered in the book touch the human aspects of the quality process. The book provides a good mix of theory and practice. A must read for all software professionals.

Methodology with feet on the ground.......2003-06-10

In any methodology or method, too much or too little method (generally the former) can be self-defeating. Bhuvan's "PQA for UML Projects" provides a unique perspective on the human dimension to an otherwise dull world of "process", "quality" and for that matter UML.

True practioner's insight is proven by the fact that the book recognises that a methodology imposed without human or social consideration is destined for failure. To that end, the book leverages "role play", "scene setting" and "enacting the quality process" - with transactional analysis as foundation. These form the fibre of the whole book.

There is full coverage of concepts and scenarios - with rigourous depth and breadth -- viz. role of models (not the kind in glossy magazines ;-)) in defining quality, full SDLC, increased focus on architecture in line with the state of industry, estimation and metrics, outsourcing, application to CMM maturity assessments; and finally testing gets a substantial coverage with one 3rd of the book devoted to it.

My favourite will have to be Part II - "Organising and Enacting the Process of Quality", with its discussion of project sociology, a full ten pages on "transactional analysis in software projects". It shows Bhuvan's own long innings in the software development industry and how he has enjoyed the turmoil. Author's passion and rigour in defining and implementing a process is evident. Overall, the book communicates an attitude to organising and management of software projects - balancing rigour of process, quality and UML modelling with the human, organisational and social dimension.

I found the deliverable templates and project definitions quite useful - though these will need to be customised according the focus of specific project viz. outsourcing, distributed systems - i.e. areas of complexity will need to be expanded.

Overall the book provides a big "leg up" in getting large projects using UML off the ground and then internalising the developed process towards a greater CMM maturity level.

As a suggestion, I would have liked a graphical or tabular representation of the structure of the material in the book - so that I can navigate easily. It is described in text, but it becomes a bit hard to hold it in mind, given the range of dimensions covered.

Customer Reviews:

Easy, Interesting Read.......2001-12-06

Seemed to get to the heart of leadership: know your goal, provide a vision, connect with your people. I liked the treatment of empathy. The author gives practical advice on how to communicate so that people want to listen. I enjoyed the description of how people blame others.

Excellent Leadership and Management Primer.......2001-03-17

This book covers some of the key tenents all managers and/or leaders need to develop in order to make life as pleasant and successful for all involved.

Key principles here will help you in many facets of your life; certainly in ways I didn't expect.

Best of all, it is an easy read and that you can finish over the weekend.

Book Description

The second edition of this guide to Adam Smith's system of thought has been fully updated to reflect recent developments in Smith scholarship and Professor Skinner's experience of teaching Smith to a student audience. The material from the first edition has been extensively rewritten, and four new chapters have been added, covering Smith's essays on the exercise of human understanding, and his relationship to Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, and Sir James Steuart. Professor Skinner places Smith's system of social, and moral, science firmly within the context of contemporary British and Continental intellectual history, dealing in particular detail with the founders of the Scottish Enlightenment and with the French Physiocrats. A close reading of a broad range of texts, supported by a deep knowledge of contemporary institutional history, suggests the patters of their influence through the various recensions of Smith's extant works. The essays similarly explore Smith's own reception among his peers and successors. The essays in this volume have been developed from Professor Skinner's lecture course on `The Age and Ideas of Adam Smith', taught to senior undergraduate and graduate students in political economy. Their relevance extends out to students of economic history, philosophy, and the history of ideas in the eighteenth century, as well as to all those involved in the study of Adam Smith. Each essay can be read as a self-contained unit, supported by a full bibliography and notes; the book as a whole expounds a single coherent argument which demonstrates how Smith's works are inter-related.

A System of Social Science. Papers Relating to Adam Smith.

Average customer rating:

A System of Social Science. Papers Relating to Adam Smith.
Andrew S.: SKINNER
Manufacturer: Clarendon Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OL8IPY

Book Description

Align employee goals with organizational objectives! Development planning can be tough. You want to ensure that employees are satisfied, but you also want to confirm that they're contributing to the organization. How can you balance these objectives?For many organizations, development planning is haphazard and has little business rationale. This unique guide is the first to tie employee learning objectives to business goals. The Manager's Guide shows you and your managers how to establish a development plan with your employees.

The Employee Workbook, when used in conjunction with the Manager's Guide, provides your employees with worksheets and helpful hints that they will use throughout the year to track and measure their development.

The Group Facilitation Guide enables you to conduct a development workshop with large groups, or to conduct an orientation session that would precede organization-wide application of these tools.

When you present Strategic Employee Development to your managers and supervisors, they'll discover the answers to their performance review questions and learn how to make this powerful package work for them.

You'll use this systematic approach to stimulate increased organizational productivity and profitability. Employees will thrive on the real-life, logically structured development framework. No more worrying about what to say and what to do--harness the power of performance appraisal!

Use this comprehensive system to:

Sharpen the focus of employee development
Provide a basis for employee evaluation
Contribute to employee satisfaction . . . and much more!

Average customer rating:

THE how-to book on advertising for small business.

Do-It-Yourself Advertising, Direct Mail, and Publicity: Ready-To-Use Templates, Worksheeets, and Samples for Creating Ads, Direct Mail Pieces, Press Releases, ... Promotional Items (Adams Business Advisor)
Sarah White , John Woods , and John A. Woods
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Public Relations | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1558504885

Customer Reviews:

THE how-to book on advertising for small business........1996-05-16

This book provides detailed how-to information on advertising using the following media: print (newspapers, magazines, brochures, outdoor), radio, television, direct mail, as well as gaining free publicity and creating your own look for your letterhead, business cards, etc. Every chapter includes all you need to know, with precise instructions, examples, and templates for planning (scheduling, budgeting, determining the best medium to achieve your goals). It also includes chapters on planning your advertising program. If you want to take advantage of advertising to increase the sales of your business, this is the book you need

Do-It-Yourself Publicity: For Those Too Cheap or Too Broke to Hire a Publicist

Average customer rating:

Purchase Now
Great Book for Businesspeople, talent and professionals
MUST BUY!
Entertaining yet very informative!

Do-It-Yourself Publicity: For Those Too Cheap or Too Broke to Hire a Publicist
Phyllis Caddell-M
Manufacturer: Lithobit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Public Relations | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Success | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 097707451X

Product Description

A current PR book at "The College of Aspiring Artists," the how-to book is designed to provide the fundamentals of public relations and publicity in order to effectively launch a publicity and/or media relations campaign. It will explain and help the reader understand the dynamics of structuring a biography and press release, to pitching and understanding the media, and will reveal the frustration, joy and understanding of being or becoming a Do-It-Yourself publicist.

Customer Reviews:

Purchase Now.......2006-06-30

I purchased this book with a lot of expectations and almost every expectation was met. As an upcoming artist who is also in the beginning stages of her Marketing career, this book gave me just about everything I need to step into the industry with confidence. I really look forward to implementing everything that was stated as the CD comes to it's completion. There was a step by step guide and even examples in the back of the book, which were most helpful.

Thanks Phyllis for sharing. I really do appreciate it.

Great Book for Businesspeople, talent and professionals.......2006-06-08

Great book, well written and wonderfully user-friendly. Caddell-M generously shares time-honored techniques for creating a successful publicity plan. She has written an easy to read and digest book that covers all of the important points. Along with providing clear definitions and straight forward templates for letters, publicity plans, timelines etc. Caddell-M is witty and enjoyable to read. Every business and professional person could benefit from this easy-to-read book that borders on being a textbook without alot of boring useless dribble. Even if you can afford to hire a high-priced publicist, this book gives you the foundation of information that every person should have before embarking on a publicity program. A must-read with must-have tips.

MUST BUY!.......2006-05-17

This book is so very informative, and entertaining.
Caddell-M creatively takes the reader on an informative journey
through the odds and ends of publicity and all
that it entails, without feeling as though the reading is mandatory.
An easy informative read.

THANK YOU!

Entertaining yet very informative!.......2006-05-10

This book is for anyone interested in implementing their own publicity campaign for their business or service or anyone interested in becoming a publicist. It explains the basic PR fundamentals in a fun and interesting way and provides you wilth just enough information to get you going.

It's a much needed book!

Handbook of Radio Publicity and Promotion

Average customer rating:

Handbook of Radio Publicity and Promotion
Jack Macdonald , and Curtis R. Holsopple
Manufacturer: Tab Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0830633901

Average customer rating:

Do it Yourself Publicity
David F. Ramacitti
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0517136198
Release Date: 1994-11-21

Average customer rating:

Do-It-Yourself Publicity Directory
Lynne Palmer
Manufacturer: Amer Federation of Astrologers Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Directories | Catalogs & Directories | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0866902740

Getting Publicity: A Do-It-Yourself Guide for Small Business and Non-Profit Groups

Average customer rating:

Getting Publicity - Publicize Your Way To Profits

Getting Publicity: A Do-It-Yourself Guide for Small Business and Non-Profit Groups
Tana Fletcher , and Julia Rockler
Manufacturer: Self Counsel Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

English (British) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 088908890X

Customer Reviews:

Getting Publicity - Publicize Your Way To Profits.......2005-02-05

If you dream of getting publicity for your business, you organization, or yourself, you need this book. Step-by-step instructions illustrate just what it takes to attract media attention to any enterprise. The authors, both award-winning journalists, show how to make the most of every opportunity for free coverage in the print and broadcast media, and how to handle the resulting interviews with ease.

Regardless of your budget or your background, with this book you can learn how to sparkle in the media spotlight. Aimed specifically at individuals and organizations whose ambitions are bigger than their bankrolls, Getting Publicity emphasizes low-cost, do-it-yourself promotional strategies. Filled with inexpensive and practical tips for capitalizing on the power of publicity, this comprehensive guide includes suggestions on everything from preparing press kits to appearing on television. In addition, several advanced publicity skills are simplified, including how to become a sought-after speaker, when to hold a news conference, and why it's important to maintain positive media relationships.

Among the many topics presented, you will learn:

* How to prepare your publicity materials for maximum impact

* Which types of activities attract the most attention

* Who to contact at the media

* Where to find opportunities for free media coverage

* What you can do to pyramid upon previous publicity

* How to look and sound your best in interview situations

* Why you need a permanent publicity plan

At the time of publication:

Tana fletcher is an editor,lecturer and writer with more than one thousand published articles to her credit. In addition to conducting workshops on "getting publicity", she is the author of several newspaper and magazine columns covering a variety of subjects including real estate, small business, and household management.

Julia Rockler is a television journalist who has been a reporter and news anchor across North America - from Anchorage, Alaska to Washington D.C. She was awarded a William Benton Fellowship in broadcast journalism at the University of Chicago and currently operates The Washington Bureau, a television news service in Washington D.c.

Average customer rating:

How To Do It Yourself Church Publicity
William Lessel
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QTR0GC

How to Do Public Relations : A Do It Yourself Guide to Successful Publicity and Promotions

Average customer rating:

How to Do Public Relations : A Do It Yourself Guide to Successful Publicity and Promotions
Candy Tymson
Manufacturer: Millenium
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0855748753

How to Get Free Press: A Do It Yourself Guide to Promote Your Interests, Organization or Business

Average customer rating:

How to Get Free Press: A Do It Yourself Guide to Promote Your Interests, Organization or Business
Toni Delacorte
Manufacturer: Putnam Pub Group (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

The Perfect Sales Piece: A Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Creating Brochures, Catalogs, Fliers, and Pamphlets (Small Business Series)

Average customer rating:

Robert W. Bly told me exactly what I needed to know

The Perfect Sales Piece: A Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Creating Brochures, Catalogs, Fliers, and Pamphlets (Small Business Series)
Robert W. Bly
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0471004030

Book Description

Everything you need to Design it, Plan it, Budget it, and Produce it—Yourself! How do successful entrepreneurs, freelancers, and others put the look, the feel, and the message they want to deliver into great sales and advertising literature? Successful advertising consultant and bestselling author Robert W. Bly knows the answer. He walks you through every phase, from deciding on the type of sales literature you need, to writing, designing, illustrating, and printing it. He delivers hundreds of helpful tips with first-rate examples—both works-in-progress and finished products. Whether you need a simple offset flier or a full-color, multipage corporate brochure, this is your one-stop source for the perfect sales piece. Learn how to:

Set production schedules and budgets and stick to them
Hire and communicate with writers, designers, and printers
Use the latest desktop publishing technologies
Fold, bind, and lay out your brochure with appropriate typefaces and visual aids
Cope with special problems such as: addressing multiple markets, multistep sales cycles, finding a unifying theme for disparate products, introducing new products or services
Manage an ongoing promotional literature program

Customer Reviews:

Robert W. Bly told me exactly what I needed to know.......1997-08-27

This book is an excellent guide for the novice who needs to know how to plan, design, and write a sales brochure for his/ her business. I used it to learn the basics, which I used to produce two sales brochures that greatly pleased the clients: one a non-profit and the other a growing hi-tech firm. Start with this one. It's very good indeed

Average customer rating:

Excellent white paper hidden in a 250-page book

Timely and accurate

Learning From the Failure of Others

Kudos

The Best Kind of Management Book: Practical and Research-Based

Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes
Sydney Finkelstein
Manufacturer: Portfolio Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Motivation & Self-Improvement | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Organizational Behavior | Business Management | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Why CEO's Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb to the Top and How to Manage Them

Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How To Do It Right

Corporate Communication

The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell

Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters

ASIN: 1591840457
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Book Description

It's an all too common scenario: A great company breaks from the pack; the analysts are in love, the smiling CEO appears on the cover of BusinessWeek and Fortune, the stock soars. Two years later, the company is in flames, the CEO is under attack, and the stock has tanked.

Why does this sort of thing keep happening at respectable companies like Motorola, Quaker, and Sony, all of which have very smart, hard-working senior executives? And how can you tell if it's about to happen at your own company?

Why Smart Executives Fail answers these and many more crucial questions. Sydney Finkelstein, a distinguished professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, carried out a six-year study of leadership failure, the largest of its kind. After hundreds of interviews with insiders at top companies that got into major trouble—such as GM, Mattel, and RiteAid—Finkelstein figured out the common causes behind failures in wildly different types of companies. He explains “the seven habits of spectacularly unsuccessful people” that drive smart managers to make catastrophic mistakes.

As much about psychology as it is about business, Why Smart Executives Fail tells the stories of more than fifty great business disasters and includes exclusive interviews with many of their leaders, in which they explain what really led to their disastrous decisions.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent white paper hidden in a 250-page book.......2007-07-09

There is much to praise in Finkelstein's book. Particularly effective are the stories he tells about executive or organizational hubris, the detailed case studies of slow-motion disasters that in hindsight seem unthinkable, but at the time convinced thousands (or hundreds of thousands, if you count investors and analysts) as steadiness of vision and strategy.

Less useful is the book's attempts to apply a version of scientific inquiry to those case studies in order to generate a series of rules (or at least probabilities and their corollaries). The bottom lines are, or should have been: don't assume that a history of success grants you the right to dictate the future, don't ignore front-line or market feedback, and don't assume that your IQ automatically translates into business success. Rather than stating these points, Finkelstein works a little too hard to turn each of his observations into actionable essays. That starts a cycle of repetitions and rather bland generalizations that doesn't help his reader become more effective.

Sticking to the basic stories is what works best in this book, and Finkelstein's writing, interviews and on-the-spot analysis is a strength.

Finally, having just been through a stretch in my own company where a group of highly educated and intelligent executives parachuted in from their former senior-level roles at a major global consultancy, and then proceeded to fumble and bumble and nearly destroy the organization with a 24-month string of almost laughably bad bright ideas, I kept thinking of Finkelstein's title. While those now ex-colleagues are enoying their severance checks, I hope they'll consent to being interviewed for Finkelstein's next edition.

Timely and accurate.......2007-07-04

Finkelstein really came through with a winner in this book. This book was recommended by a guest speaker in a B school class I was taking (she herself an executive) and I really enjoyed reading it. You hear about stories like this anecdotally from time to time but to have the whole story, background behind it and then clear and concise analysis makes it well worth the read. I would recommend this to anyone working in business.

Learning From the Failure of Others.......2007-03-10

I found this book to be right on the mark for answering the hard questions that form that title of this book. There is a conventional thought process that smart people in business should not fail especially when they have a remarkable track record. Smart companies should not fail for the the same reason. But we all know they do. This book give important insight in to the psychology of corporate/organizational failure due in a large part to the failure of top level management. It is definitely a must read for MBA students and should be a requirement for managers at all levels.

Kudos.......2006-10-27

Thank you Prof. Finkelstein foresearching and writing this book. Many of us will be saved from the classic mistakes yo udentify in this work. Your years educating students at Dartmouth are evident in the clear manner in which you present your information.

The Best Kind of Management Book: Practical and Research-Based.......2006-10-15

Finkelstein is known for being a consummate academic, producing first-rate research on the topic of CEOs, Top Management Teams, M&A, Boards, and Succession issues. However, this book demonstrates that he is also someone who can write a compelling management book with many practical take-aways.

What separates this book from others I have seen is the serious, original, 6 years worth of research that preceded it. The findings of "Why Smart Executives Fail" are presented in a very easy-to-understand way, with compelling stories and anecdotes.

There are many management books laden with opinions, but what are they worth if there has been no research done to find out if their suggestions actually lead to success? There are also many books heavy on theory, preventing any of their wisdom from being accessible enough to act upon. In my opinion, this is the best type of management book that strikes a balance in the middle.

"Why Smart Executives Fail" will show you how to better learn from failures and insulate yourself from steering your company in the wrong direction, as well as the right behaviors to exhibit that will help you be more successful.

Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes.(Book Review): An article from: American Economist

Average customer rating:

Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes.(Book Review): An article from: American Economist
Kathleen Park
Manufacturer: Omicron Delta Epsilon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00081XCOC
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Economist, published by Omicron Delta Epsilon on September 22, 2004. The length of the article is 1146 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes.(Book Review)
Author: Kathleen Park
Publication: American Economist (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2004
Publisher: Omicron Delta Epsilon
Volume: 48 Issue: 2 Page: 95(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books