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Title: Mean Business: How I Save Bad Companies and Make Good Companies Great by Albert J. Dunlap, Bob Andelman, Mahaney, Bob Adelman, John (Editor) Mahaney ISBN: 0812928377 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 1996 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.29
Rating: 5
Summary: Leadership combined with Common Sense
Comment: Coporate America is filled with non-leaders who can't make decisions. Al Dunlap's common sense direct approach to solving problems is refreshing. If you look at many new successful companies today (i.e Mindspring, Amazon) you will find that they are practicing "Mean Business". They keep costs low, tie employee compensation to company stock, make lightning fast decisions and keep their operations streamlined. They attach less value to a college degree than to ability and work ethic. They don't lay-off people because they don't bloat themselves up to begin with. They also don't build unnecessary opulent corporate headquarters. By following "Mean Business", they kick the crap out of the competition. If you want to succeed, read this book. These principles can be applied at any level.
Rating: 5
Summary: This book is a study of a great manager in one situation.
Comment: Having read many reviews of the book, I began it thinking it would be everything that I do not believe in. I was wrong. Al Dunlop's style is not one I admire, approve of or emulate. However, as a straight cost cutter there is probably no one better. The problem is that after cuttiing costs, most businesses want to stay alive and grow. When Mr. Dunlop is finished, there is only a business to sell. Through Share Price Growth 100, we now know that there are ways to significantly grow stock price, have very happy shareholders and manage costs as a core competency. We can now have very happy shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the communities in which our businesses operate. There are now real 2,000 percent solutions to most business stalls.
Rating: 3
Summary: Great at Exposing Stalled Thinking: Weak for Best Results
Comment: I find it challenging to review this book, because it has some outstanding points in it. At the same time, the author's philosophy is one that I strongly diagree with based on many years of consulting experience and research. Whenever Mr. Dunlap is talking about the procrastination, wishful thinking, and "do nothing" approach of the managements he followed, Mr. Dunlap is superb. I have met some of these people, and also found their management styles to be deficient. Management has responsiblity to look, listen, and sense how well it is serving its customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, and the communities the company services. Having diagnosed what needs to be done, good management then does something effective to make a change. Then management monitors the results and keeps making changes, until the correct outcomes follow. The people who preceded Mr. Dunlap seemed to have lived in a fairy tale world of reorganizing the internal perceptions and jobs, but doing little to affect the world external to the corporation. To anyone who wants to see how management can delude itself, Mr. Dunlap has given us valuable case histories. On the other hand, I think he is totally wrong in putting shareholders first (even if we assume that shareholders deserve a greater reward than any other stakeholder group). My experience has been that shareholders make much more money (near-term and long-term) when all stakeholder groups prosper. For example, you can make more money for shareholders by creating better products and services than you can by just reducing costs in the near-term. Our research has shown that the vast majority of companies that do large cost reductions like those Mr. Dunlap has done underperform the stock market compared to industry peers (and the market averages) after 18 months has passed. I think Mr. Dunlap was wise to sell his businesses as soon as possible after the cost reductions were over. A different management style was then needed to create longer-term and larger prosperity for shareholders. I, too, have worked in the paper industry (as a consultant) and I find the same principles apply in paper as elsewhere: There are ways to create more for everyone. But first, you have to look for them. In his haste, I fear that Mr. Dunlap has missed seeing the larger opportunity for his investors. For example, the best reason to achieve a higher stock price is to then use that stock price to create even more advantages for the shareholders (such as buying new resources less expensively, having more financial flexibility to pursue opportunities, and growing earnings and cash flow faster). If you would like to know more about this point, read my article in the Fall 1998 issue of DIRECTORS & BOARDS called "The Benefits of Having a Higher Stock Price."
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Title: Chainsaw: The Notorious Career of Al Dunlap in the Era of Profit-At-Any-Price by John A. Byrne ISBN: 0066619807 Publisher: HarperBusiness Pub. Date: 1999 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Harvard Business Review on Turnarounds by Harvard Business Review ISBN: 1578516366 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 15 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Principles of Scientific Management by Frederick Winslow Taylor ISBN: 0486299880 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 1998 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: I Feel Great and You Will Too!: An Inspiring Journey of Success with Practical Tips on How to Score Big in Life by Pat Croce ISBN: 074322213X Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 18 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Corporate Turnaround: How Managers Turn Losers into Winners by Donald B. Bibeault ISBN: 1893122026 Publisher: Beard Group Pub. Date: 1998 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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