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Title: Winning through Innovation: A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal by Charles A. O'Reilly III, Michael L. Tushman ISBN: 1578518210 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: June, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6
Rating: 2
Summary: The message is reasonable but overhyped.
Comment: This book exemplifies the business of the Harvard Business School. It draws snippets from many case studies (available for purchase separately), it ties into seminars and tailored sessions sold at fancy prices to industry, and it presents one of several competing but overlapping theories of what divides successful and unsuccessful companies. It is often compared with Clayton Christensen's book "The Innovator's Dilemma" (obliquely referenced in the preface, but not appearing in the index or bibliography), and indeed both deal with the question of how established companies deal with technologies (in the loosest sense) that change markets. Of the two, I vastly prefer Christensen's book because he tells coherent stories that reach conclusions. This book introduces situations without enough detail to get a true feel for what is going on. In one extreme case ("... John Torrance at Medtek ...", p. 61), a reference is introduced that has no antecedent. The authors of books in this genre like to name drop to show you how broad and deep is their knowledge; therefore you should regard their version of gospel as more credible than their rivals. (How about a case sometime on business school professors?) There are "figures" and "tables" which I suspect are PowerPoint pastes from their lectures. Some of them are referenced (weakly) in the text -- most of them have no direct connection to the exposition. In short, the book gives the impression of being slapped together in haste. For the most part, it is well edited -- a few punctuation lapses notwithstanding. But it needed more editing for content. The table on page 13 says that the "Winchester" company fell victim to its success in disk drives, but the term "Winchester disk" refers not to a company but the code name of a very succesful product prior to its announcement. (Cf. http://www.....htm among other similar web references.) On page 163 they say that IBM lost key control to Intel and Microsoft by betting on the wrong PC design. The conclusion is true, but has nothing whatever to do with the false premise. Now these are all throwaway lines in the book, but they undermine the credibility of the main argument. As an earlier reviewer here put it, the book is about five chapters too long, again, I suspect, because it was produced in haste in order to sell to HBS program participants and in order to get on to the next piece of work. For those who haven't been exposed to the basic ideas (e.g., culture matters), it may well be invaluable, but it ain't the one, true gospel.
Rating: 2
Summary: 5 Chapters Too Many
Comment: Captivating stories. Could have reduced the length of the book by 5 or so chapters to avoid repeating the same concepts.
Rating: 5
Summary: The greatest business book I have ever read
Comment: I read many business books - from Drucker to Peters, etc., but this one is very insightful, practical, and easy to follow! One day I will own my own business and this book will be by my side!
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Title: The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary National Bestseller That Changed The Way We Do Business by Clayton M. Christensen ISBN: 0066620694 Publisher: HarperBusiness Pub. Date: 02 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations by John P. Kotter, Dan S. Cohen ISBN: 1578512549 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Evolve! : Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow by Rosabeth Moss Kanter ISBN: 1578514398 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: February, 2001 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation by James M. Utterback ISBN: 0875847404 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Leading the Revolution: How to Thrive in Turbulent Times by Making Innovation a Way of Life by Gary Hamel ISBN: 0452283248 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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