Co-manager

This book tells the story of Dalton, Georgia, and how the textile mill led to its development. It is a very detailed look at the townspeople and their struggles throughout a century. It provides a unique and perceptive view of the South's economic and social transformation beginning during the aftermath of the Civil War and continuing with the rise of technology into the Reagan years.

Managers & Mantras is a superb account of a company's struggle with the outside influences of consultants, B-school management theory, and stock market analysts.

Butler and Keary trace the progression of Inchcape plc from its beginnings as a shipping/trading company, to its establishment as an "international marketing, services and distribution group", to its current form as an automotive services group. The transformation of the company from a diversified conglomerate to a de-mergered, focused business comprises the majority of the book, and with good intent. During this time the management of Inchcape looked to the top consulting firms and business schools for advice and assistance in order to both become successful and maintain a good standing with the stock market analysts.

An amazing amount of personal insight and detail is provided in the descriptions of the company's efforts to define itself, its mission, and its future direction.

Managers & Mantras does not read like any other business book on the shelves. I was swept into it from the first chapter because it tells a compelling story while at the same time provides many first-hand lessons of the pitfalls of a firm's adherance to the fashionable management theory of the day (the 'mantras' of the title).

I thoroughly enjoyed Managers & Mantras and I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to gain insight into the practical application of management theory.

Participating as a senior manager in my first large merger (Prudential/Wachovia), I found this book a helpful guide. It is a bit of a primer, so it will probably not appeal to old M&A hands; however, any MBA can tell you about discounted cash flow analysis, but few CEOs have mastered the art and science of integration, which is the focus of this book.

The glamor is in the deal making: late nights with the lawyers and bankers. But most (most!) mergers fail to yield their expected value because the unglamorous job of integration is largely ignored during the deal and often mishandled afterwards.

Schweiger's theme is that integration is paramount to ultimate success and it must begin at or before valuation and due diligence, and it must be integrally woven into every step and every process.

The book is readable, logically organized and helpful.

As David Schweiger is the first to admit, M&A activity often turns out to be a source of value only to shareholders in the acquired company. In other words, it is much easier to put a value on potential synergies, increased market share and cost-savings than it is to capture any of these items. This book, written with both pragmatic bottom-line sense as well as compassion for the millions of employees affected by M&As each year, offers an extremely practical guide to capturing that elusive value. M&A can be a bad case of the Emperor having no clothes - a strategy based upon benefits that simply won't ever materialise, something the individual memebers of the crowd may be able to see perfectly well but which they would never dare to admit. Here is an alternative to the cynicism that often accompanies M&A; following Schweiger's methodology might just end with the Emperor being more than halfway decent... There is also an excellent guide to personal survival in an uncertain corporate world. Every manager should have a copy.

Straight from over thirty of today's most innovative CEOs come the ideas that are reshaping and reinvigorating the modern corporation-written exclusively for this book. Straight from the CEO is a major work, because the world rarely hears directly from the great contemporary business leaders-the chief movers and shakers of major corporations. Working closely with the Price Waterhouse management team, a wide variety of chief executives who are successfully managing today's rapid pace of economic change present their ideas about leading and motivating people, unleashing innovation and creativity, and learning from customers to revitalize their businesses. Among the CEOs represented in the book are the heads of British Airways, Compaq Computer, Monsanto, Royal Dutch/Shell, Enron, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Warner-Lambert. The scope is worldwide: from Bangkok to Jakarta, from Dusseldorf to Dallas. No ivory tower theorizing, no speeches, no "consultant speak," these are the practical insights of leaders who every day must find ways to test and validate new ideas, implement change to improve the bottom line, and ultimately focus on the core ideas that will truly reshape their corporation.

Straight from the CEO is an important tool for managers at every level, focusing on such issues as creating loyalty to customers, organizing globally, fostering individual employee motivation, and leveraging corporate values to enhance performance. These are the pressing issues that face every manager who strives to sort out valuable contributions from impractical ideas, the gold from the dross, and then take action that gets results. As intellectually stimulating as it is practical, Straight from the CEO is an invaluable report from the executive trenches.

By necessity brief, the many pieces (I hesitate to call them chapters or even articles) lack depth, assume much and as a result are quite unstatisfying; but they do leave the reader hungry for more!

William Dauphinais is Vice Chairman, Human Capital for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He co-authored with Colin Price two previous books, The Paradox Principles and Better Change. He has 25 years of business experience covering a broad range of organizational change, business reengineering, financial planning, and information technology issues. He received both his undergraduate degree and his MBA from the University of Michigan. Colin Price was previously a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he oversaw a Strategic Change Consulting, a practice of 3,000 consultants working with global clients in managing large-scale corporate transformations. He has a BA in Economics and graduate degrees in Organizational Psychology. Married with one child, he lives outside London.

Reviewed by Azlan Adnan. Formerly Business Development Manager with KPMG, Azlan Adnan is currently Managing Partner of Azlan & Koh Knowledge and Professional Management Group, an education and management consulting practice based in Kota Kinabalu. He holds a Master's degree in International Business and Management from the Westminster Business School, London.

Very persuasive book, with new and bright ideas for the future. It has motivated me to become a more people oriented person. I will take closer looks and my employees needs and wants, taking care of the customer has become one of my greatest concerns. Thank you for the edge on life. Omar Cumberbatch, CEO Royal Family Pro.

Based on a collection of essays by global corporate leaders, the book is structured around 6 themes: globalisation, radical change, leadership, culture, innovation, and customer relationship. Percy Barnevik of ABB, explains how to balance global resources and local autonomy, Richard Evans of British Aerospace shows why radical changes required CEOs to get out of their ivory towers. The book is well illustred and easy to read. It doesn't contain academic theory or consultancy methods. It is a step by step guide explained by experienced CEO who can help solve your company's problems. Franck Renand, Prof. of Strategic Management, ISLA, Oporto, Portugal.

"Tao means god, tao cannot be defined." well, which one is it! The book lacked direction and focus, although certain anecdotes taught minor lessons. There are better books out there.

The Tao is an embodiment of practical age old experiance and sage common sense. I personally used the lessons contained in this book to build a ten million dollar company. A common misconception is business is about products, when business is more about people, and their needs, desires, and fears. If money is your only goal, perhaps this book is not for you. However, if you feel the challenge of managment is an opportunity to broaden your life experiance the Tao of Managment can help you realize your goals with insights very relevant today. The Tao is about working with the natural potential we all have, but sometimes forget during the normal everyday grind. You will be surprised how definitive it is in handling the most common problems you will face on a day to day basis.