economics-times

What a delight! The reader is treated to specific steps toward efficiency and time management by the second page. Dr. Corcoran doesn't "waste any time" at all getting to the meat of the matter. I read this book through, but I'm willing to bet that reading just one page a day would improve the average person's use of time.

I personally like this book because of it simplicity,short and direct.Good for anyone that keep on saying,"Don't have enough time". I like most of the quotes that Merrill Douglass choose,especially this one : YOU MUST MAKE TIME FOR YOUR OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS YOUR PROBLEMS.-Peter Drucker. Worth buying to keep ourself alert and awake of how to spend time wisely !

This book is suitable for Econometricians looking for a book without too much theoretical work. Sufficient explaination given for empirical work. Easy to read.

When I was reading this book, it was still a LaTex draft... This book is very hard in the sense that it requires a fairly good knowledge of measure theory. Certainly not for undergraduates or even graduate students not doing econometrics as a "field". Excellent discussion of cointegration.

George Stalk Jr. is Vice President of The Boston Consulting Group, the famous management consultancy. This article was published in the July-August 1988 issue of the Harvard Business Review and won the McKinsey Award for best article that year.

By building on MIT's Jay Forrester research into the planning, the author shows how companies can create competitive advantages through managing time effectively. The author discusses in detail time-based manufacturing, time-based sales and distribution, and time-based innovation. For instance, in time-based manufacturing the key components are the length of production runs, organization of process components, and complexity of scheduling procedures. The speed of the flow of information has important impact on sales and distribution, while the speed of innovations can result in a reduction of delivery time and manufacturing costs. The author concludes that time advantage offers a powerful new approach for successful indirect attacks against larger, established competitors. The author uses Japanese companies such as Honda and Toyota as main examples.

I do like this article and agree with the author's opinion that time/speed can be a source of competitive advantage. The way the author tries to get his point across is sometimes disappointing, the author's obsession with Japan companies vs. US/Western companies is too one-sided. This obsession is probably a sign of the time since the article was published in 1988. Modern-day examples of successful time-based competitors are Amazon.com (read Robert Spector (2000), 'Amazon.com: Get Big Fast') and Dell Computer (read Joan Magretta's interview with Michael Dell (1998), 'The Power of Virtual Integration'). The author uses simple US-English.

This skinny book has a lot to offer for those of us who have survived the clutter accumulating years of the 1980's. Good practical advice presented in a to-the-point manner. Worth the purchase.

Beautifully created fantastic characters! Harry certainly is human except for magical powers, which he has yet to refine.
Written by a wonderful author living simply, who allowed "Harry" to speak to her over time until it became her heart's impulse to put it down on paper again and again. A well written and informative article about that creative process. There's no longer a question in my mind as to whether children should read it or not. By all means-read it, discuss it, enjoy it. The books were written for this adult too.

Are likable characters a prerequisite for a likable book? For one week, I read this book every spare minute I had. With every page, I disliked the main character, Harriet Peacock, less and less, but, still, I couldn't put the book down. The character of Harriet Peacock can be summed up in the description, "all business". She was too devoted to the development of her business empire, to the exclusion of her family and friends who supported her throughout the book. I absolutely disliked her character, yet I felt that the author wanted the reader to admire her character. After indirectly causing the death of the man who gave her the idea for her business enterprise, Harriet goes through a period of turmoil, deciding in the end that the death was nobody's fault. But I flew through the pages and was screaming to her in my head, "Yes! It is your fault!!" I jumped to the conclusion that, because I didn't like the main character, that I didn't like the book. Even though I finished the book a few weeks ago, I still think about it, because I realize that a well-written book is the only prerequisite to reader enjoyment, and that, perhaps, an unlikable character adds an element of conflict to the reading experience.

I wish I were ready for this book years ago! Lee and Larry start by describing the workplace and how it is changing (surprisingly accurate for being published in 1993). Next they define what work is and help us understand why so many people are in the situations they are in. Then comes the fun part...identifying your skills, interests, personality and applying them to a career that fits you. Lastly they teach you how to conduct a job search, prepare your resume and how to manage you finances.

The book is an excellent resource in itself. However, the companion workbook is a must in order to get the full benefit of the program.

"This is a book about innovation-not in the usual sense of new products and new technologies, but in the sense of radical new business models. It begins by laying out the revolutionary imperative: we've reached the end of incrementalism, and only those companies that are capable of creating industry revolutions will prosper in the new economy. It then provides a detailed blue print of what you can do to get the revolution started in your own company. Finally, it describes in detail an agenda for making innovation as ubiquitous a capability as quality or customer service. Indeed, my central argument is that radical innovation is the competitive advantage for the new millennium"(from the Preface).

Within this general framework, in Chapter 3, Gary Hamel writes, "In the new economy, the unit of analysis for innovation is not a product or a technology-it's a business concept...I doubt you can find a dozen individuals in your company who share a common definition of your company's existing business concept. How could they if they can't even identify the elements of a business concept? Though consultants talk incessantly about 'business models,' I've never met one who has a coherent definition of what a business model actually is. It's hard to invent a new business concept if you can't agree on its components...To be an industry revolutionary, you must develop an instinctive capacity to think about business models in their entirety." Then, Hamel describes his business concept that comprises four major components and several subcomponents:

I- Core Strategy: It is the essence of how the firm chooses to compete.

1. Business Mission: This captures the overall 'objective' of the strategy-what the business model is designed to accomplish or deliver.

2. Product / Market Scope: This captures the essence of 'where' the firm competes-which customers, which geographies, and what product segments-and where, by implication, it doesn't compete.

3. Basis for Differentiation: This captures the essence of 'how' the firm competes and, in particular, how it competes 'differently' than its competitors.

II- Strategic Resources: These are unique firm-specific resources.

1. Core Competencies: This is what the firm 'knows.' (skills and unique capabilities)

2. Strategis Assets: They are what the firm owns such as brands, patents, infrastructure, proprietary standards, customer data, and anything else that is both rare and valuable.

3. Core Processes: This is what people in the firm actually 'do.' (activities)

III- Customer Interface

1. Fulfillment and Support: This refers to the way the firm 'goes to market,' how it actually 'reaches' customers-which channels it uses, what kind of customer support it offers, and what level of service it provides.

2. Information and Insight: This refers to all the knowledge that is collected from and utilized on behalf of customers.

3. Relationship Dynamics: This refers to the nature of the 'interaction' between the producer and the customer.

4. Pricing Structure: This refers to the price choices depending on the traditions of your industry.

IV- Value Network: It surrounds the firm, and which complements and amlifies the firm's own resources.

1. Suppliers

2. Partners

3. Coalitions

On the other hand, according to Hamel these four major components are linked together by three 'bridge' components:

1. Configuration: Intermediating between a company's core strategy and its strategic resources is first bridge component.

2. Customer Benefits: Intermediating between the core strategy and the customer interface is second bridge component.

3. Company Boundaries: Intermediating between a company's strategic resources and its value network is third bridge component.

More detailed discussion of these business concepts briefly mentioned/summarized above and the other unique ones, I highly recommend this invaluable study.

Leading the Revolution is an important book of business scholarship. It proposes a higher standard for companies: Constantly establishing and superbly implementing improved business models for customer interfaces, core strategy, using strategic resources, and value networks. Further, it integrates the arguments of many leading thinkers about improvement methods into one set of procedures for making faster business progress. The book also makes an excellent case for this higher standard already being in operation in companies like Enron, GE Capital, Cisco Systems, Nokia and Charles Schwab.

To those who have already are familiar with the literature of developing new business models (such as Digital Capital), little in this book will be new. For those who are very focused on gradual improvement, the arguments here will be foreign and puzzling. Because of Gary Hamel's stature, many will read this book and begin to grasp the changed nature of the leadership and management challenges of the 21st century. Because of ways the argument is articulated and illustrated, many more will miss the point. That's too bad.

Basically, Hamel is arguing that the kinds of changes that most people think of as revolutionary need to become everyday occurrences. This observation is based on an accelerating rate of uncontrollable change and resulting opportunities for innovation; an economic environment where fewer companies prosper while more become mediocre or below average; more pressure for performance from investors; rapidly developing business skills in business process, product, market and model innovation; broad human potential to imagine more and make it happen; and potential for improved communication and application of innovation.

As a strategist, he does an excellent job of outlining the key issues of these factors, and how to organize an enterprise to accomplish more with these opportunities. By providing an analytical context for understanding the phenomena, he helps others understand what he describing intellectually. For those who have not had these experiences, the descriptions will seem to be alien emotionally.

The book is designed to be a clone of Tom Peters' more flamboyantly-conceived works like The Circle of Innovation. The language is extreme, often bordering on being vulgar, and will make many people uncomfortable. That appears to be Hamel's purpose. The pages are laid out in vivid colors, photographs and graphics making it seem unlike most business books you have read before. This will make the book seem even stranger to many. That also appears to be Hamel's purpose. The downside of this approach is that many will simply reject the message along with the way it is presented. That's a missed opportunity on Hamel's part and on the reader's part. The message is more important and serious than the presentation.

On the other hand, I would like to give the editors at Harvard Business School Press credit for being flexible in working with Hamel to create the presentation of this book.

The book's biggest weakness is in using Revolution as the metaphor. Any student of revolutions will quickly tell you that revolutions usually lead to counter revolutions after a period of maximum turmoil. That's not what Hamel is talking about, so his metaphor will confuse many while annoying others who do not want to turn their organizations into revolutionary bands. He doesn't seem to mean to invoke Revolution in either sense, but he never makes that point clear.

The second biggest weakness is that he presents a new paradigm that is very complex and requires mastering vast quantities of new skills for most people. Many readers will be overwhelmed by the prospect. So if they hear Hamel as a herald, they may be discouraged about following the herald.

The third biggest weakness is drawing major conclusions from very limited data. For example, he asserts that companies that master this new paradigm will eventually end up taking over the assets of companies that do not, after getting their customers and top employees. He cites AOL's merger with Time Warner as his example of an asset takeover. Without going into a full analysis, that example does not fully match this argument. For example, Gerry Levin from Time Warner will be the surviving CEO. And there are few other examples where new model companies end up buying the assets of old model companies.

The fourth weakness is encouraging people to grasp the potential of powerful, underlying trends without giving them much help in understanding how to do this. That is a subject for an entire book, not just a few pages in one.

One surprise for many people will be that the book is aimed more at the rebels at lower levels in a company than at its formal leaders. The rebels will learn a lot about how to become more effective in pushing their new ideas. Those who think like the conventional wisdom will find much less guidance to help them. In fact, Hamel has a side bar about working as a consultant with Royal Dutch/Shell and the difficulties that people there had in coming up with new ideas until the consultants trained them. Conventional wisdom is based on very complicated psychological processes, and changing that conventional wisdom in useful ways is a subject well beyond the scope of a brief chapter.

You should think of this book as introducing the subject of constantly improving business models, and inviting others to follow and flesh it out. I look forward to future books by Gary Hamel and other leading thinkers in further developing the questions posed here.

While you contemplate an expanded purpose for business enterprises, you should also consider what other purposes should be added that Hamel has not addressed. Hamel's having posed such an important question should not stop us from trying to build even better ones.

Great book
However ... the Amazon E-Book delivery system is obtuse and takes forever to process the transaction and dispense the book ... I have the paper copy but wanted the electronic version for convenience ...

Frankly, I recommend just paying someone to take a few minutes and scan the paper versions rather then dealing with this really poor ebook delivery system

David