The first half of this cycle is well-known: It is reflected in the evolution from entrepreneurial structures into bureaucratic structures. Author David Hurst likens this pattern of development to the evolution from hunting societies into herding societies. The second half of Hurst's ecocycle model is less familiar. Here, herders must return to their hunter roots in order to promote renewed growth. In the natural ecocycle, the impetus for this move is often some kind of natural environmental catastrophe-a forest fire, a drought, etc. In the corporate arena, it may be the emergence of a radically new technology or business structure. Interestingly, however, the real danger seems to come when there is no crisis. At that point, says Hurst, good managers will create one. Creating crisis certainly isn't a widely accepted managerial skill, but Hurst makes a pretty good case for adopting it. Crisis throws organizations into confusion, out of which emerges new charismatic leadership, a new social system and, finally, a new technical system. Although Crisis & Renewal (Harvard Business School Press, $24.95) is a radical departure from the typical business text, it does ring true. Many managers will shy away from purposely throwing organizations into crisis, but we intuitively respond to the idea of creative destruction. It is, after all, an integral part of the natural cycle.
Customer Loyalty
by Jill Griffin
Fewer customers can often
translate into greater profits, particularly if those customers are loyal
clients. Loyalty, according to Jill Griffin, founder of The Marketing
Resource Center, translates directly into higher profitability, higher
employee retention and a secure financial base.
The heart of this book is Griffin's trademarked Profit Generator system. This system follows the progression of a growing customer relationship from "suspect" to "prospect" and on, until the highest form of customer, an "advocate," is created. At each stage, the salesperson's goal is to move the customer another rung up the loyalty ladder. Griffin devotes a full chapter to each of the customer loyalty stages in her system. Most helpful are the latter chapters, which explain the process used to turn repeat customers into loyal customers and on into customers who work as active advocates for your business. If there is any one criticism to be leveled against Customer Loyalty, it may be that the book is too ambitious. Shelves of books have been written on subjects like niche marketing that Griffin is forced to cover in a page or two. While it is helpful to see how these topics fit into a macroview of customer development, there is not always enough information to implement all the ideas presented here. Nevertheless, both the front-line salesperson concerned with a single customer and the senior manager responsible for the organizationwide sales and marketing strategy will find Griffin's Profit Generator system a useful process for building a base of consistently profitable customers. Customer Loyalty (Lexington Books, $23) makes a welcome addition to the growing library of books on building customer partnerships.
Value Migration
by Adrian J. Slywotzky
Value migration is a condition that occurs as customer needs
evolve within specific industries. When a company does not respond to
those needs, value flows out of the business; indeed, value may flow out
of the industry itself. When a company does respond, value flows in. Simply
put, value migrates.
Developing the ability to anticipate and capture value migration is the major theme of Slywotzky's book. Companies capture value by creating new business designs that best fill customer needs. For instance, Nucor grabbed market value when it created a new business design with the minimill and captured the low-cost position in the steel industry. At the same time, steel giants such as U.S. Steel lost huge amounts of market value by continuing to conduct business as usual.
To help the reader anticipate the movement of value, Slywotzky identifies and describes seven common migration patterns. Each pattern is illustrated with extended case studies and Harvard Business School-type case analysis. Together, they do seem to represent the full range of industry evolution.
The only sticking point in the book is Slywotzky's use of stock prices to define the value of companies. Such an approach automatically limits the measurement of value to listed companies. It also focuses undue attention on stock price, a condition that many TQM experts blame for short-term thinking within organizations.
Nevertheless, don't be surprised when Value Migration (Harvard Business School Press, $24.95) turns up on the covers of the major U.S. business magazines. It is a fascinating and well-argued book on a topic that is sure to capture a good deal of corporate interest.
It Takes Two
by Gene Boccialetti
The best
way to manage your boss, says Gene Boccialetti, is to learn to manage
yourself. Sound like a contradiction? Not really. Boccialetti understands
that between your boss and yourself, you can exert the most influence over
yourself. Thus, changing your own behavior is the easiest way to change your
relationship with your boss. To modify behavior, you must first understand
it. Toward that end, Boccialetti identifies three main factors that compose
subordinate behavior: deference, distance and divergence. No one person is
a perfect example of any one factor. Rather, the factors combine at
different levels of intensity to produce nine specific behavioral styles.
The author groups these styles into their own three major categories:
accommodating, autonomous and adversarial styles.
No one style is best, and there are advantages and disadvantages to each subordinate style. The author thoroughly examines these in the text and offers some basic ground rules for when they are best adopted. Happily, he also cautions: "Hold onto your existing orientation. But since there are bound to be some drawbacks to it and situations in which it does not serve you well, learn how to complement it with other approaches."
It Takes Two (Jossey-Bass, $26.95) is essentially a new
twist on the already established idea of situational leadership. It shows
that followers can also adjust their behavior to best fit their
relationships with superiors. This book, which is a well-balanced mix
of down-to-earth advice and solid research, is a good place to begin that
work.
The Basics of Benchmarking,
by Robert Damelio
(Quality Resources, 74 pages, $6.95)
This slim paperback is a concise,
fast-reading guide to the basics of benchmarking. The book defines terms,
answers common questions, explains benchmarking ethics and etiquette, and
offers a generic process benchmarking methodology. Use it as a low-cost
introduction to the subject.
The IdeaFisher,
by Marsh Fisher
(Pacesetter Books, 256 pages, $22.95)
Fisher is the co-founder of Century 21 Real Estate
Corp. and founder of IdeaFisher Systems Inc., a creativity software
company. His book and software are based on the concept of Associational
Thinking, which mimics the way people naturally think and revolves around
an extended, easy-to-understand fishing metaphor.
Actual Experiences of a CEO,
by Hank McHale
(ASQC Quality Press, 160 pages, $24)
McHale, CEO of
GO/DAN Industries, describes the importance and the process of continuous
improvement from the perspective of senior management in a manufacturing
setting. Quality pros won't find much new theory here, but the practical,
top-level presentation might help convert reluctant corporate leaders into
quality champions.
The Age of Participation,
by Patricia McLagan and Cristo Nel
(Berrett-Koehler, 223 pages, $27.95)
For co-authors McLagan
and Nel, participation is the foundation that the successful organization
must be built upon. In this volume, they collect decades of research,
strategies and techniques into a comprehensive synthesis describing the
participative company. They conclude with a practical implementation
process.
Back on the Quality Track,
by Kathryn Huddleston
(AMACOM, 310
pages, $27.95)
The insider examples that pepper this text provide most
of its uniqueness. The rest covers a history of the U.S. quality movement,
a discussion of the fundamental elements of TQM and the common barriers to
successful implementation. The conclusion: Quality is still critical.
Turbulence!
by Roger Herman
(Oakhill Press, 250 pages, $22.95)
A futurist, Herman identifies major trends, forecasts and influencing
factors and describes their potential impact on the business environment.
A short final section describes the implications and offers advice to
corporations, individuals and young people. No earth-shaking predictions,
but plenty of solid thinking.
67 Presentation Secrets to Wow Any Audience,
by Dianna Booher
(Lakewood, 143 pages, $22.95)
Forty-one percent of the
population is less scared of dying than public speaking, quotes Booher.
The communications expert tries to remedy that situation with this
fast-reading, concise book of tips for presenters. The "secrets" cover
everything from nerve-easing exercises to Q-and-A rules. qd