In Search of ExcellenceIt's been twenty-five years since In Search of Excellence first appeared in the book stores. When it appeared it was one of the very first books to make the general best seller list. Over the last twenty-five years articles of all sorts have risen up to tell us that the research wasn't really valid or that the companies studied didn't outperform everyone else for the next quarter century. Those articles miss the point. The important things about In Search of Excellence have nothing to do with whether the companies studied are doing well today or whether it was flawed as a piece of research. The book did not pretend to be a scientific study and it did not pretend it was picking companies for the ages. The context is important. Japanese management, Japanese companies, and Japanese methods were ascendant. Books and articles called for American companies to act more Japanese, usually without any discussion of cultural differences. There was even talk that Japan would take over the economic world, leaving America in the dust. In Search of Excellence was a look by two savvy consultants from the world's most revered consulting firm at what American companies were doing right. Another excellent book, The Art of Japanese Management had carried a similar message about a year before, but the stars aligned for In Search of Excellence and it became a best seller. In Search of Excellence did what it set out to do. It showed that there were American companies doing good things and describing what those things were. In Search of Excellence also did something groundbreaking and important. It has become Tom Peters' enduring legacy (since Bob Waterman went on to other pursuits) to establish the importance of enthusiasm, energy, humanity and spontaneity as counter and counterpoise to the "plan-the-error-out-of-it" school of management. Tom's legacy, starting with In Search of Excellence, is that he changed the nature of the way we talk about management. That is no small thing. But there is more than historical interest here. There's a lot you can learn from this book that will help you improve your results. Here's the list of key points, straight from the Table of Contents.
Twenty-five years on, that's still a list that leads you to chapters stuffed with ideas and with wisdom. Twenty-five years on, this is a book you can learn a lot from. To see what other folks thought of this book, or to purchase it from Amazon, click here.
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