Business Management ABCs

An Honest Review for ‘In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies (Collins Business Essentials)’

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The “Greatest Business Book of All Time” (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table.

Based on a study of forty-three of America’s best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management — action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices — that made these organizations successful.

Joining the HarperBusiness Essentials series, this phenomenal bestseller features a new Authors’ Note, and reintroduces these vital principles in an accessible and practical way for today’s management reader.

Review:

I read this book again after a gap of nearly 20 years. The world has significantly changed since then and so have the fortunes of many of the “excellent” companies listed in this book. Some have continued to excel, some have made a comeback after facing tough times and some have ceased to exist. Excellence is neither permanent nor an assurance for “lived happily thereafter” ending for a corporate fable. As often mentioned in most management books, the only thing that is permanent is change, and change has been rapid and unforgiving in the last two decades. In this context, is this one time business bestseller flawed in its study and its findings ?. The authors themselves answer this question in their opening remarks – “Authors’ Note: Excellence 2003″ in this new paperback edition.

Theory first. There is a solid attack on the Rational Model ( over emphasis on quantitative approaches to management ) in American business schools which the authors feel is a main cause for the decline of American companies in the third quarter of the twentieth century. The understanding of the human side and aligning people with the Organization’s goals through a deep sense of respect and involvement is at the core of success at the excellent companies is the next hypothesis. In their search for excellence, the research leads to eight prominent attributes that are common across the best run companies. All these attributes have direct and significant link to this aspect of the human side of enterprise.

The excellent companies have focussed consciously and consistently on rigorously practicing several of the eight attributes. Failure to focus on these have led to setbacks in subsequent years. An outstanding athlete cannot be expected to win gold at all the Olympics in his lifetime. Athletes age and so do companies say the authors. But is there a prescription against aging for companies that are committed to excellence ?

This book is liable for criticism on the following counts :

- Too much of theory in the first four chapters, mostly borrowed from other earlier management gurus
- Descriptive and repetitive
- Data insufficiency for backing conclusions
- Sample does not cover all industries and restricted to American companies
- Talks of the past and ignores prescriptions for the future
- Attributes need to be ranked and revisited periodically and perhaps a new list might emerge

Several books have been written on this topic since this classic was first published in 1982. Many have addressed the points listed above. But this ground breaking book continues to be the pathfinder in all that has followed. Go back to the analogy of the athlete. A gold is a gold at any contest and this book deserves one for its own excellence.