Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
HarperCollins Publishers (1982), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 360 pages
Description
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.
Media reviews
Managers brought up in the mode of Ford, General Motor and IBM suddenly realised that simply doing what they did yesterday might not be good enough for tomorrow and looked for help.
Peters and Waterman identified eight qualities possessed by excellent companies
User reviews
LibraryThing member jpsnow
This merits its status as a classic. Twenty years later, it's still completely relevant. I also observed so many examples I've read in multiple more recent sources. Apparently, business and self-help authors have all read this book. Examples include the Hawthorn effect, the Sam Walton doughnut
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story, and the shock therapy experiment on authority. Also noteworthy are how many of these best-run companies are no longer leaders today (K-Mart) or have gone completely out of business (Western Electric). Show Less
LibraryThing member markdeo
I respect Mr. Peters tremendously. This book is a classic. Excellent from an Entrepreneur standpoint. Mindset is everything. Take advantage of this book. Hands down one of my favorites and 5 stars. Must have.
LibraryThing member quantumbutterfly
Read for my library management class, very interesting. Ways to manage companies well without getting bogged down in bureaucracy. I wonder how many of the companies kept to the ideas in the book after it was originally written.
LibraryThing member Mohammedkb
Based on researches done by the authors (Peters and Waterman), this book discusses eight basics or themes that had proved, as per the authors, prevalent amongst ‘excellent’ companies more than 30 years ago; namely- A bias for action, Close to the customer, Autonomy and entrepreneurship,
Although these eight basics are recommended to nurture excellence in any company, I am still in doubt whether they are timeless and sufficient. After reading the book, the first question that comes to one’s mind is that whether these ‘excellent’ companies are still so? If not, which was the real case with some of the mentioned companies, was it because of weaknesses in the 8 basics, or due to ‘invisible’ rules or basics that were not addressed by the authors in the book?
The reader should avoid the trap of comparing her company to any of the companies mentioned in the book, instead, she should benchmark against the 8 basics per se. Companies change while basics do not if proven successful.
Regardless of whether the performance of these ‘excellent’ companies are maintained throughout the years or have deteriorated, I believe this book is a must read for any executive or business leader as it still delineates some of the best business behaviors to survive global challenges existing over ages.
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Productivity through people, Hands-on value-driven, Stick to the knitting, Simple form lean staff, and Simultaneous loose-tight properties.Although these eight basics are recommended to nurture excellence in any company, I am still in doubt whether they are timeless and sufficient. After reading the book, the first question that comes to one’s mind is that whether these ‘excellent’ companies are still so? If not, which was the real case with some of the mentioned companies, was it because of weaknesses in the 8 basics, or due to ‘invisible’ rules or basics that were not addressed by the authors in the book?
The reader should avoid the trap of comparing her company to any of the companies mentioned in the book, instead, she should benchmark against the 8 basics per se. Companies change while basics do not if proven successful.
Regardless of whether the performance of these ‘excellent’ companies are maintained throughout the years or have deteriorated, I believe this book is a must read for any executive or business leader as it still delineates some of the best business behaviors to survive global challenges existing over ages.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DowntownLibrarian
I haven't read a lot of business books, but I remember this making a bit impression on me back in the eighties. MBWA, the Golden Banana, stick to the knitting. It's a classic and it makes you want to go out and found a company!
LibraryThing member BizCoach
The Classic!
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1982
Physical description
360 p.; 8.4 inches
ISBN
0060150424 / 9780060150426