Details
Synopsis
Story of the fictional Essential Corporation, a company with a proud history but a lot of hidden problems barring it from a promising future. Once the leader of its industry, Essential Corporation has lost its way. Its flagship product line is being rendered a commodity by competition. One huge retail account is diverting attention away from smaller, traditional customers. Suspicion and blame are dividing departments. Worst of all, management is in denial, with some managers hiding problems rather than working to solve them, while others struggle to preserve the status quo rather than move forward to new opportunities.
| Size | | Length: | 320 pages | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 18.4 oz |
Industry Reviews
"...a pleasant spoonful of literary sugar for business types who want to absorb the latest management trends."
This collaborative effort bv Paul, a former strategic planner for CEO Jack Welch at General Electric, and business writer Cox (Zapp!) is described in the promotional copy as "a novel for managers," a fictional story that illustrates the business principle of the "boundaryless" company pioneered by Welch. It's a stodgy but effective effort in which an inefficient, disorganized widget-producing outfit called Essential resolves a dire companywide communication problem just in time to avoid corporate disaster. Paul and Cox's approach is to create a series of high-level managerial characters with stereotypical business personalities. The huge cast includes Rick Riggins, the authoritarian "get it done now" company president; Frank Harlan, the egotistical, turf-protecting genius engineer; and Jake Foster, a slow-but-steady operations manager new to the company. Essential is about to lose its biggest client because the company can't deliver its widgets on time. The desperate Riggins hires a wise consultant named George Tracey, who guides the company through the revitalization process, starting with candid employee interviews followed by a weekend brainstorming session and a retreat. Paul and Cox do a solid job of creating believable business problems and interpersonal conflicts, though the story is broken up by having too many employees take a turn narrating in short, choppy sections. General readers will steer clear, but the novel does offer a pleasant spoonful of literary sugar for business types who want to absorb the latest management trends. (Feb.) (<i>Publishers Weekly</i>, February 10, 2003)
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‘…contains much sound advice and, apart from being a good story, is very informative and instructive…'(Professional Manager, July 2003)
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