In Search of Excellence is typical of revolutionary products such as the Apple II computer. It is a good enough product, blessed with perfect timing. The history of ideas makes this clear. The bellwether books or products that create change are rarely novel. Rather, they are the culmination of often lengthy periods of fermenting thought. They come along when readiness for acceptance is high, and they are picked up by many.
This was true, for instance, of Darwin's Origin of the Species. The evolutionary idea had been in the air for well over a hundred years. But in 1859, for a host of political and social reasons, the world was ready to hear it. Moreover, Darwin's description was superb and understandable. In an entirely different and more recent arena, consider the success of the DC-3 airplane, often called a "technological guidepost." There was virtually nothing new in the DC-3, yet it was the most influential aircraft for decades. It culminated many advances, included them in its design, and became a bellwether from whence all other designs started.
Timing was indeed exceptional for In Search of Excellence. Its publication precisely coincided with then - Secretary of Treasury Don Regan's announcement of 10 percent unemployment, a real and symbolic act of epic proportion for the unsullied post-World War II American economy. Likewise, the book came out one year, practically to the day, after the publication of two of the most influential texts about Japanese management, Theory Z and The Art of Japanese Management. Our research had been completed by the time those two books came out, and we were devastated that their efforts hit the bookshelves first. Were we ever wrong! In the ensuing twelve months, a major backlash developed. Was it true that everything that was right was Japanese? People became fed up with the constant haranguing by Americans about Japan. The ultimate sociological indicator was the emergence of an extensive and well-traveled set of jokes about the supremacy of Japanese management.
Thus at a time when the American economy was on the mat and our managers were seen as not holding a candle to their Japanese counterparts, we wrote solely about effective American managers in effective American institutions. As many have said, it provided a ray of hope. (Unfortunately, there was also widespread misinterpretation of our work. Many interpreted it as saying, "See, American management is okay." We most decidedly did not say that. We said, pointedly, "American management stinks, but there are a few role models that we can use as a guide to get out of the morass.")
A related success element was that we talked about specific companies, named names, gave details. Most business books are dry. Those that use the more descriptive case method usually--and infuriatingly--insist on talking about the dramatic turnaround at the hypothetical "XYZ Widget Company." We talked about McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Boeing, IBM. If you weren't inclined to believe us, you could test your personal experience based upon your most recent stop at McDonald's or your latest calculator purchased from Hewlett-Packard.
A final plus factor was the credibility of the
McKinsey name. McKinsey & Co. is the Cadillac, Mercedes-
Benz, and Astin-Martin of consulting all wrapped into
one. Though Bob
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