false 136181 1 Much of our business thinking is shaped by delusions -- errors of logic and flawed judgments that distort our understanding of the real reasons for a company's performance. In a brilliant and unconventional book, Phil Rosenzweig unmasks the delusions that are commonly found in the corporate world. These delusions affect the business press and academic research, as well as many bestselling books that promise to reveal the secrets of success or the path to greatness. Such books claim to be based on rigorous thinking, but operate mainly at the level of storytelling. They provide comfort and inspiration, but deceive managers about the true nature of business success.<P><P>The most pervasive delusion is the Halo Effect. When a company's sales and profits are up, people often conclude that it has a brilliant strategy, a visionary leader, capable employees, and a superb corporate culture. When performance falters, they conclude that the strategy was wrong, the leader became arrogant, the people were complacent, and the culture was stagnant. In fact, little may have changed -- company performance creates a Halo that shapes the way we perceive strategy, leadership, people, culture, and more.<P><P>Drawing on examples from leading companies including Cisco Systems, IBM, Nokia, and ABB, Rosenzweig shows how the Halo Effect is widespread, undermining the usefulness of business bestsellers from <I>In Search of Excellence</i> to <I>Built to Last</i> and <I>Good to Great</i>.<P><P>Rosenzweig identifies nine popular business delusions. Among them:<P><P><ul><P> <li><b><I>The Delusion of Absolute Performance:</i></b> Company performance is relative to competition, not absolute, which is why following a formula can never guarantee results. Success comes from doing things better than rivals, which means that managers have to take risks.</li><P><P> <li><b><I>The Delusion of Rigorous Research:</i></b> Many bestselling authors praise themselves for the vast amount of data they have gathered, but forget that if the data aren't valid, it doesn't matter how much was gathered or how sophisticated the research methods appear to be. They trick the reader by substituting sizzle for substance.</li><P><P> <li><b><I>The Delusion of Single Explanations:</i></b> Many studies show that a particular factor, such as corporate culture or social responsibility or customer focus, leads to improved performance. But since many of these factors are highly correlated, the effect of each one is usually less than suggested.</li><P></ul><P><P>In what promises to be a landmark book, <I>The Halo Effect</i> replaces mistaken thinking with a sharper understanding of what drives business success and failure. <I>The Halo Effect</i> is a guide for the thinking manager, a way to detect errors in business research and to reach a clearer understanding of what drives business success and failure.<P><P>Skeptical, brilliant, iconoclastic, and mercifully free of business jargon, Rosenzweig's book is nevertheless dead serious, making his arguments about important issues in an unsparing and direct way that will appeal to a broad business audience. For managers who want to separate fact from fiction in the world of business, <I>The Halo Effect</i> is essential reading -- witty, often funny, and sharply argued, it's an antidote to so much of the conventional thinking that clutters business bookshelves.<P><P> 131239 16 4 2007 The Halo Effect: ... and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers total:54|5:13|4:22|3:12|2:4|1:3| 54 200 112 20 4 0 false true Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 21:31:46 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 22:07:05 -0700 2009 ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 12:01:54 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 08:40:11 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jul 25 06:41:47 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 06:42:07 -0700 2008 Phil Rosenzweig
Free Press

According to Phil Rosenzweig, "The central idea in this book is that our thinking about business is shaped by a number of delusions...the ones that distort our unde...more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue May 15 12:02:02 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 10:30:55 -0700 2007
Message gleaned from the book: There are so many business books out...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue May 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 07:13:27 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 07:16:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jul 27 06:50:45 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 07:08:17 -0700 2008
The halo effect is when you in retrospec...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 07:38:11 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 07:46:20 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jul 28 05:27:26 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 05:28:40 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Feb 17 05:29:37 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 05:39:53 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 06 08:58:17 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 09:03:40 -0700 2008
It's good to be reminded tha...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jun 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 08:09:43 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 08:27:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 10 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 14 18:35:43 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 18:43:03 -0700 2008 The content is interesting and unusual for business books. Must be read for anyone that has any say in business strategies. Specially helps to prevent people from becoming Dilbert style PHBs :) By providing the main idea...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 09 07:47:36 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 08:31:31 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 03 11:15:52 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 03 11:18:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 23 18:50:04 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 18:53:10 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Thu Apr 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 05 14:52:05 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 03:28:35 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 20:16:39 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 20:26:19 -0800 2007 5 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 12 07:31:33 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 12 07:38:41 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 30 23:17:17 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 30 23:17:54 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Mon Jun 29 12:57:16 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 13:04:16 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=136181