Business @ The Speed Of Stupid: Building Smart Companies After The Technology Shakeout

by Dan Burke, Alan Morrison

Reading the headlines, one could easily conclude that many of today's technology-driven ventures are dying because of a lack of funds or a shortage of business opportunities. But what really lies at the root cause of their demise is a technocentric disregard for strategy and general management principles.Business @ the Speed of Stupid brings to light many of the myths that stymie unwary investors, entrepreneurs, and managers who are seeking to turn a profit in the digital economy. It highlights why smart entrepreneurs buy into dim-witted business beliefs and exposes the "big lies" that have crippled so many companies. With ultimate know-how, verve, and humor, Dan Burke and Alan Morrison reveal why brilliant engineers don't always make brilliant business leaders, how innovation is far less important than customers and quality, and that, yes, you do need to be profitable to survive on the Web. Bringing realism and experience to the table to counteract the lingering technology industry hype, Business @ the Speed of Stupid explains how to survive and profit in the next phase of our technology-driven economy.

Genres: Business, Technology, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2001

Reviews

[Linda Walters]

Most books about business case studies are about as interesting as going to the beach to watch the rock erode, but this is one is different. The case studies don't name the organizations, but I'm as certain as I can be that they are all real. They are all studies in how to NOT conduct a technology project. I can say that after more than 30 years as an engineer, I have seen every error made in this book (and yes, I have made a few of them myself).

The authors irreverent, often sarcastic style and their spot-on analysis of how and why the projects in the case studies failed is easy reading and very informative.

If you plan, manage, or participate in any technology projects, be they website creation, software development, or introducing new off-the-shelf products into an existing business process, you should read this book (along with "Why Software Sucks").

This book is a text for a course in technology project management that I am taking in the Winter Quarter as part of UCSD's Professional Certificate in Technical Communications program. I must say, I have seldom enjoyed a text book more.

[Andy Claremont]

The recurring theme of this book seems to be "failure in communication".