JM: If you buy the argument that the lingo of management theory is
the language by which the business world now communicates, the language
by which people run companies and governments run countries, then it's no
small thing when that language doesn't make sense. Companies end up doing
contradictory things, like preaching trust and loyalty at the same time
they're talking about flexibility. "Trust and loyalty" usually mean that
they're trying to make people feel good about the company. But
"flexibility" usually means that they're getting ready to fire
people.
PT: Is it part of the problem that management theorists are like
doctors--they never criticize each other's work?
AW: That's true. One reason is that it's an industry as well as an
academic field. So you have people producing ideas that very quickly
become products--books and seminars. And you're unlikely to find anybody
in a consulting firm criticizing their company's latest product.
Economics, on the other hand, is a pretty pure academic subject;
economists certainly make money, but they also have academic debates over
each other's ideas.
JM: You would imagine that management professors would police the
frontiers and enforce intellectual standards, but they don't. The reason
is that they, too, get seduced by money. They all want to write the next
book that tops the best-seller lists.
PT: The Japanese seem to have made management theories work better
than some other countries.
AW: They were in appalling shape after World War II. Their industry
had been devastated, they had huge shortages of raw materials, and they
had exceptionally bad labor relations. They were desperate for radical
ideas, and they began developing something called lean production, a
system based on constantly checking product quality and involving the
workers more in production control. But they originally based the system
on American ideas: Gurus like W. Edwards Deming, after being spurned in
the United States, went over there in the 1950s and found an interested
audience.
JM: That said, I think American firms have gotten much more
sophisticated at applying management theory. It's true they're more
willing to use harsh business methods, such as laying people off, but
they're also better than Japanese firms at letting young workers develop
their careers.
PT: What kind of feedback have you gotten about The Witch Doctors
from the gurus themselves?
AW: It's very bizarre. Consultants rush up and say, "Fantastic
book, you're absolutely right. I can't tell you how much I agree with you
that all of these guys are useless." They're almost in denial--they
always think that the criticism applies to everybody but them.
PT: Maybe now you're witch doctors yourselves.
AW: I was interviewed by a radio station in San Diego, and they
asked if we've been sued by any real witch doctors annoyed at being
compared with the charlatans in the management theory industry That
hasn't happened yet.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SILLY: A GUIDE TO MANAGEMENT
BOOKS
Which management tomes are really worth your time and money? We
asked John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, business and management
editors at The Economist.
BOOK: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), by Steven
Covey
MESSAGE: In order to reach your full potential, you have to build
character.
VERDICT: "Some insights buried amid mountains of New-Age
speak."
BOOK: Reengineering the Firm (1992), by James Champy and Michael
Hammer
MESSAGE: Companies should dismantle their traditional departments
(marketing, research, etc.) and reorganize into teams that include people
from each specialty.
VERDICT: "Launched a fad, but its harsh message now looks
old."
BOOK: Awaken the Giant Within (1991), by Anthony Robbins
MESSAGE: You can achieve anything you want to with the right
attitude.
VERDICT: "Open the checkbook within."
BOOK: Managing in a Time of Great Change (1995), by Peter
Drucker
MESSAGE: Managers spend too much time tinkering with their
businesses when they should be reinventing them.
VERDICT: "Uneven, but then he is nearly 90."
BOOK: Competing for the Future (1994), by Gary Hamel and C.K.
Prahald
MESSAGE: Imagine what your industry will be like in 10 years and
then focus your efforts on getting there.
VERDICT: "Jargon prone, but the most influential current
book."
BOOK: Thriving on Chaos (1987), by Tom Peters
MESSAGE: Embrace turmoil; reorganize your company every six to 12
months.
VERDICT: "Anarchist's bible--okay for Silicon Valley, less so for
Main Street."
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