Fad Surfing in the Boardroom: Reclaiming the Courage to Manage in the Age of Instant Answers

A powerful, on the money book that expands upon James Champy's "Reengineering Management" and brings out a lot of missing detail. Anyone considering or involved in strategic thinking, strategic planning and long range planning should read this book.

One of Shapiro's best points is her review of research done on companies who have implemented a new management technique--say, TQM. There are some spectacular successes but a high percentage of reports of "no effect" or negative effects. In light of such evidence, Shapiro attempts to suggest the nuggets of sound thinking in popular management ideas and to spot some of the pitfalls. In the real world of business where the level of uncertainty always remains high, there continues to be no substitute for educated managers evaluating for themselves the applicability of new techniques to their unique situations. And then there are never any guarantees. Shapiro's main lesson may be that doctrinaire reliance on somebody else's theory will never substitute for learning as much as one can about one's own dilemma, from all the relevant players, looking at the experience of other organizations whose situations appear to have some similarities to one's own, and then makin! ! g the tough calls about what to do Monday morning, remaining open all along the way for new information.

Shapiro has captured the essense of manufacturing management in her book. Most corporations go around shopping for the latest panacea or silver bullet on the market. She does an excellent job in poining out both the benefits and pit falls of each of the major trends. Shapiro does a great service to management practices by pointing out that all of these initiatives are neirther good or bad in themselves, put can be used at the wrong time with disasterous results.