Metaknowledge Advantage: The Key to Success in the New Economy

Building on the insights of Shewart and Deming, the leaders of the quality revolution, the MetaKnowledge Advantage by Rafael Aguayo offers a refreshing big picture approach to the study of management. "The "new management" is marked by an intense focus on the customer, continual quality improvements and a commitment to innovation. Aguayo's range of knowledge is impressive as he moves easily into discussions of philosophy, psychology, statistics, economics and systems theory. He brings together disparate subjects into a coherent whole for managers in a very readable book. Aguayo discerns three trends in post industrial society that successful managers will not be able to ignore: 1) the turn toward social and psychological needs, 2) the revolution in communication technology, and 3) financial, trade and cultural globalization. He then lays out the implications of these trends for modern management. The MetaKnowledge Advantage is chock full of insights - some theoretical, others practical - all aiding managers to recognize faulty assumptions as well as inflection points marking macro changes like the invention of the microprocessor and the internet. I particularly enjoyed how he poked holes in some of the management practices of the American icon, Jack Welsh of GE. And his discussion of the Jungian personality types as essential knowledge for dealing with employees and customers is a must read for every manager.