What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School: Notes from a Street-smart Executive

It's an easy reader. It offers some valuable tips from this guy who has more money than me, right? He says things like "middle managers make the HUGE mistake of knowing what they shouldn't say and saying it anyway"; I used to do that. "Laughter in intense situations is key"; I made the whole group crack up at a corporate training. "Timing is everything so be aware of the benefit to you in timing". I'm paraphrasing of course but I love this book. I took notes, I highlighted, I memorized. I read it often and if I lost it I'd buy another. It's fun. Worth the money and the time.

Mark McCormack is Founder, Chairman and CEO of sports marketing company International Management Group (IMG). He was named 'the most powerful man in sports' by Sports Illustrated.In this book McCormack does not so much criticize Harvard Business School as the title suggests, but complements the traditional business school-education with 'street smarts' - "the ability to make active, positive use of your instincts, insights, and perceptions." (Funnily enough, McCormack did not even attend the HBS, he has a law degree from Yale.) "My main purpose in writing this book is to fill in many of the gaps - the gaps between a business school education and the street knowledge that comes from day-to-day experience of running a business and managing people." He splits the 'street smarts' and this book up into three parts: People, sales and negotiation, and running a business. With each part consisting of 4-to-6 chapters.In the first part McCormack discusses matters related to people, such as reading people, creating impressions, preparation for business situations, and improving your career. "Business situations always come down to people situations. And the more - and the sooner - I know about the person I am dealing with, the more effective I'm going to be." In the second part of the book - Sales and Negotiation - the author dicusses sales, negotiations and marketing. Sales and negotiations are probably the strongest point of both the book and McCormack, he really excels here. ...The third part of the book - Running a Business - is probably the weakest part of the book. Although there are some great one-liners, it is clear that the author is not that much at ease with writing about organization structures, policies and procedures. In fact, it looks like he despises most of these subjects. However, in the final chapter he provides some good advice for entrepreneurs and people thinking about starting their own business.Yes, I do like this book. It is somewhat unconventional and is not really a business/management book. The examples from his experiences in sports marketing are exceptional and extremely useful. And yes, it is a great complement to the traditional business school-education (although they are now covering some of the subjects McCormack discusses, under the term 'emotional intelligence'). It is very simple to read and relatively short (250 pages). Recommended to managers and, yes also, MBA-students.

Practical, pragmatic down to earth advice provided in small bite size pieces and supported by real life examples. I think this is a must read for anyone in business. I will be reading it yearly to bring me back to earth.

I really enjoyed reading this book and go back to it periodically and read sections. I think McCormick breaks everything down in a no-nonsense way. This is great for most things, but be on your guard. For example, McCormick says he runs his life by a series of legal pads with a line drawn down the middle: one page for each day, people to call on one side and things to do on the other side. I think some people might find that useful (and I used it for a while) but it is a little too simplistic. You can get a better feel for time management by reading Stephen Covey and Peter Drucker.This is a good book for those running a division, a product line, or even a small company. One problem here is that McCormick doesn't realize that selling for him, a guy with contacts that make huge amounts of money, is a little different than those of us that have to beat the bushes to sell -- and establish those contacts. This isn't a book on sales, even though he has a section on it.Get this book and his second edition and you have a start on a general management library. Your library isn't complete, however, without Stephen Covey's major works, some of Peter Druckers books, and maybe a tell all by one of the executives you like -- Iaccoca for example. But don't read Tom Peters.

This was one of the first business/management books I purchasd upon my graduation from college in 1988. Since that time, I find myself reading the book atleast once every 12 to 18 months to refreash my memory as well as my attitude. Mark's common sense straight forward approach is second to none! This book made such an impression on me that it is now required reading for all of my managemnet personnel and all new hires are given a copy on their start date of employment with my company.