Counting What Counts: Turning Corporate Accountability To Competitive Advantage [Hardcover]

Marc J. Epstein (Author), Bill Birchard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 1999

Who can deny the failures in corporate accountability? From questionable earnings reporting to outright fraud, businesses are coming under increasing scrutiny from shareholders and regulators alike. As Epstein and Birchard demonstrate in Counting What Counts, these practices prevent managers from successfully executing strategy and condemn companies to a purgatory of sub-par performance; by contrast, managers embracing the principles of accountable management can become responsive and responsible like never before. Drawing from the personal stories of dozens of managers, and from the collective experience of 25 years of research, writing, and teaching, the authors show that managers routinely tolerate shortfalls in four areas—governance, performance measurement, control systems, and reporting—and outline a practical approach to reforming and invigorating these essential drivers to improve decision making, clarify and communicate strategy, accelerate feedback and learning, and secure stakeholder loyalty—turning accountability into a competitive asset.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this golden age of investment returns, we often think of corporate performance one way: Did it make enough money, or didn't it? But corporations themselves have stopped viewing performance by this one measure, according to Epstein, a long-time researcher, and Birchard, a financial journalist. Instead, companies view the bottom line a number of ways: customer loyalty, employee retention, and shareholder value. The pivot point for these performance measures is accountability, which the authors define as four variables: governance (how outside boards of directors affect the company's actions and strategies); measurement (gauges of a company's performance might include customer satisfaction and/or employee productivity, as well as profit and loss); management systems (how well a company links its long-term strategies with the day-to-day performance of its frontline employees); and reporting, which includes telling everyone who has a stake in the company (employees, customers, shareholders, prospective employees) important information about the company's performance--information that was once seen only by the company's top executives.

Counting What Counts is heavily researched and referenced, and as such will probably appeal more to academics and top managers than anyone else. But nearly everyone involved in corporate management will at least find a few real-world examples of how these principles in action can affect a company's future and its perception by the outside world. --Lou Schuler

Review

"...a coherent, sensible framework for effective management...concrete and persuasive." -- John T. Landry -- Harvard Business Review, September 1999

"...a comprehensive treatment of operational, strategic, financial, and societal performance measurement..." -- Robert S. Kaplan, Professor, Harvard Business School

"A very important and timely work...this is a real wake-up call..." -- John S. Shiely, President and COO, Briggs & Stratton

"Detailed, persuasive, well-written--indispensable for business leaders..." -- Dana Mead, Chairman and CEO, Tenneco Inc.

"For any manager looking to infuse their company with a new strategic vision, Counting What Counts, is a comprehensive plan for creating an accountable organization that will grow and prosper in the years head." -- Susan Mulcahy -- Electronic Business, May 1999

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (May 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738201065
• ISBN-13: 978-0738201061
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,666,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative and thoughtful, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Counting What Counts: Turning Corporate Accountability To Competitive Advantage (Hardcover)

Counting What Counts is that rarest of business books -- not the ramblings of a consultant nor the chest pounding of a CEO, but thoughtful and useable advice. Eminently readable, and filled with concrete examples, this book has given me new insights into my role and responsibilities. I'm passing it along to all my colleagues, and recommend it without reservations.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New pivot point for american management, May 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Counting What Counts: Turning Corporate Accountability To Competitive Advantage (Hardcover)

This book is going to change the way people manage American corporations. As CEO of a mid-sized company I've been struggling to apply outdated financial metrics to our business. This is the right way forward.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How business should work in the next decade, May 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Counting What Counts: Turning Corporate Accountability To Competitive Advantage (Hardcover)

I've always liked Birchard's CFO articles, and his easy to read, detail intensive, style fits the material very well. A provocative business book. Great (first class) airplane reading.