Do Lunch or Be Lunch: The Power of Predictability in Creating Your Future [Hardcover]

Howard H. Stevenson (Author), Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (Author), Mihnea C. Moldoveanu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

Here is a refreshing antidote to the change manifestos and reinvention tracts that currently crowd the business bookshelves. "Do Lunch or Be Lunch" is a provocative argument for predictability as the most powerful of management tools. People join organizations to bring about a desired future. But to succeed, they must be able to predict the behavior of those around them. By the same token, they must make themselves predictable. It's mutual predictability that makes for successful organizations and helps people (and organizations) eat - not get eaten! In a fresh and engaging style, Stevenson sounds the alarm on behalf of predictability. He shows how the deep need to predict and shape the future drives most of human behavior. Now, he argues, predictability is imperiled. This is true especially in business organizations, which undermine predictability when they arbitrarily dismiss employees or use self-interest as the basis for all decision-making. In fact, the organization that embraces predictability enhances its own effectiveness; by contrast, the company that thrives on unpredictability is not only inhumane, but also incompetent. Explaining that predictability and change are not mutually exclusive, Stevenson analyzes popular change programs like reengineering, continuous improvement, and restructuring as he makes a powerful case for understanding and preparing for the consequences of change before setting it in motion. The book presents tools to hone predictive powers, make decisions, and measure risk, as well as to understand conflict and improve human interactions. It is as much a useful lens for individuals as they interpret their own lives as for corporations as they predict and improve on their own futures. Passionate, down-to-earth, and highly readable, "Do Lunch or Be Lunch" will entertain you, make you think, and prompt you to action - to become a leader in helping people cope with change and in ensuring a successful (and profitable) future.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Everything we do is aimed at the future. Like our ancestors who millions of years ago took it upon themselves to do lunch instead of be lunch, the better we are at evaluating all possible futures, the better our future will be. Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson argues that predictability is a core human need and the more predictable we can make ourselves, the better we'll be able to predict our future and the futures of those around us.

Do Lunch or Be Lunch is a counterweight to the management trends that have swept business in the last few years. Trends such as reengineering, downsizing, and maximizing shareholder value will in most cases not be successful because they are fundamentally unpredictable for employees and employers alike. On the other hand, the more predictable a company can make itself, the more effective it will be. Stevenson peppers the book with his observations that come from his experience as an entrepreneur and founder of several businesses as well as his tenure on the board of directors for over 25 companies.

From Library Journal

In a refreshingly humanistic approach to economic forecasting, Stevenson (mathematics, Harvard Business Sch.) demonstrates how people must work together toward their common good to survive and prosper. From primitive hunting-and-gathering communities whose members can literally be eaten to modern business conglomerates where divisions can be consumed, the need for predictability is a powerful force for action and inaction, states the author. Using examples from law, religion, and mythology, Stevenson dispels the idea that efficient economic models can predict complex outcomes with certainty. However, he does show how we can as individuals and organizations create more predictable environments by recognizing the interconnectivity of our behavior. Highly entertaining, his work is a welcome addition to economics, business, and ethics collections in public and academic libraries.?Robert L. Balliot Jr., East Greenwich Free Lib., R.I.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press; First Edition edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875847978
• ISBN-13: 978-0875847979
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,575,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful topic for leaders, managers and entrepreneurs, March 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Do Lunch or Be Lunch: The Power of Predictability in Creating Your Future (Hardcover)

Howard Stevenson has identified one of the most powerful undercurrents of human relationships; predictability. I will admit that I read this book because I already knew him, but then found that the material pulled me in. As an entrepreneur, I had to convince many people to follow my ideas and plans. Although I prided myself on my sales skills, I was still sometimes humbled that people would trust me with hundreds of thousands or millions of their dollars. Do Lunch or Be Lunch helped me to understand how predictability impacted those decisions. It takes the lid off of one of the key ingredients to how people make decisions whether they relate to work, investments, love, or anything. Humans are constantly assessing and guessing their futures. If their future depends on you, it is wise to be honest, open, and easy to predict. By increasing your own predictability, you directly influence the comfort level of those around you. People will take on great hardships and difficulties when they know the risks. As a leader, you don't want to be one of them. This book should be read by managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who needs to lead people.

-A retired CEO and current Venture Capitalist

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best business book I've ever read., November 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Do Lunch or Be Lunch: The Power of Predictability in Creating Your Future (Hardcover)

Stevenson captures a little discussed but wildly important business phenomenon; the power of predictability in relationships of all types. Written in an egaging, easy-to-read style, his freewheeling text covers everything from the stone age to contemporary conflicts. Very provocative, because it distills so much into one, powerful idea. Much more useful than most quick-fix books.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and more Entertaing than Informative, March 6, 2006

By 

Max Cortineri (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do Lunch or Be Lunch: The Power of Predictability in Creating Your Future (Hardcover)

More entertaining than informative, the content does not live up to the catchy and appealing title. Surprisingly, there is only one reference in the index to risk, a subject at the heart of predictability. References to Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Bob Dole and the Rolling Stones add limited substantive value to the book. Chapter One did wet my appetite, but the rest was disappointing. By far the best book on the history, role and need for predictability I have read to date is Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter Bernstein.