Customer Reviews

The Future of Success

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book clearly deserves more than 5 stars. It is Professor Robert Reich's best book, and the first to go beyond Professor Peter Drucker's thinking about the future of "knowledge" work. It is well written, and designed to stir a debate and self-examination . . . rather than answer all of the questions in an opinionated way. Nicely done!

In sharing an epiphany that he had, Professor Reich describes the trap of success that he ran into as Secretary of Labor for President Clinton. "My problem was that I loved my job and couldn't get enough of it." Sounds okay so far, doesn't it? Well, read on. " . . . [A]ll other parts of my life shriveled into a dried raisin." He quit after calling to tell his children that he would not be home before bedtime for the sixth night in a row, and he son begged him to wake the son during the night simply for the comfort of knowing his father was in the house. As a result of having had that experience and happily changing his life balance, "I am writing here about making a living and making a life . . . [and it's] geting harder to do both."

The book is an excellent summation of the reasons why the most successful people typically work the longest hours and the most intensely. Trends suggest that this imbalance is likely to get worse.

Basically, the current economy puts a huge premium on finding new, creative solutions whether as a technologist, designer of new business models, new product conceptualizer, or marketer. Most people cannot synthesize all of those roles into one person -- the perfect entrepreneur. Those who can are even more valuable. The digital society vastly increases the rewards for these innovations by making them available to more people faster. Much of this new work is "creative" rather than "knowledge" work. I think that distinction is a useful one that should be retained in examining the subject.

Some of the consequences of this situation are that personal lives are disappearing under the waves of career. Loyalty to anything but the current assignment is modest. Family life is shriveling. Naturally, that may be what you want. Or is it?

The book culminates in suggesting that each person more consciously consider the personal choices of how to allocate time. In addition, there is a choice that society must make about how hard to pursue economic opportunity versus creating a more balanced connection among people. The ultimate strivers tend to hang out and live with each other, and have less and less contact with those who are not the top performers. It is a new form of elitism that can undermine many of our social mores. He suggests that we think about this choice in both economic and moral terms.

In both cases he finds, "It's a question of a balanced society."

My own experience is that it's good to step back from concentration, even if your goal is only to achieve economically. That seems to give your subconscious time to come up with better solutions.

I also suspect that many people end up overcommitted to work because they do not have the skill to insulate themselves from work. That isn't taught anywhere. You have to learn it on your own. Unfortunately, many people have to crash and burn first . . . sometimes taking their families with them. That's the hard way. I'm sure we can find easier ways. With people living longer, it's even less reasonable to expect that everyone will want to or be able to keep up these enormous paces for many years. The most intense field (like investment banking) have always been mostly handled by the young. But what do you do for an encore?

However you decide what balance should mean for you, I do hope you will consider the question. You and those you love will be much better served by your conscious decisions as a result.

May you enjoy a wonderful balance of health, happiness, peace, and prosperity!

What Former Labor Secretary Reich does say, he says with insight and clarity: the transformation of society into one that is obsessively "bottom line" driven, whether it be a company seeking highest profitable returns or an on-line customer seeking the quickest delivery time for an item. However the result of this thinking, according to the author creates two major problems: it widens the income gap between economic classes and it makes "time is money" the paradigm of the new millenium--at the expense of personal and family relations, self-reflection and understanding, enjoyment of life outside of work. The well-off have access to service (massage, personal trainers, limousines,); as for the poor: let them do stretching exercises, jog, and take the bus. The author insists that as the more affluent become more insular, they do not intentionally separate themselves from the needy or disadvantaged; it's just that they follow the dictates of common sense that says why not get the best bang for the buck (for example, not caring or acting on the fact that low prices of computers is at least due in part to woefully low wages among foreign workers who produce the chips). We need to reassess our values, according to Reich, and ask ourselves whether indeed do we really want to live overworked if pampered lives with less and less time for those things which traditionally display our humanity. All in all, a very inclusive, incisive book with such disparate citations as Oscar Hammerstein and brain chemistry research to promote the thesis. Two small issues I have though: 1) I wonder if we really aren't so aware of the injustices around us and simply have a "that's life" attitude; and 2) I believe the author might have included a bit more regarding the role of the media in influencing opinion, especially given that other opinion forums are not much examined or respected. Nevertheless, anyone who is concerned about the future of work, American culture, and "family values" should enjoy and receive insights from this book even if he or she doesn't totally agree with it.

Reich articulates the dilemma of the modern time...that essentially, middle to upper income professionals can now simple dial in the number of hours they work to receive a set of fixed income and other benefits. As a physician, I found that Reich describes what many physicians have long experienced...long hours, always "on call", higher pay, stress on family time, etc. Physicians have also long had a direct correlation between hours worked and income for the most part. The hard part was choosing not to work and too spend time on other pursuits. In the new economy, a greater number of workers are now operating under this model of work, work, work and they find that it is stressful.

The value of Reich's book is that he explains why all of this is happening due to rapid equalization of access to information. Why should you read it? Because it will help you understand the choices that will have to be made as you define "success" for the next twenty to thirty years of your career. In the new economy, YOU have the power to make that decision.

Robert Reich provides a convincing answer to one of the central paradoxes of modern American life - everyone talks of seeking balance and their willingness to tradeoff less income for more time for family and leisure, and then finds themselves working longer and harder. After reading "The Future of Success" you realize we are not so irrational. Contrary to other Amazon reviewers, I came away from this book lamenting that I will need to abandon recent efforts to focus less on work (at least until Reich is back in power with a Democrat administration).

The first third of The Future of Success struck me as familiar territory, and I almost abandoned the book. That new technology is changing how work is organized and rewarded has been exhaustingly covered elsewhere. I am glad I stuck with it -- this section does lay the groundwork for the new and powerful arguments that Reich makes later.

I found Reich's Personal Choice chapter the most entertaining-- his skewering of time management self-help books is particularly effective. His ridicule of the simplicity movement is amusing, but less compelling - I don't think it is necessary to go so far as trapping small animals for one to make useful choices that simplify one's life.

I believe the time is not yet right for Reich's social policy suggestions to receive wide reception. Popular opinion today is still intoxicated by recent new economy success stories, and worships self-reliance. Hopefully enough people will take the time to read the whole book, and I think we will see these ideas gain influence as political and economic conditions evolve over the coming years.

This is one of few books that show in a clear, concise, and convincing way the human costs involved in the New Economy. Other, more optimistic books, such as Kevin Kelly's New Rules for the New Economy, see the increasing rate of churn (creation and destruction of jobs and businesses) as beneficial to the economy at large, and it certainly is, but they overlook the implications for individuals: being constantly worried about losing a job, being forced to sell oneself at every opportunity, working long hours while work is available to make up for future unemployment, uncertainty about how the bills will get paid next month, etc. On the other hand, like many intellectual works with a bent on theory, a drawback of this book is that it's much longer on criticism than it is on solutions, and the author is much better at the former than the latter. The sweeping income and capital tax hikes that he proposes would never make it through Congress, Republican or Democrat, and even if they did, they wouln't prosper on a worldwide scale. Developing countries would face devastating capital flights at the slightest attempt to raise taxes on investments, and this inability to have uniform worker protection policies would discourage any nation to try to implement them on their own if they want to remain competitive. In spite of this limitation this is an excellent work that will raise consciousness on a previously overlooked issue, stimulate debate, and eventually lead others to more practical, workable solutions.

To use the word "visionary" would be to undersell this author. Robert Reich is perhaps the single key individual bridging the divide between the old and new economies. From his vantage point as former secretary of labor, a brilliant economist, and having written seven previous books, we are priveleged to see a clear picture of a new time, a new way of life, and myriad new opportunities. Reich has taken it upon himself to explain how the economy works to millions of Americans in clear, plain English. I have already bought this book for several friends and just today found a signed copy! I'm so excited. His joy of writing and communicating is so clear -- it's as much fun to read as it must have been to write.

This is THE book of the year -- I don't care what comes next. If it doesn't change your perspective or give you more confidence in your decisions, e-mail me and I'll buy your copy from you. The Future of Success is perhaps the most underlined book i've finished reading in years.

NOTE: I would love to meet Robert Reich. If you have any suggestions on how to meet him, please contact me.

David Siegel, author

Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich hasn't really unearthed any strikingly original discoveries in his look at the new economy, but the sheer power of his intellect allows him to follow well-documented trends to fresh conclusions. After restating the many economic benefits that technology has wrought in the past decade, Reich moves to the topic about which he's most passionate: the changing dynamics of the labor market and the implications of these changes on unskilled workers. Most interesting is his take on the diminished importance of the family and the undermining of social relationships, trends that he says have turned community into a kind of commodity that can be bought and sold. Although he prepared the book during the high-tech boom, he foreshadows the bursting bubble, using examples from familiar news stories in effective and novel ways to support his analysis. We [...] recommend this thoughtful book to anyone concerned about the future of workers, both skilled and unskilled.

Robert Reich was one of the few giants in the Clinton era/administration and this book is on par with the man and the fact he knows what a priority is as well as a great vision or what a great visionary is.

The book is shy 300 pages in length and divided into Three sections. Part One is:The New Work and covers sections on: The age of the terrific deal; The spirit of Innovation; Of Geeks and Shrinks; The Obsolescence of Loyalty; The end of employment as we knew it

Part Two is:The New Life and covers The lure of hard work; The sale of the self; the incredible shrinking family; paying for attention and the community of the commodity.

Part Three: Choices is short and sweet and covers Personal choice and Public choice.

The inroduction begins: "A few years ago I had a job that consumed me. I wasn't addicted to it--"addiction" suggests an irrational attachment, slightly masochistic, compulstive. My problem was that I loved my job and couldn't get enough of it..." He then goes on to share in a very poignant manner how most parts of his life suffered for it. That he lost touch with friends and even to a large extent with his family. Then he got a wake up call....

Maybe it is because I myself have seen how the new economy and how high tech in our local silicon valley has altered work hours and lack of family as a priority I was drawn to this book. Because I have sons. Who know all to well the sleep on the cot or floor at work mode and how men and women in their 20's soon found themselves turning 30 and pausing in semi-shock to ask themselves where the hell did my 20's go?

And because I am a big "one or none" child type, I was especially drawn to his piece on The incredible shrinking family and how the modern family not only lives in a bigger house but is away from the home for more hours and days than in any other generation. That the home may have more "stuff" but it has less family. And how sociologist have even coined a term or acronym which is DINS or double income no sex to describe the state of the new family.

But it is the last two sections on Personal choice and Public choice that I think everyone should read. Because he gets down to the niddy griddy and speaks about cause and effect and about right vs responsibilty and how our choices effect society at large. Yes even when its about high tech and the new economy.

I only wish that the blurbs on the back cover had not been from just media people/writers but that some high tech names had shared their thoughts on his work as well. Especially since it is the ones in the business that know what the doing and not just the observation and talk is all about.

The question is simple. Most Americans are better off today than were their predecessors a generation ago. Technology is faster. Deals are better. Services are more convenient. Opportunities are more available. So why are our personal lives harder?

The question may be simple, but the answers are not, unless you have the perspective and analytical skill to step back and take a look at the true root causes. Or, lacking the time and talent, you could outsource the explication by reading the work of an author, sociologist, economist, or policy specialist - maybe even all four at once. While you're at it, you should look for a writer who knows how to be interesting and intelligent at the same time. And since you're a discerning buyer, why not turn to a former Secretary of Labor? Sure, it's a tall order, but in an age of choices, why settle?

Articulate, rational, and entertaining, Robert Reich's The Future of Success stands out, both for the brevity of its title and the deftness of its analysis. Reich both toils and spins as he examines a range of interweaving trends.

* Easier switching by buyers means more frenzy and rivalry among sellers. In other words, the more competition benefits us as consumers, the more stress it puts upon us as producers.

* Faster change means less predictability - predictability of products, workload, and employment.

* More pay and rewards for those with insight and creativity means more disparity of earnings for those doing routine jobs.

* Increasing opportunities for work and pay among women means increasing pressure for women to work, both to be fulfilled and to afford the newly possible lifestyles.

The end result? Richer people, poorer lives.

So elegantly does Reich marshal both fact and argument that his analysis seems inescapable. And there's the rub. Logic this inexorable and Vulcanic too rarely allows for alternative, non-economic variables. Reich does pause occasionally for a passing nod to cultural factors, but the nods are brief and almost grudging. He recognizes for example that women do often find inherent satisfaction in working, yet he prefers to emphasize the sacrifice, guilt, and financial trade-offs they experience. Financial security is unpredictable, therefore more women work, therefore more women are wrenched by the stretches of family and Mammon. QED.

Nonetheless, The Future of Success remains an illuminating and even seductive piece of work. As a business book it's astounding, as economic history riveting. Even if you find an argument narrow, you'll still be tempted to accept it as unquestionable truth. And in an age of harder and more complicated lives, the truth will set you free.

While reading this outstanding book, even as one of the globally oriented "geeks & shrinks" of Reich's new economy elite, I'm suffering the severe income instability he forsees for most of us. So maybe his words resonate harder with me. But his musings will hit home with many people. Put this book on a pedestal with The Wealth of Nations, 1984, Future Shock, The Age of Paradox.

This book is totally relevant and should be required reading for everyone in a position of power. Even if Dubya rarely reads a book, he should read this one! Forget that Reich is a Democrat. He doesn't bang his drum until near the end -- and by then you're tempted to agree. Just ask Sen. Jeffords.

Dateline 2000: the Seattle riots. The Presidency & Senate split down the middle. Dateline 2001: race riots in Cincinnati, Ohio and Oldham, England. The haves vs. the have nots. It will get worse. And to think we're all responsible for the mess -- and the solution.

If the Unabomber had been as lucid as Reich, we'd have listened. He wouldn't have needed the bombs to get his point across.

Do us all a favor. Read this book! And tell your representatives to.