The Guru Guide: The Best Ideas of the Top Management Thinkers [Paperback]

Joseph H. Boyett (Author), Jimmie T. Boyett (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471380547 | ISBN-13: 978-0471380542 | Publication Date: April 20, 2000 | Edition: 1

"A savvy guide to the ideas driving business conversation."-Fast Company

The one book you need in your drive to succeed If you're striving to make your mark in the business world, you don't have time to read all of the business books that hit the bestseller list- but you do need the essential information they contain. You need to keep up with the latest business trends and understand emerging ideas and new terminology. You need concise, penetrating explanations of today's most advanced thinking on business management and leadership. You need The Guru Guide(TM).

In this easy-to-use primer, two internationally respected business consultants provide an executive summary of the most effective and successful management ideas put forth by the leading business thinkers and doers of our time: Warren Bennis, Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, Michael Hammer, Peter Senge, Margaret Wheatly, and many more. They also give you:
* Clear explanations of essential business terms, concepts, and theories
* Profiles of more than 75 top management figures and their ideas
* Cross-links to issues on which these gurus agree and disagree
* Insightful commentaries and real- world case studies
* Quick-reference charts, bulleted lists, chapter summaries, and other creative quick-learning tools

To make the most of the powerful ideas that can brighten your business future, start reading The Guru Guide(TM) today.

"It's tough to keep up with the latest management thinking. This book can help . . . and stimulate you to go to original sources of the greatest value."-Joseph B. White, Dean, University of Michigan Business School

Editorial Reviews

Review

A splendid synthesis, creaming the best of the best. If you like the assemblage of grouped ideas...you'll go bonkers for this collection -- Future Survey, June 1998

Anyone who takes business seriously should rush out to purchase [this book]. The Boyetts have gathered their gurus into handy bunches. To their credit, they did not limit the list to the old standbys. The chapter on leadership presents just about everything everyone might have to say about being a great leader, along with caveats that following everyone's advice to the letter might lead to nothing at all. In a world that changes at the speed of light, it's a valuable place to go to slow things down and take the measure of what is actually going on. The Guru Guide is the book to keep the way you would keep a good book of maps, because it always pays to know exactly where you are going in the world of management thought -- Across the Board, September 1998

Provides a clear, concise, and informative introduction to the most prominent management thinkers. [The Boyetts] show where the gurus ideas coincide and conflict, trace how the major management theories evolved, and provide a candid evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. Organized for easy reading, each of the book's chapters focuses on a critical management issue -- Industry Week, July 29,1998

The concept...is so simple it will leave other writers envious they didn't think of it first. Better yet, the Boyetts pull the task off well, avoiding the traps they could have fallen into, such as overemphasizing one or two prized gurus or using the material as a springboard to discuss their own theories. The ideas are presented simply but reasonably thoroughly, so the reader...comes away with a good understanding of the basic concepts that guru is purveying. The Boyetts provide syntheses, linking the gurus' ideas so that similarities and differences are clear. That's valuable since it's not common for business gurus, unlike more academic writers, to put arguments in context. The end result is quite spectacular, in its understated way: an easy-to-read, well organized look at modern management writing. If you're looking for a good guru, try them all in one place -- The Toronto Star, August 24, 1998 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

A great way for busy professionals to acquaint themselves with the latest in management theory and practice. Much more than a quick overview, it offers concise yet penetrating explorations of the best of today's thinking on management and leadership. The authors, widely read and respected management theorists in their own right, review the thinking of many of today's top business authors. They distill the essence of each thinker's core ideas and, with the help of commentaries and case studies, they clearly show how each idea has been received and executed in the real world. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471380547
• ISBN-13: 978-0471380542
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,908 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 Excellent reading for both MBA's and non-MBA's!, May 14, 2000

By 

"jackvaldez" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guru Guide: The Best Ideas of the Top Management Thinkers (Paperback)

This is truly great reading! Top management thinkers' ideas arranged according to topic (as opposed to more "intuitive" organization by date/period or by author/thinker).

How I wish I'd come across this book during my graduate school days at the Asian Institute of Management. Truly unfortunate I think, that many MBA's will receive their degrees after having read only a handful of the great thinkers' works (depending on who's ideas are perhaps being pushed or espoused by the business school in question). "The Guru Guide" is essential reading ESPECIALLY for the MBA/MBA wannabe since it not only presents and summarizes lead management gurus' ideas but provides an excellent and convenient forum for juxtaposition and critique as well. For instance, how Michael Porter's ideas (highlighted by masteral degree programs at AIM) on competitive strategy were later disputed by Mintzberg, then by Hamel and Prahalad, who later received the same from Treacy and Wearsema, and so forth.

I recommend this book for MBA's and non-MBA's alike, anyone interested in management concepts. Key insight? With every idea, there's always a counter idea ... with every "best way", there's always an equally valid "other way"...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly simple, March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Guru Guide: The Best Ideas of the Top Management Thinkers (Hardcover)

I wish I had had a copy of this book when I was completing assignments for my M.B.A. It is one of those "oh-so-simple" ideas that has, nevertheless, previously failed to surface. The authors obviously practise management themselves (and for clients), and also obviously did the research necessary to flesh out their concept. Not only do they summarise many strands of management thinking, they also declare their own "bias" wherever they make judgments on the material. Furthermore they provide an acceptable academic referencing throughout, and a thorough bibliography. I do not know of a better reference for management thinking. To top it all off, it is easy to read. An extraordinary achievement. While I am sure that everybody who reads this will offer their own quibbles on choice (I have a few myself), I do not know of any more cogent guide to management essentials. I hope this book is published in a new edition every two years or so. I know that it will save me an enormous amount of research and reading if it is.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How did I ever manage without it?, September 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Guru Guide: The Best Ideas of the Top Management Thinkers (Hardcover)

This book is a fantastic condensation of all the most important pontifications from prominent management thinkers. I market a management consultancy and need to know this stuff to underpin what I write and say about my colleague's own management thinking and our work with clients.

I cannot bear trawling through business books which elaborate these theories way beyond my boredom threshold. The bite size chunks in here and the comparisons of key points from thinkers in each area make for really useful and genuinely interesting reading. I keep this on my desk all the time now as a reference book. In my job, I'm supposed to know all about Drucker, Senge, Handy and the rest, and this gives me all the info I need to sound reasonably informed. I guess what I'm really saying is this is a great blagger's guide.

I also really like the Boyetts' style. They are respectful but not reverential and they have a healthy degree of scepticism which is very refreshing.

The only minor quibble I have is that the index should be a lot more comprehensive - essential, really in a book like this, when you quickly need to look something up so you can sound reasonably knowledgable in ten minutes' time...