Customer Reviews

The Guru Guide: The Best Ideas of the Top Management Thinkers

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

 

 

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"...

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.

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...

A better alternative to flipping through hundreds of pages each book trying to find the big idea. Theories and ideas are categorized fittingly, making it very easy to look at the big picture of new management theories and ideas. A time saver for the busy managers yearning to learn.

The Guru Guide is a very comprehensive reference for the desk of any worker, manager, and reader. For those who want to read more from other business gurus, stop here first before buying other books and wasting your time.

Apparently this book got rave reviews. So how come I hadn't heard of it? When I saw it on the bookshelf a couple of years ago I picked it up with great anticipation. The idea of getting the current best ideas for the top management thinkers of the last 20 years sounded great. As I skimmed through, it was well organized and the topics relevant. I decided to spend my money and buy it. You have to understand that I have been successfully cutting back on all of the professional books that I buy.

It was an easy read and some of the synthesis was very good. I can even see how I might reference the book occasionally. Never the less, this is the first time I have rated a book so low. As an individual in the field of organizational development and management change, it wasn`t as comprehensive as I would have liked. For the lay person, I am not sure that it is helpful enough. The material on high performance teams was useful. Other than this chapter, it is not clear to me what a manager would get out of this other than more theory.

I was glad to see most of my favourites: Chris Argyris, Charles Handy, Henry Mintzberg, Edgar Schein, Margaret Wheatley, Marv Weisbord. But where is Rosabeth Moss Kanter and why does Michael Porter get 15 pages - more than Warren Bennis? John Kotter is referenced a couple of times but not enough on his work regarding leadership. For that matter, the work that James Kouzes and Barry Posner have done beginning with The Leadership Challenge and followed up by Encouraging the Heart: A Leader's Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others isn't even alluded to in the book. This is a grave oversight.

One of the best business summaries I have seen. After more than ten years after published I still consult it.

This is a most useful guide, overviewing many major "thinkers" one would run into in an average MBA program. Sortof a bluffer's guide without the yellow cover. Well worth the $$. Authors crisp and precise.

CC
BS, MS, MS, PhD, MBA, MS-MIS, ABD CSP
I am a seasoned life long student and professor of this stuff.

This is a great text. It lists a variety of topics that span I/O Psychology. As I began writing summaries for 360 feedback submissions, I was at a loss in suggesting methods for individuals to improve upon their weak areas in management. This text was suggested as a resource. After reading this text, I gained much insight into different areas for clients to explore. This is a great read if you want straight to the point information.