Hoover's Vision: Original Thinking for Business Success [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Gary Hoover (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The founder of Bookstop, billed as "the first book superstore," and Hoover's, a leading Internet provider of information about companies, has one simple message: think differently. And his publisher apparently thinks he's onto something: Texere is spending $200,000 in marketing and plans a 75,000 first printing. Although purportedly a book about business, this latest celebrity business guide works best when Hoover offers basic if unoriginal advice for becoming more creative. Among his suggestions: juxtapose new with old, stay off the beaten tracks, learn history and be curious. As he puts it, "Success is based not on thinking like today's winner, but on thinking differently, thinking in original and creative ways." For example., Hoover explains how he reads a book to make sure he gets the most out of it (one of the first things he does is read the last few paragraphs). When he provides a winning business formula, Hoover is much more predictable and far less helpful. There is nothing wrong with pointing out that business success stems from understanding people's needs, wants and desires; making people's lives better; and building a business that expresses your dreams. But these ideas are a given in any business book, and Hoover's examples don't startle, impress or ignite creativity at work. Hoover does succeed when he points out ways of keeping a sense of wonder about all that surrounds us. Maybe he should begin writing guides for life, not the office.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Hoover, an accomplished entrepreneur, presents the findings from his research on what separates winners from losers and the reasons for success in all types of enterprises. Winners think differently and do not follow others but become their own experts. The goal of this book is to give readers tools for developing their own unique views of the world that relate to personal dreams and aspirations as well as those of their organizations. The author's three keys to business success are to observe and understand other people, serve others while making their lives better, and develop a business style that expresses your own passions while serving others. In teaching us what it takes to succeed, Hoover cites qualities such as endurance, energy, selfconfidence, action orientedness, resourcefulness, creativity and risk taking, individuality, and entrepreneurial leadership. This is an excellent book for leaders in all types of enterprises and also for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to strike out and impose their unique visions on the business world. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 348 pages
• Publisher: Texere; 1 edition (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587990598
• ISBN-13: 978-1587990595
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #190,237 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slow Reading, January 28, 2002

By	Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Have you ever begun a book at your normal reading speed, then felt forced to slow down because you might miss something? That's Hoover's Vision, from start to finish. This is the unusual book that you'll read carefully from cover to cover, then want to read again and use as a reference book. This is a book to treasure.

Why do I characterize Hoover's Vision this way? Let's begin with the author. Gary Hoover is an entrepreneur, a highly successful visionary entrepreneur. He's the sort of person that you listen to especially carefully if you meet him at a cocktail party. He started reading FORTUNE magazine when he was 12 and moved into a career with Citibank (securities analyst), May Department Stores (Manager of Strategic Planning), and then his first entrepreneurial venture. He created BOOKSTOP, an innovative large-space retail operation that he sold to Barnes & Noble for $40 million after just seven years. His work was the foundation of the now familiar book superstores. Then he went on to found Hoover's, Inc, the company behind Hoover's OnLine, a premier source for information about corporations.

Now, the book. Start with the introduction: The Art of Enterprise: Thinking Differently. Hoover explains that he has been on a mission to discover the reasons for success of enterprises of all kinds, what separates winners from losers. This book presents the findings of his 38 years of research. He suggests that the book is meant for people who own their own business or dream of creating one, for executives or leaders of departments or divisions of large organizations, for people charged with thinking strategically or who serve on boards of for-profit or not-for-profit enterprises, for those looking for enterprises to invest time or money in, and for those passionately devoted to goals achieve through the combined efforts of a group of people. A nugget I gleaned from this section was "Great businesses succeed because of their leaders' ability to see things that others do not see. To ask questions that others do not ask. And then to chart their own course, combining insights and strategies into the blueprint for a uniquely focused enterprise."
Hoover postulates that the secrets of success are 1. observing and understanding other people and how their needs, desires, interest, values and tastes change over time; 2. serving other people by making their lives better; and 3. developing a business style that expresses your own dreams and passions even as it serves the needs of others. He stresses the importance of learning new ways of thinking. Readers are now set-up to honor curiosity . . . right where Hoover wants us to be.

The first section of the book, Exploration, is organized into three sections: Curiosity: The Foundation of Creativity, History: The Study of Change Through Time, and Geography: The Study of the World Around Us. While I'm tempted to share some of the wealth of Hoover's nuggets of wisdom, I will restrain myself so you can enjoy this book unspoiled. Chapter after chapter will stimulate your thinking. Each chapter closes with "TryThis," a recommended exercise to extend and enrich the work done in each chapter. In his "Gateways" section at the end of chapters, Hoover recommends topic-related supplemental readings. As I read this book, I found my head bobbing up and down, then my pace slowing to look deeper and ponder a thought Hoover expressed. In chapter after chapter, Hoover covers things to watch and learn from. Each chapter is thought-provoking, which is the author's purpose.

Part 2, entitled Essence: The Power of Vision, explores vision from a number of directions. Here Hoover emphasizes clear and consistent visions, unique visions, the value of the customer and more. He demonstrates how vision makes a powerful difference in how the organization is driven and how successful it may become. When you can see your vision, you can go anywhere. Without a clear vision, you may go nowhere.

Part 3 focuses on Execution: Enterprises at Work. Hoover looks at various industries and enterprises, evaluating merger mania. customer focus, and the critical need of having the Right Stuff. Some appendices and a good table of contents round out the value of this provocative book.

Expect to move a bit slower than your normal reading pace. You'll gain a lot as you mull over ideas, consider alternatives, and feel your mind extending beyond your normal thought range.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable, Passionate Innovation!, October 28, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Veteran entrepreneur Gary Hoover (founder of BOOKSTOP, Hoover's, and TravelFest) takes you through the ways he gets ideas to turn into new, differentiated business models for the start-up companies he founds.

The typical CEO business book is a history of one enterprise, along with a few key lessons wrapped around it.

Mr. Hoover has far exceeded that standard. He is a thoughtful and focused entrepreneur who has created a process to locate ways to help "people joining together to serve other people" succeed in ways different from what the established companies are doing. He points out that many entrepreneurs simply try to copy the business model of the leader or most effective company in an industry, and fail to do that well. The results are often disappointing.

Mr. Hoover's prescription is to use curiosity to expand your scope of awareness; establish a clear, consistent, unique, and service-inspired vision; and tie a customer focus with a passion that is energized by self-confidence, urgency, and a desire to make a difference.

To me, the core of the book was mostly found in chapters 28 (where he shows specific ideas to check out for new business models) and 32 (where he discusses the mental and emotional states required to succeed with inspired implementation).

The earlier material on curiosity will be most helpful to those who are not very familiar with the creativity literature, business model innovation history, and the major worldwide trends.

Every chapter includes a section called "Gateways" that points you towards book and materials that can expand your knowledge, and some chapters also have exercises to try that will expand your awareness and perception.

The book is filled with references to Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, and Dell Computer as models of companies that established better business models that embody the principles in the book. Mr. Hoover also makes modest and appropriate use of his own successes and failures as examples.

Although Mr. Hoover presents much interesting material for entrepreneurs, he feels that much of it is relevant to executives in existing companies. My own research shows that business model innovation in established companies is much different from doing it as a founding CEO of a start-up. So, I think this book is of primary value to those founding CEOs as they think through their next enterprise.

Use business model innovation to create enterprises that will better the world for everyone they touch upon!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gary's got the vision!, September 26, 2001

By	Jack W. Plunkett (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

Gary Hoover's book is just the thing for managers, executives and entrepreneurs who want to learn Hoover's unique methods for seeing and seizing opportunities for new business in markets of all types. If you've every had a chance to hear Hoover speak during one of his many lecture engagements, then you know just how dynamic his ideas can be. Pick up this book as soon as you can and you'll be dreaming up new business ideas of your own starting with page one!