The New New Economy: Yet Another Clueless Manifesto for the Post-Digital Age [Paperback]

Tim McEachern (Author), Chris O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2002

"No matter how many paradigms, buzzwords, and empty slogans the average business book reader may have picked up now that his cheese has been moved, the only way he can truly survive is to keep his sense of humor ...not to mention finding a new piece of cheese. And no one knows this better than Tim McEachern and Chris O'Brien. Now, in this hilarious parody of every business tome that hasn't already been "blown to bits", these two founders and former co-hosts of the wonderfully wacky (and incredibly popular) "Geek Nation" radio show are going to tell readers everything they don't really need to know about thriving in the post-old economic environment. And have some fun while they're doing it. Filled with humorous footnotes, "Scenes from the Future," and fake but hilarious interviews, The New New Economy tells readers how to institute a placebo payroll, exactly what a sigma is, and why everyone should have six of them. So get ready to hop on board the clue train. This is the "pick-up, read-through, drop-in-the-bathtub, give-to-a-friend, then-demand-it-back and threaten-to-sue" book of the new new millennium."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tired of overreaching business books that earnestly attempt to advance some grand new vision, only to wind up unintentionally parodying the whole genre? Think a recap of movements that really did capture corporate attention--like peak performance, TQM, reengineering, and one-minute management--now sounds like the setup line for a late-night talk show host? Consultant Tim McEachern and attorney Chris O'Brien, creators of the Geek Nation radio show, feel your pain. Instead of simply accepting it, though, they penned The New New Economy to skewer just about every trendy agenda to come down the organizational pike. And in one rollicking tongue-and-cheek journey, they even manage to sprinkle in more truth than a lot of the serious competitors they're lampooning. Whether tackling strategy ("to maintain control surreptitiously, spies will be needed"), management (try "convincing workers they have been paid, when they actually have not"), marketing ("a hard look shows that 18- to 29-year-olds are far more trouble than they are worth"), or technology ("we suggest the time has come for the resurgence of the mule"), McEachern and O'Brien go into hilariously apt detail complete with charts, case studies, and copious footnotes. It's supremely difficult to pull off lengthy satire, and some of their bits do fall flat. But if you're weary of know-it-all business gurus, or just looking for a diversion to get you through the work week, there's plenty here to make you smile. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly

Tim McEachern and Chris O'Brien (cocreators of the now-defunct radio show Geek Nation) poke fun at business self-help books from Who Moved My Cheese to The Cluetrain Manifesto in The New New Economy: Yet Another Clueless Business Manifesto for the Post-Digital Age. This satire covers history (Karl Marx was a hack), management (make [employees] think fast. GM, for example, has taken to sporadically dropping hives of bees on their production floors to encourage quick decision-making among its people) and employees (30 39 year olds: it's the true greatest generation).
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (May 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814471439
• ISBN-13: 978-0814471432
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,090,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting old but still true, January 17, 2005

By 

Bruce P. Barten (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New New Economy: Yet Another Clueless Manifesto for the Post-Digital Age (Paperback)

Humor can be successful when it is applied to a situation where everyone's expectations can be turned upside down and inside out rapidly without straying too far from reality. The best joke is when you have already seen the punchline W A I T A M I N U T E , I ' M I N T H E W R O N G J O K E in bold face in the margin on page 162, inset into the last paragraph on the topic Global Capital that suggests "countries need only follow our rules to join in the New New Extravaganza." The joke with that punchline doesn't even start until this book attempts to explain a basic truism: Capital abhors a vacuum.

Since Freud did a lengthy intellectual analysis of wit and its relation to the unconscious, humor has gained acceptance as a vehicle for understanding unusual situations. The key thing about THE NEW NEW ECONOMY by Tim McEachern and Chris O'Brien is that it treats everything that is happening in modern society as anomalous from the point of view of the simple economic view that practically everyone ought to be able to go to work and do something with the understanding that people and companies usually get paid for whatever they do. One of the authors of this book, Chris O'Brien, is an attorney specializing in bankruptcy and taxation law, and he must be familiar with situations in which businesses are so far behind in making payments that everyone they owe might get only a fair share of whatever net worth is left at the end of the proceedings. One of the funny things about this book is how often it reminds the reader how much a law suit could spoil their whole day. I like the way that aspect of reality escalated in the story on pages 81 to 97. " . . . through a fluke of Pennsylvania law, . . . Sue us. . . . So sue me. . . . Anyway, most of them are suing now. . . . In any event, the whole matter has been placed in suit. . . . Now they have to remove millions of fruit bats, which my people tell me can't be done. In the end, you can only bend the laws of business so much: Caves mean bats. . . . The project is now the subject of countless lawsuits in the Florida and federal courts. . . . Well, it all lead to a zillion lawsuits, which are in the courts now. . . . Anyway, it's all part of some big lawsuit now."

Among the other topics covered are surprising footnotes, like

3. We also think that you will realize that this book will end the silly "no statues to critics" hang-up. (p. 7).

There must be some people who can still figure out what people could do in our society to make money, but reading this book does not explain how anything is accomplished by the ideas it emphasizes most, like a monkey with a stick working all day long with its attitude primed by the idea that it could be just five minutes until quitting time and a large quota of work for the day still needs to be completed. If you have a job, it might not be wise to mention this book at work, because someone might think you will ultimately get to the top of page 172 and react to what you read: "Hopeless. Get out before it gets worse. Pack up. Run."

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Surprises, April 30, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: The New New Economy: Yet Another Clueless Manifesto for the Post-Digital Age (Paperback)

I experienced several surprises while reading this book. The first-a biggie-was that AMACOM, a revered and respected publisher of business books, would stoop to this level. Publication of this book may have begun as a joke, then accidentally slipped through the system.

My second surprise was that I read as far into the book as I did. I kept reading, hoping that each page turn would produce something of lasting value or some really good humor. I was almost consistently disappointed. I made it more than halfway through the book, then just gave up.

OK, the book is a satire. A satire of the good business books published by outfits like AMACOM. Agreed, some of the business books today do make readers shake their heads, wondering where the authors had theirs? The book is categorized as "humor/business," an interesting classification that I have not seen in bookstores. An oxymoron, to be sure.

The flow of the book is jerky and disconnected, like a bad comedian's attempt at a monologue. While there are some funny things in the book, I shook my head a lot more than I laughed. If written as a satire, this book could have been more effectively done.

The authors do begin with a disclaimer: "This book is satire, pure and simple. It is written in a superior, all-knowing tone, the persona of which the authors take on to further the satire and poke gentle fun at ourselves. The authors don't really think they know everything, or even much of anything, and they are both very nice guys. Everything in this book is a joke and should be taken as such."

I accept their disclaimer, but still feel like I endured far too much verbal slapstick. But, this is me. And you may have time for this kind of a read. I'm surprised I took as much time as I did, but reviewers should make that investment to be fair. I'm surprised I'm writing such a long review, but I feel you should be warned. You may agree that there are better places to spend [money] All that said, if you assume that AMACOM does monitor its quality and reputation, buy the book. But don't say I didn't warn you! Save this reading for your vacation.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Laughter Never Ends, May 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The New New Economy: Yet Another Clueless Manifesto for the Post-Digital Age (Paperback)

This is without a doubt, the funniest, most clever and, ironically, on target business book I have ever read. Boy howdy! It's got everything: parodies, satire, spoofs, and monkeys with sticks. I laughed til I ... ummm, nevermind.