Customer Reviews

The Professional Service Firm50 (Reinventing Work): Fifty Ways to Transform Your "Department" into a Professional Service Firm Whose Trademarks are Passion and Innovation!

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book has several potential uses. Although I have worked in professional service firms almost my entire life, I found this book to be a useful reminder of what makes a professional service firm great. Although Tom Peters did not intend this purpose, I think it may be the best use of the book. The second use is the intended one: Turn your internal business department into a professional service firm look-alike. The book will work well for those who have driving ambition to be the best. For those who do not share Peters' passion, this book may seem over the top. Peters is a very qualitative thinker, so it would be easy to misapply his ideas in a way that created a tough work environment that created little benefit. For example, The Dance of Change warns against trying to create new language and culture in an organizational sector because everyone else may think you are weird and ignore you. Peters could create that kind of tension for a group if you followed his advice too literally (he suggests that you use questions like "How can we wow you?" when working with colleagues in the firm). On the other hand, Peters is at his best when he is a little off-the-wall because he makes you think. There are plenty of references to outstanding books, and he is really trying to create a picture of perfection. That is helpful, because most business books simply share dated information about past best practices. As someone who helps executives design simple, effective approaches to perfection, I applaud the effort. Peters would do well to accommodate other perspectives. Being totally committed to work and perfection through maximum effort often does not appeal to people as a permanent life style. What should the other people do? If you are an ambitious MBA who wants a mentor, you could do a lot worse than adopt this book as your guide. If you want balance in your life, you had better read Life Strategies as well. Keep up the good work, Tom Peters!

OK, I concede Tom Peters has some wonderful ideas and observations, but does anyone else struggle with this new free form writing style he's migrated to? Wow ... but REALLY? necessary (Or?) appropriate?!? Also, Tom Peters' using the term "Phat" in a business writing reminds me a little of when my dad would come into a room of me and my friends and ask what we "dudes" were "grooving" on - a little awkward. Come on Tom, it's ok to be past 45! It's no 'dis, Homey!

This book has several potential uses. Although I have worked in professional service firms almost my entire life, I found this book to be a useful reminder of what makes a professional service firm great. In fact, this is much more useful than The McKinsey Way (a book about Tom's original firm). Although Tom Peters did not intend this purpose, I think it may be the best use of the book. The second use is the intended one: Turn your internal business department into a professional service firm look-alike. The book will work well for those who have driving ambition to be the best. For those who do not yet share Peters' passion, this book may seem over the top. Peters is a very qualitative thinker, so it would be easy to misapply his ideas in a way that created a tough work environment that provided little benefit. For example, The Dance of Change warns against trying to create new language and culture in an organizational sector because everyone else may think you are weird and ignore you. Peters could create that kind of tension for a group if you followed his advice too literally (he suggests that you use questions like "How can we wow you?" when working with colleagues in the firm -- that may work if you politely ask the person first if you may ask them an unusual question). On the other hand, Peters is at his best when he is a little off-the-wall because he makes you think. There are plenty of references to outstanding books, and he is really trying to create a picture of perfection. That is helpful, because most business books simply share dated information about past best practices. As someone who helps executives design simple, effective approaches to perfection, I applaud the effort. Peters would do well to accommodate other perspectives. Being totally committed to work and perfection through maximum effort often does not appeal to people as a permanent life style. What should the other people do? If you are an ambitious MBA who wants a mentor, you could do a lot worse than adopt this book as your guide. If you want balance in your life, you had better read Life Strategies as well. Keep up the good work, Tom Peters! I hope you keep challenging us!

Toms Circle of Innovation redifined (for me anyway) the way books CAN be written.

Mr. Peters did it again.

The only problem with this book is that every five minutes Tom tells you to put the book down and do something else NOW. Hey Tom, how about a list of the things you said to do NOW at the end of the book (or ONLINE) Me.. I took a highliter to them and am going back through the book and doing them Now?

My review? Kewl! PHAT! worth reading and DOING! Get the Book Now!

Tom Peters takes this book's role in the "Reinventing Work Series" seriously. He urges corporate departments, such as human resources and accounting, to reinvent themselves as professional service firms, thinking of their work as projects and of their companies as clients. He believes this will result in a more energized workforce and higher-quality work. His approach is marked by his now signature "gee whiz" writing style, which is punctuated by large typefaces, exclamation points and remarks like "Amen!" and "WOW!" We [...] recommend this book for its innovative points and no "b.s." attitude, but Peters-bashers will groan at the repetition of ideas and cheerleading expressions. This is a useful, inspiring pep talk, and if it is not exactly In Search of Excellence - which seemed to be written for adults who didn't need quite so much hip-hip hoopla - that was then and this is now.

I've completed the first three books in the "reengineering work" 50List Series--and think Tom Peters did an outstanding job. For those who read a great deal and believe in these principles to begin with--you may only rate it a "4-Star"--but is still great book--just did not get the "aha's" that someone who has not read as much may receive. His points are right on, and I totally agree with his point that "Knowledge Capital" is key for the PSF--but is especially important to each individual. I love the point he makes that in a PSF--"the people are the only asset"--not only to the company--but, you the employee. You have total control over your own knowledge capital, and if your capital is strong enough--you can select the employer with which to share your knowledge. Dennis Waitley in "Empires of the Mind", comes to the conclusion, that in the future, it will be the employee selecting the employer in which he/she will share part of his working life. This a great read.

This book brims over with thought-stimulating advice on how to transform a department into a high-quality, Professional Service Firm. Fast-paced reading, witty, and charged with insights and Tom Peters' WOW (excitement)! Highly recommended.

I am a big fan of Peters. This book is not Peters at his best. Actually, this can only be called a book because it has a front and back cover and pages in between. The whole thing is just a lot of short, often unrelated snippets of information, with a lot of curse-words included to give it some spice. You need a road map to keep up with all the acronyms he uses. Did Tom Peters actually write this book?

This may be stream of thought, this may be disjointed, this maybe is a collection of things that someone or other has come across before, and this just might not be the last word on anything. But, as a motivational exercize for someone who wants to create a world-class professional service organization then this is a "must read".

This is "motivation by telling stories", anecdotes in other words, business life is too fast for Russian stories, so read it and enjoy it, then take it into account in everything you do.

Regards,

martyn_jones@iniciativas.com

Since I had totally loved the "Circle of innovation", I was anxious for Tom Peters to release his series of "50" books. I wasn't dissapointed! This is Tom Peters at his best. Not only does he again throw business dogma out the window, he goes so far as to re-invent the style of a business book. It makes for a great read and the many tips he gives are really useful. I am looking forward to his next one!