Real Time: Preparing for the Age of the Never Satistied Customer [Hardcover]

Regis McKenna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1997

From the author of Relationship Marketing comes a provocative book on doing business in a real time world-one in which time and distance vanish, action and response are simultaneous, and customers demand instant gratification...or else. Technology is continually transforming our existence in profound ways; and the pace of change is speeding up, not slowing down: we get cash in seconds at ATMs, we watch wars unfold instantaneously on live television. Almost all technology today compresses to zero the time needed to acquire and use information, to make decisions and initiate actions, to deploy resources and innovate. What does all this mean to the creators and managers who want to lead their organizations successfully in the real time world? Above all, says McKenna, management must be prepared for the eventuality of anything-anytime, anywhere, and in-your-face. The companies best equipped for the twenty-first century are seizing the opportunities that our real time reality presents. Their leaders understand that real time means exceptional responsiveness to customer expectations and ongoing adjustments to deliver. Fresh with stories from McKenna's own experience as entrepreneur and consultant to the world's most influential leaders, Real time will move readers to think in new ways, act with lightning speed, and break sound barriers of innovation. A Business Week Bestseller. "A magnificent tour through an exciting if uncertain future in which everybody's connected to everybody."--The Wall Street Journal "McKenna has written a manifesto for marketers, customer-service employees and managers in general. In an accessible and convincing manner, he explains why--and showshow--corporations must use these technological advancements to compete in today's marketplace."--Publishers Weekly "Real Time has all the ingredients of a successful business book, including a simple yet powerful theme."--Upside "[McKenna's] unique observations on the state of technology, marketing, and customer service could make this book a standard."--Booklist "It's high time a management guru squelched the notion of scientific management, just as quantum physics and chaos theory have eroded the old mechanistic view of science. Real Time does just that..."--Business Week "Regis McKenna [is] a high-tech marketing whiz, star of the business-seminar circuit and author of Relationship Marketing. Now comes Real Time, another up-to-the-minute report from the future's front lines."--Adweek

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

The race is on for real time information in marketing.... Regis McKenna explains how and why we need to open our thinking to take advantage of Real Time information.

From The New Yorker

Regis McKenna never ceases to challenge the conventional wisdom. The notion of eliminating hierarchy and long-term planning, and creating realtime management that focuses on delivery, results, and customer needs is a key revelation for companies large and small. The use of networked technologies to enable the creation of distributed, connected organizations has tremendous implications for the next generation of competitiveness for industries of all types.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press; large type edition edition (January 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875847943
• ISBN-13: 978-0875847948
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,832,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Regis McKenna On Fire, January 23, 2000

By 

L. Lawson (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Real Time: Preparing for the Age of the Never Satisfied Customer (Paperback)

When I read this book, it was as if I had discovered fire. It simply changed my relationship with the world of marketing because it gave method and purpose to many of the tactics that I had been watching develop since the integration of personal computers and networks in corporate operations. Looking back in 2000, over three years since the publication of "Real Time", it's easy to treat this volume of insightful marketing counsel as "nothing new." I can remember reading it intently in 1997, however, scribbling in the margins, highlighting the text, and coming away with dozens of ways to solidify the structural bonds between my company and customers. These bonds are the ones that are the most stable and produce the highest loyalty in a customer base. The fact that Regis outlines a technical infrastructure that has become commonplace only serves to reinforce his reputation as one of the modern oracles of marketing. Between this book and "Relationship Marketing," McKenna has done more to codify the essential mechanics of modern marketing that any other author, in my view.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Merging Technology, Speed, and Customer Satisfaction!, September 24, 2000

By 

George Bullard "Strategic Leadership Coach" (Columbia, SC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Real Time: Preparing for the Age of the Never Satistied Customer (Hardcover)

Real Time is a tremendous help in understanding that technology, speed, and customer satisfaction have brought a world where action and reaction are concurrent, and sequential actions outdated. Sequential actions are of the modern, 20th century age. Concurrent actions are of the postmodern, 21st century age.

It is a welcome addition to the collection of books that help us think about how our systems have to change in response to technology and speed. As a relatively short book it is a good one to give to people who need a basic understanding of the concepts, but do not need to know all the details.

It also adds to the collection of books that help us rethink our approach to customer service in terms of the use of technology and the speed of response. It helps raise the bar on how we provide solutions to our customers, and not just fixes.

It presses all organizations to anticipate future leaps in technology and relationships so that they are prepared to respond to new needs expressed by many of their customers. At the same time it forces organizations to think about whether they will run on two tracks or one track. The two tracks would be to run with people who demand real time and with people who do not see or participate in the real time transformation. Many organizations need to be prepared to run on one track and leave behind--for mediocre organizations--those customers who do not get it, understand real time, or go digital.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, March 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Real Time: Preparing for the Age of the Never Satisfied Customer (Paperback)

I am a Doctoral student in Management. I read this book with lot of expectation. But, Mr. McKenna has let me down. All that has been said has happened - the book fails to give any new insight nor does it give any model for future.