Customer Reviews

What They Don't Teach you at Harvard Business School

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

I eagerly made my way through this book, in search of insights that might live up to the intriguing title of this book. What I found disappointed me: rather blasé anecdotes that seemed to be saying, "Look at me... see what I've done? Aren't I something?" Mark McCormack has obviously achieved great success, but his musings left me unfulfilled just the same. The basic premise of this book (listen to and take care of people, and beware arrogance) is sound, but for hard-hitting, meaty commentary, I'd look elsewhere.

Mark McCormack is Founder, Chairman and CEO of sports marketing company International Management Group (IMG). He was named 'the most powerful man in sports' by Sports Illustrated.

In this book McCormack does not so much criticize Harvard Business School as the title suggests, but complements the traditional business school-education with 'street smarts' - "the ability to make active, positive use of your instincts, insights, and perceptions." (Funnily enough, McCormack did not even attend the HBS, he has a law degree from Yale.) "My main purpose in writing this book is to fill in many of the gaps - the gaps between a business school education and the street knowledge that comes from day-to-day experience of running a business and managing people." He splits the 'street smarts' and this book up into three parts: People, sales and negotiation, and running a business. With each part consisting of 4-to-6 chapters.

In the first part McCormack discusses matters related to people, such as reading people, creating impressions, preparation for business situations, and improving your career. "Business situations always come down to people situations. And the more - and the sooner - I know about the person I am dealing with, the more effective I'm going to be." In the second part of the book - Sales and Negotiation - the author dicusses sales, negotiations and marketing. Sales and negotiations are probably the strongest point of both the book and McCormack, he really excels here. ...The third part of the book - Running a Business - is probably the weakest part of the book. Although there are some great one-liners, it is clear that the author is not that much at ease with writing about organization structures, policies and procedures. In fact, it looks like he despises most of these subjects. However, in the final chapter he provides some good advice for entrepreneurs and people thinking about starting their own business.

Yes, I do like this book. It is somewhat unconventional and is not really a business/management book. The examples from his experiences in sports marketing are exceptional and extremely useful. And yes, it is a great complement to the traditional business school-education (although they are now covering some of the subjects McCormack discusses, under the term 'emotional intelligence'). It is very simple to read and relatively short (250 pages). Recommended to managers and, yes also, MBA-students.

This was one of the first business/management books I purchasd upon my graduation from college in 1988. Since that time, I find myself reading the book atleast once every 12 to 18 months to refreash my memory as well as my attitude. Mark's common sense straight forward approach is second to none! This book made such an impression on me that it is now required reading for all of my managemnet personnel and all new hires are given a copy on their start date of employment with my company.

This book is somewhat over-rated. Some of the chapters are just common sense. But there are also some tricks in 'sales'. The book emphasizes on silence and importance of the silence in negotiation.

This is a good if over-rated book. If a lot of what he recommends here isn't already instinctive in you, you probably weren't meant to be an entrepreneur. He goes on endlessly about how you should be as silent as much as possible in negotiations. I went into negotiations after reading that thinking that's what I'd better do. Then I realized that's what I'd been doing the whole time without having to be told. An arrogance bleeds through the lines a bit too often. And being a sports agent, to me, is about as frivolous a profession as there could be. When I first heard the term "sports agent" I literally thought it was a joke. Bill Murray said the reason Mike Ovitz failed as an executive at Disney is, "He went from a simple commission business as a talent agent to the much more complex business of Disney. That's why he failed." And McCormack runs a talent agency, basically. And a lot of readers will probably be involved in much more complex businesses, for whom his advice will be dubious at best. But with those major reservations, I still think it's a book worth reading.

It's an easy reader. It offers some valuable tips from this guy who has more money than me, right? He says things like "middle managers make the HUGE mistake of knowing what they shouldn't say and saying it anyway"; I used to do that. "Laughter in intense situations is key"; I made the whole group crack up at a corporate training. "Timing is everything so be aware of the benefit to you in timing". I'm paraphrasing of course but I love this book. I took notes, I highlighted, I memorized. I read it often and if I lost it I'd buy another. It's fun. Worth the money and the time.

I wish I had read this book as a freshly minted MBA. It would have alerted me to some speed bumps on the freeway of business.

McCormack is like a coach or a grandfather with extraordinary wisdom and experience taking you to a series of lunches to help guide your career.

It's not a ladder to success, but rather a valuable building block for a strong foundation. It's also an interesting insight into the sports management business.

Highly recommended.

In What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack offers readers advice on how to interact with others on the job. McCormack organizes the material into many short, interesting sections and that makes What They Don't an "easy read". The book's organization makes it easy to resume reading after one has set it aside for a while. What They Don't would make a good beach book (at least for people who can stand reading about business at the beach).

The book also offers some good suggestions. I particularly liked McCormack's discussion of three hard-to-say phrases ("I don't know," "I need help," and "I was wrong"); most people will probably find themselves recounting times when those phrases would have prevented heartache on their jobs. I also enjoyed McCormack's advice on negotiation, the need to be organized, and the power of silence in interpersonal communication.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with those reviewers who have pointed out the book's shortcomings. While McCormack's advice generally is good, he is an egotist and a self promoter. McCormack spends pages bragging about the insights he possesses that others lack and he also constantly "name drops" (Arnold Palmer, John DeLorean, Roone Arledge, etc.). Furthermore, while McCormack offers his readers advice on many topics, he attempts to cover so much ground that there is little depth in most of the material.

In summary, if readers can get around McCormack's ego, they will find some straightforward, thought-provoking advice in What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School.

This book may seem over-simplified to the consumate business person, but it is filled with parables from an extremely successful gentleman. It was required reading when I was taking graduate courses. When people ask about setting up a new business, I recommend this book.

Practical, pragmatic down to earth advice provided in small bite size pieces and supported by real life examples. I think this is a must read for anyone in business. I will be reading it yearly to bring me back to earth.