Customer Reviews

The Wright Way: 7 Problem-Solving Principles from the Wright Brothers That Can Make Your Business Soar

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a history buff --and one time resident of Dayton, OH--I have always had an appreciation for the historical contribution of the Wright brothers. Or, so I thought! After reading The Wright Way, I now see how little I really knew about these two men and, more importantly, how much I can still learn from them now, both personally and professionally.

Mark Eppler offers more than a historical account of the events leading up to and surrounding the invention of manned flight. He provides a rare, behind the scenes peak into the thoughts, motivations and unorthodox style of two brothers, who not only shared a dream to accomplish the unthinkable, but also had the persistence, tenacity, creativity and flexibility to make it happen.

What makes their story so compelling -- and the book so relevant for today - is their ability combine insights with action, vision with execution, the big picture with an attention to detail, and interestingly, team work with constructive conflict.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their horizons (no pun intended) and the guidance to make their dreams into reality.

Whether you are a visionary or one who is deluged with problems that people are bringing to you, you will be encouraged by Mark Eppler's book with the practical 7 principles for problem solving used by the Wright Brothers.

I jumped right to the seven chapters with the principles and read them first. The stories told about the Wright Brothers are expanded with the content of the author's own experiences in business and problem solving.

The assertion that it took only 11 months for the problem to be solved was unbelivable to me. The author included his email address at the end of the book, page 206, so I wrote him about this. His response pointed out the difference between conceptualizing the solution and implementing it.

The reality of conceptualizing the solution in 11 months and implementing it over a long time is a common reality that all of us in business experience also.

It's encouraging to identify with the Wright Brothers througth this book and to think of strategic contributions that each of us can make in our communities using these 7 principles for effective problem solving.

It is not often that you can pick up a "managment principles" book and find it to also be entertaining and inspiring. This book is. One might think, or expect, that The Wright Way would be a "gimmick book", rehashing old managment principles with a Wright brother's twist, just to capitalize on the publicity surrounding the 100th anniversary of the first heavier than air flight. Not so. The obvious exhaustive research that went into this book reflects the authors passion about "how" the Wright brothers did what the did, not just what they did. As the CEO of a $6 million not-for-profit business, the "seven principles" struck home for me. For starters, from now on I'm going to tackle the tyrant at the get go! Enjoy this eassy, fun, and useful read.

I am very impressed by Mr. Eppler's ability to wrap a very intriguing story about one of mankinds most significant scientific advances around very meaningful management principles.

I began reading this book to learn about the problem-solving principles and found myself learning a great deal about the beginning of aviation and some very interesting personalities, the Wright brothers.

Read this book for the enjoyment you will have and the knowledge you will receive.

The Wright Way very effectively and entertainingly reminds those of us charged with the responsibility of problem-solving in today's fast moving world of management, that it isn't our "mainframe capacities" or extensive headcount resources that bring major project success, but instead, a principled, stepped approach, applied to the problem, one which was tested in the fire and proven worthy 100 years ago. The seven problem-solving principles, so well described by Mark Eppler in his book, could well be used in today's business environment to accomplish tomorrow's "unsolvable problems", such as renewable energy sources. This should be a must read on the college level.

I have made it a point to read all the best selling business books to keep abreast of any new concepts in selling and management. Most books are long on theory and short on application. Or worse, very entertaining, but lacking enough detail do to anything more than enjoy the read!

The Wright Way is masterfully written to offer the reader problem solving principles related to issues that companies are experiencing NOW along with an added bonus of historical context and current events that emphasize relevancy. Technology has made it possible for companies of all sizes to become global thereby increasing the challenges (problems) a business can face. Mr. Eppler presents the reader with an outline that companies can employ whether the problem be related to technology, product lines, facilites, mergers, markets or culture within the organization. The Wright Way is not only a read, but a re-read!

This book is a great idea! Take one of the greatest inventions of the 20th Century and breakdown the framework that lead to its creation.

The book is well researched and the author's conclusions about the Wright Brothers appear to be firmly grounded in fact and history. My only criticisim, and it is minor, is the book would have been a 5-star if the author had included more modern business management examples to support his 7 problem solving techniques. Curent business solution stories that parallell the Wright Brothers techniques would have really hammered the points home.

Overall, excellent book.

The Wright brothers were an amazing team. Working part time, these two previously undistinguished bicycle dealers from Dayton, Ohio, solved a problem that had baffled, frustrated and defeated (sometimes fatally) some of the most well-educated, well-capitalized and well known scientific entrepreneurs of their and all prior time. The story of how and why they succeeded in creating and flying the first airplane is not only fascinating, but also rich in didactic value for parents, teachers and businesspeople. Author Mark Eppler does an admirable job of drawing you into the story of the Wright brothers. We relishe the problem-solving principles he defines, which are, at times, refreshingly unorthodox. He abstracts these principles well and phrases them clearly, but the best demonstration of the principles lies in his retelling of the Wright brothers' absorbing story. A very good book indeed.

The Wright brothers were an amazing team. Working part time, these two previously undistinguished bicycle dealers from Dayton, Ohio, solved a problem that had baffled, frustrated and defeated (sometimes fatally) some of the most well-educated, well-capitalized and well known scientific entrepreneurs of their and all prior time. The story of how and why they succeeded in creating and flying the first airplane is not only fascinating, but also rich in didactic value for parents, teachers and businesspeople. Author Mark Eppler does an admirable job of drawing you into the story of the Wright brothers. Relishing the problem-solving principles he defines, which are, at times, refreshingly unorthodox. He abstracts these principles well and phrases them clearly, but the best demonstration of the principles lies in his retelling of the Wright brothers' absorbing story. A very good book indeed.

I found Mr. Eppler's writing style interesting and fun. His many definitions were thought provoking and wonderfully worth remembering in many of life's situation.

His research brought the chartacters off the pages and were historically significant since I served in the United States Air Force and I lived in the Dayton, Ohio area for many years. I had many occasions to visit Wright Patterson Air Force base and had several opportunities to visit the Air Force Museum on the base.

As a matter of fact, the Museum was responsible for saving me from the damaging effect of many of the "super salesmen" from the home office who were sent to accompany me on sales calls to clients on the base. When I was saddled with a particularly obnoxious represntative, I could easily divert his attention away from my customers with a visit to the museum and keep him from alientating my customers with his "know-it-all" attitude

However, it was Mr. Eppler's thoughtful presentation of Wilbur and Orville's approaches to problem solving that really captured my attention. I appreciated the way he delineated the seven principles without dimenishing them. They are worthy of use and application in nearly every imaginable management situation as well as personal problems.