If it Ain't Broke...Break It!: And Other Unconventional Wisdom for a Changing Business World (Paperback)

by Robert J. Kriegel (Author), Louis Patler (Author) "recently told a thousand of his beleaguered managers. "Using that same scale," he warned, "I see the changes coming at us as an 8..." (more)
Key Phrases: fear cycle, mess with success, unconventional wisdom, Break-It Thinkers, Break-It Thinking, Victory Log (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Preordained goals, conventional behavior and consensus decisions are sensibly challenged in this call for innovative rule-breaking in '90s business.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
As big business in the United States has replaced small business, the entrepreneurial spirit has also disappeared. Kriegel, a well-known speaker and expert on human resources, believes that this is the major problem in American business and that it can be remedied by changing the underlying ideas. He uses a vehicle that he calls "unconventional wisdom" to help break old thought patterns and substitute new, more productive ones. In each chapter he takes one old truism such as "don't mess with success" or "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and shows how and why this way of thinking is unproductive in today's fast-paced business world. While not a significant contribution to business research or study, this is refreshing to read and will probably be in demand. Recommended for popular business collections.
- Judith M. Nixon, Purdue Univ. Lib., West Lafay ette, Ind.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Business Plus; Other Printing edition (March 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446393592
• ISBN-13: 978-0446393591
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #208,278 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fresh new outlook of how to put yourself ahead, August 24, 1999

By	[e-mail] "sonma" (The Dominican Republlic) - See all my reviews

I was very entertained and well informed reading this book. This book helps to take a new and fresh outlook of how to do things different in the business world. I may recommend it to those who struggle and resist changes either with themselves or someone else in their work places. But go easy, you cannot apply everything or expect results out of this book right away. If you are going to take a long flight or go on vacation, this book, could be a good one to bring along.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you read one business book, make it this one!, October 14, 2002

By	Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you read one business book this year, you won't go wrong with HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT WORKING SO
HARD by Robert J. Kriegel . . . it is packed with ideas that will help you stop working so hard--and start working better.

Kriegel, author of the equally excellent IF IT AIN'T BROKE . . . BREAK IT, contends that it is not a badge of honor to work 100 hours per week . . . rather, he points out that it's the innovators, visionaries and new-thinkers who love their work who rise to the top.

I particularly liked his 90 Percent Rule, which says that a relaxed atmosphere produces better results than a tense one . . . he then described his experiments with over 150 salespeople . . . those who made less calls had at least 20 percent better results, largely because they felt more relaxed and were able to listen better.

There were many memorable passages; among them:
* In my programs, I always ask, "How many of you get your best
ideas--barn burners, lightbulbs, the aha's--while at work?" No one ever raises their hand. "Which room in your house do you get your best ideas in?" I ask, The response is always the bathroom or bedroom. "Why is that?" "Because no on bothers me and I get time to think" is the usual response.

* Ray Evernham, with driver Jeff Gordon, used this flip-of-the-rules strategy in NASCAR racing to win the Winston Cup Championship several times. Evernham says, "If conventional wisdom say the corner is the best place to pass, we practice passing on the other end of the track, because nobody is expecting to get passed there."

* Whether it is a book or a proposal, many people have difficulty starting a writing project. That first step seems like an insurmountable hurdle. The first line seems impossible to get right.

One way to get yourself going is to begin at the end or the middle. I have started out writing my last three books with those chapters that I am most excited and clear about. I will often begin writing a chapter, not necessarily at what I think should be the beginning, but with a great story or example that I enjoy relating and that clearly illustrates the point I want to make. Once started, momentum builds and the rest
becomes much easier, whether you have to go forward of backward
of both.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fresh new outlook of how to put yourself ahead, August 24, 1999

By A Customer

I was very entertained and well informed reading this book. This book helps to take a new and fresh outlook of how to do things different in the business world. I may recommend it to those who struggle and resist changes either with themselves or someone else in their work places. But go easy, you cannot apply everything or expect results out of this book right away. If you are going to take a long flight or go on vacation, this book, could be a good one to bring along.