Barbarians to Bureaucrats: Corporate Life Cycle Strategies (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The history of civilizations and corporations reveals a common pattern..." (more)
Key Phrases: common social purpose, specialized competence, life cycle curve, Administrative Age, United States, Ray Kroc (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Excellent provocative thoughts about leadership, which prod the reader to think for oneself rather than accept a simplistic, Atilla-the-Hun -- like answer." Dallas Times Herald

"Thought-provoking . . . . Anyone in a position to influence the direction of their company should make this book a No. 1 priority on his or her reading list." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Review

Review

"Excellent provocative thoughts about leadership, which prod the reader to think for oneself rather than accept a simplistic, Atilla-the-Hun -- like answer." Dallas Times Herald

"Thought-provoking . . . . Anyone in a position to influence the direction of their company should make this book a No. 1 priority on his or her reading list." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st Printing edition (January 14, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449905268
• ISBN-13: 978-0449905265
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Personalities that create, manage, and destroy businesses., March 4, 1999

By A Customer

Excellent summary of identifying, working with, and maneuvering around the types of executives that inhabit today's corporate environment. With valid parallels drawn to both business and world history, this book helps the reader place themselves and those with whom they work into personality types, that eventually create a corporate personality. More importantly, the book outlines the progression/regression characteristics and tools for moving from one personality type to another (either personally, or as a business), or enhancing one type with characteristics from another.

Well worth reading for anyone in middle management, and required understanding for top executives.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help in understanding declining organizations, December 9, 2000

By	Carolyn (Corcoran, CA) - See all my reviews

By comparing the lifecycles of corporations to those of civilizations, this book helps to explain how all sorts of organizations, not just corporations, can become "sick" through bureaucracy and poor leadership. This book helped me to understand why there is so much institutional opposition to correcting even localized corruption and dissolution in a large, bureaucratic GOVERNMENT institution. It helped save my sanity. I with the author would write a similar book dealing with governmental organizations.

Another book which may help if you are trying to "fight city hall" is Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Barbarians to Bureaucrats Corporate Life Cycle Strategies, August 22, 2001

By	Jeffrey L. Parker (Clovis, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

Excellent book. With so many "here's what's wrong with your company" books available, this is one of the best. Not only does the author suggest what's wrong...i.e., which part of the life cycle is your company in, he tells you how to do something about it.

If I'd only been able to read just one book, I am glad I choose this one.