The New Pioneers: The Men and Women Who Are Transforming the Workplace and Marketplace (Hardcover)

by Thomas Petzinger Jr (Author) "Standing five feet tall in steel-toed boots, Charlene Pedrolie first entered the whitewashed cinder-block building in April 1995..." (more)
Key Phrases: min specs, Wall Street, Mount Olive, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In The New Pioneers, Thomas Petzinger brings alive the people who are leading a revolution in American business. Petzinger contends that fundamental changes in the U.S. economy are being spurred by technology that obliterates old boundaries as well as new freedoms in the workplace and the efforts of entrepreneurs with a zeal for innovation and customer service. "We can't yet see it everywhere, but a great awakening is now under way in business," he writes.

A columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Petzinger spent three years traveling across America to interview management gurus and businesspeople at the forefront of this economic seachange. He discovered that large and small businesses alike are succeeding by abandoning the old command-and-control ethos. In today's best-run companies, he notes, employees are getting the leeway to manage themselves. Petzinger profiles people as diverse as Pete and Laura Wakeman of Dillon, Montana, who built the Great Harvest Bakery chain by making their company more of a community than a corporation; Nick Gleason, a Harvard Business School graduate who eschewed a big salary to launch an Internet design company in a Boston ghetto; and Richard Knowles, who turned around a struggling West Virginia chemical plant for the Dupont Corporation. Provocative and well written, The New Pioneers is for top managers, regular working people, and anyone who loves a good business yarn. --Dan Ring

From Publishers Weekly
Wall Street Journal columnist Petzinger (Hard Landing) does an excellent job of spotlighting the faces behind the businesses that are leading the way into what he calls the "new economy." The new economy is entrepreneurial, not corporate; it stresses adaptation rather than bureaucratic planning, "teamwork" and "empowerment" rather than rigid command-and-control structures. While the stories of the people behind innovative companies are often intriguing, readers will be left wondering what to do with this information. Some readers will even find Petzinger's premise puzzling. For instance, his introductory example is an innovative Philadelphia pharmacy that managed to succeed in a poverty-stricken area of the city. Petzinger is full of justified admiration for the way the owner wedded his pharmacy to the community, offered employees profit sharing and made a mint. Ultimately, however, the owner was so successful that he sold his three stores to Rite-Aid. This inspiring and informative book would have been even better had Petzinger delved more deeply into the paradox that the successes and innovations of the new pioneers he celebrates coincide with an era of increasing corporate consolidation. Readers are left wanting more guidance from someone who clearly knows the territory.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (March 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684846365
• ISBN-13: 978-0684846361
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,239,519 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't think outside of the box without it., July 26, 1999

By A Customer

After spending three years in a weekend MBA program I swore I'd never buy another "must read" business book. I lied. Tom's writing makes this book a joy to read. Written in the style of his features in the WSJ, New Pioneers should be on the desk of every CEO, as well as the reading lists of serious students of economic and business theory.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Morality Play for Businesses -- Great Small Company Examples, April 15, 2000

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Reading The New Pioneers is a pleasant occupation. On theother hand, reviewing this book for people who have not yet read it isa challenging task. This is primarily because the book is written to be read and understood at many different levels.

The simplest and most obvious level is as a series of charming stories in the best humanistic tradition that demonstrate that there is good business in being a good human.

At a deeper level, Mr. Petzinger is also telling us that the economy is changing in a fundamental way because of the experiences of small and middle sized business leaders, such as those cited in the book.

Beyond that, he is suggesting something fundamental about human civilization and its potential to create astonishingly positive results.

At whatever level you consider the book, you will be well rewarded for reading it.

I must admit that it is tempting to ignore the book's shortcomings, but that would shortchange the principles that Mr. Petzinger is exploring...

As heart-warming as this book is, it is a scrapbook rather than a vision for individual entrepreneurs. Its value for entrepreneurs is, nonetheless, quite substantial. The benefit comes from stimulating ideas among readers by showing new business examples that have not been widely published and discussed before. I hope all entrepreneurs will read this book for that important benefit.

A fine effort from a talented journalist! END

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Home Run, February 11, 2000

By	Terri Marks (New York) - See all my reviews

Tom has done a fabulous job with his latest book. It clearly shows how top people get there and make their organizations top performers. The book is chock full of examples that are relevant. The style of writing is, of course, meant for us by being easy-to-read and descriptive. Buy it!

Also recommend a well-receoved book that addresses how managers can be top performers by focusing on bettering themselves, their co-workers, and their organizations. It's called ""The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills."