Corporate-finance

No disrespect intended, but I happened to have worked for one of the "daring visionaries" profiled in this book. And from my own observations, it must be said that all too often, in a quest to package and glamourize "madcap" or "wild and crazy" startup cultures and their leaders, authors such as Mr. Smilor quietly ignore the potential liabilities of this style of entrepreneurship.

Put simply, it is all too easy to confuse impulsivity and extroversion for "visionary" leadership- simply because the theatre of wild displays of energy and risktaking are by their nature dramatic and impactful. But building and growing a great company is not a performance art. And the personality given to such behaviors may as easily be simply an improvisional actor portraying the role of a crazed and daring entrepreneur.

It should not come as a surprise to anyone that a talent for such antics isn't a guarantee of anything- especially true leadership skills. From my own experience, the manic charisma of our leader was complimented with a mercurial and frequently even self-destructive personality.

Charismatic leaders often are men or women of character- and I don't mean to imply anything to the contrary. Mr. Smilor makes other points beyond his glamorization of nutty dreamers, and I do not disagree with much of the rest of his book.

But to anyone who would take from this book the author's suggestion that "the wild and crazy things you do to enhance culture form the mythology of the company" I would add simply this. If the mythology of your company isn't the truth of your company, your company is engaged in delusion (at best) and deception (at worst).

When I ordered this book, I was intrigued about statement given by a reviewer explaining how "enterpreneurship is a subset of management." I also had the mind-set that reading this book was going to be a total waste of time. I got prepared to read a motivational book that would not go beyond my short-term memory.

Entrepreneurs are a special breed. I agree that anyone with the desire, training and savvy can accomplish anything once the person is committed to it. Entrepreneurs are leaders, managers, learners and followers. Leadership and management are subsets of entrepreneurship. Mr. Smilor was correct when he admonished the dean at a leading business school. Schools today are only teaching students what they ought to know when they should also be training students on what to do! Entrepreneurs inspire people, create wealth and improve society in America. These are just a few of the many topics covered in short, but very concise chapters.

May I offer a suggestion for the entrepreneur who is just getting started or for the burned-out entrepreneur who has been in the trenches too long (that's me!). Skim the book like the first class taken in a post-graduate degree program. Make this book the first step in the long and winding process. I can assure you that many issues covered will not be fully absorbed the first time. Then, before presenting the start-up to investors, carefully review the book again, as the last step, to make sure you covered all the bases. You will get a new outlook and gain an entirely new appreciation for this book.

One final point. It demands total commitment and takes the ultimate sacrifice to be an entrepreneur. It is a gut-wrenching experience...

Smilor has captured not only the practical intuition of entrepreneurship - but its vital inspiring essence. His organization is coherent and bite-sized; perfect for a quick pick up, a fast scan, or a page-turning read. He obviously understands the needs of the fast-paced digester, leaving the reader with both solid academic/research/theoretical underpinnings as well as real-life stories of entrepreneurial inspiration. A terrific book for anyone running, growing or starting a new venture!

An excellent book which threatens to lapse into obscurity. Everyone should read "Williard and Progressive Management" for its pertenance to today's business as well as its insight into twentieth century history.

A word of warning as stated by the author in his preface: This is NOT a "choo-choo" book!

David Vrooman fills a BIG VOID to document what was a harbinger of the so-called Japanese style of corporate management, the principles of which were developed by W. Edwards Deming after World War II under the name of Total Quality Management, or "TQM". Rather than trying to upstage Deming, Vrooman presents Daniel Willard's common-sense approach in recognizing the dignity and worth of every employee in the corporate structure which he based on good individual upbringing and having been on virtually every rung of the railroad career ladder himself, culminating in the presidency of the B&O Railroad from 1910 to 1941. Throughout his 31 years as B&O president, Willard raised the status of his company from a large, second-class railroad to one that became a model for others to emulate. He did this through two major programs: 1) the Cooperative Plan, during the teens and twenties, receiving exemplary results based on employee unit meetings where suggestions for improvement of their individual work processes were solicited, and 2) the Corporate Traffic Plan, where employees were rewarded if they were able to get new freight accounts and passenger traffic during the years of the Great Depression. Vrooman also examines Willard's contributions to the country's logistics efforts on the railroads during World War I and his successes in averting major labor shutdowns of the nation's railroads. Also, Vrooman admiringly documents Willard's success in his effort to bring together the nation's railroad presidents and rail labor to save them from bankruptcy during the Great Depression by getting them to agree to an across-the-board 10% wage cut! If you were to ask if this could be done today, I would be forced to give a resounding NO! Willard did this through the TRUST that he was able to garner throughout all levels of the railroad industry, to become one of the most beloved individuals in his field as one of the greatest unsung Captains of Industry that American history SORROWFULLY OVERLOOKS!

This is a MUST READ for all those in corporate venues who want to get ahead, and at the same time, exercise the individual scruples they personally have developed in how they deal with their clients, superiors, and employees.

I found the book to be quite interesting regarding some of the key consulting giants in the industry. In some instances, however, it can be viewed as deserved. The authors took what they probably felt were issues which would create controversy and feedback (good or bad) and ran with it for awhile satisfying the reading palate of many a consultant and consulting client alike. Yes... there were issues raised that needed to be raised and some red flag areas addressed in the consulting industry that definetly needed to be stated. It's an industry run by a few big boys that need to be shaken and spanked a little... guess they just got a bit too big for their silk pants. Thank you James O'Shea and Charles Madigan for opening the eyes of many readers and quenching the thirst for what many people are interested in knowing much more about regarding these consulting superpowers. I understand these firms do a lot of good, too... it's not all bad news, but I didn't realize they could goof on such a massive scale either! As a senior level manager, my colleagues and I now know which firms we will or will not be signing with. I have not only recommended the book to my associates, but I have given a number of copies away as gifts, as well. We need more like this!!!

I thought the authors did a great job looking at what consulting firms can do/not do for businesses. I enjoyed reading about how some of the firms started (e.g. McKinsey/BCG). I thought some of the authors' recommendations when dealing with consultants were on the money. The two biggest take-aways from this book are: 1. If you need consultants, keep them focused on YOUR agendas and 2. Don't underestimate the knowledge of your company's own employees. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the consulting industry.

James O'Shea and Charles Madigan have written an exceptionally informative text. Not only is it packed with well researched material, it is very exciting to read as well.

This book contains material that should be regarded as essential reading for all serious-minded professional managers. It is the ultimate thinking manager's book, filled with compelling case evidence of managerial indecision (and how to avoid it). It is arguably the best business book to be published between 1980 and 2000.

Most negative reviews of this book suggest that it is either unbalanced, biased, or too superficial in its coverage of the management consultancy industry. Such claims should be accepted with caution, predominantly because they appear to be written by the very consultants whose feathers the book has obviously ruffled.

Ultimately this book shouldn't be taken as a modern-day Spanish Inquisition targeting consultants and their methods (although it is, in parts, a damaging exposure of management consulting's darker side). Instead, Dangerous Company's most salient message is really directed towards inept managers (at all organisational levels) who seek to mask their own ineptitude by relying on expert advice that they are often incapable of comprehending. Chapter 2 on "Figgie International" is the best example of this. This chapter can be read as a stand-alone case-analysis of strategic confusion, and is perhaps the book's most revealing segment.

The book's underlying message (and this is obviously being missed by those who all too readily criticise the text) is that highly paid senior executives who readily abrogate their managerial responsibilities by blindly placing faith in the advice of external experts, are the "real dangers" to their companies. O'Shea & Madigan make this clear in the final pages of their book, where they provide a checklist of 10 rules to follow when engaging management consultants. Rule 5 is "never give up control".

The concluding lines of "Dangerous Company" are perhaps the most revealing of all: "Good advice depends upon the shrewdness of the (person) who seeks it." In the final analysis, the authors are not suggesting that managers shouldn't use consultants, they're merely suggesting that managers seek advice wisely rather than blindly.

It is an impressive work done by Damodaran. to learn how to value a company becomes much more easier with this book. But the samples could be somewhat more complex and sophisticated. This guide is an ultimate guide for them who begin to learn the valuation topic. Professional should also trace it.