Review of The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value (Paperback)

I read this book when it was first published and recently re-read it. Those who have checked out my reviews of other books which address many of the same issues already know that I have a bias with regard to "customer satisfaction" and "customer loyalty", agreeing with Jeffrey Gitomer and others that the former is wholly dependent on each transaction and the latter can end (sometimes permanently) because of a single unsatisfactory transaction. The objective for those who have customers (be they internal or external) is to achieve and then sustain their passion about doing business with you. You want them to become evangelists.

Of course, Reichheld fully understands all this. In a brilliant essay which recently appeared in the Harvard Business Review, he shares new research which (again) shows that companies with faithful employees, customers, and investors (i.e. capital sources which include banks) share one key attribute: leaders who stick with six "bedrock principles": preach what you practice (David Maister has much of value to say about this in his most recently published book, Practice What You Preach), play to win-win, be picky, keep it simple, reward the right results, and finally, listen hard...talk straight. In this book, Reichheld organizes his material within 11 chapters which range from "Loyalty and Value" to "Getting Started: The Path Toward Zero Defections." With meticulous care, he explains how to devise and them implement programs which will help any organization to earn the loyalty of everyone involved in the enterprise. He draws upon a wealth of real-world experience which he and his associates in Bain & Company, a worldwide strategy consulting firm. Reichheld heads up its Loyalty Practice. In his most recently published book, Practice What You Preach, David Maister explains why there must be no discrepancy whatsoever between the "talk" we talk and the "walk" we walk. Reichheld agrees, noting that the "key" to the success of his own organization "has been its loyalty to two principles: first, that our primary mission is to create value for our clients, and second, that our most precious asset is the employees dedicated to making productive contributions to client value creation. Whenever we've been perfectly centered on these two principles, our business has prospered." It is no coincidence that the world's most highly admired companies are also the most profitable within their respective industries. I wholly agree with Reichheld that loyalty is critically important as a measure of value creation and as a source of profit but that it is by no means "a cure-all or a magic bullet." Loyalty is based on trust and respect. It must be earned, usually over an extended period of time and yet can be lost or compromised at any time with a single betrayal.

Here are three brief excerpts:

"One common barrier to better loyalty and higher productivity is the fact that a lot of business executives, and virtually all accounting departments, treat income and outlays as if they occurred in separate worlds. The truth is, revenues and costs are inextricably linked, and decisions that focus on one or the other -- as opposed to both -- often misfire."

"Companies cannot succeed or grow unless they can serve their customers with a better value proposition that the competition. Measuring customer and employee loyalty can accurately gauge the weaknesses in a company's value proposition and help to prescribe a cure."

"While every loyalty leader's strategy is unique, all of them build on the following eight elements: Building a superior customer value proposition, finding the right customers, earning customer loyalty, finding the right employees, earning employee loyalty, gaining cost advantage through superior productivity, finding the right [capital sources], and earning [their] loyalty."

Who will derive the greatest value from this book? Decision-makers in any organization (regardless of size or nature) which has been weakened by defections among customers and/or employees. If the primary objectives are value creation and partnership, decision-makers in these organizations must never betray or neglect any of the fundamentals of loyalty-based management: "partnership builds incentive; incentive builds value; value builds loyalty; loyalty builds even greater value." It's as simple and (yes) as difficult as that.



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Review of Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental Skills to Deliver on budget and on Time (Paperback)

This is one of the volumes in the Harvard Business Essentials Series. Each offers authoritative answers to the most important questions concerning its specific subject. The material in this book is drawn from a variety of sources which include the Harvard Business School Press and the Harvard Business Review as well as Harvard ManageMentor_, an online service. I strongly recommend the official Harvard Business Essentials Web site (www.elearning.hbsp.org/businesstools) which offers free interactive versions of tools, checklists, and worksheets cited in this book and other books in the Essentials series. Each volume is indeed "a highly practical resource for readers with all levels of experience." And each is by intent and in execution solution-oriented. Although I think those who have only recently embarked on a business career will derive the greatest benefit, the material is well-worth a periodic review by senior-level executives.

Credit Richard Luecke with pulling together a wealth of information and counsel from various sources. He is also the author of several other books in the Essentials series. In this instance, he was assisted by a subject advisor, Richard D. Austin, a member of the Technology and Operations Management faculty at the Harvard Business School. Together, they have carefully organized the material within 12 chapters.

1. Project Management as a Process (four phases)
2. The Cast of Characters (i.e. who's who in project management)
3. A Written Charter ("your marching orders")
4. A Framework for Action (i.e. important first steps)
5. Work Breakdown (i.e. from huge job to manageable tasks)
6. Scheduling the Work ("put the horse before the cart")
7. Adjustments and Trade-Offs (i.e. more fine-tuning)
8. Managing Risk ("scanning the hazy horizon")
9. Project Adaptation (i.e. dealing with what you could not or did not anticipate)
10. Getting Off on the Right Foot (i.e., project needs to keep in mind)
11. Keeping on Track (i.e. maintaing control)
12. The Closedown Phase (i.e. wrapping up)

I especially appreciate the provision of a "Summing Up" section at the conclusion of each chapter, and, the provision also of two appendices: "Useful Implementation Tools" and "A Guide to Effective Meetings." Re the appendices, all executives should possess and continuously upgrade a "tool kit" even if what is needed this week or this month requires entirely different "tools" later. One of the most important value-added benefits of the "Essentials" series is that each of its volumes includes a number of "tools" relevant to the given subject and an explanation of how to use them effectively.

With regard to the advice provided on meetings (probably the single greatest time-waster), it is sensible but sparse. Years ago, I became convinced that most meetings are convened to discuss what needs to be discussed rather than to discuss what needs to be done. And even when the latter, more often than not, the "PTD Principle" is ignored (i.e. P = person, T = task, and D = deadline). I now presume to share my own advice.

1. Schedule a meeting only when it is absolutely necessary.
2. Include only those who must be present.
3. In advance, inform everyone involved what the meeting's specific objectives are.

NOTE: No more than three objectives per meeting.

4. Limit the discussion entirely to achieving the specified objective(s).
5. Encourage dissent.

NOTE: If two people in the group agree on everything, one of them is useless.

6. Have zero tolerance of gabbers.
7. Strictly follow the "PTD Principle."
8. Follow-up with everyone re who must do what and by when.
9. Have zero tolerance of slackers.
10. If someone suggests another meeting, see Point #1.

Other than Appendix B, the material which Luecke and Austin provide is first-rate. I highly recommend it to decision-makers in all organizations (regardless of size or nature) and especially to those who are now preparing for a business career or have recently embarked on one. Effective and efficient management of work at all levels and within all areas of any organization is absolutely essential.However, what Peter Drucker suggested more than 40 years ago is even more relevant now than ever before: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."

Product Description
When it comes to project management, success lies in the details. This book walks managers through every step of project oversight from start to finish. Thanks to the book's comprehensive information on everything from planning and budgeting to team building and after-project reviews, managers will master the discipline and skills they need to achieve stellar results without wasting time and money. "The Harvard Business Essentials Series" is for managers at all levels but is especially relevant for new managers. It offers on-the-spot guidance, coaching, and tools on the most relevant topics in business. Each book includes the critical information that managers need on a given topic - from budgeting to hiring to communication to strategy - and offers interactive tools and worksheets that translate advice into action. Providing ready answers to day-to-day issues, these guides make sound, trusted mentoring advice available whenever managers need it. Other Books in the "HBE Series" are: "Managing Change and Transition"; "Hiring and Keeping the Best People"; "Finance for Managers Business"; "Communications"; "Innovation"; and "Negotiation".

About the Author
Since 1984, Harvard Business School Press has been dedicated to publishing the most contemporary management thinking, written by authors and practitioners who are leading the way. Whether readers are seeking big-picture strategic thinking or tactical problem solving, advice in managing global corporations or for developing personal careers, HBS Press helps fuel the fire of innovative thought. HBS Press has earned a reputation as the springboard of thought for both established and emerging business leaders.

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Review of Mission Critical: Realizing the Promise of Enterprise Systems (Hardcover)

Davenport does a brilliant job of explaining what enterprise systems are and what they can accomplish in any organization. He suggests, however,that they are worthless "unless they lead to better information or betterways of doing business. I think that enterprise systems are without doubtan impressive technical feat, but I am primarily concerned thatorganizations get business value from them." Throughout his book, headdresses key issues such as these:

1. What enterprise systems are andwhy they are important

2. The promise and the perils involved

3. How todecide whether or not to implement enterprise systems

4. How to integrateenterprise systems with strategy and organizational structure

5. How tointegrate enterprise systems with business processes and information

6.How to achieve value while implementing enterprise systems

7. How totransform the practice of management with enterprise systems

8. How touse enterprise systems to manage the supply chain

9. The future ofES-enabled organizations

As Davenport explains in Chapter 1, "Enterprisesystems offer the first great opportunity to achieve true connectivity, astate in which everyone knows what everyone else is doing in the businessall over the world at the same time. And because they represent the firstgreat opportunity for connectivity, they pose one of the greatest threatsto the status quo that companies have ever faced." Hence the importance ofone of the the book's most valuable sections, the Appendix, in whichDavenport provides "A Technical Overview of Enterprise Systems." Those whofeel threatened by an enterprise system will seize any and allopportunities to point out its technical flaws. At best, enterprise systemsare complex, difficult to install, and inflexible. However, Davenportpoints out, they "will remain the most capable, integrated systems in thehistory of the world. They may have their flaws, but they are also theanswer to our information systems prayers." I agree.

Product Description
A No-Nonsense Guide to the Benefits and Pitfalls of Enterprise-Wide Information Systems

How many organizations would doubt the promise of an integrated enterprise system (ES)? Not many, judging by a $15 billion industry. The combination of an ES as a platform for organizational information and Internet technology for gaining access to it adds up to the ideal solution for company-wide data sharing in real time. Not surprisingly, small and large companies worldwide are either considering an ES, in the process of implementing one, or living with the results. Yet, says Tom Davenport, unless managers view ES adoption and implementation as a business decision rather than a technology decision, they may be risking disappointment

Mission Critical presents an authoritative and no-nonsense view of the ES opportunities and challenges. Suggesting ESs are not the right choice for every company, the author provides a set of guidelines to help managers evaluate the benefits and risks for their organizations. To be successful, argues Davenport, an organization must make simultaneous changes in its information systems, its business processes, and its business strategy. Such changes are described in detail with extensive examples from real organizations. Bolstering his contention that ESs should be viewed as business vs. technology projects, Davenport spells out the specific business change objectives that should be formulated in advance of ES adoption and monitored throughout its implementation.

The first strategic guide to the ES decision, Mission Critical will be indispensable to general managers and information technology specialists at all stages of the implementation process.

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Review of Transforming Your Go-to-Market Strategy: The Three Disciplines of Channel Management (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book by Harvard Business School professor Kash Rangan.The authors advocate a disciplined approach to channel strategy that could generate superior returns in almost any industry.In my experience, most manufacturers neither develop careful channel maps nor do they assign executives senior enough to make significant channel resource commitments.As a result, the returns to channel stewardship should be available for any company willing to invest the time and effort.

A major strength of this book is the detailed examples provided in each chapter.Most business books simply provide very short case studies that always leave me wondering what really happened.Here, Rangan and Bell combine company stories with market data.Some of the examples are a bit dated, but that has the advantage of allowing the authors to describe the actual outcomes.The examples include both retail (B2C) and business-to-business channels, showing the strength of channels thinking. They even provide fresh insights into overdone examples such as Dell and Wal-Mart.

The only shortcoming is an over reliance on box-and-arrow diagrams.These are helpful when showing product and information flows within a channel system, but much less interesting when simply summarizing points made in the text.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with channel management responsibilities.This dense and challenging book will reward careful study.

Product Description
Most distribution channels are outdated and unwieldy, serving neither customers nor channel partners adequately. Despite new technologies that have streamlined many transactions and processes, a general lack of leadership combined with flawed and deeply ingrained structures make distribution channels exceedingly difficult to change.

What companies need, says V. Kasturi Rangan, is a new approach to going to market-"channel stewardship"-that simultaneously addresses customers' best interests and drives profits for all channel partners. In Transforming Your Go-to-Market Strategy, Rangan shows how any member of a distribution channel can adopt this role and learn how to shape an effective, constantly evolving, and mutually beneficial channel strategy.

This book outlines three disciplines that companies must master to navigate the complex distribution environment successfully: map the industry channel, build and edit one's own channel continuously to best serve customers, and align and influence one's channel value chain to ensure that all parties reap appropriate rewards. Rangan also provides guidance on managing multiple channels, integrating the Internet into a channel strategy, and overcoming common barriers that impede transformation.

A fresh approach to designing and managing channels for the long term, this book will help firms expand value for customers, partners, and the bottom line.

About the Author
V. Kasturi Rangan is the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing at Harvard Business School.

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