• download
  • Print
  • Recommend
  • 41

10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

Tags: Publisher, Books, Blurb, Organizational Structure, Leadership, Financial Accounting, Human Resources, Finance, Geoffrey James, Mice, Hardware, Peripherals, management, career, resources, BNET Feature

If you’re like most professionals, you’ve got a stack of business books sitting somewhere near your desk – many of the so-called “classics” that every smart manager supposedly needs to read. Frankly, however, we think that some of these classics became popular not because they were particularly insightful, but because they reinforced conventional business wisdom. Here’s our list of overrated classics, broken up by genre. As an alternative to these over-hyped tomes, we’ve included a suggested reading list that might provide some insights you didn’t already know.

Management Consulting

1. “Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution” by Michael Hammer and James Champy (Collins, 2003)

Publisher’s blurb: “This book leads readers through the radical redesign of a company’s processes, organization, and culture to achieve a quantum leap in performance.”

Excerpt: “Corporations do not perform badly because, as some critics have claimed, workers are lazy and managements are inept. Our record of industrial and technological accomplishment in the last century is proof enough that managements are not inept and workers do work. Ironically, the explanation for why companies perform badly is the identical explanation for why they used to perform so well.”

Why it’s overrated: The tautological reasoning (see excerpt) inherent in the reengineering concept immediately became weasel-speak for the downsizing craze, eviscerating companies while producing no lasting value.

Read this instead: “The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam” by Barbara Tuchman (Knopf, 1984)

Why: It gives a great explanation of “cognitive dissonance” – the reason that management fads always fail.

Excerpt: “For the ruler it is easier, once he has entered a policy box, to stay inside. For the lesser official it is better, for the sake of his position, not to make waves, not to press evidence that the chief will find painful to accept.”

2. “In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies” by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman (Harpercollins, 1982)

Publisher’s blurb: “Based on a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, describes eight basic principles of management – action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices – that made these organizations successful.”

Excerpt: “But primarily the ferment is around another stream of thoughts that follows from some startling ideas about the limited capacity of decision makers to handle information and reach what we usually think of as ‘rational’ decisions, and the even lesser likelihood that large collectives (i.e. organizations) will automatically execute the complex strategic design of the rationalists.”

Why it’s overrated: The “excellent” companies mostly went smack down the toilet.

Read this instead: “The Dilbert Principle” by Scott Adams (Harper Business, 1996)

Why: You’ll know exactly why “excellent” companies go smack down the toilet.

Excerpt: “Employees like to feel that their contributions are being valued. That’s why managers try to avoid that sort of thing. With value comes self-esteem and with self-esteem comes unreasonable requests for money.”

Management Role Models

3. “Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun” by Wess Roberts (Grand Central Publishing, 1989)

Publisher’s blurb: “In a uniquely creative and entertaining approach to a most serious task, ‘Attila’ reveals his principles for successful morale building, decision making, delegating and negotiating, and gives advice on overcoming setbacks and achieving goals.”

Excerpt: “The mere presence of the horde often instilled sufficient terror in the people of a region that they abandoned their villages without either resistance or subsequent reprisal. Out of this perplexing and barbaric past rose one of the most formidable leaders the world has known: Attila, King of Huns.”

Why it’s overrated: While most managers would love to behead disobedient employees, such behavior reads poorly in the annual report.

Read this instead: “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu (various editions)

Why: If you’re going to bloviate about business and warfare, you may as well quote the classic source.

Excerpt: “There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: (1) recklessness, which leads to destruction; (2) cowardice, which leads to capture; (3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; (4) a delicacy of honor, which is sensitive to shame; (5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.”

4. “Jack Welch & the G.E. Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO” by Robert Slater (McGraw-Hill, 1998)

Publisher’s blurb: “The legendary maverick discusses the traits that led BusinessWeek to anoint Welch, ‘ the gold standard against which other CEOs are measured.’”

Excerpt: “In order to make General Electric truly competitive, he would have to put it through more dramatic and far-reaching changes that any major American business enterprise had ever undertaken.”

Why it’s overrated: GE is an entirely unique organization and Jack Welch was an idiosyncratic leader. What worked for him (there) won’t likely work for you (here).

Read this instead: “Crazy Bosses” by Stanley Bing (Collins, 2007)

Why: These are the managers that you’re actually going to run into, so you’d better be prepared for them.

Excerpt: “There are two ways to look at it. Either (a) the business world is a sane place dominated by a couple of crazy people who ruin everything or (b) the organizations we serve are basically crazy, and you need to be crazy to manage them. After years of studying the subject, I’m weighing in on (b).”

5. “Jesus CEO” by Laurie Beth Jones (Hyperion, 1995)

Publisher’s blurb: “By harnessing three categories of strength behind Jesus’ leadership techniques (the strength of self-mastery, the strength of action, and the strength of relationships), each of us can become the empowered leaders that the next millennium will require.”

Excerpt: “I believe that Jesus had to go into the wilderness to find out who he was – that a wilderness experience was as much a part of his shaping and destiny as it is yours and mine.”

Why it’s overrated: While many managers think they’re God and manage accordingly, the historical Jesus espoused a communal lifestyle in direct opposition to (Roman) capitalism.

Read this instead: “The Book of Proverbs” (in the Bible)

Why: A collection of wisdom that completely transcends religion.

Excerpt: “Better a dry crust and with it peace than a house where feast and dispute go together.”

Management Skills

6. “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey (Free Press, 1989)

Publisher’s blurb: “Presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems.”

Excerpt: “The Character Ethic taught that there are basic principles of effective living, and that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these principles into their basic character.”

Why it’s overrated: Insufferably sanctimonious.

Read this instead: “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli (various editions)

Why: It will provide you with the precise moral foundation you’ll need to be successful on the corporate ladder.

Excerpt: “Upon this a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.”

7. “The One Minute Manager” by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (HarperCollins, 1981)

Publisher’s blurb: “For more than 20 years, millions of managers in Fortune 500 companies and small businesses nationwide have followed The One Minute Manager's techniques, thus increasing their productivity, job satisfaction, and personal prosperity.”

Excerpt: “‘Effective managers’ he thought, ‘manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the organization and the people profit from their presence.’”

Why it’s overrated: A collection of feel-good bromides and obvious anecdotes that’s main benefit is its brevity.

Read this instead: “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk and E.B. White (various editions)

Why: Spend a half-hour reading this tiny book, and you’ll learn how to write good business prose.

Excerpt: “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”

Personal Development

8. “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson (Putnam Adult, 1998)

Publisher’s blurb: “An amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a ‘Maze’ and look for ‘Cheese’ to nourish them and keep them happy.”

Excerpt: “Two were mice named ‘Sniff’ and ‘Scurry’ and two were Littlepeople – beings who were as small as mice but who looked and acted a lot like people today. Their names were ‘Hem’ and ‘Haw.’”

Why it’s overrated: Gives the term “cheesy” new meaning.

Read this instead: “How to Lie with Statistics” by Darrell Huff (W.W. Norton, 1954)

Why: If you want to read a short book, this one will open your eyes. You’ll never look at a corporate presentation – or the evening news – exactly the same way again.

Excerpt: “No conclusion that ‘67 percent of the American people are against’ something or other should be read without the lingering question, 67 percent of which American people?”

9. “Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work” by Jack Canfield, etc. (HCI, 1996)

Publisher’s blurb: “A special collection of inspiring tales that share the daily courage, compassion, and creativity that take place in workplaces everywhere.”

Excerpt: “The thoughtfulness, empathy, and love of this convenience store manager demonstrates vividly that people remember more how much an employer cares than how much the employer pays.”

Why it’s overrated: Sentimental treacle has its place, but work is work, not some touchy-feely seminar.

Read this instead: “The Complete ‘Yes Minister’” by Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay (BBC Worldwide Americas, 1989)

Why: Based on the popular British TV show, it explains exactly how and why bureaucracies work, whether in governments or corporations. Plus you’ll finally understand why the Brits now hate Blair.

Excerpt: “It is the Law of Inverse Relevance: the less you intend to do about something, the more you have to keep talking about it.”

10. “Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids – That You Can Learn Too” by Robert T. Kiyosaki (Time Warner Paperbacks, 2002)

Publisher’s blurb: “Will explode the myth that you need to earn a high income to become rich, challenge the belief that your house is an asset [and] teach you what to teach your kids about money for their future financial success.”

Excerpt: “What greatly disturbed me was how little these people [a banker, a business owner, and a computer programmer] knew about either accounting or investing, subjects so important in their lives. I wondered how they managed their own financial affairs in real life.”

Why it’s overrated: Own your own business, invest in real estate, don’t buy stock and useless crap, and drive a junker car. There, we just saved you $10.

Read this instead: “A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing” by Burton G. Malkiel (W.W. Norton, 2007)

Why: Since you’re probably not going to start your own business and you’ve already got money in the stock market, you’d best know how to invest wisely.

Excerpt: “All investment returns – whether from common stocks or exceptional diamonds – are dependent, to varying degrees, on future events. That's what makes the fascination of investing: It's a gamble whose success depends on an ability to predict the future.”

 
Reply to Story

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

     
  • 1

    kevin.brinkley@...

    08/24/07 | Report as spam

    Finally, someone gets it right.

    I have read a couple of Tom Peter's books (first one was bad, shame on me for biting on the second one). Peters is completely full of crap. He only manages to point out what's wrong with everyone else.

  •  
  • 2

    JDarley

    08/25/07 | Report as spam

    Whew!

    Great, I only had 3 out of the ten.

  •  
  • 3

    gary.gustafson@...

    08/28/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I can't agree with your recommendation of "The Elements of Style". Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style? is probably one of the prime examples of horrendous advise books for business...especially their advice on avoiding the "passive voice", which they somehow conflate with "being passive". If you review author E.B. White's own writing, (amusingly enough even in "Elements of Style"), you will notice that he constantly switches to the passive voice. You can read UC Linguistics professor Geoffrey K. Pullum commentary at the Language Log (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003366.html)

  •  
  • 4

    DougOfCBS

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    Using passive voice in business communication

    I'll never forget a quote from one of my managers that smacked of corporate America: "Passive voice is politically correct."

    That's some way to communicate.

  •  
  • 5

    Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    Sigh.

    All writers use the passive voice on occasion, but good ones only use it for a reason. Sometimes complex sentences with dependent clauses mandate the passive voice in order to put pronouns closer to the nouns they modify. But most of the time the passive voice crops up because the writer can't think of how to phrase the statement more concisely. And other times, it's simply used to obscure and obfuscase.

    Corporate bureaucrats (and indeed bureaucrats everywhere) LOVE LOVE LOVE the passive voice because it allows them to make statements and assertions without attributing actors to those statements. The classic is "mistakes were made." Not "I made a mistake" or "we made a mistake" or "they made a mistake." No, the mistakes hang out there all by their little lonesome, perfect targets to take the blame while the idiots who made the mistakes hide behind a rhetorical device.

    Beginning business writers would be well advised to adhere religiously to Strunk and White. Journalists and writers who know what they're about can transcend the rules and still communicate clearly. There's a Taoist saying: "What is appropriate for the master is not appropriate for the student." Just because White (a brilliant writer) used the passive voice doesn't mean that it belongs in your memo to the CEO.

    In other words: "Would that someday we shall have been stopped from using the passive voice." (That sentence, for you grammarians out there, is the passive voice, future perfect tense, subjunctive mood.)

  •  
  • 6

    gary.gustafson@...

    08/30/07 | Report as spam

    re. Sigh

    I must disagree with your assessment of "Elements of Style". Indeed the so-called corporate bureaucrats are the very people who are using that book as the corporate style guide. I can give you a quarter century of corporate communications experience of in-house style guides who slavishly follow Strunk & White's manual, foolishly and with no understanding of clear and consistent communication. The problem with that book and others, is that they treat these "rules" as dogma and people follow them as received wisdom. Excellent writers understand that in the interest of clear communication, rules are meant to be broken.
    I must disagree with your assessment of "Elements of Style". Indeed those corporate bureaucrats are the very people who are using that book as the corporate style guide. I can give you a quarter century of corporate communications experience of in-house style guides who slavishly follow Strunk & White's manual, foolishly and with no understanding of clear and consistent communication. The problem with that book and others, is that they treat these "rules" as dogma and people follow them as received wisdom. Excellent writers understand that in the interest of clear communication, rules are meant to be broken.

    To take just one example, the "passive voice". Passive Voice provides a way to treat what is normally the direct object of a verb or a preposition as a subject. This can be effective or not depending on what is being communicated (notice passive voice). People love to think that there is a magic rule book that lists the 10 commandments of good writing. But there isn't. And this is particularly true of effective business writing. This is exactly why MS Word's Grammar Checker is worse than useless.

    And finally...No, I also, don't agree with your assessment of White as a writer. He is mediocre at best.

  •  
  • 7

    Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

    08/30/07 | Report as spam

    Passive

    Hmmm...

    "This can be effective or not depending on what is being communicated."

    I'm not entirely certain the previous sentence is an example of clear writing. Try, instead:

    "Is the passive voice effective? In some situations, definitely."

    I'm not being entirely facetious here; most sentences are stronger when recast into the active voice.

    But this is all beside the point. Most business writers can barely write a coherent sentence; most business communications are marvels of circumlocution and jargon. The emails and memos that I see -- especially from the Gen Y crowd -- exhibit a level of grammatical understanding that would rival that of a drunk gerbil. Such folk need simple rules. Strunk and White supplies them.

  •  
  • 8

    An Expat in France

    01/09/08 | Report as spam

    Hear, Hear!

    One has to remember that the intent of written communication is to... wait for it... communicate. The audience, therefore, is of primary importance when writing; not the author. The passive voice isn't appropriate for all occasions, but a CEO can justify the use the passive voice in an attempt to calm a disquieted investment community so that they don't storm the castle gates when things go wrong.

    Personally, I agree that a good place to start is with Strunk & White; if for no other reason than to teach the next generation that they may not be understood if their business communications include text-message style comments (e.g.: "l8r 2nite"). (This kind of content, by the way, is already showing up on essays submitted on college exams.)

  •  
  • 9

    DanAuito

    08/28/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Why must they be so specific when principles alone will guide a manager 80% of the time. Surround yourself with Motivated, intelligent delegates then empower them and stand back! http://changethis.com/14.PositiveAttitude

    Dan Auito

  •  
  • 10

    cjrows

    08/28/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Great! I wish I had read it 12 months ago prior to buying and reading 8 out of the 10 books on the list.

  •  
  • 11

    inez@...

    08/28/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Totally awesome! Wish I had known earlier.

    Inez@thebracygroup.com

  •  
  • 12

    deltabusiness

    08/28/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I think you make valid points on some of the books, but I must say you completely miss it with Covey's book. We aren't separate beings, one for business and one for the rest of our life. The right character traits that work in business do work in life.

  •  
  • 13

    Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

    08/30/07 | Report as spam

    Character

    There's certain some truth in your remark about character. However, I'll make the observation that, in the course of writing about business, I've interviewed at least 100 CEOs. I can count the ones who weren't obvious *ssh*l*s on the digits of one hand. I don't think that this is a coincidence.

  •  
  • 14

    localhost:8080

    08/31/07 | Report as spam

    Character

    Right, and now we know why only a handful of them are truly successful.

  •  
  • 15

    natc

    08/28/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I own many of the books listed here and have re-read them many times with the intention of reading them again...thanks for your sugesstions, I guess I am tired of reading them anyway especially since they tend to motivate you only for a few hours.

  •  
  • 16

    atul.vaid@...

    08/28/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Agreed a few of them are indeed overrated but some who can escape this avoid-me-please list could be "Who moved my cheese" and "the 7 habits...". Both deal with complex subjects in a very simple manner -while one takes a funny route (mice-in-maze) to show how to deal with change in our lives, the qualities /habits described in the other are still very much relevant.

  •  
  • 17

    robcosta@...

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Sensational article. Right on the money both with the books to avoid and the suggested alternative readings.

  •  
  • 18

    heydonhall

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I'd like to add:

    Instead of 'any of Jack Welch's books' read: Execution by Larry Bossidy - he was the guy who got it done at GE - not the smoke blowing up you know where ex-CEO.

    Instead of In serach of Excellence - which is easy to nail in hindsight - read: Good to Great by Jim Collins - 30 years of stock prices dont lie.

  •  
  • 19

    heydonhall

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    Some others to read instead

    I'd like to add:

    Instead of 'any of Jack Welch's books' read: Execution by Larry Bossidy - he was the guy who got it done at GE - not the smoke blowing up you know where ex-CEO.

    Instead of In serach of Excellence - which is easy to nail in hindsight - read: Good to Great by Jim Collins - 30 years of stock prices dont lie.

  •  
  • 20

    richord@...

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    Reading Advice: Beware of Pundits who Recommend Books to Read!

    Of the books listed as overated should be added the articles written by pundits who recommend books to read. Although I don't suggest the books listed are benefical, the list of recommended alternatives should be critiqued as well. "Crazy Bosses", "How to Lie with Statistics" etc. I rather doubt will help one's career.

    I think you could make the same statement about the recommended books: "over-hyped tomes".

    My suggestion is read all these books for amusement and entertainment, just like this article, and you won't be disappointed!

  •  
  • 21

    Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

    08/30/07 | Report as spam

    Crazy Bosses and Statistics

    You need to read Crazy Bosses so that you can spot one before you accept a job, or to make a quick getaway if you're unfortunate enough to get assigned to work for one.

    You need to read How to Lie with Statistics because it gives you the ammunition you need to quickly and totally eviscerate the arguments of any competitor (internal or external) who uses fudged data.

  •  
  • 22

    mcontois@...

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    Very Interesting

    I'm skeptical of popular books anyway, especially business books. Business is so dynamic and if everyone is reading the same books then what is the point? There is no competitive advantage other than to keep up but it's risky either way. Business books are boring. I have a hard time finishing any of them and I love reading. Maybe that's my problem. I love reading and it seems like the authors don't. I suggest reading a wide variety and think critically. There are business lessons to be learned in even the most seemingly unlikely places. Don't you think so?

  •  
  • 23

    Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

    08/30/07 | Report as spam

    Boring Business Books

    I recently suggested to an editor at McGraw Hill that they rent out chapter seven of all their business books to the CIA in order to send secret messages to agents out in the field, like so:

    "Managers should envision to create long-term high-impact meta-services and quickly negotiate cost effective paradigms to meet customer's needs the secret plans to the nuclear reactor are hidden under the rock in front of the embassy in order to dramatically create virtual leadership skills in order to efficiently disseminate parallel services to exceed customer expectations."

    She was not amused.

  •  
  • 24

    claytone

    09/13/07 | Report as spam

    covert ops

    hah! brilliant. no one would ever be the wiser.

  •  
  • 25

    Matthew-Nelson@...

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I am not sure there there are wrong (or right) business books. Anyone that takes the words in these books as "gospel" (pardon the term) is just setting themselves up for failure. There is a tremendous amount of great information available in each of those books listed in the original post. The idea however is to take those tools they they are offering and make them work in your environment.

  •  
  • 26

    IMLaughlin

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    Message has been deleted.

  •  
  • 27

    IMLaughlin

    08/29/07 | Report as spam

    BNET screwed up ... because

    I didn't post the IMLaughlin comment. Have no idea how my screen name got under that comment. This is a bit scarey, as no one wants BNET attributing things they didn't say. Happened after BNET diverted me to a signup screen.

    My posted comment really was:

    Panning Covey's Seven Habits as sanctimonious while praising Machiavelli's The Prince as the way to succeed tells me all I need to know about the shallow ******** that compiled the list.

  •  
  • 28

    Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

    08/30/07 | Report as spam

    This guy is my hero...

    He writes some comment that apparently was deleted (probably because it contained an expletive) and then explains that it wasn't him that made the comment, and then writes a comment that contains a euphemistic expletive, just to let us know (I suppose) that he wouldn't write a real expletive. But what's funny is that the comment is in defense of Stephen Covey; it's difficult to imagine the old guy smiling with avuncular approval at expletives (real or imagined) hurled in his defense.

  •  
  • 29

    Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

    08/30/07 | Report as spam

    Machiavelli vs Covey

    The idea that Covey should be read in place of Machiavelli is sophomoric. There's a reason that "The Prince" has been a must read for managers for the past 500 years. Does anybody serious think that Covey will be read in 500 years, even as an historical curiosity?

    While certain high-minded folk (myself included) would prefer that business be conducted with the organizational rectitude of a church choir, the simple truth is that business is, in every sense of the word, Machiavellian.

    For the past twenty years, I've watched dozens of companies with amoral power-centric business practices run roughshod over their more "enlightened" competition. If you think Covey more useful than Machiavelli, try working at PeopleSoft when the barbarians from Oracle stormed their corporate walls. Or try going mano-a-mano with Microsoft over a market they consider strategic.

    Machiavelli is essential reading for professionals because it describes the real world. Take the quote from "The Prince" from the review, the one about being feared versus being loved. That's just the sort of thing that would give Covey the fantods, but it is simply an observation about the world as it is, not how we wish it might be.

    For example: think about the best manager you ever worked for. I'll bet that he (or she) was inspirational (i.e. loved) but was also just a little bit scary (feared). In fact, it was that combination of being feared and loved that made you desperately want approval from that manager. And that's why you did all that extra work, right?

    Now, think about the most recent corporate turf battle that you've witnessed in your firm, one where some scary manager tussled with some relatively "nice" manager. Who won? I'll bet it was Mr. Scary.

    So here's what Machiavelli is telling us:

    1. If you want to be a successful leader, if possible, be both feared and loved.
    2. If you can't do that and must choose between the two, be feared.
    3. If you can't figure out how to be feared, figure out how to be loved.
    4. (Implied) If you can't make yourself either feared or loved, don't get into management.

    That's incredibly good advice and, just by itself, far more valuable than all of Covey's warmed-over treacle and pseudo-religious psychobabble.

  •  
  • 30

    mcarbone

    12/10/07 | Report as spam

    Machiavelli vs Covey - reply

    Have you been a leader before. I'll bet that you have never lead anyone or anything of significance. Machiaveli leadership isn't even a leadership style so the premise of your response isn't even a valid beginning.

    First, it is not possible to lead that way under normal conditions which are 80% of all companies and situations. To use that style you need a power that is not possible in a free market. It works to an extent in politics but politics is a controlled envirnment of the few. In american business, people have choices and fear can only go so far.

    Again, you have no real experience in being a leader. You have no idea of what it takes to be a great leader and you have a very negative outlook on society. The Clinton style of power won't last. It comes and goes and will forever but in most businesses and community and outreach and other entities where leadership is needed outside of big government, schools, small municipalities, it takes what Covey offers and others like him.

    You forget what the end game is. Your God is money and you operate as if that is all there is. True, money is the most powerful force man created but its how he uses it that is the most powerful force and some use it to become great leaders who leave a legacy and change people forever for the good and others who use it for evil and you know the rest.

  •  
  • 31

    oakye

    09/04/07 | Report as spam

    Rich Dad, Poor Dad got 1 thing right

    His advice should've been how to build a book/speaking engagement franchise as he and the Chicken Soup author (and L. Ron Hubbard) have done.

  •  
  • 32

    BrandonH

    09/04/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Your analysis is way too cynical. That's a shame. How in the world is 7 Habits "sanctimonious"? You think he's feigning sincerity in that book? He may be wordy, unnecessarily complex, even idealistic, but sanctimonious?

    And sorry, work IS a touchy-feely place. A multitude of studies on Generation X, for example, will tell you they want to "connect" at work...they want strong friendships there as much as in their "real" lives. And that's before we even get into their notions on work/life balance.

    You're showing no thought to proven organizational behavior principles.

  •  
  • 33

    ronnie.storage@...

    09/12/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Don't forget to avoid the following overrated books:

    The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

    The Bible by King James I

    The Qur??n by by Muhammad.

  •  
  • 34

    ronnie.storage@...

    09/12/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Oh, and Sun Zhu's the Art of War... what the F... so many people go on and on about this book more to try and sound good than because they've actually read and understood it.

  •  
  • 35

    raviputcha

    06/20/08 | Report as spam

    Sun Zu's Art of War?

    I feel, it is a heap of crap - corny nonsense. Chinese war strategies at work place will surely get hurled on a catapult or get you to get fired! LOL!!

  •  
  • 36

    raviputcha

    06/20/08 | Report as spam

    Sun Zu's Art of War?

    I feel, it is a heap of crap - corny nonsense. Chinese war strategies at work place will surely get you hurled on a catapult or get you to get fired! LOL!!

  •  
  • 37

    Peggy Jordan

    09/12/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Brilliant! Thanks for the refreshing take on these--and especially for suggesting alternatives.

  •  
  • 38

    grvaughan

    09/12/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Interesting, though I don't agree with the assessment of Covey and Kiyosaki's books. Also, "Winning" might be a better book about Jack Welch's approach.

  •  
  • 39

    burchb

    09/13/07 | Report as spam

    Wheat from chaff

    I like the idea of sorting the wheat from the chaff, but instead of throwing out 10 books and replacing them with 10 new, maybe the need is to pull out the key messages for all 20 so that people can use what works for them.

    Do we all manage the same? What works for my peer won't necessarily work for me? There's no one right way. The people, the environment, the company, the culture, the location all impact the approach.

    I've read 12 of the 20 and forgotten 95% of it. I kept the 5% that worked for me and moved on.

    Latest read: 4 Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss - an obvious marketing title meant to sell books, but, once you get into it, it's not bad. Again I can't use 100% of it, but certain parts spoke to me: slowing down, what will I do when I retire, decluttering your life, time management, leveraging others, starting a profitable side business, NOT putting off life, getting a different perspective on my career. Other parts were useless to me: vagabonding, moving overseas for 6 months, virtual assistants, escaping from the office. This is one of those books that I would have laughed at 20 years ago. Today I can appreciate it and pull from it what I need.

    In the end, read as much as you can, keep what excites you and forget the rest.

  •  
  • 40

    zendrummer

    09/13/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    My $0.02:

    1) I can't seem to find the article/reference but I distinctly remember Michael Hammer writing a follow-up about how his book was completely misunderstood and that you can't downsize yourself to greatness. I think the book has merit so long as you put it in its context: pre-globalization, pre-automation, Jumbo-sized greedy 80's.

    2) Tom Peters is another fad-writer that gets everything right but is completely mis-understood, mis-quoted and mis-used by managers. (hmm... seeing trend develop) I better go dig out my "Dilbert Principle" hardback.

    3) I agree with the "Art of War", just steer clear of "interpretations" and derivative works like "Sun Tzu: The Art of War for Managers; 50 Strategic Rules". Bluntly this is about war and not business. There are some timeless principles that can be applied to business.

    4. "Winning" is a better choice for looking at Jack Welch. I'm going to check out the "Crazy Bosses" tome. It sounds rather cynical though.

    5. "Jesus CEO" was just a bad idea. Jesus wasn't here to be the most successful carpenter in the world. The Book of Proverbs is timeless and is loaded. You can get lost in there over and over and over and...

    6. Don't agree with the "Seven Habits..." analysis per se. Again, you have to take this book in its context: help people get a grasp on the accelerating pace of life in the 80's and 90's. I'm surprised David Allen's "Getting Things Done" wasn't mentioned as an alternative. The Book of Proverbs would work here, too. So many books are based off of "The Prince" that it should just be stated as required reading instead of an alternative.

    7. I think "One Minute" has merit for people people with a short attention span. Strunk's "The Elements of Style" is on my mandatory reading list. If I get one more Gen-Y employee that can't rite or spel I'll start taking heads, Atilla style. "Coaching and Mentoring: How to Develop Top Talent and Achieve Stronger Performance (Harvard Business Essentials)" by HBS Press might have been a better alternative suggestion. "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss what Matters Most" by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, and Roger Fisher while PAINFULLY dry, will get most managers more paydirt than "The One Minute Manager". BTW: Blanchard 's suggestion of touching a person when you are trying to get your point across will land you in jail these days.

    8. To summarize the Cheese book: the only constant in life is change. Get over it and learn to anticipate and plan for changes. I would have offered up "Managing in a Time of Great Change" by Peter F. Drucker as an alternative since this about business books. "How to lie with Statistics" is relevant and another mandatory read.

    9. ?Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work? is a self-help book. Not sure why is it is considered a business book. I don't know anything about ?The Complete ?Yes Minister?? but I consider the British (and most writers by nature) a Socialist economy and prefer the good 'ol Capitalist USA so maby "Introduction to International Political Economy (4th Edition)" by David N. Balaam and Michael Veseth would be more relevant. Honestly I don't understand where the author was going with picking a "Chicken Soup" book. How about "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie or "To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love: The Spiritual Dimension of Entrepreneuring" by Marsha Sinetar

    10. The "Rich Dad" series, for better or worse, is spot on. Having said that, it only made me mad to read it and realize I had been sold a bag of lies about "work hard, get an education, become wealthy". If that were true all college educated people would be wealthy: they ain't. If fact the 2000 census pointed out that most college educated white-collar workers are in the lower middle-class and the middle middle-class has disappeared. Take the "Rich Dad's" advice to heart, get mad, go see an independent financial advisor not tied to a brokerage or insurance firm and make a plan to turn your stock portfolio in into a large diversified portfolio consisting of owning your own business, residual income from rental properties, stocks, etc.

  •  
  • 41

    davidnwelton

    09/13/07 | Report as spam

    Lots of books are fluff

    The problem is that even insightful concepts can be described in 10 or 15 pages, but you can't sell a book that size.

    Since I own a lot of these books (I love to buy books... it's a weakness), I created a collaborative business book summary and discussion site as a fun project:

    http://www.squeezedbooks.com

  •  
  • 42

    hagar4711

    09/13/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Very nice. While I don't agree completely (I like the 'Rich Dad...' audio book), making Dilbert a better Choice than the 'Excellence' blubber amusing and indeed right. The most amazing thing about the 'Excellence' book is that Peters actually LIED in his book and some time ago even ADMITTED it (by accident) - see 'In search of stupidity' by M.R. Chapman, which by the way is also a neat alternative in this case!

  •  
  • 43

    achieve253

    09/13/07 | Report as spam

    popular books V's left of field

    I have not read some of these books but I find that reading some popular books enable to know what other people are going on about, particular when a book introduces new lingo - note that it is not necessary a new concept. Reading other books will give you some difference concepts that popular books won't.
    I think that main difference will be who applies some of the concept listed in these books. If you read a book and got nothing out of it - why read it?
    I have read cheese and loved the story besides it was short and sweet. I remember watching the entire series of "Yes minister" and "Yes Prime minister" as a kid. Beware you will never listen to a politian the same again. Thisis an excellent display of talking in circles.

    Enjoy reading
    Leona Seib

  •  
  • 44

    proudly kenyan

    09/14/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Another book that i found worth reading was Mavericks at Work. Not too sure about the authers

    Proudly Kenyan
    www.sisimua.com

  •  
  • 45

    cbroming

    09/18/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    All in this list are excellent choices, especially #1. A good indicator of the quality of an idea is its relationship to the amount of money consultants can make from it - its inverse relationship, that is. Hammer's book was a gold mine (platinum?) for consultants, who claimed huge value creation from process re-engineering. But, after a decade of this stuff, none of these companies showed any improvement in total profitability.

  •  
  • 46

    swt996

    09/19/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    i dont think Rich Dad Poor Dad is over-rated, i think it's easy to read and insightful for the average working person. a Must-Read actually.

  •  
  • 47

    monique@...

    09/26/07 | Report as spam

    Business Books

    I agree with the other post re RICH DAD POOR DAD. This book is a must read for all ... the article does not mention it in a balanced way. Whether or not you want to take the same track as the RDPD author, it is certainly a book that makes you think about how you earn, spend, and think about money.

    Another must read book if you want reading that will make you think (even if you don't agree with everything read) is Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED. I resisted reading it, but when i finally did... WOW!

  •  
  • 48

    mshur@...

    12/06/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I like taking the air out of the blowhards, but you missed one: Burt Malkiel has essentially abandoned his own "markets are ultimately rational" stance and accepted the corollary "except when they're crazy".

    A much better book for managing your money is "Rule #1" by Phil Town. Town looks at the classic investment style of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffet and boils it down to a manageable series of steps for people who have normal jobs and unimpressive amounts of money to invest. "Rule #1" even cites Malkiel's work and debunks a large amount of current portfolio theory.

  •  
  • 49

    jansie@...

    12/07/07 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    Wow, someone in the virtual realm actually refers to the Bible as a source of business wisdom. this is unexpected, and refreshing. proverbs is indeed a great book, filled with wisdom for everyday use.

    nice post, thanks!

  •  
  • 50

    bluesrenegade@...

    03/17/08 | Report as spam

    What to Read Instead

    The title of the article points to the 1st problem--"Business Books." I like the alternative life book that was recommend reading, The Book of Proverbs (in the Bible). Read that and you can skip all the motivational lectures and books--it's all already been said--long ago.

  •  
  • 51

    JKonsult

    04/29/08 | Report as spam

    Give them as gifts...

    ...to your competition. While they read, proselytize and try to implement this nonsense, you'll be off succeeding somewhere else. It's a version of what I call the "Beetle-Bag" strategy. Those heinous-smelling contraptions actually ATTRACT them to your yard. Best strategy? Give them as gifts to your surrounding neighbors.

  •  
  • 52

    Richard M.

    08/29/08 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I have read five of the titles recommended for replacement and while I agree with the assessment of most, I do strongly disagree with your assessment of the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" book. Unless you have crossed two titles within the series, I didn't get from the book you listed a direction for investing .. instead it was a very good eye-opener about how one should view wealth creation and how to treat personal money (income, expenditure, and taxation).

    I would recommend the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the rich teach their kids that the poor and middle class do not" book to everyone who has been "educated" to find a good job instead of being educated towards creating wealth from various strategic options available to the average reader. It inspires a change in how one identifies with the world.

  •  
  • 53

    Freedoma.com

    06/12/09 | Report as spam

    Top 10 Business Books to Read

    There's a great bunch of books there- Jesus CEO/ One Minute Manager/ Seven Habits are all great. I've got a few more to add with my Top 10 Business Books to Read: http://blog.freedoma.com/2009/06/12/the-best-10-business-books-to-read/

  •  
  • 54

    Freedoma.com

    06/12/09 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead)

    I'd also agree with Richard's comments on Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The reality here however is that those who are trapped in greater levels of poverty would find it hard to get access to what's shared. However, raising some interesting points as to how different demographic groups bring up their children. A good read.

The following tags are supported in BNET comments:
<b></b> <i></i> <u></u> <pre></pre>

Leave a Reply

  1. You are currently a guest | Login?
advertisement
Go
advertisement
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
advertisement