$26.00
Customize It
Hardcover
236 pages
ISBN 9780743290173 Published Oct. 2006
Free Press
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Posted Sept. 30, 2010 4:24 a.m. by jon
In - 800 CEO Read Blog
Matthew May is known for his thoughts on innovation and design strategy. His books The Elegant Solution and In Pursuit of Elegance focused on those topics, and were written in a more straightforward business style. Now, he's taken another turn: the business parable. In The Shibumi Strategy, May takes his knowledge and applies it to the narrative form to create a powerful story about personal leadership.
I received a shortened preview copy, along with the Shibumi character pictured above, and as a fan of both May's previous books, and the business parable format, this was a real hit for me. Not only is the story timely, insightful, and inspiring (a man loses his job in a suburb of a major city and vows to keep his quality of life intact for him and his family), the promo for the book was also unique. It's not everyday I get a Japanese figurine in the mail, and this goes to show May truly is concerned (and smart) about innovation and design. It shows in his methods, and in his writing.
We'll be posting more about the book when it lands in November.
Todd's Best of Business Books 2006
Posted Dec. 13, 2006 8:08 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Lists - 800 CEO Read Blog
I started with a list of 22 books that I thought deserved year-end honors. The narrowing of the list was the hard part. I quickly marked the ones I knew should be on my list and looked to see if they had something in common. What I saw was each of the books changed the way I looked at the world. I went through the list again with that criterea and found three more books.
Here are my six favorite books of 2006:
*The Origin of Wealth by Eric Beinhocker
This is my favorite book of the year and you will not have seen me talk about it anywhere on the site. How is that possible? It is a hard book to talk about in 100 words. Beinhocker has taken all of the literature on complexity theory and put it into one book. The information is accessible and the research explained through extended stories. More importantly, Origin of Wealth is written for a business audience. What many are going to find daunting is the book is 512 pages. My solution: take three books off your night stand and replace them with Origin of Wealth.
What I Learned: The complex nature of the universe makes it impossible to predict. What makes it worse is that our brains are not wired to see the complexity in the world and we often make poor decisions because of it. The only thing you can do to survive is keep trying new things (and understand that most will fail). I know that sounds obvious, but are you doing it?!
*The Number by Lee Eisenberg
The book was released with high hopes from Free Press and the book never meet the expectations of the publisher. Adrian Zackheim, the publisher at Portfolio, said that people don't want to read about how they are not going to have enough money when they retire. I agree with him. Eisenberg takes you on a emotional roaster coaster ride through what it is going to take to deal with the second half of your life. It has been a long time as since I have been that depressed from reading a book. My reaction came from his vivid storytelling and the stark realities he forced me to face.
What I Learned: The magnitude of your number is driven by future lifestyle. People struggle is how they are going to spend their post-workforce years. Your life needs purpose and meaning whether you are 38 or 88. Calculate accordingly.
*The Ultimate Question by Fred Reichheld
Fred has been talking about customer loyalty for years. I remember when The One Number You Need to Grow ran in Harvard Business Review in 2003. Kate says it was a part of her coursework. I felt Net Promoter Scores (NPS) finally put some numbers to the power of word of mouth. Companies like GE and American Express have created corporate initiatives while others question if NPS really predicts corporate growth [WSJ - sub. needed].
What I Learned: In one question, I could find out the most important thing I need to know about my customers - would they recommend me to friend. This is not the sort of thing that can be corrupted. 800ceoread adopted the NPS philosophy when the book came out and believe wholeheartedly its effectiveness. We found out (and continue to find out) what matters to our customers. All you have to do it ask.
*The Change Function by Pip Coburn
Pip advises the investment community on technology. For him, technology is not about earnings per share and software release dates. It is about whether people will adopt it. It is about change. The book is a quick read with great examples. If you are in IT and you want to know why the functional groups around you are implementing their own solutions, this book is for you.
What I Learned: All you have to think about is whether the crisis greater than the pain of adoption. If the answer is no then nobody is going to buy. And this applies to all sorts of change like moving from PC to Mac or lowering your cholesterol. Simple, but powerful.
*Purpose by Nikos Mourkogiannis
I wrote my love letter to this book yesterday.
*D.I.Y. (Design It Yourself) by Ellen Lupton (editor)
I saw this book showing up on a number of design websites in the last year, and it piqued my interest. The book gives you some thoughts on the craft of design, but the cool part is Ellen and her students showing you how to make stuff. D.I.Y has instructions on how to make t-shirts, books, business cards, wall-graphics and more. Knowing what is possible help you be more creative.
What I Learned: You can make it yourself. You don't need to go to the store and choose the least worst. I made a batch of t-shirts for a side project that turned out great. My annual Christmas CD turned out wicked cool with some pre-silkscreened CDRs and slick jewel cases. I am already plotting my D.I.Y. projects for next year.
******
I was going to stop there, but I think there are some others titles that our dear readers need to make sure they considered. Consider these my honorable mentions.
-Firecracker Category (everyone needs a little inspiration):
Small Is The New Big by Seth Godin (best of his short writings)
Radical Edge by Steve Farber (another killer business novella)
Mavericks At Work by Bill Taylor and Polly LaBarre (the energy of Fast Company returns)
-The Company Books (read about the companies shaping how business is done):
The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman (best book on the company. Period.)
The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation by Matthew May (spent time inside to find out what makes them tick)
-Thinking Cap Category (time to start thinking differently):
More Than You Know by Michael Mauboussin (this one is really about making better decisions)
One Great Insight Is Worth A Thousand Good Ideas by Phil Dunesberry (describes and illustrates the power of insights)
Are You Ready To Succeed? by Srikumar Rao (self-help for business people)
Undercover Economist by Tim Harford (economics are all around you, Tim show you where)
Questions of Character by Joe Badaracco (uses fiction to teach lessons in leadership)
-Nuts and Bolts Category (things to help run the organization better)
Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense by Jeff Pfeffer and Bob Sutton (based your decisions on evidence, not conjecture)
The Prepared Mind of A Leader by Bill Welter and Jean Egmon (matches my view of leadership)
Setting The Table by Danny Meyer (the NYC resturanteer share his brand of managing)
12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner and James Harter (ten million Gallup interviews can't be wrong)
Brand New Manifestos
Posted Dec. 8, 2006 3:05 a.m. by kate
In Misc. - 800 CEO Read Blog
Check out the latest ChangeThis manifestos:
Elegant Solutions: Breakthrough Thinking the Toyota Way
By Matthew E. May
One million ideas a year. A culture of innovation. An intrinsic belief that good enough never is. Matthew Mays manifesto shows you how Toyotas principles and practices will help you engage your creative spirit and bring elegant solutions to your work and life.
No Need to Fear: How Global Outsourcing Equals Opportunity
By Steve Hamm
Its become a commonplace topic of conversation: the prevalent loss of American jobs to workers in foreign countries. Here, Steve Hamm asserts that outsourcing need not result in the vilification of foreign workers and the American companies who choose to find cost solutions overseas. Instead, he believes it offers opportunity to those who choose to look for it.
By James Cherkoff and Johnnie Moore
Cherkoff and Moore present examples of open source marketing that prove engagement trumps control in maximizing customer experience and making meaning. It may be a platitude to say that two heads are better than one, but this manifesto features collaboration in a whole new light--between company and customer.
Purpose: How to Define It and Make It Work for You and Your Company
Just read the first page of this manifesto, and youll understand exactly what it is to have purpose. Read the subsequent pages and youll find just how to develop your own sense of purpose through discovery, excellence, altruism and heroism.
Women Bloggers: Changing their Worlds, Changing the World
By Elisa Camahort, co-founder of BlogHer
Women are the power consumers and connectors of the Internet, and yet, their influence has mostly been invisible to the mainstream media and industry pundits. The BlogHer web community was created to offer a centralized location for women bloggers, creating one voice out of many whispers.
Jack Covert Selects: The Elegant Solution
Posted Nov. 10, 2006 9:20 a.m. by jack
The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation by Matthew May,
Free Press, 256 Pages, $26.00, Hardcover, October 2006, ISBN 0743290178
One million. That is the number of ideas that Toyota implements every year. Built into their culture is the insight that "Good enough never is." Now, the trouble with most Toyota books is they are written from the factory floor. There are many goods ones, but they don't seem to find an audience outside operations.
Enter The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation. Toyota University gave author Matthew May the task of translating the Toyota Production System so the knowledge worker would understand it and use it. In other words, May knows Toyota.
The key to Toyota's success is the nature of constant improvement. Innovation to them is not invention or artistry. It is gaining deep understanding of the work at hand. It is about having a strong engagement in the work you do. It is about tinkering and trying new things. It is not by chance that the tagline for Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus, is "The Pursuit of Perfection".
Id like to share this paragraph with you because it infuses innovation with energy and makes it the stuff of dreams:
"Slaying dragons and storming castles isn't for the faint of heart. The root meaning of ingenuity means free thinker. In a world run by powerful bosses and inflexible systems, rarely if ever is creative license granted freely. It's taken. And that takes basic courage. Or at least a soldier's bravado. It's the obstacles that make the achievement so impressive. If it was easy, we wouldn't be talking about it. No challenge, no creativity."
The rise of Toyota is not just an automotive story. If you haven't spent time reading about the company and, more importantly, their management philosophy, here is your chance.
More From The Elegant Solution
Posted Oct. 31, 2006 5:38 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Innovation - 800 CEO Read Blog
I just like The Elegant Solution alot. You are going to see a Jack Covert Selects on it this month. This morning, I posted a podcast that I did with Matt a couple of weeks ago.
Here is another story I had not heard before:
According to neuroscientist Dr. William Calvin, author of Ascent of Mind, we're hardwired with a natural ballistic ability--the innate and uniquely human ability to throw an object and hit a moving target. Only humans have the genetic ability to think ahead, to project ourselves into the future, and to launch a plan of attack that hits the objective.
