bookreviews

by Theodore B. Kinni


A Company Discovers Its Soul
by Alan Green

Another business book in the form of a novel, this paperback by consultant Alan Green is notable mainly for its recognition of the individual and organizational upheaval necessary to achieve real fundamental and cultural change.

This story relates one year of traumatic change inside a fairly small, family-owned manufacturing company. When the CEO dies, his son takes up the reins, but soon finds that "business as usual" will eventually destroy the company and his personal life. The son, Randall Hawkes, reaches out to one of those ever-convenient consultants, and the story of the transformation of The Hawkes Co. begins in earnest.

Perhaps the greatest insight to be learned from following Hawkes' journey is that organizational change requires individual change-from a company's highest levels to the shop floor.

Green clearly portrays systemic and cultural barriers inherent in change efforts. Further, he thoroughly illustrates productive approaches to overcoming those barriers. The book contains no step-by-step prescriptives, but if A Company Discovers Its Soul (Berrett-Koehler, $15.95) were required reading before grand change plans could be initiated, managers would surely gain a fuller sense of what real change requires.


Implementing TQM in Small &
Medium-Sized Organizations
by Richard M. Hodgetts

For those owners and leaders of smaller businesses who maintain that TQM is only for corporate giants, business professor and consultant Richard Hodgetts has some news: Size really doesn't matter. As proof, he offers up notable small companies such as Baldrige-Award winner Wainwright Industries.

Hodgetts' approach to TQM is based on the commonalities among the 19 small companies he examined for the book. He advocates a seven-step methodology that includes creating a quality-focused vision and mission, identifying customer needs, designing an organizational structure to support and implement the effort, teaching employees quality tools and techniques, developing a feedback mechanism, building reward and recognition into the system and adopting a continuous improvement strategy.

Each step is covered in a chapter, and each chapter focuses on hands-on implementation. Included are clear ideas, illustrations and worksheets designed to help guide the company on its journey.

The author does pay heed to small firms' economic considerations. High-priced items-mainly consultants and external training packages-are avoided. While quality may ultimately be free, much internal time and effort still must be devoted to TQM, and even Hodgetts' plan can't overcome that barrier.

Implementing TQM in Small & Medium-Sized Organizations (Amacom, $26.95) does, by and large, accomplish its goals. Smaller companies and budget-minded large companies that are newly interested in TQM can use it as a source for ideas and methodology. However, more experienced practitioners will find it too basic.


The Max Strategy
by Dale Dauten

In the tradition of The One Minute Manager and Zapp!, Dale Dauten attempts to distill his years of business experience and success into a short management fable. And, as with those books, the reader leaves the book with a single lesson that is valuable but which, in and of itself, doesn't seem comprehensive enough to guarantee business success.

In this case, change is the message. Dauten tells the reader that all self-improvement advice falls under just two categories: set goals and "build a new you." He suggests that neither is the secret to success. Instead, Dauten sums up his advice in three words: "Experiments never fail."

In the story, this sounds just as cryptic to the young businessman stranded at an airport as it does to readers. But since the businessman gets this bit of wisdom from the usual likely source-a rich, eccentric, famous inventor and entrepreneur who just happens to strike up a conversation during the delay-he is willing to listen.

The guru, in this case his name is Max Elmore, tells us that by changing, literally doing something different every day, we create the circumstances that lead to success. If we don't change, says Max, we will fail every time. However, if we experiment, embrace mistakes and examine coincidences, we will only fail eight out of 10 times. This, Max convinces the reader, is good odds. Well, at least it's better than nothing.
Actually, this is all more convincing than it may sound here, and The Max Strategy (Morrow, $19.95) is worth the short time it takes to read it. Its best use is to convince people that leaving their current secure havens and moving in new directions will prove well-worth the effort.


Quality Is Still Free
by Philip B. Crosby

The original idea for this book, says quality guru Philip Crosby, was to revisit and revise the ideas first presented in 1978 in the author's most famous book, Quality Is Free. The final result, however, is an odd conglomeration of rehashed quality ideas, self-serving autobiography and half-cocked opinions that screams for the services of a ruthless editor.

Crosby's opinions come through loud and clear. Some of these are incendiary. For example, after claiming that other authors steal his ideas without giving him credit, Crosby writes, "But most people who talk about serious quality management, as opposed to TQM and other shallow efforts, make proper attribution." Pardon me?

Way, way, way too much of the book relates personal details that couldn't possibly be of interest to anyone whose last name isn't Crosby. Does anyone want to know when and from whom the author bought "a new Jaguar?" See page 154. Or how about the results of his prostate exam? See page 179. Particularly irritating are the financial details of all the charitable contributions that Crosby claims, "we didn't tell anyone about." Until now.

It is sad not to be able to recommend a book by one of the quality revolution's most influential thinkers, but Quality Is Still Free (McGraw-Hill, $24.95) is a slipshod affair that exhibits little discipline or thought. The single consolation to readers is that they now know enough about the author's personal situation to realize he won't need the royalties from this book to feed his family. It's a good thing.

booknotes


The Quality Book
by Greg Hutchins
(Quality Plus Engineering, 475 pages, $80)
This fat LOOSE-LEAF binder is mainly intended as a study guide for the Certified Quality Manager exam. The contents closely follow the CQM Body of Knowledge, with the addition of two chapters: one on quality as a competitive advantage and one dealing with product development.

Flip Chart Power
by Bonnie Burn
(Pfeiffer, 134 pages, $29.95)
This is a well-presented, easy-to-understand guide to making the best use of this simple, effective presentation tool. Three sections cover using, making and presenting flip charts. Key-points lists and self-tests summarize the content.

The QS-9000 Answer Book
by Radley Smith
(Paton Press, 120 pages, $24.95)
An early entry on the QS-9000 bookshelf, this reasonably priced introductory volume describes how the new automotive standards derive from and relate to ISO 9000 and examines the audit process, sector-specific and company-specific requirements. The author speaks from good authority-as a former Ford quality pro, he co-authored the QS-9000 re- quirement.

ISO 9000 Required
by Branimir Todorov
(Productivity Press, 194 pages, $27)
A late entry onto the ISO 9000 bookshelf, this text provides an overview of the standards, their implementation and registration. Aimed specifically at "novices," the book was published in French (in Canada) and includes only a very short summary of the 1994 updates.

Focus
by Al Ries
(Harper, 304 pages, $25)
Focus, says marketing guru Al Ries, allows a company to "own" a category in their customers' minds (i.e., Volvo owns safety). He offers 15 keys to establishing and maintaining a long-term and effective focus.

Managing in a Changing Workforce
by Bob Losyk
(Workplace Trends, 210 pages, $24.95)
Losyk presents a broad overview that includes the move from management to facilitation; handling Generation X; recruiting and hiring from an ever-less-qualified candidate pool; training, empowering and supporting workers in the quest to serve customers.

Quality Up, Costs Down
edited by William Eureka and Nancy Ryan
(Irwin, 224 pages, $25)
This loosely connected collection of articles, previously published book excerpts and conference presentations were gathered by the American Supplier Institute. Each covers an aspect of Taguchi methods and/or quality function deployment.