Business Book Club
The Underdog Advantage
by David Morey and Scott Miller
Buy book: $14.72

Drawing on 25 years of experience with top companies, Morey and Miller have created a business manual based on their findings that the largest corporations are at their best when they act small--not as an arrogant incumbent, but a hungry insurgent.

Today's installment was rather alarming. A single minded focus on winning might be great for enthusiasm and motivation; but it could also be dangerously irresponsible. How big a step is it from "...nothing but the win" to "do anything to win"?

This might be getting off topic; but it explains my viewpoint. Everthing that is wrong with politics in the U.S. (business AND government) has to do with dirty, adversarial tactics and less and less to do with decisions and policies that benefit the entire entity (nation, corporation, industry, sport).

Being "results oriented" usually means that how you did it is far less important than what you accomplished". Would cooking the books or stealing technology be good strategy if it means you will win? After all, you are concentrating on "the win, only the win and nothing but the win". This is playing "hard ball"; a mean and ugly characteristic that is WRONGLY respected in our society.

I anxiously await the rest of the week in hopes that I am alarmed for nothing.

While I think the premise of the book is interesting, there are many ethical flaws that could arise from taking this stance in business.

The idea of campaigning and selling your idea to your coworkers is intriguing. In some ways, I think it would work quite well. However, if the focus becomes winning, ethics may end up taking a back seat to everything else.

I'm finding this to be an interesting read, albeit a somewhat disturbing one. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What wild desires, what restless torments seize
The hapless man, who feels the book-disease..."
- Dr. John Ferriar (from the poem Bibliomania, 1863)

Well, my point gets a nod here:
"In fact, you can find examples of its principles at work (or abused) in every day's newspaper."

Using Microsoft as an example doesn't soften my opinion though. Being Number One should not be the only measure; more money than everybody else is not the only object when judging success. Stimulating creative efforts in your industry instead of stiffling them in favor of your own profit, being an organization of great human beings (not persons who would eat you alive in order to win) make a whole lot more sense to me. This way you are a great company that everybody praises, that will go down in history for your contributions, that will make enough money for all to be wealthy; and yet, will not be guilty of unethical behavior.

I, too, find this a distasteful book. I'm so glad to see others feel the same way. I think it's tone explains a good deal about the reason we find ourselves in such a divisive state, politically. I can only hope that business does not adopt this model!

My company (privately and employee-owned) grows at a 20% profit level each year, and so far, this book seems the antithesis to the way we approach business. (Thank goodness!)

Looks like it's the delete key for the rest of the week ...

Well, the authors do say that Microsoft and others make a mistake by being "thuggish". I guess I'll actually have to look at this book if only to see whether there is a whole chapter on the pitfalls of abusing their model, unethical behavior, etc.

Hmm. They are just a little too extreme in how far they take the adversarial aspects of the model; much of the insurgent("change oriented", is a less controversial description) concepts are probably valid.