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“Without a doubt you ought to read this one prior to spending too much money on gobbledygook items, as I did.”
Mieszko S wrote this review Thursday, September 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“No, this isn't about the video game. The full title on this one is The Halo Effect ...and the Eight Other Business Delusions that Deceive Managers. In it, author Phil Rosenzweig sets out to take the business press and best sellers to task for a list of flaws in their thinking and chest thumping. Basically, it's a list of fallacies that you could compile from the chapter titles in most books on psychology, decision-making, and behavioral economics:
jmadigan wrote this review Friday, March 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1. The Halo Effect (inferring other traits on the basis of one trait, like performance)
2. The Delusion of Correlation and Causality (assuming correlation means causation)
3. The Delusion of Single Explanations (not realizing that it's all a rich tapestry; every outcome has multiple causes)
4. The Delusion of Connecting the Winning Dots (a.k.a., selection bias; the habit of studying only successes)
5. The Delusion of Rigorous Research (substituting research quantity for quality)
6. The Delusion of Lasting Success (forgetting that the nature of business means very few successes are permanant or even long-lasting)
7. The Delusion of Absolute Performance (not realizing that company performance is relative to your competition, not absolute)
8. The Delusion fo the Wrong End of the Stick (attributing success for a trait that both successful and unsuccessful companies share)
9. The Delusion of Organizational Physics (Failing to realize that human systems like the marketplace are too complex to predict perfectly)
I liked this book quite a bit, in part because I just like exploring these little kinks in human nature, but also because Rosenzweig fully committed himself to a no bullshit, no pulled punches critique of the silliness you see in the business press and best-selling books like Built to Last or Good to Great (which I thought was transparently terrible, too). His diatribes are replete with real-world examples, quotes, and data compilations, but also always cogent and centered around one of the delusions above (though sometimes they bleed together, as you might expect). He spends a fair amount of time splendidly savaging people like Jim Collins (of Good to Great fame and fortune), calling him on the carpet for making sure that facts, science, and sound methodology don't get in the way of telling an uplifting story. It's great to see someone with both the moxie to say stuff like this and the scientific training to substantiate his critiques. If the Journal of Applied Psychology were more like this, I'd read it cover to cover every issue.
My only substantial complaint about the book is that it's almost all criticism and has very little in the way of solutions beyond "don't fall into this faulty mode of thinking." The subtext of the book is that business performance is gosh-darn hard to measure and even harder to predict or influence. So what do you do? How DO you identify the qualities that make businesses better? Clearly, some are better than others. What are the methodologies by which we can evaluate things in the absence of truely scientific experiments? The Halo Effect isn't much help there. But at least the author criticizes the ways NOT to do it in an entertaining and enlightening way.”
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“SYNOPSYS OF THE HALO EFFECT … PHIL ROSENZWEIG
ketan s wrote this review Saturday, September 20 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The book is about finding out what creates successful and sustainable corporations. The purpose is to identify contributors to successful companies.
A large part of the book is devoted to existing study made on identifying the DNA of successful companies.
It is has made enormous reference to books like Built to Last, Good to Great and some other similar research done by eminent researchers.
In the Halo Effect the author tries to highlight the delusions created by book such as Built to Last and Good to Great. The most pervasive delusion is the Halo Effect which is defined as perceptions / misperceptions created around successful companies by the media.
As a result any scientific inference drawn on the basis of studies suffering from Halo Effect will give erroneous judgment.
The book is profuse with case study such as Cisco Systems, IBM, ABB, Nokia & many more. In these companies the author brings out the sharp contrast in media reports once the successful patch of the company is over. For instance their success was attributed to leadership, focus, corporate culture and so on. Once fallen from the high they were accused of bad leadership, poor execution, lack of focus and so on.
The interesting delusions identified are the delusions of absolute performance, the delusion of rigorous research and delusion of single explanations. Interesting findings of the book pertain to the myth around companies highlighted in the book Built To Last and Good To Great. It would be worthwhile to go through the Appendix where it has statistically established that the successful companies enumerated in Built To Last and Good To Great where Gross underperformers in the subsequent block of Five and Ten years. Not only they underperform even their profitability in the subsequent years took a beating.
So what actually determines success of the company or failure? In the last two chapters the author brings out the key elements which according to him are strategy and execution. It gives the case study of Intel and Logitech to establish that strategy and execution are the key determinants of success. All other characteristics such as Leadership, Innovation, Focus, Corporate Culture, etc. are attributes that follow strategy. Another important take away is that what works for one company need not work for another company and time and chance place a key role in putting the company on winning track. Thus what’s valid today may not be valid in other circumstance tomorrow. Therefore beware of all studies and research which promise simple formulae as Gospel Truth for success in all times. What’s valid is strategy which changes with changing times and efficient execution thereof. For instance Intel adopted a very different strategy after Andy Grove left. To which Andy Grove responded wholeheartedly saying that’s the DNA of Intel. Nothing is sacrosanct. In the ultimate analysis a good strategy is calculated risk and is no guarantee for a continuous success. A corporation will always face the challenge of reinventing itself because performance has a tendency to regress towards mean.
Chapter I, VI, VII, IX & X very much captures the essence of the book.
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“In the spirit of "The Witch Doctors" reviewed herein, this book takes a shot across the bow of the pabulum that emanates from the faddish management consultancy industry. Rosenzweig is fearless, attacking such business book icons as "Built to Last," "Good to Great," and other books he claims may tell good stories, but have little empirical evidence to support their conclusions. If you are an avid reader of business books or the business press in general, this book is essential reading to increase your sensitivity to nonsensical conclusions drawn based on looking at financial performance alone. Rosenzweig has written a valuable contribution that will help management thinkers understand the difference between a process and a result––if they heed his advice. In the meantime, I urge you to read this incredibly important book.”
Ron B wrote this review Tuesday, February 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Here's what I do at my company: Survey corporate executives and look for links between attitudes and behavior on one side and corporate performance (revenue growth, operating margin) on the other. A recent study of mine showed that high-performing companies tend to be more willing to invest in technology, for instance. So you'd think I would be a big skeptic of the ideas put forth in this book. Yet I'm not. I think that (1) Mr Rosenzweig pretty much on the money and (2) there is real value to the kinds of studies that I do. How I reconcile the two? I've got some theories. Maybe it's time to write my own book.”
Dan A wrote this review Thursday, December 27 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Must read book for all managers. It will be eye opener. Detailed review later.”
adkumar wrote this review Friday, September 14 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Debunks the most popular business management book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins.
kgashok wrote this review Thursday, September 6 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If you read this you may lose your addiction to buying and reading business management books, just like it did for me. Id on't know whether that is good or bad.”
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