Joseph Boyett, Author & Consultant
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The Guru Guide(TM)
by Joseph Boyett & Jimmie Boyett
You need quick access to state-of-the-art management information, right? Of
course you do. There is just one problem. In today's hectic corporate world, you
simply have too much to do and too little time to sift through hundreds of books
and thousands of articles to find the advice you need. Which books should you
read? What articles could provide you with some insight? Whose writings should
you seek on the Internet? Who is the authority on a particular issue? What advice
does he or she offer? How do the ideas of one authority complement or conflict with
those of another? Most importantly, whose ideas about how to manage and run
businesses really produce results? Under what circumstances do their ideas work
or not work? You need a guide to help you answer these questions.
Congratulations. You have just found it.
The Guru Guide has been designed to provide you with a clear, concise, and
informative introduction to the wisdom of the world's top business advisors. It is a
highly opinionated but informative guide to the skills, ideas, and concepts of the
world's top business thinkers of the 1990s. But this guide was designed to be more
than just a digest of current thought about business. The ideas of each business
thinker are linked and cross-linked with those of other experts who agree or
disagree. The Guru Guide identified the ideas that coincide and those that conflict.
It describes how some of the world's most important management theories and
concepts have evolved. It also reports on the gurus' methods and the results they
say they have obtained. Finally, it provides an evaluation of their strengths and
weaknesses.
REVIEWS
* Very skillfully done.
A splendid synthesis, creaming the best of the best.
You'll go bonkers for this collection. FUTURE SURVEY, JUNE 1998
* Provides a clear, concise, and informative introduction to the most prominent
management thinkers. [The Boyetts] show where the gurus ideas coincide and
conflict, trace how the major management theories evolved, and provide a candid
evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. Organized for easy reading, each of
the book's chapters focuses on a critical management issue. INDUSTRY WEEK, JULY
29, 1998
* Anyone who takes business seriously should rush out to purchase [this book].
The Boyetts have gathered their gurus into handy bunches. To their credit, they did
not limit the list to the old standbys. The chapter on leadership presents just about
everything everyone might have to say about being a great leader, along with
caveats that following everyone's advice to the letter might lead to nothing at all.
In a world that changes at the speed of light, it's a valuable place to go to slow
things down and take the measure of what is actually going on. The Guru Guide is
the book to keep the way you would keep a good book of maps, because it always
pays to know exactly where you are going in the world of management thought.
ACROSS THE BOARD, SEPTEMBER 1998
* The concept...is so simple it will leave other writers envious they didn't think of it
first. Better yet, the Boyetts pull the task off well, avoiding the traps they could
have fallen into, such as overemphasizing one or two prized gurus or using the
material as a springboard to discuss their own theories. The ideas are presented
simply but reasonably thoroughly, so the reader...comes away with a good
understanding of the basic concepts that guru is purveying. The Boyetts provide
syntheses, linking the gurus' ideas so that similarities and differences are clear.
That's valuable since it's not common for business gurus, unlike more academic
writers, to put arguments in context. The end result is quite spectacular, in its
understated way: an easy-to-read, well organized look at modern management
writing. If you're looking for a good guru, try them all in one place. THE TORONTO
STAR, AUGUST 24, 1998
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Leadership
Chapter 2: Managing Change
Chapter 3: The Learning Organization
Chapter 4: Creating High-Performance Organizations through Teamwork
Chapter 5: The Pursuit of Market Leadership (Business Strategy)
Chapter 6: Managing and Motivating People
Chapter 7: Business, Work, and Society (Business Structure)
Our Gurus
In total, we selected seventy-nine individuals for gurudom. Some of them are
unarguably the best thinkers in their field(s). Others may weigh in a little light in the
thinking area, but their bank accounts attest to their popularity.
by Joseph Boyett & Jimmie Boyett
You need quick access to state-of-the-art management information, right? Of
course you do. There is just one problem. In today's hectic corporate world, you
simply have too much to do and too little time to sift through hundreds of books
and thousands of articles to find the advice you need. Which books should you
read? What articles could provide you with some insight? Whose writings should
you seek on the Internet? Who is the authority on a particular issue? What advice
does he or she offer? How do the ideas of one authority complement or conflict with
those of another? Most importantly, whose ideas about how to manage and run
businesses really produce results? Under what circumstances do their ideas work
or not work? You need a guide to help you answer these questions.
Congratulations. You have just found it.
The Guru Guide has been designed to provide you with a clear, concise, and
informative introduction to the wisdom of the world's top business advisors. It is a
highly opinionated but informative guide to the skills, ideas, and concepts of the
world's top business thinkers of the 1990s. But this guide was designed to be more
than just a digest of current thought about business. The ideas of each business
thinker are linked and cross-linked with those of other experts who agree or
disagree. The Guru Guide identified the ideas that coincide and those that conflict.
It describes how some of the world's most important management theories and
concepts have evolved. It also reports on the gurus' methods and the results they
say they have obtained. Finally, it provides an evaluation of their strengths and
weaknesses.
REVIEWS
* Very skillfully done.
A splendid synthesis, creaming the best of the best.
You'll go bonkers for this collection. FUTURE SURVEY, JUNE 1998
* Provides a clear, concise, and informative introduction to the most prominent
management thinkers. [The Boyetts] show where the gurus ideas coincide and
conflict, trace how the major management theories evolved, and provide a candid
evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. Organized for easy reading, each of
the book's chapters focuses on a critical management issue. INDUSTRY WEEK, JULY
29, 1998
* Anyone who takes business seriously should rush out to purchase [this book].
The Boyetts have gathered their gurus into handy bunches. To their credit, they did
not limit the list to the old standbys. The chapter on leadership presents just about
everything everyone might have to say about being a great leader, along with
caveats that following everyone's advice to the letter might lead to nothing at all.
In a world that changes at the speed of light, it's a valuable place to go to slow
things down and take the measure of what is actually going on. The Guru Guide is
the book to keep the way you would keep a good book of maps, because it always
pays to know exactly where you are going in the world of management thought.
ACROSS THE BOARD, SEPTEMBER 1998
* The concept...is so simple it will leave other writers envious they didn't think of it
first. Better yet, the Boyetts pull the task off well, avoiding the traps they could
have fallen into, such as overemphasizing one or two prized gurus or using the
material as a springboard to discuss their own theories. The ideas are presented
simply but reasonably thoroughly, so the reader...comes away with a good
understanding of the basic concepts that guru is purveying. The Boyetts provide
syntheses, linking the gurus' ideas so that similarities and differences are clear.
That's valuable since it's not common for business gurus, unlike more academic
writers, to put arguments in context. The end result is quite spectacular, in its
understated way: an easy-to-read, well organized look at modern management
writing. If you're looking for a good guru, try them all in one place. THE TORONTO
STAR, AUGUST 24, 1998
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Leadership
Chapter 2: Managing Change
Chapter 3: The Learning Organization
Chapter 4: Creating High-Performance Organizations through Teamwork
Chapter 5: The Pursuit of Market Leadership (Business Strategy)
Chapter 6: Managing and Motivating People
Chapter 7: Business, Work, and Society (Business Structure)
Our Gurus
In total, we selected seventy-nine individuals for gurudom. Some of them are
unarguably the best thinkers in their field(s). Others may weigh in a little light in the
thinking area, but their bank accounts attest to their popularity.
- Karl Albrecht
- Christopher Argyris
- Ken Bamforth
- Christopher A. Bartlett
- Warren Bennis
- Warren Blank
- Lee G. Bolman
- Juana Bordas
- Adam M. Brandenburger
- Anthony Patrick Carnevale
- Jill Carpenter
- John Case
- James Champy
- Jay Conger
- Daryl Conner
- Stephen R. Covey
- Aubrey C. Daniels
- Terrence Deal
- Max DePree
- Peter F. Drucker
- Fred Emery
- Richard Farson
- Thomas P. Flannery
- Jay W. Forrester
- Timothy J. Galpin
- Howard Gardner
- John W. Gardner
- Sumantra Ghoshal
- Thomas F. Gilbert
- Robert K. Greenleaf
- Gary P. Hamel
- Michael Hammer
- Charles Handy
- David A. Hofrichter
- William Isaacs
- F. Robert Jacobs
- Laurie Beth Jones
- M. Patricia Kane
- Robert S. Kaplan
- Jon R. Katzenbach
- Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries
- Daniel Kim
- John P. Kotter
- Edward E. Lawler
- Marilyn Loden
- Charles C. Manz
- Henry Mintzberg
- Allan M. Mohrman, Jr.
- Susan Albers Mohrman
- James F. Moore
- Linda Moran
- Ed Musselwhite
- Barry J. Nalebuff
- Bert Nanus
- David P. Norton
- James O’Toole
- Glenn M. Parker
- Willaim A. Pasmore
- Thomas J. (Tom) Peters
- Paul E. Platten
- Michael E. Porter
- C.K. Prahalad
- Judy B. Rosener
- Edgar H. Schein
- Peter R. Scholtes
- Donald A. Schön
- Jay R. Schuster
- John P. Schuster
- Peter M. Senge
- Henry P. Sims, Jr.
- Douglas K. Smith
- John P. (Jack) Stack
- Paul Strebel
- R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.
- Noel M. Tichy
- Michael Treacy
- Eric Trist
- Marvin R. Weisbord
- Etienne Wenger
- Margaret Wheatley
- Fred Wiersema
- John H. Zenger
- Patricia K. Zingheim
