Rethink: A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation

By Ric Merrifield

Book Overview

It's a totally human condition, a trap that ensnares virtually everyone. Just as when we tie a route to a destination so much so that when someone else takes a different route "why are we going this... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0137031653
• ISBN13: 9780137031658
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: FT Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

An excellent guide to hwo to do business creatively

In this book, the author explains how businesses need to focus less on how they do the work and more on what the work is. The author provides case studies of successful business and not so-successful businesses that changed their focus from how to what as well as providing exercises and questions to help readers examine their own business. The companion website provides additional information, which can be really helpful to readers, in rethinking what they do as well as how they do it.

A Book That Will Change the Way you Think About How you Do Everything

I'm not surprised that there are a few poor reviews of this book. The ideas contained within Ric Merrifield's book often appear so simple one may think they've already been practicing his advice for years. However, like any profound idea, the simple ones are the best. And the "How Trap" which is at the center of the thinking of this book, is a trap all of us find ourselves in every day. It is my contention that those few who did not like the book will find themselves in the near future faced with a complicated problem and discover that they very naturally break down their new problem in the way Ric shows in this book and suddenly find their way out of the problem. And they will likely not even realize they have this book to thank.

new favorite business book

Well, I have a new favorite book about strategic business planning, and this is it. I wasn't expecting much when I started reading, just another reframe of the same old ideas (most of which people continue to ignore). Given that the author comes from the Borg hive-mind of the evil Microsoft Empire, I was quite prepared to hate every word. There are times when I actually love to be proven wrong, and this is one of those times. I was more than pleasantly surprised. The writing is crisp, clear, and concise. The ideas are presented in a logical and easily followed manner. It is not filled with marketing fluff, $100 words and convoluted academic prose. It is easily some of the best writing I have read in some time. This is not just a well written business book, it is a well written book, period. It is easy to read and understand, and the ideas and methods set forth are simple and effective. (Although, as with most things, it is not always simple to implement them.) The basic premise is that people tend to concentrate on the "how" of their business and processes, instead of the "what." Now, this is not a new idea. It has been explored in many books before this, but judging from the number of people in business/organizations who still don't get it, perhaps the paradigm set down here will increase that awareness. The author begins with an quick overview of business process improvement, from F.W Taylor to Champy and Hammer. While there is a brief mention of Total Quality Management, Demming's name is absent from the discussion. Merrifield breaks the "rethinking" concept down into 5 basic areas: business value, performance, connectedness, predictability, and compliance. Each topic has its own chapter and examples, and Merrifield demonstrates how to use these methods to analyze the situations encountered. Most of the time it involves changing one's perspective about what is really going on in the process under scrutiny, and seeing the "larger" picture. In other systems, this step is sometimes called "What business are you really in?" As the book moves from topic to topic, the author illustrates his points with concise examples from the current business world, ranging from Newman's Own to Merck to ING Direct. The examples are thoughtfully analyzed in the light of the author's paradigm, and, in my far from humble opinion, this is done very well. I did have a bit of a problem with the section on Merck because of my general distaste for the allopathic Big Pharm group and its constant (usually deadly) con games, but that doesn't make Merrifield's business analysis any less accurate. Each chapter begins with a pithy (but relevant) quote from such wonderful folks as Yogi Bera, Warren Buffet, and Georgia O'Keefe. There is also a chapter at the end of the book which is a sort of quickstart guide to the key concepts and how to use them. Nice touches. If you read only one book on business strategy, this would be a great choice. Of course, reading only one b

Great Timing

I'm a small business owner and cost cutting is important, but what happens when you focus on cutting costs and forget about your customers? You get screwed. This book is a quick read, and it's filled with real examples of companies cutting costs. Sometimes they get hurt and other times they succeed. It all depends on whether you stay focused on your purpose or get sidetracked by costs. If you are a small business owner, read this book.