The Force

by David Dorsey

Book Overview

"If you want to know how America's business wars are waged in the trenches, The Force is for you. A gripping book." --Newsday "SKILLFULLY REPORTED, INSIGHTFUL...Dorsey lights up our vision of the American salesman with his own sharply reported eyewitness account." --People In this fascinating book, reporter David Dorsey turns a year on the Xerox sales force into an emotionally charged human drama. The Force tracks Fred Thomas and his sales team from...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679410309
• ISBN13: 9780679410300
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

An insiders view, not much analysis but powerful

I used this book in a class I teach on economic anthropology - the idea was to use it as a kind of 'workplace ethnography' to show students what the real life of sales is like. I also wanted to emphasize the point that the daily business of economics is more about social relationships than simply about money and exchange. The students liked the book and found parts of it very engaging, but I am not sure it helped get the message across. This is partially because the author is not very self-reflective - does not put his experience in perspective or make sense out of it, but it content to show how out-of-control a particular corporate culture became, how destructive it was to daily life. A useful lesson - and I will use the book again.

Great book

This was a good book overall, however, two pages were missing! They werent ripped out, they just werent printed in the book. Nonetheless, the book got to me on time and in great condition. Overall, good book!

One of the best books ever written about sales management.

This book really captures the essence of being in sales and and what it takes to be in sales management. I'm in sales management myself and I can really relate to Fred Thomas' worrying about performning well, and I recognize some of the different characters in his department. Sales being glamorous to many people (those not involved in selling), but the negative impact it has on your personal life is very well described in the book. It's tough!The book is a must for everyone in sales management!

So you want to be in sales?

I read this book about a year ago, and was pleased to find it to provide a real sense of what its like to work in a high pressure sales environment. The characters in the book reminded me of many people I have met and worked with professionally, and I enjoyed the stories greatly, finding both familiarity and insight. I think that for anyone working on a sales team, or considering working on a sales team, this book is a pleasure and a must-read. Let the buyer beware!

The Force Hits Too Close to Home

It has been about two years since I first read David Dorsey's book. I was working for a large multi-national computer company and, as I read about Fred Thomas, I felt that I was reading my auto-biography. No other book has better captured the inner torment of corporate sales. The quotas, the endless tracking of results, the hounding of sales staff to squeeze blood from stone. Parts of the book helped maintain my perspective as I went through similar Kafka-like events since then. I would make this a must-read for anyone who has to sell to the fortune 500