In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies

Based on researches done by the authors (Peters and Waterman), this book discusses eight basics or themes that had proved, as per the authors, prevalent amongst ‘excellent’ companies more than 30 years ago; namely- A bias for action, Close to the customer, Autonomy and entrepreneurship, Productivity through people, Hands-on value-driven, Stick to the knitting, Simple form lean staff, and Simultaneous loose-tight properties.

Although these eight basics are recommended to nurture excellence in any company, I am still in doubt whether they are timeless and sufficient. After reading the book, the first question that comes to one’s mind is that whether these ‘excellent’ companies are still so? If not, which was the real case with show more some of the mentioned companies, was it because of weaknesses in the 8 basics, or due to ‘invisible’ rules or basics that were not addressed by the authors in the book?

The reader should avoid the trap of comparing her company to any of the companies mentioned in the book, instead, she should benchmark against the 8 basics per se. Companies change while basics do not if proven successful.

Regardless of whether the performance of these ‘excellent’ companies are maintained throughout the years or have deteriorated, I believe this book is a must read for any executive or business leader as it still delineates some of the best business behaviors to survive global challenges existing over ages. show less

This merits its status as a classic. Twenty years later, it's still completely relevant. I also observed so many examples I've read in multiple more recent sources. Apparently, business and self-help authors have all read this book. Examples include the Hawthorn effect, the Sam Walton doughnut story, and the shock therapy experiment on authority. Also noteworthy are how many of these best-run companies are no longer leaders today (K-Mart) or have gone completely out of business (Western Electric).

I haven't read a lot of business books, but I remember this making a bit impression on me back in the eighties. MBWA, the Golden Banana, stick to the knitting. It's a classic and it makes you want to go out and found a company!

Read for my library management class, very interesting. Ways to manage companies well without getting bogged down in bureaucracy. I wonder how many of the companies kept to the ideas in the book after it was originally written.

I respect Mr. Peters tremendously. This book is a classic. Excellent from an Entrepreneur standpoint. Mindset is everything. Take advantage of this book. Hands down one of my favorites and 5 stars. Must have.

The Classic! But funny that most of the companies written about did poorly afterward.

There is an Art of American Management -- and it works!
To discover the secrets of our ""native art"", Thomas Peters, an alumnus of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Company who runs his own consulting firm, and Robert Waterman, now a director of McKinsey, studied forty-three successful American companies. Some of these organizations, such as Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, specialize in consumer goods; some, like IBM and Hewlett-Packard, are in high technology; some, such as Delta Airlines and McDonald', are in services. Shared by all of them are eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that are readily transferable. Here they are, amply illustrated show more with anecdotes and examples from the experiences of these best-run companies to make them accessible and practical for you to use. show less