Business Summaries - Death By Meeting

The Big Idea
A maverick is an independent person who will not go along with the other members of a group (Oxford ESL Dictionary). This book provides priceless stories and insights from a maverick of the business world; an exemplary business leader who prefers not to follow orthodox beliefs in business, nor be eaten by the hyped up ideas of the present. Instead, he chooses the course of action that is appropriate for the changing times.

The Maverick’s Way: New Old Thing
What is effective? This is the question answered by the maverick. He reconciles the good things from both the Old and New times, and focuses on what is really effective in confronting the challenges of 21st century business dealings.

THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BED
The maverick’s way of thinking reflects a distaste for Procrustes; a character in Greek mythology who would either stretch or cut off the legs of his ensnared victims, to fit the length of the bed.

A good business leader discards the dogma: “This is the way we have always done things.” He thinks outside of the bed.

IT REALLY PAYS TO BE DARING
Sidney Harman quit a high paying job to engage in a new field, the world of high-end audio equipment. Today, Harman International is the one of the world’s leaders in the industry.

To be daring is not to be rash and impulsive; it involves a conscious decision and a lot of thinking about the consequences of one’s choices.

TECHNOLOGY MUST NOT BE PERMITTED TO TYRRANIZE
With the advent of great technological advancements, the people develop a predilection to subordinate their way of life to these new discoveries. They should be reminded that technology should be designed to serve human beings, and not the other way around.

DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH
An ideal company is one in which every member brings his own share, contributing to the development of the whole. The maverick abandons Departmentalized Thinking, wherein specialists are well informed about their own field but do not have a clue as to how the whole enterprise works in synergy.

A good leader should be able to recognize and respect the differences among his people, while at the same time blending all of these together to form a coherent whole.

THE JAZZ QUARTET
The top executives of Harman International have differences in specialization and background, but Sidney was able to bring them together into a jazz quartet, wherein each of them instigate the others to be interested and competent in his field of specialization.

They play different musical instruments, and are able to produce one good piece of music. It is the duty of a good leader to maintain BALANCE and HARMONY among his people- towards a “cross-fertilization of skills.”

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