Out three Smarter Ways of Working Book Club choices this quarter are an insightful look at management, an unusual perspective on contemporary England, and a book that appears to be about baseball but turns out to be a classic case history of a successful challenger brand.
This quarter ’ s pick is Management f-Laws, and we think it will make you smile, will annoy you, and will make you think. Take f-Law number 43 – ‘ the less managers expect of their subordinates, the less they get ’ . We rather think the authors have hit the nail on the head with that one.
In Welcome To Everytown, author Richard Baggini heads off to S66, the postcode most representative of England as a whole (according to ACORN), and better known as Rotherham, to see what makes the English tick. Those who worry that their metropolitan lifestyle and high pressure career make it hard for them to get a full perspective on the country as a whole will find this a thought-provoking study.
Finally, Moneyball examines the case of the Oakland A ’ s, and just how their manager Billy Beane set about beating the big boys on a fraction of their budget.
According to the ACORN demographic profiling system, the postcode sector most representative of England as a whole is S66 - better known as Rotherham in Yorkshire. Jullian Baggini, editor of The Philosophers'Magazine, wanted to see if our national viewpoints on lifestyle, ethics, consumption and human relationships add up to a collective English Philosophy", and so he moved to Rotherham from his home in Bristol for six months to find out. MediaCom's Real World Insight team have developed a similar approach to consumer insight in our Real World Street initiative, an ongoing research project involving an entire street of houses in "Middle England".
This entertaining book is an account of Baggine's time in S66 and of his conclusions. Whilst living there, he tried to live life as a "typical Englander", attempting to throw of the prejudices and baggage of his urban, intellectual background. Where possible he consumed only the most popular food, culture and media, and immersed himself in the local community - the friendships he formed with the people he met in the area (many from his local pub) form the basis of many of his musings. The only newspapers he read were The Sun and The Daily Mail, he went horseracing for the first time since childhood, went out on the town with the youth of Rotherham and sampled as much local cuisine as he could stomach. He even went on holiday to Mallorca - still the single most-popular destination amongst the English - in order to experience the infamous "Brits Abroad" experience first hand.
The book covers all the subjects you would expect from a book with this premise, with chapters focussing on our attitudes to sex, race, drinking, gambling, and popular culture. Throughout he debates with himself our collective take on class, consumerism and community, often disagreeing with the populist viewpoints he uncovers, but always attempting to understand why people think or act as they do. The book starts more as a straight account of a Guardian reader (Guardian contributor, in fact) lost in a land of racist jokes, alcopops and ready meals, but becomes a more complex philosophers analysis of my fellow countrymen (you are excused from his analysis if you are Scottish, Welsh, Irish or from further affield).
This book sometimes makes uncomfortable reading, not always because of what Baggini uncovers (bigotry, sexism, parochialism), but also because he is a tourist – a highly educated, middle-class urbanite “gawping at the proles”, despite his attempts to be fair in his observations. I also think there is a flaw at the heart of this book. The conversations with the “locals” at the pub (almost exclusively male and middle aged), or overheard on the bus, or with the lady behind the counter at the local grocers, are unlikely to be representative of the whole population of S66. He was always less likely to encounter the richer, more cultured elements of the locale with his approach, even if he often backs up anecdotal evidence with statistics.
However, all in all this is an accessible and thought-provoking analysis of our nation, and should be read by anyone who believes that their Metropolitan lifestyle inhibits their ability to see what makes the English tick as a collective.
Back to top
“One of the best baseball books out” Forbes
COME BACK! This is not only a book about baseball. In reality this a classic case study in how the power of insight, inspirational leadership and the willingness to challenge convention has taken a small underperforming brand to great things. It is a classic marketing parable that should be a must read for all marketers. This is a real life narrative about how a challenger brand successfully learnt to take on and beat the superbrands in its category. Forget Pepsi, Branston Beans or Felix, next time you need to a great example of a challenger brand, think the Oakland A’s in major league baseball.
A classic challenge
This is the story of how Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's, a major league baseball team faced his particular business problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. A classic challenger brand quandary. Conventional wisdom long held that big name ‘hitters’ and young pitchers were the ticket to success. For hitters and pitchers read ‘Multi million pound TV campaigns’.
Energised By Insight
The power of insight helped challenge this key category norm. Beane and his team, backed by massive amounts of cleverly interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods. The secret to winning in Major League baseball really lay in seeking talent overlooked by convention and focussing on the right objectives which are not the objectives most teams face on.
Given this insight and a tight budget, Beane has defied tradition to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive cast-off veterans.
A Great Read
As well as a compelling and relevant tale in its own right, the style of Lewis’s writing makes it a joy to read whether for sport or business reasons. This is an accessible, fluid and engaging read.
The book has received high praise in many places not least most Premiership ‘young gun’ managers. I will leave it to the weekly standard to offer the most compelling reason for why you, as a marketer, should give it a go ….
“May be the best book ever written on business”.
Back to top
Its Russell L. Ackoff and Herb Addison’s views on how organisations really work and what’s wrong with them.
Russell Ackoff is 87 years old (never let it be said that the Book Club isn’t doing its bit for age diversity), and he doesn’t pull his punches.
In some cases his views don’t match our experiences. However in some cases, and we’re sure that you’ll feel the same, his ironic take on how things really get done around organisations will absolutely hit a nerve. Plus (unusually) the illustrations are super.
Take f-Law number 43 – ‘the less managers expect of their subordinates, the less they get’. We’re frequently surprised at the rather dysfunctional relationship senior managers sometimes have with their team. It resembles more of a nanny – please pick up after me when I leave a mess – relationship we observe in younger children’s childcare than the support team we expect. How can you expect your team to learn if you never ever let them face the consequences of their actions? Safe mistakes (f-law 57) are essential to personal growth.
Then again f-law 44 is nonsense isn’t it? ('The amount of money spent to broadcast a television or radio commercial is inversely related to its truthfulness and relevance) – but f-law 18 ('Good teachers produce skeptics who ask their own questions and find their own answers; management gurus produce only unquestioning disciples') – absolutely. So, find your own path through this book, pick and choose your f-Laws.
You’ll find this book really easy to dip in and out of, great to read on a journey and also to keep by your desk for some freshness and inspiration.
Ackoff is the Anheuser-Busch Emeritus Professor of Management Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He was ranked 26th in the recent list of top business brains in the world in The Times.
His co author Addison is also an academic and the author of the New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge’s business section.
And we must mention Sally Bibb, who provides an alternate view of each f-Law. She is director of Group Sales Development of the Economist Group. Her viewpoints are always refreshing and you will sometimes find yourself agreeing more with her than with the chaps.
And what an ending – f-Law no. 81: “When nothing can make things worse, anything can make them better.”
Enjoy the book and let us know what you think.
Back to topIf you have any queries, please contact us
