Beyond Buzzwords

Key Knowledge for Crisis Managers, Executives & Aspiring MBAs

The undeniable truth is that every business drifts toward mediocrity and oblivion…e.g., Kodak, Western Electric, Western Union, ITT, Polaroid. And almost every government organization becomes bloated and self-serving. Beyond Buzzwords explains to corporate and government leaders why mediocrity happens and what needs to be done to avoid it. The Book is philosophical, tutorial, and practical. Its recommended solutions have been used successfully for over fifty years. Ray Friant examined more than a hundred businesses to learn why they were seriously underperforming. His findings are universal and applicable to all organizations with more than a few hundred employees. The problemEven though today’s products and services incorporate myriad levels of technology, and the complexity of organizations has grown exponentially, the practice of management has stayed somewhat static. Sophisticated computer programs and very detailed reports abound. But this hasn’t eliminated the implosions in business and government where over half of all organizations miss their mandated performance. Friant’s analysis shows that the major problems are at the top, and of the whole. Specifically:• All organizations are prone to a “long wave cycle” in which they deteriorate and morph toward mediocrity over a five- to ten-year period unless they are pro-actively managed to avoid decay, which isn’t easy. • There are two major reasons: first, while focusing on quarterly results, CEOs and their management teams fail to change the organization to survive the long haul, • Second, career-oriented managers do many things to enhance their careers that are counter-productive to organization success.• In addition, the biggest problems are of the “whole,” i.e., the whole strategy, tactics, products, services, suppliers, customers, employees, management team, and etc. • CEOs have been free to examine at their whims their organizations’ sub-element problems without considering the whole. • In addition, CEOs have neither the time nor ability to know problem details more than one or two levels below themselves, as predicted by Harvard’s Professor Galbraith. The solution• Change the duties of the CEO to insist that a Total Organization Analysis (TOA®) be done every four to six years, • Require the CEO to establish and empower futurists to be the “loyal opposition” that challenges the status quo through a systematic, in-depth analysis of all trends affecting the organization that call for change.Other Uses for Beyond BuzzwordsHuman Resources Personnel1. Strong Human Resources personnel can play a vital role in changing the organization culture by educating executives and managers to the lessons covered in Beyond Buzzwords relative to people, careers, organization operations, and the processes for doing day-to-day work, and for changing the organization’s long-term focus and capability.2. Human Resource personnel can also be a crucial, indispensable force in facilitating management teams to embrace doing a TOA® in their organization. MBA Students1. The chapters of Beyond Buzzwords are arranged in a learning sequence, i.e., individuals, management careers, organization structure, management processes, and financial yardsticks.2. The insights presented are very down-to-earth—they are what really happen in twenty-first century organizations. Understanding the content at the beginning of a career gives individuals a leg-up in the competitive world of a management career in business or government.3. The chapter on “Financial Yardsticks” stands alone in on-going importance to young managers. Learning how to ask for, understand, and correctly use financial information is a critical skill in both “managing” and “communicating”. The world of accounting has its own language, as does law, engineering, marketing, etc. Being able the bridge the understanding gulf between accounting results and management help