The Art of Business: In the Footsteps of Giants.The Art of Business: In the Footsteps of Giants. By Raymond T. Yeh with Stephanie H. Yeh. Zero Time Publishing, 279 pages. $19.95 Is there really value to a book that proclaims, as this does in the preface, to synthesize To create a whole or complete unit from parts or components. See synthesis. "the wisdom of the East with the knowledge of the West to articulate insights that show the way for experiencing wholeness and for nurturing the gift of leadership in our daily engagements?" Indeed, there is. The Art of Business draws in part from the ancient, storied Chinese text, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, but the emphasis is hardly on corporate strife. Yeh, an author, consultant and senior research fellow at the University of Texas at Austin “University of Texas” redirects here. For other system schools, see University of Texas System. The University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as The University of Texas, UT Austin, UT, or Texas , sees harmonious and life-affirming values in great companies; in fact, he strongly believes that top companies have a "soul"--which he says Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and Arthur Andersen For the U.S. Supreme Court case commonly known as Arthur Andersen, see . Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five" accounting firms (the other four are PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG), performing did not--and build on the foundations of "giants," the leaders who established their core values. Loosely organized--there is no sequence or flow to the book, and Yeh himself urges readers to just "pick a story and dive in"--the book offers very focused histories of a wide spectrum of companies, including Southwest Airlines This article is about the American airline. For the former Japanese airline, see Japan Transocean Air. For the British airline, see Air Southwest. Southwest Airlines Co. , Medtronic Inc., Dell Inc., Wal-Mart Stores (a common roster of U.S. all-stars) as well as non-business entities like the famed UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX basketball team of years past and the nation of Singapore. Yeh does a terrific job of synthesizing the lessons to be learned from these various organizations, especially the culture they've established, and ties the corporate stories to five broad themes established by Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (s  n dz), fl. c.500–320. B.C. : possibility, timing, leverage, mastery and leadership. At its heart, this is a book that attempts to marry a spiritual dimension with commerce, which may make some uneasy. To his enormous credit, Yeh succeeds: He revisits lionized companies--how many management books don't talk about Dell or Wal-Mart?--and by interviewing executives and distilling their methods, gives us a new way to view and measure their success. This is a wise, eminently readable read·a·ble adj. 1. Easily read; legible: a readable typeface. 2. Pleasurable or interesting to read: a readable story. and important book. |
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