Book Description

Revised, updated, and even more useful to students, teachers, and practicing professionals
The First Edition of Loss Models was deemed "worthy of classical status" by the Journal of the International Statistical Institute. While retaining its predecessor's thorough treatment of the concepts and methods of analyzing contingent events, this powerful Second Edition is updated and expanded to offer even more complete and flexible coverage of risk theory, loss distributions, and survival models.
Beginning with a framework for model building and a description of frequency and severity loss data typically available, it shows readers how to combine frequency, severity, and loss models to build aggregate loss models and credibility-based pricing models, and how to analyze loss over multiple time periods. Important features of this new edition include:
* Thorough preparation for relevant parts of preliminary examinations of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
* Exercises based on past SOA and CAS exams
* Examples using actual insurance data
* Practical treatment of modern credibility theory
* Data files and more from an ftp site
Loss Models, Second Edition is an important resource, providing a comprehensive, practically motivated toolkit and an excellent reference, for actuaries preparing for SOA and CAS preliminary examinations, students in actuarial science who need to understand loss and risk models, and practicing professionals involved in loss modeling. ... Read more

Book Description

This brief and inexpensive paperback examines 35+ economic statistics such as GDP, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, consumer confidence, etc., from public and private sources such as the Bureaus of Economic Analysis, Labor Statistics, Census, and The Conference Board. It assumes no prior knowledge of economics and is fully updated. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent!Very Informative read!
Excellent resource for those wanting to get a deeper grasp of everdayeconomic statistics.Thoroughly explains these statistics and why they areinfluential in our economy.

Highly recommended read! ... Read more

Book Description

* The most useful, current, and comprehensive career reference available!
* More job descriptions than any other book—nearly 8,000!
* Easy to use—organized around the user-friendly structure of the "Occupational Outlook Handbook!"

Readers can find virtually everything under the sun with respect to job descriptions and details in this fifth edition of the "Enhanced Occupational Outlook Handbook." That's because the "EOOH" combines information from the three most authoritative occupational data sources.

Access is easy because the "EOOH" uses the same user-friendly clusters of related jobs as the "Occupational Outlook Handbook," 2004-2005 Edition. The complete, well-written narratives from the "OOH" are included (270+). Then related job descriptions from the government's latest O*NET database (more than 750) are appended to the "OOH" descriptions, as are titles and brief descriptions from the "Dictionary of Occupational Titles" (nearly 7,000).

The result? Readers can easily find current facts for career research and planning that include the latest details on earning, job growth, number of openings, education and skills required, working conditions, employment trends, related personality type, and more. ... Read more

Book Description

As with earlier editions, this text fully integrates the use of computers with statistics.This edition has retained the non-intimidating approach to describing the concepts and applications of statistics while giving students the opportunity to observe and actually carry out computer-generated solutions using statistics packages like SPSS and MINITAB, or a spreadsheet package like Excel. The text has also been designed so that those requiring a more traditional calculator-based approach will find an abundance of exercises and examples that can be solved in that manner. A CD-ROM presenting data sets and special Excel macros that Robert Pavur (Professor, U of North Texas) and Kellie Keeling (Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech) have created will be bound into the back of the book. ... Read more

Book Description

This text is intended for the two-term introductory statistics course for business and economics majors at the undergraduate or MBA level.College Algebra is a prerequisite.The author emphasizes statistical inference and model-building in a real-world context and presents a complete introduction to regression and forecasting.Statistical software output from SPSS®, MINITAB, and SAS® is included in each chapter's "Computer Applications" section to aid students in understanding and interpreting statistical output. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Another Good book from James L. K. Kenkal
This book Introductory Statistics for Management & Economics is very good. It covered all the applications of statistics. Though the title says that this is introductory Statistics for Management and Economics, It has covered from basics to real life applications of Statistical Analysis in all areas. The Statistical Decision Theory is explained very well and that can be applied in every area. Statistical Quality Control explained the importance and how you can control the variance. Time Series analysis is very much useful for Economists and Speculators. It helped me a lot in teaching Statistics for Under Graduate students, with specialization in Economics and Statistics. ... Read more

Book Description

'Stats to Go' is a user-friendly guide for hospitality, leisure and tourism students who need to learn statistics and statistical techniques.

'Stats to go' is an ideal companion to hospitality, leisure and tourism studies as the breadth of coverage supports all taught numerical aspects of these types of course.Examples from hospitality, leisure and tourism organizations:
* licensed premises
* fast food outlets
* hotels
* theme parks
and their environments are used to illustrate key issues of the text.

The area of quantitative methods is one which many students find unapproachable or daunting. With the use of a clear learning structure, and a user friendly, non-theoretical approach, Buglear has created a text which students and lecturers alike will find indispensable.

Minimal use of technical language and provides clear definitions of essential terms and notations
Employs thematic and illustrative examples based on a variety of hospitality contexts
Emphasises 'interpretation' rather than 'technique' ... Read more

Book Description

An in-depth examination of a powerful new trading strategy

"Fischer provides an intriguing and thorough look at blending the Fibonacci series, candlesticks, and 3-point chart patterns to trade securities. Backed by explicit trading rules and numerous examples and illustrations, this book is an invaluable tool for the serious investor. Read it."
–Thomas N. Bulkowski author of Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns and Trading Classic Chart Patterns

In this groundbreaking new book, Fibonacci expert Robert Fischer and coauthor Dr. Jens Fischer successfully merge Fibonacci applications with candlestick charting to create an innovative trading strategy that will help you enhance profits and reduce risk.

Filled with in-depth insights, helpful charts and graphs, and practical real-world examples, Candlesticks, Fibonacci, and Chart Pattern Trading Tools reveals how correctly combining these different strategies can give you a noticeable edge in challenging market times–regardless of whether you are a short-term or long-term trader–and improve your chances of success under a variety of market conditions.

You’ll be introduced to the critical aspects of this synergistic approach through in-depth analysis and detailed explanations of:

• Core combinations of Fibonacci trading tools with candlesticks and regular 3-point chart patterns
• The magic figure "three" and its relevance in pattern recognition
• Fibonacci-related trading strategies, selected candlestick chart patterns, and regular 3-point chart patterns
• Applications of these trading strategies–double tops, Fibonacci price extensions, PHI-channel applications
• PHI-ellipses as trading tools
• And much more

Along with the computer technology of the WINPHI charting program included on the companion CD-ROM, Candlesticks, Fibonacci, and Chart Pattern Trading Tools will help you understand and implement this profitable trading strategy to the best of your ability. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good concept, but too repetitive
the first 3 chapters touch very briefly on psychology, fibonacci tools and candlesticks charting as an introduction. it is concise, just about sufficient to give uninformed readers a basic understanding in these topics. for a deeper understanding of these subjects; steve nison's 'japanese candlestick charting' and fischer's 'new fibonacci trader' are excellent. these chapters were easy for me as i had already read those 2 books.

chapter 4 is what seems to be a pretty useless chapter where the author states statistical tests done on the profitability of each method described in the previous 2 chapters (ie the various candlesticks and fibonacci tools). he would repeat the description of each method and show their profitability tests over certain periods.

chapter 5 details a very useful method of using fibonacci trading, the PHI-ellipse. however, this chapter only repeats and expand what you'd have read in the previous chapters. note: PHI ellipses was already covered briefly in chapter 2. PHI ellipse is also found in 'new fibonacci trader'.

chapter 6 teaches you how to combine the various methods discussed. the author would repeat some of the methods as he reintroduce them. an illustration of how repetitive the book is, the chapter is 50 pages long, half of which are graphics and there are summaries after each topic/method; yet there is a further summary to this chapter of 2.5 pages. obviously, the summary is a repetition!

there would be a last chapter of summary for the entire book...

a software for using the proprietory PHI-ellipse is provided with this book. i find that i cannot use it so far. but this may be due to my own inadequacies with the computer... or a conflict as the software has some very strict requirements for the charting data.

a good book with good theories but the author need to organise it better. the end product is disorganised and repetitive. readers could just read 'japanese candlestick charting' and 'new fibonacci trader', apply some common sense to combine these 2 methods and skip this book. the same CD-ROM software for the PHI ellipse come with 'new fibo trader'.

Fibonacci ,selected chart patterns and candlesticks.
This book is a combination of Candlestick, Fibonacci and some basic chart patterns, Three quarters of the books discussed the basic principles and applications of these three tools, only the last chapter show you how to apply these tools together. The explanation of candlestick and chart pattern seem to be too brief, and the fibonacci part overlays a lot with the author's previous book. I would suggest you to buy this author's previous book "The New Fibonacci trader" together with Steve Nison's "Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques¡¨, and it would be sufficient for you. ... Read more

Book Description

Traditionally, this text has held a prestigious position in the lower-level undergraduate Business Statistics course, due to the books reputation for easy step-by-step instructions, examples and problems. However, this text also sells into the four-year and even MBA markets depending on the professors teaching style and level of the students, primarily in the one semester course. ... Read more

Book Description

The authors show how to apply statistical methods to a variety of business situations. Topics covered include probability and hypothesis testing, random variables, polls and sampling, multiple linear regression, analyzing business data, decision theory, and more. The newly expanded and updated. Business Review books are designed for classroom use, but are also valuable as self-teaching volumes for businesspersons engaged in various fields. When used in college business courses, these titles make fine supplements to main textbooks. Instructors in adult education and brush-up programs often choose these books as their main classroom text. Each title includes review questions with answers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Introduction to Statistics for MBA's
I read this book just before starting an MBA course called "Basic Statistics". I found the book to be clear, intuitive and it certainly covered all topics we discussed in class. In my opinion, this book presents an easy way to understand Statistics by applying them to real business situations. I still use it as reference at work. Highly recommendable for business people interested in Statistics and with no much background in Math (just make sure you know how to add) ... Read more

Book Description

“Practical Program Evaluation presents a useful and usable model for deciding which kind of evaluation activities to undertake in different circumstances. Chen identifies different kinds of evaluation activities that are appropriate for different stages of a program. He also shows how information needs, inside and outside the program, as well as a set of possible trade-offs, should affect the choice of evaluation activities. Chen provides a new and important framework for thinking about these fundamental issues. That is no small accomplishment. Like Chen's previous book on theory-driven evaluation, this book should have a major impact on evaluation theory and practice.”
—Melvin Mark, Pennsylvania State University

Practical Program Evaluation: Assessing and Improving Planning, Implementation, and Effectiveness introduces students to the real world of evaluation, focusing on issues that arise in professional practice. Author Huey T. Chen concentrates on the steps vital to program evaluation: systematically identifying stakeholder needs, selecting evaluation options best suited to particular needs and reconciling any necessary tradeoffs, and turning the decisions into action. Using illustrative examples from the field, the book details the methods and procedures involved in analyzing and identifying stakeholder expectations and selecting an evaluation strategy. The principles and strategies presented are reinforced with theoretical justification. This provides students and professional evaluators the knowledge and flexibility to design suitable evaluations and follow them through from start to finish.

Key Features

* Adds perspective to program evaluation theory, furnishing students with the tools needed to conceptualize problems and strategies to tackle them
* Provides a practical evaluation taxonomy as a road map for evaluators to facilitate better communication with stakeholders
* Covers evaluation as full program cycle, including planning, initial implementation, mature implementation, and outcomes
* Illustrates qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research approaches and their impact on program evaluation
* Highlights both the art and science of program evaluation

Practical Program Evaluation is ideally suited as a text for evaluation courses across the social sciences, including departments of education, sociology, political science, health, and many others. Professional evaluators interested in expanding the scope of their work or strengthening their practical skills will also find this an invaluable desk reference.

Reviews (4)

So helpful we once owned an upstairs and downstairs copy
What is the best way to learn and be secure in your learning -- work a problem through with expert guidance. This book provides clear advice about what statistics to choose for what problem and then provides small data sets. You can confirm your capability by working the problem step-by-step with the authors -- that includes understanding the meaning of your result and drawing an appropriate conclusion. Students love it. Me, too.

A true friend
I also used the first edition of this book. Several copies of it in fact. The first two editions were true handbooks that were never out of reach from my desk (unless "borrowed") for over thirty years. I cannot recommend this book too highly to anyone who will be using statistics. May it be as true a friend to you as it was to me.

(But did the price have to increase so drasticly?)

A fabulous cookbook
I cut my teeth in statistics with the first edition of this book in 1968, back before we had computer programs to do our statistics for us. And I have kept the second edition on my shelf since 1977. The book leads the reader step by step through the hand calculations for all the basic statistics, and for some relatively obscure ones as well (such as tests of the difference between two correlations or between two proportions). These days, students of statistics go right to their keyboards, and the statistics come out a millisecond or two later. But if you want your students to see how these things are actually calculated, there is no better reference than this.

Cookbook approach to statistics for novices/out of practice.
Had orginally purchased in edition in 1974; carried it with me for 24 years and then lost track of it. Remembered how good it had served me. One of few places I could find a point-biserial correlation. Step-by-step approach extremely helpful. Examples useful. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Bad Book
The Minitab Guide to Statistics covers Minitab Release 11, not Release 13 as advertised. Therefore the book is not very useful. The dialog boxes and output screens have changed so it is hard to find what you are looking for and if you do find something, there is a good chance that it is not accurate. ... Read more

Book Description

This new edition provides a brief introduction to business statistics that balances a conceptual understanding of statistics with the real-world application of statistical methodology. The latest version of Microsoft Excel is integrated throughout the text, showing step-by-step instructions and screen captures to enhance learning. The authors have been writing market-leading business statistics textbooks for over 20 years. This new edition contains the same learning features that have made ASW products best-sellers for years; features such as the problem-scenario approach, and real-world examples that introduce statistical techniques. ... Read more

Book Description

Conforming to the current business statistics curriculum, this fourth edition of Schaum's Outline of Business Statistics reflects recent changes in the course as well as in general practice, including new sections in each chapter on the application of Excel--the most used program in offices throughout the world--making this the first book to address this change in the curriculum. The fourth edition continues to provide a direct and effective tool for learning the fundamentals of business statistics without the technical verbiage.

Reviews (1)

"Very poor in language."
"This is a poorly presented text in terms of language." ... Read more

Book Description

The first and only guide to using MVT as a breakthrough management tool

MVT(TM) (Multivariable Testing) has been heralded as a breakthrough business tool in major publications such as Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Business-Week. Although MVT could become one of the most widely used management tools and has been applied by leading companies in every industry to create billions of dollars of value-no book on it has been published, until now.

In Breakthrough Business Results with MVT, MVT creator and guru Charles Holland shows managers how multivariable testing-an advanced mathematical method that allows simultaneous testing of up to 40 variables-can dramatically improve efficiency and profits in any organization. MVT reveals to managers precisely which factors have a positive impact on any important business decision or process, which have a negative impact, and which have no impact at all. Very often the results are radically counterintuitive. MVT identifies quickly the best ways for a company to make major improvements, such as boosting sales, reducing waste, increasing production, enhancing advertising strategies, or optimizing service levels. Faster and cheaper than other quality improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, MVT is a natural tool for any organization that wants to reduce the amount of guesswork and politics when making crucial business decisions. In Breakthrough Business Results with MVT, Holland reveals the dramatic benefits that have made true believers of top executives in such companies as Lowe's, Ameritech, Williams-Sonoma, DuPont, Pacific Bell, and Boise, among others.

Charles Holland, PhD (Knoxville, TN), is principal and founder of QualPro, Inc., the leading MVT consultancy in the world. QualPro's work has been celebrated in most major business publications, and they have consulted to senior executives at many Fortune 500 companies. QualPro regularly conducts seminars on MVT, and their work has been widely publicized. *MVT is a trademark of QualPro, Inc. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Unequalled Method for Accelerating Learning
There are no "magic bullets" for improving business processes, but this is the next best thing. While these kind of statistical designs have been around for more than fifty years, QualPro is the only company to figure out how to successfully apply them to a wide range of business processes.

The return on investment for the cases in this book are staggering, as is the variety of processes to which the methods have been successfully applied. MVT isn't appropriate for every situation, but if a business process has 1) a measurable outcome, 2) variety of ideas test (and there's almost no limit to the number of ideas that can be tested simultaneously), and 3) the discipline to ensure that the design is executed properly, MVT can't fail. It's based on solid mathematics instead of the usual consultant "theory of the month."

If your company is implementing Six-Sigma or some other process-improvement methodology, you owe it to yourself to read this book and learn how to achieve better, faster results.

Good primer, but useful only for large companies
The skinny: Using Multivariable Testing can take the guess work out of what ideas or combination of ideas will have the greatest impact.Basically, describing an econometric approach to evaluating ideas or somewhat like applying Sabermetrics to business.

Pros: The book is a very good introduction to MVT and the process used by QualPro Consulting.Makes a compelling case for the need to test ideas in combination to achieve true synergy and to rely on empirical evidence versus conventional wisdom which is sometimes wrong.I also liked the case the author makes for using practical, fast and no cost ideas because those ideas used in the right combination tend to be more effective than those requiring an investment in capital.Finally, the book gives a good contrast of MVT versus Six Sigma.

Cons: While the book has an easy to read style, it also reads like a brochure for QualPro's services and gets annoying after awhile.That is also the "catch" to using MVT.According to the book, you need a QualPro trained consultant to facilitate the process because of the advanced statistics involved.So using MVT is not cost-free in that you need to hire a consultant for implementation or make a sizable investment in training and time to bring this expertise into your organization.Therefore, MVT as described by this book is useful only to those organizations that have the resources to hire a MVT consultant.This would potentially exclude small companies or distressed companies that could really make use of MVT, though I personally believe that MVT can be used without relying on QualPro or another consultant.

Bottomline: If used only as a primer, this is a good book on MVT.As a guide, it will only be useful for larger organizations.

EPC-Review for MVT
This book took on special interest as my company was involved with Qual-PRO and more specifically multi-variable testing for over one year. I particularly liked the format of the book with a very explanatory review of the process and concise and meaningful case studies that, from my perspective and personal experience, were accurate. Actually, I wish the book had been written before our engagement as it would have been an excellent primer for what was going to happen. The involvement of their team members was amazing and the intergration with our internal staff was both productive and motivational. It is uncanny as to how our results matched their years of working with other companies in other industries. It absolutely changed the way we approach business opportunities/problems today.

Breakthrough Business Results with MVT
Great book. The MVT process is a blend of time honored common sense (the 7 steps)and pragmatic, cold blooded statistical analysis. It spits out answers quickly to problems that seem unsolvable. I loved the stories of how the method worked in specific companies. The thing that seems to seperate these guys from other "quality improvement" companies is they fix a problem where others seem to be trying to train you into quality. I highly recommend it.

A scientific approach to help tackle difficult challenges
The plethora of quality fads that suddenly erupted twenty years ago saw U.S. corporate interest in managing improvement flare and then fizzle. Company after company realized that there was little substance in the low wattage methods that characterized that era.Many of us felt then that there must be somewhere a more scientific approach to help tackle difficult challenges than "form a team, flowchart and fishbone".

Chuck Holland, it is now clear, knew the answer all along and has recently documented it in his new book on MVT.

The testing of practical, fast, and cost free ideas, in large screening tests that are then followed by refining tests, makes enormous sense!

The impressive success stories, from a wide variety of applications, underscore the fact that scientific testing methods can improve any process. ... Read more

Book Description

This book teaches students how to do statistics and how to use statistics as a tool for making intelligent, informed decisions. Doing Statistics For Business, Second Edition is data driven, emphasizing statistical reasoning, interpretation, and decision-making with an emphasis is on comparison and interpretation rather than rote calculation. The cases are based on real business situations and data that are relevant to student life. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent Book for those who are not Mathematically Inclined
I used this book for an undergrad economic stats course. The book is not based on technical concepts, that is to say, not all about the numbers. The book uses storylines to explain the statistics concepts. The exercises are helpful as well. One thing to note though, the text uses minitab extensively in the regression chapters etc when the book came with "kaddstat" for excel. Overall, I would say this book is best for those who do not enjoy reading technical mathematics (focusing on forumulas, etc). This book is more for those who are always asking "why am I learning this"..."what is the real world application of this stuff? "

Avoid!
Horrible book! I purchased this oversized book for one of my MBA classes and it provided little value. The assignments level of complexity was far greater than examples in book so I found myself reading help files for hours and hours. I was also questioning myself many times because of all the errors. Shame on Wiley for wasting trees. ... Read more

Book Description

Management Decision Making is a spreadsheet-based introduction to the tools and techniques of modern managerial decision making. The author shows how to formulate models in Microsoft Excel that can be used to analyze complex problems taken from all the functional areas of management, including finance, marketing, operations, and human resources. Throughout, the goal is to understand how business decisions are reached, what tradeoffs are made, and how outcomes depend on the underlying data. A CD-ROM is included that contains the widely-used decision analysis software applications TreePlan and Crystal Ball. The book is aimed at students of business, economics and engineering, including those taking MBA courses. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

College text that is valuable to working professionals
This college-level text is also useful to business and IT professionals because it provides a refresher for decision techniques that are the foundation of a number of disciplines. The book is divided into two parts: (1) deterministic methods, mainly focused on linear programming and optimization, and (2) probability and queuing.

What makes this book valuable to the practicing professional is that it uses one of the most common business tools, Microsoft Excel, and shows how to apply this tool to real world problems. The accompanying CD ROM comes with TreePlan for developing decision trees and CrystalBall for Monte Carlo simulation, as well as workbooks that are used to support the plethora of realistic examples used throughout the book.

Although the book is business-oriented and better suited for operations analysis and MBA students and practitioners, I've used it as a reference for project planning, computer system capacity planning and performance analysis, and IT security risk management - these practical uses of the material show the value of the book in the real world. The supporting web site that the author maintains has materials for lesson plans, errata and additional resources that make this book particularly valuable for the academic and business environments. ... Read more

Book Description

At many schools, professors and students require that Microsoft® Excel be integrated throughout their one-term course. Thoroughly integrating the use of Excel, this concise text will serve that need. Coverage is focused on applied processes that are handled by Excel.In addition, Excel macro add-ins accompany the text on a CD-ROM packaged with new copies of the book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Striving for excellence or building to last is one thing. Sustaining superior performance over the long haul is another matter entirely, as longtime McKinsey & Company executives Richard Foster and Sarah Kaplan persuasively point out in Creative Destruction. Based on a concept first advanced some 70 years ago by economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter, Foster and Kaplan propose that corporations can outperform capital markets and maintain their leadership positions only if they creatively and continuously reconstruct themselves. In doing so, they can stay ahead of the upstart challengers constantly waiting in the wings. The decidedly radical paradigm that they champion has been urged in one form or another by others since Schumpeter, but this effort is particularly convincing because of the massive research the authors cite to back it up: McKinsey studies of more than 1,000 corporations in 15 industries over 36 years.

Citing the specific reasons behind ups and downs at firms such as Storage Technology, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, and Corning, Foster and Kaplan claim that the process of creative destruction must become an integral part of today's corporations from top to bottom if they truly hope to attain lasting excellence (and beat Wall Street's primary indices for more than a few fleeting years). Firms that have mastered elements of this practice have done so by innovatively shedding detrimental processes and operations while cleverly spotting and appending those that add new value. The authors write that the "key to their success is the balance they have struck between creativity and destruction--between continuity and change." Their book offers impressive insight into the acts of both breaking down and building up. If its analyses of past performance mean anything, it should prove very interesting to savvy managers as well as long-term investors. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Wakes you up.
This well researched book is a must read for all executives sitting pretty in cozy cabins of successful companies worldwide. The powerful message it conveys is to remain competitive in the market place through innovation (Breakthrough, Substantial and Continuous). The market is a place where there is a continuous process of weeding out the inefficient and the complacent. Those basking in the glory of the past suddenly realize that they have no future; and the realization comes a little too late.

Based on the research and statistical analysis of over 1000 companies it would be interesting to see that the pace of innovation has increased rapidly and only a handful of today's top 100 will survive by year 2020. The exceptions would be those who have an in-built process of innovation in the Organizational fabric and culture; GE for example!

" The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton M. Christensen is also a must read to further understand the concepts described in this book.

Timely and Fascinating Insights on Business Success
This book couldn't have come at a better time as companies face difficult economic conditions and a turbulent stock market. Drawing on almost 40 years of industry data and using real examples of successful companies and the innovators who are changing their industries, Foster and Kaplan clearly show how the few winners have behaved in the past and present a compelling argument for how businesses who want to survive over the long term will need to react to increased competition and discontinuities in the future. This book is a must read for all business executives who want to stay on top in this rapidly changing environment.

A solid , thought-provoking book on Business Innovation
Foster's previous work - Innovation, the Attackers Advantage, is a masterpiece, and this follow up is an excellent read. An interesting observation at the start contrasts a company trying to excel and innovate, and the market as a Darwinian force, ruthlessly selecting the 'best' irregardless of past performance. The message is the same, stark reminder as Clayton Christensen's - past excellence is no guarantee of future survival.

Having delivered this baleful message, the book distinguishes between typical management techniques - measurement, control, which leads to operational excellence [called convergent thinking], and the type of observation, reflection and debate [called divergent thinking] which may lead to innovation.
The book outlines methodologies which can be used to attempt to combine both convergent and divergent approaches within a firm. The book therefore takes one step further than Clayton Christensen's suggestion of setting up a separate entity to pursue a specific 'blue sky' set of ideas. However it in no way underplays the seriousness of the threat of new product or new product cycles to the incumbent, successful corporations - indeed some of the examples given in the book as successes (Cisco, Corning) have since gone through major traumas in subsequent product and economic cycles.

The book seems to take explicit aim at Collin's book 'Built to Last', saying that companies which have been longest in the Fortune 500 have underperformed the market - and expands this theme that the market, by having no emotional link to firms, will pick winners and punish the slow remorselessly. From an investors point of view, my interpretation of Foster's guidance would be to periodically pick the top performers in an index and sell those which don't make it to the top, regardless of past position; my interpretation of Collins is that eventually the tried and trusted firms win out.
I think my money would be on Foster.

However in terms of management thinking Foster is definitely in the Thomas Kuhn, Giovanni Dosi, Clayton Christensen, Geoffrey Moore tradition of the intense difficulty of managing to be customer focused, operationally excellent and innovative simultaneously.

Faulty Research & Analysis
Here's some hard data (which is not in the book): Since 1925 the best performing stock is Phillip Morris with a 17% return versus 9.75% for the stock market during the same period. Best stock since 1950 is again Phillip Morris.
$1,000 in S&P 500 in 1957 = ~ $96,000 today.
Same in Phillip Morris = ~ $3.75 million today.
So much for the authors' premise.

How to destroy businesses and not destroy your career?
One good thing about books written by McKinsey people is that if they write something, it's gonna be smart. Because otherwise they just keep the silence.
And this book is not an exception to this rule. Whilst the readers could find the idea of a permanent review and renovation of a corporate businesses portfolio fairly old and discussed so many times in books of Drucker, Schumpeter and other authors, there're some issues which make reading of "Creative Destruction" worth the time.
First, unlike two previously mentioned famous gentlemen, Foster and Kaplan bothered themselves with sizable stock market data research and analysis. This approach should really become a standard if we ever want to see organizational behavior and corporate strategy to become scientific disciplines and not a genre of fiction literature with well-known set of rules "how to write more or less good novel".
Second, even readers very familiar with literature about corporate strategy and portfolio analysis methods could find some profound insights on these 350 pages - may be different ones for different people. For example, a clearly stated paradox between operational excellence and innovation definitely deserves thinking about, since it's just so easy to say: "Yes, we need both - tight controlled low cost operations AND creative business development" or "We need to build the great team committed to the corporation AND sometimes we need to kick a part of the team out just to ensure great stock returns", - but isn't it the same as requiring water to become dry at certain moments, convenient for the observers?

Bad thing. Do not expect to find in the book an answer to the question, stated at the very beginning. As well as where to find the businesses worth investing to. The authors do not know. Or they do not say - may be just to give to the reader an idea to invite McKinsey to think together about these issues in corporate HQs. ... Read more