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The New How (text only) 1 edition by N.Merchant'
The New Creating Business Solutions Through Collaborative Strategy [Hardcover]Nilofer Merchant (Author)
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
Hardcover
First published October 15, 2009
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348 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 16, 2022
This is a book that I've had on my shelf for a few years now but just didn't find the right time to read it. Seeing as I just ended an important step in my major project, I found myself interested in looking at how to get to certain strategies. Therefore, in order to rekindle this thought process and get back into strategy thinking, I felt this book might be a great starting point. In short the book was very practical having a lot of different of viewpoints. Interesting concept called the air sandwich which is in between senior management and local level employees. I enjoyed the many of the themes including this idea QUEST as an easy and cute way of remembering key strategy steps. In general a good enough book but just getting the resume and key notes would be sufficient.
August 26, 2018
As a person dealing with strategy creation on a daily basis, the description of the "air sandwich" resonated immediately with me. The book is full of practical, very implementable ideas and very useful case studies.
December 22, 2021
Some good ideas. It's all about colaboration.
March 20, 2010
the New How Creating Business Solutions through Collaborative Study by Nilofer Merchant.
This is very different than most business books I have ever read. Nilofer Merchant focuses on a collaborative style of management which is designed to involve the whole organization. It is based on more than just management in participating and creating strategy. One of the central ideas in this book is that there is more than enough information and ideas out there, it is the ability to act on ideas that counts.
The book is published by O'Relly publishing. The book has a new media feel to it. If you go to the recommended reading list in the back, many of the books and recommendations are from new media. For example, she recommends the book, Everything is Miscellaneous The Power of the New Digital Disorder by David Weinberger.
Sometimes it is hard to follow what she is saying. Some of the ideas seem far fetched. I think this is partially because many of the ideas she is drawing from are fairly new. Think of collaboration in terms of large projects like Wikipedia which is run in a collaborative manner or Cisco Systems which relies heavily on team work.
People are viewed as co-creators in this book and the management is not supposed to have all the answers. It is more focused on facilitating change. The author calls her methodology, QuEST; Question, Envision, Select, and Take. Question what you are supposed to be doing, envision the best way to do things, select the results which will work best, and take action.
This is a very different way to run a companies decisionmaking. It describes ways to attack basic assumptions, seek out real answers, and work in teams to select the best strategies.
I did not understand a lot of it, but because there were so many new ideas, I think that I will have gained some new insights on how to work with other people. A lot of this book is about managing and coordinating with people without having to control them. It is also about eliminating the "air sandwich" between management and line workers. It is a very much roll up your sleeves and work with other people style. The style goes against the grain.
The book is very qualitative in orientation, so that there are not a whole lot of numbers and statistics. There are some simple diagrams. The author includes notes, index, and a list of recommended books to read. Many of the recommended books are about collaboration in business and leading teams. Nilofer Merchant is the CEO of Rubicon Consulting.
January 6, 2010
As someone on the ground level at a large corporation, it's my job to try to execute the strategy -- the goals and promises -- set forth by our executives and managers. This means I spend a lot of time trying to unite the lofty ideas of product managers with the practical feasibility of what I know we can implement. It also means I spend a lot of my time wanting to tear my hair out, since often a glowing idea in theory doesn't match what we can -- or should -- accomplish in grainy reality.
The New How explains why strategies created solely by executives at the top are so often doomed to failure, because they neglect to take into account ground-level realities. Nilofer Merchant doesn't just spell out why strategies sink or swim; she enables each of us to change the way we create strategy by providing techniques and tools for channeling feedback throughout an organization and aligning what's desirable with what's possible. The perspectives and examples highlighted throughout offer a lifeline to those who want to avoid the failures that have plagued so many companies and limited their success.
I'd like to give this book to all my PMs, so they can better understand how to take advantage of the experience and opinions of their team -- i.e. me! -- to lead to stronger products and results. But it's also a worthwhile read for individuals, cogs-in-the-wheel like me, who want to learn how to take a more active role in strategy as it's created and implemented.
Plus, it has a sense of humor, and pretty pictures.
(For full disclosure, the book happens to be written by my stepmother. Though stepmothers are often regarded as "evil", I'm happy to say that did not make the work any less insightful or her message any less important. It just means I got to read it earlier.)
The New How explains why strategies created solely by executives at the top are so often doomed to failure, because they neglect to take into account ground-level realities. Nilofer Merchant doesn't just spell out why strategies sink or swim; she enables each of us to change the way we create strategy by providing techniques and tools for channeling feedback throughout an organization and aligning what's desirable with what's possible. The perspectives and examples highlighted throughout offer a lifeline to those who want to avoid the failures that have plagued so many companies and limited their success.
I'd like to give this book to all my PMs, so they can better understand how to take advantage of the experience and opinions of their team -- i.e. me! -- to lead to stronger products and results. But it's also a worthwhile read for individuals, cogs-in-the-wheel like me, who want to learn how to take a more active role in strategy as it's created and implemented.
Plus, it has a sense of humor, and pretty pictures.
(For full disclosure, the book happens to be written by my stepmother. Though stepmothers are often regarded as "evil", I'm happy to say that did not make the work any less insightful or her message any less important. It just means I got to read it earlier.)
January 29, 2010
Before I review this book, I have a few confessions to make. First-- I am a tech, and as such I have little patience with books that are long on theory and short on nuts-and-bolts detail. I am also not a huge fan of management books, although I have quite enjoyed a few ("Who Moved My Cheese" and "Built to Last" come immediately to mind).
Another confession: Before I read this book, I saw a presentation given by the author online and was not optimistic about the book at all after that.
There's really nothing in this book that I disagree with; but then there's nothing in this book that is terribly new either. This is not the author's fault. The sad fact is that management training has largely ignored the science of leadership (to the extent that it is a science) for the better part of the last century. To paraphrase a famous Dilbert comment about a new MBA, companies tend to hire managers whose only skill is that they're good at math.
The book does a good job of being readable and expounding its points, and for that it is to be commended. However, I'm left wondering just who this book is aimed at. O'Reilly has been pushing this book to a very broad audience and, after reading it, I'm still unclear as to who they think will benefit from this advice. It's not really a management book in the classic sense; but it seems to have a lot of advice about how to navigate around a dysfunctional system. I wish I could say it was good advice that the author gives (it may be), but the advice is just a little...well...obvious.
Another confession: Before I read this book, I saw a presentation given by the author online and was not optimistic about the book at all after that.
There's really nothing in this book that I disagree with; but then there's nothing in this book that is terribly new either. This is not the author's fault. The sad fact is that management training has largely ignored the science of leadership (to the extent that it is a science) for the better part of the last century. To paraphrase a famous Dilbert comment about a new MBA, companies tend to hire managers whose only skill is that they're good at math.
The book does a good job of being readable and expounding its points, and for that it is to be commended. However, I'm left wondering just who this book is aimed at. O'Reilly has been pushing this book to a very broad audience and, after reading it, I'm still unclear as to who they think will benefit from this advice. It's not really a management book in the classic sense; but it seems to have a lot of advice about how to navigate around a dysfunctional system. I wish I could say it was good advice that the author gives (it may be), but the advice is just a little...well...obvious.
May 18, 2013
I really like the overall framework and specific techniques Merchant shares for avoiding the "Air Sandwich." Her approach compliments the classic strategy works with an interactive method that ensures practicality at every step and across every level. As I read, I recalled failed corporate projects that would have benefited from "the New How." Even though I found it valuable, I also found this hard to read. It felt like a very long HBR article, with lots of conceptual points but not enough storytelling. It also would have benefited from some external stories. The author clearly has a wealth of experience behind her knowledge, but much of it had to be masked for confidentiality. I would like to have read more clear and engaging examples where this approach was applied or could have been. The criticisms aside, this book will sit on my office shelf, ready for the next strategic project I take on.
February 28, 2015
No doubt Nilofer Merchant has "been there and done that" in corporate marketing. No armchair theorist, she gets into the guts of organizational dysfunction as those at the top try and direct the organization from above rather than facilitate collaborative management with those who need to execute. The "Air Sandwich" will become a new standard to describe management myopia and why strategies so often fail.
Nilofer Merchant is part of an emerging group of practical, experienced professionals who have adopted the shared value networks and collaborative role definitions necessary for knowledge based workers to succeed in team efforts in our current and future innovative business environment. The silos and constraints of traditional business organizations will not survive the challenges of the next decade. Nilofer has pointed us all to a better way to do business.
Nilofer Merchant is part of an emerging group of practical, experienced professionals who have adopted the shared value networks and collaborative role definitions necessary for knowledge based workers to succeed in team efforts in our current and future innovative business environment. The silos and constraints of traditional business organizations will not survive the challenges of the next decade. Nilofer has pointed us all to a better way to do business.
March 18, 2013
I found this book at TED in Long Beach. Business books like this are all the same and always different, too. The same because they all encourage openness, collaboration, truthfulness -- and then good things will happen. Different because (well, gosh, if I'm writing a book, it's got to be unique) there's a twist, an emphasis, a secret that gets more attention.
This book does its duty: the same and unique. The author has a nice touch, she likes action; likes getting at buried assumptions and concerns; likes fleshing out ideas, digesting them, and reaching new ground. If you are seeking to move an organization through change, this could be a good guidebook -- and Ms Merchant could be a fun, value-adding adviser.
This book does its duty: the same and unique. The author has a nice touch, she likes action; likes getting at buried assumptions and concerns; likes fleshing out ideas, digesting them, and reaching new ground. If you are seeking to move an organization through change, this could be a good guidebook -- and Ms Merchant could be a fun, value-adding adviser.
December 15, 2013
I enjoy Merchant's writing for HBR.org (and other venues). However, I was a bit disappointed by this book. While I'm sympathetic with her dissatisfaction toward top-down, ivory-tower developed strategy, I feel Mintzberg does a better job tearing that apart (see Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, etc...).
The good news is that the bulk of Merchant's book provides a high-level overview of her firm's consulting methodology which focuses on involving broad inputs (employees, line-managers) in the corporate strategy process to surface real-world understanding of competition and fresh ideas for improvement. This was useful.
The good news is that the bulk of Merchant's book provides a high-level overview of her firm's consulting methodology which focuses on involving broad inputs (employees, line-managers) in the corporate strategy process to surface real-world understanding of competition and fresh ideas for improvement. This was useful.
December 11, 2012
Nilofer Merchant provides terrific, practical insights in "The NEw How" about collaboration and leadership, with many examples that are accessible and easy to implement. Her analysis of how organizations function and why they don't work in many cases is thoughtfully and clearly spelled out. Nilofer's analogous reference to the "Air Sandwich" in many organizational cultures is brilliantly intertwined in the narrative. The collaborative tools described in the book can help leaders reach strategic success--and avoid pitfalls along the way.
April 18, 2015
Merchant is brilliant. I bought this after hearing her speak and the book did not disappoint. Most business books inspire but neglect the how. This is all about how to build collaborative strategy that I believe applies across hierarchical levels.
August 23, 2016
book offers good insights and it's good to see what's in the mind of a professional like the author. it's a bit frustrating to work for a company now which is not going to make use of a strategy alike anytime soon but it was interesting to have some points to reflect on
Want to read
February 16, 2016Our tagline is 'the new how'. I'm interested to find our their application of the phrase and what parts overlap with our mission and strategy.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews