The Halo Effect is one of the best business books I have read in a while. The purpose of the book, which it does very well, is to take a critical look at the prescriptions laid down in the popular business press to lead an organization to success, and then systematically debunk them under the light of scientific thinking. In the process, the book helps the reader develop some solid critical thinking skills to help them more effectively question the next snake oil salesperson who comes along claiming to cure every organization malaise while guaranteeing success.
Three things really stood out about this book for me, making it a five-star read:
First, the author neatly sidesteps the dry academic tone while still making excellent use of solid research to make his points. Two examples of how he does this: At the start of every chapter, there is usually a quote by a noteworthy person that is very germane to the point or the "delusion" being discussed. The loop is closed very nicely back to the original quote after th discussion of the delusion, when the quote and the delusion start to make a very compelling picture together - in this way, every delusion becomes very memorable. Second example - the author takes verbatim quotes or claims from famous books- 'Good to Great' being a prominent example, and then uses both post-research company performance data as well as other vivid tools to debunk those claims
Second, the book is very balanced in not bashing all business how-to books, and does a good job of highlighting examples of good research / advice. Examples - the author highlights research findings by academics, as well as prescriptions by practitioners, Bossidy's book being an example, of where the authors did not fall prey to the Halo Effect.
Last, and to me the most important, the systematic approach is so effective that half ay through the book, the reader has already gotten into the rhythm of questioning the two or three critical foundations of any research being discussed, and starts to figure it out by himself or herself. This is great because once you have put down the book, the lessons are likely to stay with you and don't require you to fundamentally getup tomorrow an start to do vastly different things or become so obtuse as to lose relevance altogether. You come away with the big takeaways
(a) Beware of anything that claims to guarantee success in business as external forces can play havoc on your company's progress, and no book or formula can predict that
(b) Success is about understanding the key drivers around both strategy and execution, and developing a thoughtful approach to increasing your company's odds of success
(c) No company can expect to be successful for ever, as there is strong evidence of mean reversion, and also a significant likelihood that the winning formula will quickly become obsolete |
The Halo Effect: ... and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers Books In Print, Audio Books.