DINO: THE LIFE AND FILM OF DINO DE LAURENTIIS

Book Description

In a career that has spanned six decades-and shows no sign of slowing down-Dino DeLaurentiis has walked the cutting edge of lmmaking. He has personied the powerful, visionary Hollywood producer for one reason: he invented the role. Dino celebrates this living legend and his passionate, exhilarating life in the pictures. The son of an Italian pasta maker, DeLaurentiis was drawn to the cinema at an early age. He was essential in creating a groundbreaking Italian lm industry. The unstoppable DeLaurentiis next sailed to the United States and went on to produce Serpico, Three Days of the Condor, Ragtime-and hundreds more. Based on extensive conversations with DeLaurentiis and lled with extraordinary photographs, this sweeping memoir takes us from Italy to Hollywood and back, exposing the inner workings of the silver screen and luminaries including Roberto Rossellini; Vittorio De Sica; Robert Altman; Ridley Scott; Martin Scorsese; Roman Polanski; and many more. A chronicle of high art, entrepreneurial savvy, and a particular zeal for life and risk, DeLaurentiis's tale is a must-have for every lm buff.

Customer Reviews:

Informative, but way too congratulatory and uncritical.......2004-07-04

Dino DeLaurentiis is certainly one of the most interesting characters in the history of motion pictures, though you wouldn't know it by reading this well-written, but way too congratulatory and uncritical biography. Granted, this combination of P.T. Barnum and Malcolm McLaren has produced some genuine cinema classics ("La Strada," "Blue Velvet"). However, the bulk of DeLaurentiis's filmography consists of overblown, over-budgeted box-office bombs ("Waterloo", "Dune") or sleazy big-budget exploitation films ("Mandingo," "Death Wish," "Hannibal"). This isn't a criticism, mind you, as DeLaurentiis has produced some of the most entertainingly tasteless movies of all time.

While Tullio Kezich's and Alessandra Levantisi's biography has some interesting trivia and facts about DeLaurentiis, it rarely focuses on probably DeLaurentiis's most significant achievement, namely, the incredible ability to walk away from some of the biggest financial disasters in cinema history unscathed and richer.

The authors rely too much on DeLaurentiis's own version of events and rarely allow other voices to provide their interpretations of the same events. For example, DeLaurentiis's mid-1980s attempt at running a studio (the ill-fated DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group or D.E.G.) is given minimal attention in the book and leaves one with the impression that if DeLaurentiis had been allowed to run the studio his way, it would have been a success. For a much different, more detailed, and hysterically funny account of the D.E.G. debacle, you should track down Mark Frankel's August 1989 Spy magazine profile which gives the impression that DeLaurentiis is either one of the most inept studio heads in movie history or one of the craftiest hucksters the world has ever seen.

A perfect example of this (chronicled in Frankel's article, but missing from the book) is when DeLaurentiis decided in 1986 to produce "King Kong Lives," a horrendously cheesy sequel to his already dubious 1976 "King Kong" remake. Since DeLaurentiis owned the rights to "King Kong," he, um, generously sold the rights to D.E.G. (a publicly traded company which he also headed) for $21 million. However, Frankel advised that when the film brought in only $4.7 million, DeLaurentiis "graciously" reduced his fee to $10.2 million.

There's a really great story here, but Kezich and Levantesi only scratch the surface. Given the generous amount of space provided to DeLaurentiis telling his own story, one gets the impression the authors were seduced by their subject the same way DeLaurentiis has seduced studio heads and financiers into investing millions of dollars into productions of questionable merit and taste over the past several decades.

Customer Reviews:

THE source on Irish music!.......2005-05-02

It is, of course, impossible to know all that is knowable about Irish music, much less present it in a single book. Geoff Wallis and Sue Wilson come amazingly close to accomplishing that daunting task, however, with The Rough Guide to Irish Music.

The volume is deceptively small, though thick, and it's packed with information. It begins with an explanation of the roots of Irish music, its relation to "Celtic" music -- the terms are synonymous in some circles, antithetical in others -- and the people responsible for keeping the music alive and/or bringing it back into the public's fickle consciousness. Next, an excellent chapter spells out the differences among the many Irish vocal and instrumental styles. Do you know whan "sean nos" really means? Can you identify a reel, jig, slip jig or hornpipe by its time signature? This section will help.

The bulk of the book is devoted to a "who's who" of Irish music, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a reference more complete. After dividing the musicians into loose categories -- singers, groups, families, fiddlers, harpers, etc. -- the book provides concise but thorough biographies detailing their influences and impact on the music scene. Each entry also notes the most influential albums from each band/musician, making it easy for readers to know where to expand their collections.

The book ends with a listing for sessions around Ireland, plus music festivals, schools, media, recommended reading and other resources.

If you have any interest in expanding your knowledge of Irish music and Irish musicians, this is the place to do it. The Rough Guide to Irish Music is a phenomenal package that's useful and well-written to boot. It's compact size makes it easy to stow in a music case or jacket pocket, and I predict you'll find yourself pulling it to browse a lot more often than you'd expect for a reference book.

A Complete Guide to Modern Irish Music.......2001-12-25

My only problem with this book is that it wasn't written four years ago when I first became seriously interested in Irish music (I eventually started the Arizona Irish Music Society...). I could not find a quick cure to my ignorance and reading Irish Music Magazine was frustratingly unsystematic.

Most books on Irish music are focused on the early history of the music, but there was little about the last 50 years. For me The Rough Guide to Irish Music is absolute God send. It is incredibly thorough and yet quite readable.

The first part of the book gives an excellant background on the history of Irish music and its evolution over the last fifty years. The next sections give profiles of key artists and bands with recommendations about their best CD's. Beware, reading this section can be very expensive!

I cannot pretend familiarity with all the performers and bands covered, but I was favorably impressed with their coverage of the performers I do know.

The Rough Guide Guide to Irish Music is an incredible achievment.

Reel Rewarding Reference.......2001-08-11

The format and content of this compact guide to Irish music makes the reader eager to listen and learn. The guide has three main sections: background, musicians, and listings. Within each section, the layout allows the reader to peruse for specific information, such as recording history, accompanying artists, and recommended CD top choices as well as recording labels. The background section provides an overview of style and form; while the listing section includes resources not readily available to Americans in such a concise format. I recommend the book for the balanced and well researched information, adroitly presented, that can help with purchases for one's own or a Celtic friend's collection.

The Rough Guide to Irish Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)

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The Rough Guide to Irish Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)

Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 1843535459

Book Description

Music has always been an essential part of Irish culture, and the musical traditions of Ireland - focused around pub sessions - remain amongst Europe's most enduring and vibrant. Songs (sung in Irish and English) hold a special place in Irish life and exemplify the vivacity of the Irish singing tradition and its wide range of subjects. This all-new second edition of The Rough Guide To Irish Music provides an extensive introduction to Ireland's musical landscape, from the driving music of Donegal and the foot-stomping polkas and slides of Kerry and Cork to the work of those exploring the borders between traditional music and other genres.

The Rough Guide to Irish Folk Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)

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Rough Guide to Irish Folk Music

The Rough Guide to Irish Folk Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)
World Music Network
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Customer Reviews:

Rough Guide to Irish Folk Music.......2000-03-18

This "Hardcover Book" is not a book at all, but a compact disc. When I ordered it for the library I work for I was under the impression it was in fact a book. We are an academic library that does not have facilities for a music collection. If you are looking for a nice Irish music collection, this fits the bill nicely, but if you were looking for a book as I was...you will be unpleasantly surprised.

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Irish Music 2 (Rough Guide Music CDs)
Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1858284848

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Rough Guide to Irish Music Vol 2
Various Cdwmn 331148
Manufacturer: WORLD MUSIC NETWORK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 6309209175

Average customer rating:

have chess books gotten really good lately, or is it me?

Creative Chess Opening Preparation
Viacheslav Eingorn
Manufacturer: Gambit Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Mastering the Chess Openings: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Modern Chess Openings, Volume 1

Mastering the Chess Openings: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Modern Chess Openings, Volume 2

How to Calculate Chess Tactics

Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy (Chess College S.)

Dangerous Weapons: The Nimzo-Indian: Dazzle Your Opponents (Dangerous Weapons)

ASIN: 1904600581

Product Description

Grandmaster Eingorn is an chess opening trendsetter. Throughout his career, he has introduced many novel concepts in the openings, and some of the systems he has introduced have gone on to become absolute main lines, such as the Rb1 Exchange Grünfeld. Here he explains the methods by which he prepares his openings and works out new systems from scratch, and how readers can do the same. The broad topics he discusses include Experiments in the Opening, Disturbing the Equilibrium, Strategic Planning, and Opening Formations. He follows this up with a section of examples from modern practice, and theoretical articles on several of the opening lines that he has pioneered, taking us through the creative process, and the highs and lows of the practical testing and refinement of the ideas.

Customer Reviews:

have chess books gotten really good lately, or is it me?.......2006-10-27

someone i read recently, maybe rowson in a column, points out that the way people use the word 'theory' and 'theoretical' in chess has almost the opposite meaning that it has in every other academic field. what chessplayers mean by theory is actually more like "recorded practice." this makes sense to me, and really what i think the chess community is trying to convey by using the word theory is more like "difficult" or "beyond the capacities of undedicated people."
my point in bringing this up is that eingorn's book is what should really be called theory. (don't let that scare you off, it's a beautiful, thoughtful, exciting book, and not insanely difficult.) it tackles the broader ideas in opening theory from a historical and philosophical perspective (i want to say sociologic as well, but that's perhaps ridiculous?), the way openings develop and what causes this. the games are nicely annotated and instructive, but the real strength is the clarity with which eingorn sees the big picture of chess.
i loved watson's books and rowson's; this one is on the same level.

Average customer rating:

Creative subject, wonderful book
Good follow-up for Chernev's Most Instructive Chess Games...

Creative Chess Strategy
Alfonso Romero
Manufacturer: Gambit Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1901983927

Book Description

In a groundbreaking work, a Spanish grandmaster explains how creativity can be used to overcome technical obstacles on the chessboard.

Once they have obtained an advantage, too many players make the mistake of assuming that the exploitation of this advantge will just be a matter of technique, requiring accuracy, but little imagination. Romero shows, by examining the play of the great chess champions, that the opposite is often the case: sometimes it is the paradoxical solution that works, whereas the mechanical method would fritter away the hard-earned advantage.

By following Romero in his investigation of the many outstanding practical examples in this book, readers will inevitably increase their understanding of chess strategy in general and fine-tune their instinct for sensing those critical moments when non-standard solutions are necessary.

Customer Reviews:

Creative subject, wonderful book.......2005-02-20

There are two magnificent instructional chess books in my library that I return to time and again. One is Lessons in Chess Strategy by Valeri Beim, a masterful, entertaining and logical writer. The other book devotes haphazard amounts of space to quite a wide variety of middlegame situations, is less structured, even eclectic at times. That book is Creative Chess Strategy.
The author, Spanish Grandmaster Alfonso Romero, has chosen to cover a most interesting topic - situations where an advantage in position is best exploited by creative rather than technical means. Such situations are quite common, though easily overlooked if playing on auto-pilot. The path to victory is not always "just a matter of technique" and a player who chooses a routine course may often find his advantage fritters away.
Romero chooses the game Kramnik-Malaniuk, Moscow 2004, to illustrate "activity v material." Kramnik has a comfortable edge out of the opening (a Dutch Defense), and yet chooses to make a bold positional sacrifice of two pawns. Romero's point is that a world champion knows an advantage must be aggressively exploited in certain positions, even if the compensation for the sacrifice is not concrete.
Romero's book hops about from opening to opening and theme to theme, and I found it a joy to delve into at random. Open one page to witness the late legendary Boleslavsky sacrificing a pawn to plant a knight unopposed on the d5 square. That original game was played in 1956; now every grandmaster will know the concept. A few pages on there is Dolmatov sacrificing an exchange for positional compensation in the French Defense.
Most of the games given are exciting, fresh examples that I was unfamiliar with. Buy this fabulous book - you will read and reread it.

Good follow-up for Chernev's Most Instructive Chess Games..........2004-02-17

My chess tactics is weak; therefore I'm often banking on my experience with positional chess. Chernev's Most Instructive Chess Game ... is always my favorite. It taught me a lot about positional chess. One thing about Chernev's book, I could not understand its arrangement, not in chronological order, not in any particular themes, it's hard to remember (as a checklist during a game for: what can I do at this stage? what to do next if he exchanges his bishop for my outpost knight? etc.) Then I bought Nunn's Move-by-Move. Nunn's book is good and difficult. First his book is arranged in order of opening, middlegame and endgame; very nice. Second it's good because Nunn selected games of the "heavy-weight" players in the last 20 years or so. At this level the GMs try to carry out his plan while disrupting opponent's plan, so their plays are at very high level and sometimes very deceptive. That makes the book great and difficult (for my level).
Then one day I had to choose between Romero's Creative Chess Strategy and Marovic's Secrets of Positional Chess to buy. It's a hard choice because the words Secrets and Positional sounded so attractive. Now I am glad that I bought Romero's book. Together with other reviewers here and my own recollections, Marovic's book is more difficult and has many unfinished games. With comments like: +/=, =/=, -/=, at my level, it's like giving me the key (? ;-)) to space shuttle and ask me to fight around the earth a few rounds, bring it home safely and don't forget to look out the window to enjoy the view of the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall and Pyramid, and of course I have to pay for the trip and never have a flight training before. (I will buy Marovic's when I can understand it.)
Romero's theme arrangement is rather logical. The first three chapters are about Pawn structure, Space and Center; even it's hard to which order the Pawn Structure (more modern than other two) should appear. The next 4 chapters are about Bishop-pair, Blockade, IQP, and Control of Squares. Should the chapters about Blockade and IQP be chapters 4 and 5? Are they related to Pawn and Space? Not very clear because in the IQP chapter it mentions about the B-pair again and the Knight-pair (haven't read about this often since the games of Tchigorin and Reshevsky). And chapter 8 is about Attacking a Weak Center. Chapters 10 and 11 are about exchanging pieces and sacrifice. I think they should come after chapters 9 (Open and Semi-open files) and 12 (Knight-outpost and Rook-Knight Coordination). Exchange is when we want to improve our piece positions or to remove opponent's favorable pieces before or during an attack or defense; sacrifice is the last resort to achieve that goal, a minus in materials could spell disaster in a long run. Why doesn't chapter 13 (Dead Bishop) follow the B-pair chapter? Why is chapter 14 (Lack of Communication) away from chapters of Center and Blockade? Then after that is a chapter (15) about Attacking without Rules when a desperate win is needed or intuition suggests. At last, a chapter about positions where depending of taste, experience and skills, the GMs created. In those the normal considerations of mortal/low-level players like us fail to appreciate. Whichever side we take, we would lose to a player with 200-points higher.
Above is my personal opinion about Romero's book. He has very good reason to arrange it that way. I just hope I could create a checklist of what to do during the course of the game stage-by-stage.
Romero's is more logical than Chernev's, better for my level than Nunn's. It has lots of explanation which is very helpful, better than a bunch of variations and ended with +, -, =, which are comprehensible to me.
Correction: it's a 5 star book.

Average customer rating:

Excellent thought points for entrepreneurs -- speed does kill your competition

Simple management philosophy that worths a read

Good

Some flaws, but overall a good value

Speed Plus Torque = Victory!

It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It's the Fast That Eat the Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business
Jason Jennings , and Laurence Haughton
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Think Big, Act Small : How America's Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive

Less Is More: How Great Companies Use Productivity

It's Not What You Say...It's What You Do: How Following Through At Every Level Can Make Or Break Your Company

Less Is More

Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big

ASIN: 0066620546
Release Date: 2002-04-16

Amazon.com

The tortoise and the hare--not to mention a popular '60s-era adage--warned us that Speed Kills. Not so fast, contend Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton, international consultants who have worked together since 1976. In It's Not the Big That Eat the Small... It's the Fast That Eat the Slow, the two argue that only the swiftest of corporations will thrive in the 21st century. They then outline a program, based on best practices developed by contemporary speedsters like Charles Schwab and AOL that readers can work into their own businesses by similarly focusing on "commerce, resource deployment, and people." Its four parts examine ways to create environments that anticipate the future, reassess operations and personnel and make appropriate adjustments whenever necessary, launch a "crusade" while "staying beneath the radar," and maintain velocity through institutionalization and close customer relationships. "This book will show you how to think and move faster than your competition," they write, adding that "being faster doesn't mean being out of breath. It means being smarter." Many of their suggestions will be familiar to those who follow the business of business improvement, but the singular (and quite convincing) context to which Jennings and Haughton now apply them help make this book unique. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

Conventional wisdom once told us big companies are unbeatable... and eat smaller competitors for breakfast.

Not anymore. These days It's Not the Big that Eat the Small... It's the FAST that Eat the Slow!

Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton discovered what separates today's icons of speed from everybody else.

They asked questions like:

What is the difference between speed and haste?
Where does business go to spot trends before the competition?
How can leaders help people stop dreading high velocity and rediscover the thrill of deciding, acting and staying fast?

And studied the world's fastest companies like:

H&M Europe's fast fashion phenomenon now poised to threaten apparel stores in America.
AOL who gulped down Netscape and Time Warner in record time.
Charles Schwab the new dominant name in discount and on-line financial services.

The results are in this sensational book... a national bestseller, translated all over the globe and universally praised.

Would you like to make speed a competitive tool in your business? Here's your roadmap!

Customer Reviews:

Excellent thought points for entrepreneurs -- speed does kill your competition.......2006-10-05

Disclaimer: I have worked as an early stage Venture Capitalist for roughly two years, worked with several Angel investment groups in California and gone to business school. My perspective on the book is based on my investing experience and my time working with high-technology start-ups.

The book is a quick read packed with many very good insights into how to build a small company into a successful one. The main focus is about keeping a very sharp focus on what the company needs to do to succeed -- learn what works, listen to the customer and build an agile organization that can quickly move react but execute flawless when the on point with known customer base. A key point to consider which is missed by many business / management books is that you can not control what your customer base, your competitors and outside economic forces are doing. Change/Chaos = opportunity not a problem. The agile company will maximize the economic opportunity while a large company will try to react but be very late to the party.

An agile company can also position itself favorably for a liquidity event by beating a large competitor to a profitable market; you make the build vs. buy decision for the large company very easy.

I have seen many part of the book put into action successfully and some companies that did not implement the advice; the results are very clear that speed is a competitive tool.

The downside about speed being a competitive tool is that it is very difficult to keep it up for a long period. So, Speed needs to be used to locate and dominate a market to block out competitors. However, other strategies need to be developed in combination with speed and innovation to stay on top...but speed is the way to be the lead company in developing markets.

Simple management philosophy that worths a read.......2004-03-30

I think most people understand the importance of "speed" in the marketplace. The problem lies in "how" to incorporate this element into their daily business before they or their companies had been eaten by someone else. I am sorry that the author had not done a good job in this respect. He said a lot about the advantages of being speedy, but not practical methods of pushing it through bureaucracy, redtape, human resistance to change, the long term committment of top management......... Perhaps I had demanded too much from such a small book. However, I really believe the author is capable of giving us more, judged by his smooth and intelligent writing skills and choice of words.

Below please find some copy and paste for your reference.

Speed, merely for the sake of moving fast, without a destination inmind, is haste. Eventually, out of control, speed will land you in big trouble. But imagine how many more races you would win if you had a big head start. Think about the advantage you would have if you knew what the future was going to look like and were able to spot trends before the competition. Consider the power of being able to think about things quickly and accurately, tackling in minutes the same big issues and questions the competition would be processing for weeks. pg 9

Question everything...all the time. If you want to hone your anticipatory skills, accept nothing. Question everything. Ask how and why of everything that's presented to you. pg 19

A fund manager's best year will likely be his or her first. He or she is without a need to defend the previous year's choices and is able to ruthlessly assess the viability and potential performance of holdings in the fund. Dr. Richard Geist, professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. pg 101

It's not the strongest nor most intelligent of the species that survive; it is the one most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin pg 111

When you refuse to abandon, bad things always seem to happen.

p.s. The main book title is very interesting. I think if the author did add one more word "idiot" in the end, the impact will be even bigger.

Good.......2004-03-20

Lots of good stuff. Some you'll have read in other books, but that's not a negative if such info is presented in a new way, as it is here. I do think the choices of AOL and Hotmail as fast company examples were dumb choices, since Hotmail never actually turned a profit, it just grew to become an enticing buy for Microsoft, which is when the owners cashed in. AOL's troubled history is famous enough I need not repeat it here. But the other companies chosen (Charles Schwab, Clear Channel, among others) as examples are "legitimate" companies, aiming for profit and succeeding while growing quickly. And it's because of those examples I recommend this book.

Some flaws, but overall a good value.......2003-05-11

There is an old story about the two fellows who went lion hunting in Africa. They searched for days to no avail, then suddenly-right in front of them-was a huge lion!
The lion saw them, too, and thought, "lunch!" One of the men reached into his knapsack, retrieved his running shoes, and began putting them on. His friend, incredulous, mocked, "You'll never outrun that lion." The first man responded, "I don't have to outrun the lion; I just have to outrun you!"

The speed of business has increased, along with the speed of change. Today, and in the years ahead, the prizes will go to the companies that anticipate the trends, then move most quickly and wisely to put themselves in the right place at the right time. Those firms that allow any employee-at any level-to tie them to tradition or to get in the way of progress risk extinction. Given the title, we'd expect to find the secrets in the pages of this book. Readers will find quite a few tips, some great lessons, snappy writing, and valuable summary lists at the end of each chapter. There's a lot of good content here, but also some annoying redundancy.

This well-organized book moves steadily and deliberately through a collection of strategies that stimulate thinking and action. A number of examples are offered to illustrate fast movement and not-fast-enough movement. Many of the anecdotes and case studies come from the same companies, which is both good and bad. We see deeper into these companies, but miss the opportunity to appreciate the strategies and actions of a wider range of organizations. Hearing about the same companies over and over again made me wonder if the authors had investigated any other examples. The sameness got old.

Toward the end of the book, the reader may sense some repetition, as if the authors forgot they had mentioned these things or were looking for filler to complete the manuscript at the end of their writing process. I sensed some redundancy in the main body of the book, but as the manuscript drew to a close I almost lost interest because I was reading words I'd already read.

There's a lot of good content in this volume, so I'll still recommend it. Look for the tips, the advice, and the strategies that will inspire you to make notes, turn down pages, and highlight various sections. While the book wasn't 100% for me, there are a lot of valuable and thought-provoking lessons in these pages. Many of the ideas and observations are sufficiently thought-provoking to stimulate change in the way you do things, particularly if you perceive yourself to be in a competitive environment.

This review refers to the hardcover edition.

Speed Plus Torque = Victory!.......2003-01-15

This is the first of two books by Jennings which I have recently read. (The other is Less Is More.) It was written in collaboration with Laurence Haughton. The subtitle reveals their core assertion: "How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business." Correctly, they stress the importance of using speed to achieve and then sustain a decisive competitive advantage. They also realize that there are times for an organization to be a sprinter but other times to proceed as if in a marathon.

In the Prologue, Jennings and Haughton explain that they "began with a blank canvas. No points to prove, no axes to grind, and no one to impress. We truly wanted to figure this 'speed thing' out and boil it down into easy-to-replicate tactics." They developed criteria for selecting the fastest companies and then focused on them: Charles Schwab, Clear Channel Communications, AOL, H&M, Hotmail, Telepizza, and Lend Lease. The book presents a number of real-life lessons from these high-speed companies and their full-throttle executives. The authors also provide "time-proven instructions on becoming faster than anyone else."

The material is organized within four Parts: Fast Thinking, Fast Decisions, Get to Market Faster, and finally, Sustaining Speed. In their Epilogue, the authors observe that, early on in their research, they discovered that "truly fast companies that have demonstrated the ability to maintain momentum aren't naturally any faster than their slower-moving rivals. But they are smarter." What's the difference? The truly fast companies avoid, "blow up," or get past various "speed bumps," refusing to be delayed or prevented from getting to where they want to be.

As I read this book, I began to think of an organization as a vehicle. As such, what are its requirements? First, a specific and appropriate destination. Next, a capable driver. Then, a sufficiently powerful engine and enough fuel to keep it running. Also, a transmission with different gears (including reverse), shock absorbers, and brakes. Gauges keep the driver fully informed of available fuel, oil pressure, speed, time, etc. Jennings and Haughton discuss "speed bumps" and could have just easily included a discussion of terrain and weather. A number of organizations -- S&Ls 15-20 years ago and dot coms more recently -- have failed because they could not cope with "rough roads" and "foul weather." In several instances, imprudent speed was a factor in their demise. I want to stress this point because Jennings and Haughton do not glorify speed per se. In certain situations, however, speed is the determinant insofar as success and failure are concerned. Rapid response to customers' needs, for example, or to a new business opportunity. To extend the vehicle metaphor, executives also need a multi-gear "transmission" as well as an accelerator and brakes...and the skill to use each as well as the wisdom to know when.

Jennings and Haughton have a Snap! Crackle! and Pop! writing style which is eminently appropriate to the subject. They also have a delightful sense of humor which substantially increases the entertainment value of their work even as they focus on an especially serious subject: business competition in an age and at a time when it has never before been so intense and when prudent speed frequently determines the difference between organizational life or death. This is a brilliant achievement.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Jennings' Less Is More as well as Curt Coffman and Gabriel Gonzalez-Molina's Follow This Path.

Average customer rating:
It's Not the Big That Eat the Small... It's the Fast That Eat the Slow : How to Use Speed As a Competitive Tool in Business
Jason; Haughton, Laurence Jennings
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFFQP0

Average customer rating:
It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It's the Fast That Eat the Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business
Jason; Haughton, Laurence Jennings
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFHRA2

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