THE FIEFDOM SYNDROME

A former senior executive at Microsoft and other mega-companies describes a range of self-serving syndromes that hold back good ideas and good people in large organizations. Using authoritative examples, Herbold offers insights on how rigid management layers and bloated survival instincts chain people to ineffective, inhibiting practices. His remedies are invigorating: squash rationalizations and vapid hype when they appear, and keep communication and decision-making free from unreasonable constraints. Grover Gardner lights up these ideas with his excellent timing, while giving them weight with his palpable confidence and expert grasp. For executives of any size company, this is a savvy and necessary lesson on how large work groups can stay nimble. T.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 06]