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Title: Plowing the Sea: Nurturing the Hidden Sources of Growth in the Developing World by Michael Fairbanks, Stace Lindsay, Michael E. Porter ISBN: 0-87584-761-7 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: June, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $32.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.71 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Making True Revolution with Success
Comment: This is a complex and multidimensional book on many levels. This book is not really about what governments can do to help their countries develop. In fact, the word "development" hardly appears. It is about the unproductive relationship between government and the private sector that wastes time and other valuable resources in emerging economies. The authors hold both parties responsible for moving on.
As stated on the first page, Simon Bolivar's epitaph reads, "Whomsoever has worked for a revolution has plowed the sea." Meant by Bolivar to convey despair and the heartbreak of failure, these words are transformed by the authors who have maintained a sense of optimism and good humor throughout their own experiences in the rugged world of transformation consulting. The Introduction, the book's first substantive chapter, is a cautionary tale of the Colombian flower industry, that prospered globally for decades, but later declined and has not yet recovered. Through this "case", seven patterns of firm behavior that inhibits economic agility are identified. The first seven chapters of the book elaborate on these patterns, wonderfully illustrated with other cases (Peru's fishmeal and Bolivia's soy industry, for example). The authors describe a sort of bratty adolescence that traps companies and industries in emerging economies. Chapters 8 and 9 are a fine application of micro principles around the theme of strategy, again focused on the firm. The authors advocate the old-fashion but culture shattering step of focusing on customers, costs and competitors in order to guide and inform decisions about strategy, positioning and productivity. They offer information and learning as a way for firms to experience a "coming of age" in the competitive sense. The role of government in promoting economic transformation is not touched until Chapter 10, two-thirds of the way through the book. Chapter 10-12 are probably where readers will find the book a bit frustrating and repetitive. Not enough time is spent defining what the authors mean by "steering mechanisms". This is undoubtedly because the book assumes the reader already knows alot. Chapter 10 mostly illustrates shifts in steering mechanisms using the case of a wall-bouncing Bolivian government. Chapter 11 is almost singular for business books - there is an actual discussion of research and the presentation of data. It is a practitioners discussion, however, not an academic one, so potential readers can relax.
B-school vets and other warriors will recognize alot here as an application of Michael Porter's "diamond model" from his Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990) and indeed, Porter writes the Foreword. The authors have extended the "diamond's" scope and reach, but their own model is not apparent until the end, Chapter 13. Their model for bringing about industry level change appears in the book's final four pages.
This book's protagonists are leaders in firms, industries and government, as well as their mindsets and actions. The word "leader" might be interpreted by some readers as "government" but this is not accurate. This book does do something extraordinary, however. On one hand, it is a blood and guts how-to on diagnosing and fixing the self-defeating decision making of firms in the emerging world. On the other hand, the conceptual framework within which political economics is practiced, debated, planned and evaluated is updated to reflect the fact that competitive advantage, not absolute or comparative advantage will increasingly referee the win/loss columns in the global economy. The context of political economics is addressed entirely without reference to ideology. This might strike some as soulless or arrogant. It might strike others as about time.
The writing in this book reflects a highly integrated understanding of business and economics, as well as intimate and affectionate knowledge of Latin American business and classical culture. Also apparent are the authors very fine liberal arts backgrounds, years on the road and a sense of mirth. Finally, these authors clearly know their work and thinking is culture altering and socially revolutionary. Their obvious goal is to realize the dream of Bolivar by capturing the minds of today's business, industry and government trend setters. While I would say their hearts are definitely not bleeding nor on their sleeves, their drive and focus are more uplifting than anything I have read or seen in a long time.
Rating: 4
Summary: Insightful but too wordy
Comment: A very insightful book about how countries as a whole compete in the world economy. It presents several interesting ideas about relative competitive strengths & weaknesses of nations and the source of these competitive positions.
The book falls short on readability. The authors could have conveyed the same message in half the pages. Often, I found myself skipping entire paragraphs and sections to find the ideas burried in all the verbiage.
I still rate it a 4 because of the importance of the topic covered and the insights contained in the book.
Rating: 4
Summary: A refreshing guide to strategy in third world economies
Comment: This book is a surprise. Very fun to read, very insightful and plenty of new ideas for doing business from emerging economies.
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Title: Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress by Lawrence E. Harrison, Samuel P. Huntington ISBN: 0465031765 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF NATIONS by Michael E. Porter ISBN: 0684841479 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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Title: Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins ISBN: 0316353000 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 12 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Leading Change Toward Sustainability: A Change-Management Guide for Business, Government and Civil Society by Bob Doppelt ISBN: 1874719640 Publisher: Greenleaf Publishing Pub. Date: December, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else by Hernando Desoto, Hernando de Soto, Hernando de Soto ISBN: 0465016154 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 08 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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