Know-How

The author seemed enamoured of the cults of personality in the business world during his era, and it showed. Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t reads like a book version of FORTUNE magazine.

Unfortunately, the content didn’t stand the test of time (ahem!), particularly his take on some of the leaders (mostly former CEOs like Jeffrey Immelt, Jack Welch, Bob Nardelli) portrayed in his narrative.

To make matters worse, the link to “know-how” cited in some of these examples is tenuous at best, when you view things in the current context. There is just so much theory and little practical information on the 8 skills mentioned in the book title.