What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School : Notes From A Street-Smart Executive
Author: Mark H. McCormack
List Price: $16.95
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ISBN: 0553345834
Publisher: Bantam (01 June, 1986)
Sales Rank: 17,082
Average Customer Rating: 3.58 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Good
This is a good if over-rated book. If a lot of what he recommends here isn't already instinctive in you, you probably weren't meant to be an entrepreneur. He goes on endlessly about how you should be as silent as much as possible in negotiations. I went into negotiations after reading that thinking that's what I'd better do. Then I realized that's what I'd been doing the whole time without having to be told. An arrogance bleeds through the lines a bit too often. And being a sports agent, to me, is about as frivolous a profession as there could be. When I first heard the term "sports agent" I literally thought it was a joke. Bill Murray said the reason Mike Ovitz failed as an executive at Disney is, "He went from a simple commission business as a talent agent to the much more complex business of Disney. That's why he failed." And McCormack runs a talent agency, basically. And a lot of readers will probably be involved in much more complex businesses, for whom his advice will be dubious at best. But with those major reservations, I still think it's a book worth reading.
Rating: 5 out of 5
The things they CAN'T teach you at Harvard Business School
Mark McCormack is Founder, Chairman and CEO of sports marketing company International Management Group (IMG). He was named 'the most powerful man in sports' by Sports Illustrated.In this book McCormack does not so much criticize Harvard Business School as the title suggests, but complements the traditional business school-education with 'street smarts' - "the ability to make active, positive use of your instincts, insights, and perceptions." (Funnily enough, McCormack did not even attend the HBS, he has a law degree from Yale.) "My main purpose in writing this book is to fill in many of the gaps - the gaps between a business school education and the street knowledge that comes from day-to-day experience of running a business and managing people." He splits the 'street smarts' and this book up into three parts: People, sales and negotiation, and running a business. With each part consisting of 4-to-6 chapters.
In the first part McCormack discusses matters related to people, such as reading people, creating impressions, preparation for business situations, and improving your career. "Business situations always come down to people situations. And the more - and the sooner - I know about the person I am dealing with, the more effective I'm going to be." In the second part of the book - Sales and Negotiation - the author dicusses sales, negotiations and marketing. Sales and negotiations are probably the strongest point of both the book and McCormack, he really excels here. ...The third part of the book - Running a Business - is probably the weakest part of the book. Although there are some great one-liners, it is clear that the author is not that much at ease with writing about organization structures, policies and procedures. In fact, it looks like he despises most of these subjects. However, in the final chapter he provides some good advice for entrepreneurs and people thinking about starting their own business.
Yes, I do like this book. It is somewhat unconventional and is not really a business/management book. The examples from his experiences in sports marketing are exceptional and extremely useful. And yes, it is a great complement to the traditional business school-education (although they are now covering some of the subjects McCormack discusses, under the term 'emotional intelligence'). It is very simple to read and relatively short (250 pages). Recommended to managers and, yes also, MBA-students.
Rating: 1 out of 5
WASTE OF MONEY
This is a story book! I usually give books the benefit of the doubt but this book flat out sux. All this guy talks about is how he is some hot shot sports agent and the lessons he supposedly learned through the years. Let me tell you something, this book got old after the 2nd chapter. Every F'in paragraph has to do with one of his golf clients and bla bla bla. Its ridiculous. The title is true, they dont teach this at Harvard because they're stories of an individuals life which completely put me to sleep. But im not going to leave without giving some positives, like saying you should check out Automatic millionaire and the 12 critical factors books. Those are worth reading. Peace in the middle east! Similar Products
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