Traction

"This Review Goes to 11"

Traction gets 4 stars for being the very bestest management book I have read. Unfortunately, that's a scale that maxes out at four. Thus I've proven that business management literature is the antithesis of SpinalTap.

Here's what Traction does right: Everything. There are clear plans and tools and strategies for getting a business at least looking in the right direction. How do I know? I've been using them, and they seem to be working. At least nobody's punched me yet - which might be as good as one could expect for anybody who takes a consultant's advice.

Here's what Traction does wrong: Cute-ness. This isn't really a severe flaw - more likely it's a problem of the genre. Everything must have a special name in business books. It's a rule. "TO DO LIST" is far too simple, and wouldn't sell any books. "ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION MATRIX" sounds like an MBA, and an MBA = smarter than me. (this is not a real example from Traction. it's what English majors call hyperboleeeeeeeeeee - which means using too many letters to make a point.)

Soooo, if you were really bad in a past life, and you now find yourself having to manage an organization, I highly recommend that you read this book. Also, "Five Disfunctions of a Team". Between those two books, you should at least have the skill set necessary to steer a small financial management company through the worst stock market since the Depression. Or so I've heard.