THE CHINK IN YOUR MBA ARMOR: What They Didn't Teach You About Customer-Market Efficiency Can Leave Your Company Defenseless

Trying to convey new management ideas in a novel is a daunting task, though Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox's The Goal (1992) proved it could be done. Nemeth sets this tale inside a company much like General Motors (where he used to work in the parts division) wherein the items produced (e.g., drive shafts) and tools for making them are unfamiliar to most people. Half-developed characters come and go. He ably highlights the failure of traditional accounting systems to gauge accurately a company's success. But while Nemeth pushes customer-centric measures, readers are left guessing how to implement a tracking system for such measures. (Oct.)