The Wall Street Journal published their list of the top management gurus today. Here's the part that was most interesting to me:
…changes show that time-strapped managers are hungry for easily digestible advice wherever they can find it. Today, the most pressing themes include globalization, motivation and innovation. Traditional business gurus writing "weighty tomes" are in decline, he says.
The call is for management by sound bite. Unfortunately, the themes of globalization, motivation, and innovation don't necessarily lend themselves well to the sound bite. Well, the problem is that they do, but those sound bites are usually dumbed-down, sexy PR statements. The real work requires a complex intertwining of skills to ensure success. Don't get me wrong, each of the top five gurus is very accomplished in their own right, but no single one of them has the right answer.
That's why they can all exist on the speaking circuit. They all have something valuable to say, and it's up to you to use it wisely.