Review
This collaborative effort bv Paul, a former strategic planner for CEO Jack Welch at General Electric, and business writer Cox (Zapp!) is described in the promotional copy as "a novel for managers," a fictional story that illustrates the business principle of the "boundaryless" company pioneered by Welch. It's a stodgy but effective effort in which an inefficient, disorganized widget-producing outfit called Essential resolves a dire companywide communication problem just in time to avoid corporate disaster. Paul and Cox's approach is to create a series of high-level managerial characters with stereotypical business personalities. The huge cast includes Rick Riggins, the authoritarian "get it done now" company president; Frank Harlan, the egotistical, turf-protecting genius engineer; and Jake Foster, a slow-but-steady operations manager new to the company. Essential is about to lose its biggest client because the company can't deliver its widgets on time. The desperate Riggins hires a wise consultant named George Tracey, who guides the company through the revitalization process, starting with candid employee interviews followed by a weekend brainstorming session and a retreat. Paul and Cox do a solid job of creating believable business problems and interpersonal conflicts, though the story is broken up by having too many employees take a turn narrating in short, choppy sections. General readers will steer clear, but the novel does offer a pleasant spoonful of literary sugar for business types who want to absorb the latest management trends. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, February 10, 2003)

‘…contains much sound advice and, apart from being a good story, is very informative and instructive…’(Professional Manager, July 2003)


Review
"...the novel does offer a pleasant spoonful of literary sugar for business types who want to absorb the latest management trends." (Publishers Weekly, February 10, 2003)

‘…contains much sound advice and, apart from being a good story, is very informative and instructive…’(Professional Manager, July 2003)


Book Description
A novel about transforming organizations from the author of bestselling business books The Goal and Zapp!

The Cure is a novel for managers about transforming an under-performing bureaucratic organization into a boundaryless, fact-driven management culture like the one that made Jack Welchs General Electric so consistently successful. It offers real, practical advice for overcoming political inertia, reinventing the company, and doing it in a year or less. By giving each key character a distinct voice, readers are reminded of people they have met and who may even sit in the desk next to them. These characters interact realistically and act pragmatically, and as a result readers become invested in how these people tackle their challenges and create real solutions.

The methods described in the book have been successfully employed at many of high-profile companies, such as Black & Decker, Coleman, Emerson, Parker Hannifin, Textron, United Stationers, and Moen. The Cure argues that modern organizations must be flexible, quick, and boundaryless in order to thrive and survive, but it also shows managers how to make it happen fast. Based on the successful management theories of Dan Pauls General Management Technologies, The Cure accomplishes these things in the form of an entertaining, enlightening, and dramatic business narrative.

Jeff Cox (Murrysville, PA) is a creative writer known for weaving progressive business concepts into compelling fiction. He is the coauthor of such business bestsellers as The Goal, Zapp!, and Heroz.

Dan Paul (Pittsburgh, PA) is CEO of General Management Technologies, a consulting practice which focuses on the alignment of clients strategies, work processes, and culture in order to target all the functions of a business on the same priorities. Formerly with General Electric, hes worked with many high-profile clients and spoken at many conferences on strategic management for Business Week and the American Management Association.


Download Description
A novel about transforming organizations from the author of bestselling business books The Goal and Zapp!

The Cure is a novel for managers about transforming an under-performing bureaucratic organization into a boundaryless, fact-driven management culture like the one that made Jack Welch¿s General Electric so consistently successful. It offers real, practical advice for overcoming political inertia, reinventing the company, and doing it in a year or less. By giving each key character a distinct voice, readers are reminded of people they have met and who may even sit in the desk next to them. These characters interact realistically and act pragmatically, and as a result readers become invested in how these people tackle their challenges and create real solutions.

The methods described in the book have been successfully employed at many of high-profile companies, such as Black & Decker, Coleman, Emerson, Parker Hannifin, Textron, United Stationers, and Moen. The Cure argues that modern organizations must be flexible, quick, and boundaryless in order to thrive and survive, but it also shows managers how to make it happen fast. Based on the successful management theories of Dan Paul¿s General Management Technologies, The Cure accomplishes these things in the form of an entertaining, enlightening, and dramatic business narrative.

Jeff Cox (Murrysville, PA) is a creative writer known for weaving progressive business concepts into compelling fiction. He is the coauthor of such business bestsellers as The Goal, Zapp!, and Heroz.

Dan Paul (Pittsburgh, PA) is CEO of General Management Technologies, a consulting practice which focuses on the alignment of clients¿ strategies, work processes, and culture in order to target all the functions of a business on the same priorities. Formerly with General Electric, he¿s worked with many high-profile clients and spoken at many conferences on strategic management for Business Week.


Book Info
Provides great insight into the journey required to accomplish rapid change in business leadership. Unwinds the complexities of the dysfunctional patterns within our organizations and proves that change is possible.


From the Inside Flap
From Enterprise Medicine creator Dan Paul and bestselling business author Jeff Cox comes The Cure. Based on Paul’s years of experience working with CEOs and their senior teams to build better businesses, The Cure models the process for overcoming organizational inertia and creating a dynamic, boundaryless management culture. Enterprise Medicine traces its roots to Dan Paul’s days as a manager at General Electric, regarded as one of the best-managed companies in the world for over six decades. Despite all the press, few executives have been able to create the type of disciplined, boundaryless management that GE’s Jack Welch demonstrated to be so effective. Now, Paul and Cox have written a page-turner of a novel about reinventing the strategy and culture of a business–and doing it in less than a year. Using Paul’s time-tested principles, Cox sets the story inside the fictional Essential Corporation, a company with a proud history but a lot of hidden problems barring it from a promising future. Once the leader of its industry, Essential Corporation has lost its way. Its flagship product line is being rendered a commodity by competition. One huge retail account is diverting attention from smaller, traditional customers. Suspicion and blame are dividing departments. Worst of all, management is in denial, with some managers hiding problems rather than working to solve them, while others struggle to preserve the status quo rather than move forward to new opportunities. Narrated by both senior managers and middle managers from functions throughout the company, The Cure presents the issues from different points of view, and depicts the competing interests that make collaboration between leaders so difficult. Yet it brings to life the process of change that ultimately drives out fear and creates open communication, a common commitment, and a united direction. Though The Cure is fiction, Enterprise Medicine is fact. It has been put into practice at dozens of companies, including Black & Decker, Coleman, Master Lock, Parker Hannifin, Emerson, Danaher, United Stationers, Moen, and many others. Now, you can use it. The process described in The Cure can be put to work inside your organization to rapidly build a management culture that is flexible, responsive, and driven by market realities rather than egos. While your competitors are bogged down by politics and indecision, your company can move fast when markets change, perform better during bad times, and create new opportunities to become market driving rather than market driven. Take The Cure


Back Cover Copy
Praise For The Cure "The Cure is valuable. . . a great read and an insightful depiction of the journey involved in executing the management principles of successful companies in this decade." –Bob Bond, President, Automation Group, Parker-Hannifin "Using Enterprise Medicine, Coleman went from dead stop to warp speed in eight months. Reading The Cure provides great insight into the journey required to accomplish this kind of turnaround. It’s a must-read for any president who needs to rapidly change the business he’s leading." –Bill Phillips, CEO & President, The Coleman Company, Inc. "The Cure works. I’ve used the process to dramatically change the culture of two companies. By breaking down silos and building company-wide strategy ownership, you will be surprised by the amount of creativity and commitment that can be rapidly produced." –Randy Larrimore, President & CEO, United Stationers "Having lived through the ‘common cold’ of organizational dysfunction, The Cure artfully describes the prescription that helped heal and create a team that focused on results, leadership, and winning." –James Raskin, Vice President Business Development Black & Decker Inc. "The Cure unwinds the complexities of the dysfunctional patterns within our organizations and proves that change is possible. The sensitive issues needn’t remain unspoken. Success, both corporate and personal, is truly possible." –Debbra Johnson, Market Development Manager DuPont Safety & Protection


About the Author
DAN PAUL is CEO of General Management Technologies, a consulting practice that focuses on the alignment of clients’ top-level strategies, work processes, and culture across all functions and activities of the business. Prior to founding GMT, he worked under Jack Welch at General Electric.

JEFF COX is a creative writer known for weaving progressive business concepts into works of fiction. He is the author or coauthor of seven fictional business books, including such bestsellers as Zapp! and The Goal, which have sold millions of copies.

ANNOTATION

Story of the fictional Essential Corporation, a company with a proud history but a lot of hidden problems barring it from a promising future. Once the leader of its industry, Essential Corporation has lost its way. Its flagship product line is being rendered a commodity by competition. One huge retail account is diverting attention away from smaller, traditional customers. Suspicion and blame are dividing departments. Worst of all, management is in denial, with some managers hiding problems rather than working to solve them, while others struggle to preserve the status quo rather than move forward to new opportunities.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A novel about transforming organizations from the author of bestselling business books The Goal and Zapp!

The Cure is a novel for managers about transforming an under-performing bureaucratic organization into a boundaryless, fact-driven management culture like the one that made Jack Welchs General Electric so consistently successful. It offers real, practical advice for overcoming political inertia, reinventing the company, and doing it in a year or less. By giving each key character a distinct voice, readers are reminded of people they have met and who may even sit in the desk next to them. These characters interact realistically and act pragmatically, and as a result readers become invested in how these people tackle their challenges and create real solutions.

The methods described in the book have been successfully employed at many of high-profile companies, such as Black & Decker, Coleman, Emerson, Parker Hannifin, Textron, United Stationers, and Moen. The Cure argues that modern organizations must be flexible, quick, and boundaryless in order to thrive and survive, but it also shows managers how to make it happen fast. Based on the successful management theories of Dan Pauls General Management Technologies, The Cure accomplishes these things in the form of an entertaining, enlightening, and dramatic business narrative.

Jeff Cox (Murrysville, PA) is a creative writer known for weaving progressive business concepts into compelling fiction. He is the coauthor of such business bestsellers as The Goal, Zapp!, and Heroz.

Dan Paul (Pittsburgh, PA) is CEO of General Management Technologies, a consulting practice which focuses on the alignment of clients strategies, work processes, and culture in order to target all the functions of a business on the same priorities. Formerly with General Electric, hes worked with many high-profile clients and spoken at many conferences on strategic management for Business Week and the American Management Association.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly