TIME IS MONEY: The Key to Managerial Success

by Ross A. Webber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1980

A brief synthesis of time-wise counsel culled from a gaggle of management-science superstars--Peter Drucker, Clarence B. Randall, Auren Uris, et al. Webber (Management, University of Pennsylvania) tempers the frequently doctrinaire wisdom of the authorities with gentle wit and personal perspectives. The first of the text's two parts examines the many ways in which executives can become so engrossed responding to brushfire alarms that they can't spare time to map out preventive measures for future conflagrations. The second, shorter section takes a longer-term view, detailing how problems can occur when organizational hierarchs cling to timeworn policies and procedures. The big idea, time-wise, is to accomplish important tasks during ""discretionary"" time. Similarly, managers are advised to tackle rough rather than routine problems during ""prime time,"" those periods when they are at their creative best. Other tricks of the trade include delegating workaday chores, concentrating on unique assignments, and establishing priorities. For the longer haul, Webber offers corporate managers numerous suggestions for resisting the constant pressures of past practices as well as retaining their flexibility and hence potential for personal and professional growth. A particularly appealing recommendation is to put a major aspect of one's job on trial for its life each quarter--like the sunset laws applied all too seldom to government agencies. In like vein, he directs hard-charging higher-ups, tyrannized by trivial time tensions, not to wear their watches on weekends. Webber's mostly modest proposals--nicely complemented by cartoons from The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and other publications--should help distracted executives realize improved returns on their investments of time.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION