Dave, of course, is the founder of Wendy's International and is familiar to millions of TV viewers as the hamburger vendor's plain-spoken pitchman. In the text at hand, his way is to combine a modicum of aw-shucks autobiography with a full measure of by-the- numbers advisories on how to succeed in business. The resultant fare is longer on down-home appeal than genuine sustenance. An adopted child who had a knockabout boyhood in the Midwest and Southeast during WW II, Thomas knew early on that he wanted to make a career of the restaurant industry. After dropping out of high school, the author enlisted in the Army shortly after the start of the Korean War. Posted to West Germany, he had a chance to work at his trade as assistant manager of an enlisted men's club near Frankfurt. Back home again in Fort Wayne, Ind., Thomas resumed his old job. Given an opportunity to turn around four failing Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in Columbus, Ohio, during the early 1960's, he never looked back. A millionaire at 37, the author went into business for himself, opening the first Wendy's on November 15, 1969. The chain has prospered, by Thomas's account, as a quick- service rather than a fast-food enterprise. Although he has much to say on quality, consistency, limited menus, personnel relations, philanthropy, perseverance, marketing, and allied subjects, Thomas stands largely mute on matters fiscal. What he does do is lard his anecdotal narrative with seemingly endless series of personalized pointers, e.g., ``Dave's Yardstick for Measuring People,'' ``Dave's Tips on Bumping Bellies with the Big Guys,'' and ``Dave's Rules for Making a Good Ad.'' Notwithstanding his just-folks image, he also settles some old beefs with, among others, McDonald's, Madison Avenue, and critics of red meat. For fans of the shoulder-to-the-wheel, nose-to-the-grindstone, eye-on-the-ball, and ear-to-the-ground approaches to commercial achievement. (Eight pages of photos—not seen.)
Pub Date: Sept. 25, 1991
ISBN: 0-399-13678-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
