Journalist Garrett's fly-on-the-wall appreciation of what goes on at Rose's Dataflex company, which for all the deference paid her nominal coauthor's charismatic management style affords some insights into how a mid-sized firm can be run for fun as well as profit. In 1984, the founder of New Jersey-based Dataflex (a reseller of computer equipment made by IBM and others) recruited Rose to rescue his foundering enterprise. By almost any standard, the designated savior engineered an impressive turnaround, making the service-oriented company one of the fastest-growing small businesses in the US. Not too surprisingly, then, Garrett (Money, Inc., etc.) focuses on how Rose contrives to keep Dataflex upwardly mobile through an offbeat combination of cajolery, corporate rituals, crack-of-dawn meetings, peer rankings, personal recognition, unexpected rewards, vision, and other techniques designed to foster togetherness. She does so by reporting and commenting on how Rose spent each day in a putatively typical workweek—an approach that yields a modestly suspenseful narrative and that also gives the 45-year-old CEO a chance to offer summary pronouncements at natural stopping points. On the downside, the text is rife with such sycophantic bushwa as: ``Rick Rose bolts out of the conference room like a shot. He strides quickly down the hallway leading to his office. His head is slightly ahead of his body as he walks, his jaw jutting forward. He rolls on the balls of his feet and bounces slightly—a study of motion and purpose.'' Nor do Rose's frequently pretentious pronouncements always hit their mark—e.g., ``Treat people as partners. The secret is to make sure they don't have the same skill set you do, because then you're just asking for conflict.'' Cavils apart: an informative behind-the-scenes briefing on what makes an inspirational leader and his competitive concern tick. (B&w photographs—16 pp.—not seen.)
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 1992
ISBN: 0-88730-584-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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