Rules to Break and Laws to Follow: How Your Business Can Beat the Crisis of Short-Termism

by Martha Rogers and Don Peppers

Book Overview

Praise for Rules to Break & Laws to Follow: How Your Business Can Beat the Crisis of Short-Termism

"A fascinating, highly readable synthesis of business principles, technology, sociology and common sense, Rules to Break and Laws to Follow persuasively shows the connection between customer trust and business profits, and then explains how to make it happen. As a bonus, you'll learn how to make your company more innovative, how...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470227540
• ISBN13: 9780470227541
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Clean Out Your Closet

Over the years, everyone's business has accumulated clutter like that closet at home. If you're not careful, the clutter gets in between your employees and the customer and everyone loses. Don Peppers and Martha Rogers are closet cleaners. They want your business to look in the mirror and do what it knows is right. Turns out that what's good for the customer is also good for employees and the CFO at the same time. I've had the privilege to see Don Peppers speak--he uses data, real world case studies, and knife-sharp common sense to teach what is wrong and right in business today. Somehow, he's able to be motivating, funny, convincing...and right, all at the same time. His books read like a Don Peppers speech: thoroughly enjoyable, breezy read, and makes you want to go to work early and bring a folding chair to your next meeting (you'll have to read the book to get this great reference!). If you plan to be in business in 10 years, you better read "Rules to Break and Laws to Follow" right now!

Like being there

Reading this book is just like being in a business presentation by Don and Martha. The text flows very fluently, pouring real life examples drawn from their extensive experience with marketing and customer management. It is also like being in a meeting in our own business. If you are an executive with marketing and sales responsibilities and you already do your job 'out of the box', you'll want to read this book to inspire your actions. If you still have to prove your point inside your company, the book will give you tons of reasons to show your boss why the company needs to start doing things differently right now. Concepts like "customers are the scarcest resource", "the experience you give your customers is more important than the message" come to life with abundant examples. Customer equity management applications get a lot more tangible, even if you haven't read Return on Customer: Creating Maximum Value From Your Scarcest Resource, the authors' previous book. Highly recommended, easy read, but don't be fooled. This is high-impact matter, which may seem deceptively easy to execute. The final chapters about diversity and dissent, corporate culture and leadership bring forth the organizational efforts needed to push these concepts forward in the real world. Extensive reference notes can help you further research the subjects covered, which is great in an environment of ever-accelerating change.

Fascinating Read That Challenges and Inspires

This is an excellent book which challenges the most fundamental assumptions business leaders today make. I took it with me on vacation and couldn't put it down. Full of examples and best practices, this is easy to read and thought provoking. Don and Martha expose the crisis of "short-termism" which is increasingly challenging, especially in today's economy. They also highlight the evolving role of the customer given our networked and interconnected world. They share the latest trends and thinking on various topics from employee engagement to innovation to inspire leaders to think strategically about their customer experience design and the opportunities that will drive their long-term success.

The hits keep coming

Don and Martha have done it again! They have identified and exposed one of the most difficult challenges in business today -that of short term-ism - or the obsession with making quarterly numbers at the expense of long-term and lifetime customer value. They've dared to question some of the most fundamental business tenants and then provided evidence that new ones have emerged, such as the critical need to build and maintain trust, the necessity of employee empowerment, and the power of social networking, just to name a few. Yes, this book is enjoyable to read; but more importantly, it has real-life examples, practical advice, and executable strategies for those who dare to build great companies for the future, not just the next quarter. Elizabeth Rech Hingham, MA

Short-Termism vs Soustainability

I read all books from Don and Martha. "one to one future" was the first and the best book I've ever read related to CRM. "return on customers" was a first attempt to demonstrate that company value isn't necessarely equal to EBITDA and value of shares. Don and Martha introduced here the concept of long-term view vs short-termism. With this latest book "rules to break & laws to follow" - I've read it in one day! - they follow their concept of demonstrating what real value to a company means. I do like especially the introduction of an "employee/empowerment"-dimension which was a little bit missing until now. Real great book. A must for all leaders and managers. René F. Lisi