The System: A Story of Intrigue and Market Domination

Those are just a few of the amazing cooncidences that make this book not only a poor read from a business perspective, but also a disappointment from an entertainment point of view. Take my advice, if you really want to read the book, save your investment capital for something more useful and check the book out at your local library.


Intriguing, gripping, and packed with business reality   February 11, 2003
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The System: A Story Of Intrigue And Market Domination by Terry Waghorn and Ken Blanchard joins the genre of business novels with a new twist, adding intrigue and plotting to the cauldron. Tim Hunt and David Atkins must come up with a plan to save an old-economy business due for a hostile takeover. It soon becomes apparent someone will literally kill for this opportunity; for the business could unleash a powerful Web service which will revolutionize the Internet, and many out there would murder to stop it. Intriguing, gripping, and packed with business reality.


The System: Interesting and easy read   February 10, 2003
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

An interesting book mixing fiction with strategy. Provides a good insight on business and is a must read for the modern corporation executives.


Good business ideas, weak novel   January 17, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I don't think it's a dud as one reviewer stated, but it's really quite thin. As a novel I do not like it although Terry would probably do a passable job as screenwriter for "The Bold and the Beautiful" or some other daytime drama/soap opera. The characters of the book are like that, sort of two-dimensional, too-perfect characters constantly plotting against each other and I could not make myself believe in them and their actions.

Anyway, the meat of the book is in the presentation of a business strategy built on three pillars; focus, fortify and foster futurity. I like that part, but it could have been condensed into a five-page (or so) article for some economic magazine instead of creating what I'd like to call a use case with complications. As a strategy I think it is common sense, but then a lot of things are, and economic/business/strategic works are often needed to explain the obvious. I do not consider it as innovative as Ken Blanchard tries to make it sound (in particular "focus" has been a staple of business strategy on and off for ages). What is very good is the way he presents a cyclic way of thinking about strategy. There is no one thing a manager needs to do and then everything will be fine, it is instead a cyclic series of steps including recurring evaluation of business opportunities and competitors to make sure that your company makes money. Those who lead must not be afraid to change what the company does when it is needed to stay ahead of the pack, even if it means changing the core business!

Discussion and arguments are a bit lacking. In the book, the two main characters discuss the strategy, but Terry basically skips any fact-based argumentation and just states that "David was now all fired up" (or somesuch) to show that the ideas are absolutely fabulous. If there's a proper article on this somewhere (preferably publicly accessible on the Internet) I'd really like to read it. For instance I do not believe that all companies can change as quickly as is needed without incurring prohibitive costs.

In conclusion: do read the book for the business value of the ideas but ignore the story, which actually detracts from the value of the book.


The System: A Story of Intrigue and Market Domination   January 12, 2003
Perry Lea (USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is an excellent book and a must read for board of directors, senior management, and all managers. The three strategic components that Terry touches on in the book are the keys to a successful business strategy. This book is being circulated internally at our corporation. One final note, this book reads like a novel. No doubt that there should be a movie to follow. If you enjoyed Barbarians at the Gate both book and movie, you will love this one as well. Well done Terry and Ken.