BOOK REVIEWS FOR PORSCHEPHILES by Bruce Herrington, Orange Coast Region
THE DRIVING FORCE
T
he late Peter Schutz was CEO of Porsche AG from 1981 to 1987, the turn-around years, making this a meaningful book for PCAers to read. But it is not about driving Porsche racers, it is not about Porsche cars, it is not even much about Porsche the company specifically; it is about management and leadership, activities with which many PCAers are involved during their ‘day jobs’. Many examples of managerial insight are presented, one or more of which are bound to provide ‘Aha moments’ for readers in a wide variety of business endeavors. Most PCA members have a ‘day job’ to support their Porsche Habit. This book is all about how to make that day job more successful. Though intended to be a management guide, this book is written in a very readable first person fashion. Schutz makes his points by means of illustrative, and very readable, stories. The stories themselves are so interesting that even nonmanagement, non-Porsche people will enjoy reading this book. The story of how Cummings Diesel was created by a chauffeur in his spare time would make Horatio Alger proud. Peter Schutz is known for his success in turning around an ailing Porsche company, and in particular saving the 911 (the story about his drawing the trendline off the chart, across the wall and around the room is a classic). Though published some time ago, the philosophy of management presented in this book is timeless. Essentially as presented in the author’s introduction, “people need something exciting to rally around. They need an exciting focus before their work; they need a leader...to nurture the driving force that separates ordinary, routine work from extraordinary effort and excellence.”
The bulk of the book is comprised of stories about people who lead their organizations to outstanding achievements (and how they did it), with many examples from Porsche AG. Though it has been years (decades actually) since my MBA program, I believe that THE DRIVING FORCE is both more informative and much more readable than anything I read then, the other Peter (Drucker) included ! It is a very fascinating, even engrossing’ read. It is all about personal stories, well told, to illustrate the management philosophy of the author, who has been successful professionally beyond the wildest dreams of most of the readers of this review. Though presented in terms of hardware products, the concepts are equally significant to ‘service’ businesses. Even the story about how Toyota’s approach to improving it’s production line differed from that of Henry Ford, has implications for ‘service businesses’. Between chapters there are commentaries (‘testimonials’ maybe), that present additional insight (as well as kudos for Schutz) but in this reviewer’s opinion, they interrupt the flow of the presentation. Schutz draws some subtle but meaningful distinctions between sales and marketing; striving for success and pursuing excellence. He also has an enlightening treatment of the difference between authority and power, and the importance of applied motivational psychology (a talent for Motivational Psychology seems to be Peter Schutz in a nutshell). He also makes a case for dictatorial behavior in a democratic organization. THE DRIVING FORCE is by Peter W. Schutz, published 2005 by LeadershipPublishing.com, Naples, Florida. It is hardbound, with 336 6x9 inch pages and a comprehensive index. As this is written it is available used, for $5.98 from Amazon.com.
G O I N G P L A C E S 86.2019
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