I have a stack of books I have never read, probably will never get around to, but occasionally pick up and peruse.  (Do you have such a  stack?)

Well, buried in that stack, I found a treasure.  First, my bias:  I belive that keeping things simple really, really helps.  And this book is filled with “keeping it simple” language.  In addition, I am a big fan of the basics.  And, though I think I know most of the business basics, it is good to be reminded now and then.

The book is:  China’s Management Revolution:  Spirit, Land, Energy.  The author is Charles-Edouard Bouée, a true international business person.  MBA from Harvard Business School, Master of Science from Ecole Centrale Paris, and a Master’s Degree in Law from Paris University, he has spent time in Asia, Paris, London, North Africa…  in other words, he’s been around, with eyes wide open and listening ears everywhere he has been.

This little jewel has a terrific summary of the “knowing, doing, being” emphasis written about by Srikant Datar, David Garvin, and Parick Cullen of HBS, in their book Rethinking the MBA:  Business Education at a Crossroads.

In his discussion of the “knowing, doing, being” idea, he includes this paragraph:

To do, managers need the skills, capabilities, and techniques that lie at the heart of the practice of effective management.  Examples include executing tasks as a team member, implementing a project, conducting performance reviews, delivering a presentation, selling a product, and innovating.

Or…  let’s look at this in a list format:

• executing tasks as a team member
• implementing a project
• conducting performance reviews
• delivering a presentation
• selling a product
• innovating.

A good list.  I think it probably gives us enough to work on for a few days….