Introduction
Larry’s book “Confronting the reality: Doing what matters to get Things Right” is based on a business concept to help companies and individual entrepreneurs succeed in their business plans. It has the authors’ thoughts which gives the general idea in the mind of the writer. It has an introductory part that talks about disconnecting from the past. Part one “Why Confront Reality” explains the forces which cause permanent changes leading to companies or industries being altered (Bossidy and Burck, 2004).
Part two of the book which is named “Confronting the Reality with the Business Model” gives and explains the new model in business, how it works and shows how some leaders have used the principles of the new model (Bossidy and Burck, 2004). Part three of the book “What to change and What not to Change,” gives an example of companies like Cisco, 3M, among others have used the model to make a decision on what it needs to change and what not to. Lastly part four, “How to prepare for Change,” explores how to anticipate future occurrences, prepare our cultures for necessary changes, development of leaders who can make good successors in this changing world (Bossidy and Burck, 2004).
Main body
The purpose of the book is to change the thinking patterns of the reader on business and its management. The book gives a reader an insight that the world is changing and ways of confronting such a reality. The book also purposes to help readers/ managers understand the reality of confrontation using the new business model. The book also is purposed to help the reader understand the business model and use it as a tool to weigh one’s business foundations to know whether they are opportunities to succeed or not and whether to change the foundations or not.
The main message the book puts across is that there exist realities in the world of business; especially the ones connected to changes and everyone needs to understand them in order to confront them. The book gives a message of a business model which can help one make money if used effectively. The model helps one to understand what ought to be done and what not to be done in case of any challenges in the business. Mainly the message is on facing realities and doing things the right way (Bossidy and Burck, 2004).
The topic is greatly related to managerial accounting. Main aim of managerial accounting is to help managers forecast the future and make decisions concerning the future of their companies. Here are character traits by managers which lead to failure in confronting reality; using information which filtered. The information is biased and lacks critical facts. Another trait is that of choosing what to hear. Leaders tend to use past experiences or already existing notions to make a decision that is wrong. Also, managers to be able to confront the reality should avoid the trait of wishful thinking, fear, extreme emotional commitment and unrealistic expectations from capital markets.
The book also assists managers in the use business model in order to solve organizational problems and confront their realities. The first step of the model is the assessment of external realities which include analyzing trends, issues, competition and structural changes (Bossidy and Burck, 2004). The second step involves identifying the financial targets of a company for the leader to understand the effects of external environment on the internal activities of a company and the impact must be recognized. Such a process is of great importance to leaders.
The topic is greatly related to managerial accounting because it also helps the managers know what to change and what not to. Application of the business model helps leaders identify shortcomings in the model and add new ideas into it to come up with the correct solutions. It’s during this point, a manager decides on the aspects of the company to be improved, the measures to be put in place and the ones to be discarded. Through the understanding of the external and internal realities of the industry, a leader is able to test the validity of his decisions or strategies.
Conclusion
This book is a great asset to the managers and business entrepreneurs who use it realistically. It is a good book for managers who wish to examine their businesses or companies using the business model. This book is highly recommendable especially after going through the examples of companies that have practically benefitted from the business model. The use of business models by companies like Thompson, Cisco, Home Depot, 3M and EMC prove the effectiveness of the model. They used the four main points of the model which include identification of external realities, financial targets, internal activities and application for production of results.
Lastly the book gives a new perspective on how to run a business. The driving force of the book is found in its title which encourages leaders to confront the reality for their businesses to be successful. It also encourages the managers to put into action the model willingly and courageously. With the best character traits, a leader is capable of making effective strategies important for the company to succeed.
Reference
Bossidy, L., Charan, R., & Burck, C. (2004). Confronting reality: Doing what matters to get things right. New York: Crown Business.