The System: A Story Of Intrigue And Market Domination

The System is a truly original business book. Neither a traditional corporate novel nor one of the light-on-plot management fables currently all the rage, it mixes the soul of the first with the heart of the second to create an engaging tale that pointedly champions a series of practical principles. Its story begins on a Caribbean scuba-diving expedition when Tim Hunt and David Atkinson come close to death after being surreptitiously given contaminated air tanks. To trap the would-be assassin, and simultaneously save Atkinson's Boston-based company from what appears to be a related hostile takeover, the two team up to allow successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur Hunt to incorporate his personal fundamentals--dubbed Focus, Fortify, and Foster Futurity--into the old family-controlled firm. At various junctures they are developed in the context of Atkinson's business, while the story additionally focuses on ancillary topics such as ethics, infighting, and the various possibilities technology can bring to even old-line industries like temporary staffing. The writing is a bit clunky at times and occasionally given to clichés, but Waghorn and Blanchard have nonetheless produced a readable tome packed with advice worthy of consideration by today's business leaders. --Howard Rothman