[.ca] Beep Beep Competeing In The Age Of The Road Runner (ISBN 0446676543)

Thought-Provoking Visit to the Funny and Familiar:
The Road Runner cartoons are classic. Most of us grew up laughing out loud as Wile E. Coyote encountered one challenge after another in his attempts to capture the Road Runner. The scenarios were simple. The coyote devised ways to capture lunch, never winning the competition. His tools, all products of Acme Company, backfired on him. He caused himself a great deal of difficulty, while the Road Runner went on with his life, practically oblivious to the coyote's campaign. At the start of their book, Bell and Harari note that coyotes can run 30 miles per hour and road runners can't really fly and can only run 16 miles per hour. Wile E. Coyote has an endless arsenal of gadgets to trap the road runner, all provided by his single supplier, Acme. He's a master planner, yet continually fails . . . of his own volition. What's the problem here? Why is the Road Runner so successful? Because he's operating under different rules. The coyote may be seen as chained to conventional wisdom, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. A bureaucrat. The Road Runner is more like the agile entrepreneur, competing with a whole different paradigm. The authors take this familiar cartoon and turn it into an instructive business case. Their objective is to help us become road runners among coyotes. In page after page, they pull lessons from the cartoons that we probably all missed as kids, comparing the characters and their motivations and their results. "Wile E. Coyote is preoccupied, earnest, conniving, and grim. The Road Runner is joyful, light, and free. Wile E. does nothing but go from pursuing one meal to the next, with perpetual frustration; the bird is gleefully living life to the fullest. The results are the same: Wile E. somehow manages to dig himself into the hole of failure, while the Road Runner strides on, undeterred and unaffected by life's bumps and obstacles." Can you imagine the authors conducting their research for this book? As we move through the book, we learn more about the comparative principles and how to succeed in the Age of the Road Runner. Familiar names populate the pages as we are provided with examples of companies and people. A "Tail Feathers" feature spotlights ordinary people doing extraordinary things-as Road Runners. The stories are inspirational, as well as educational. "Bird Seed" sections furnish the reader with solid advice that fits the concept, but it not linked to the two main characters. Descriptive summaries of Road Runner cartoon incidents are liberally sprinkled throughout the book, keeping the reader laughing and smiling and wondering in amazement how the coyote could keep going in this futile struggle. And therein lies the tale of this book. To survive in a Road Runner Age, you cannot continue to operate like a coyote. The book is filled with current wisdom, but just as important, it's a fun book to read. People learn more when they're laughing, so expect to gain a lot from Beep! Beep!

Life Imitates art; art reflects life -- which is the moon ?:
The book is an enjoyable and delighting reading. While it does not make many original contributions, it does illustrate and organize many principles well. The use of the Roadrunner as its symbol is an excellent vehicle. The parallels drawn seem appropirate and not stretched. With the same evangelical zeal of other business writers, Bell and Harari commuicate their feelings effectively. The use of media, in this case a cartoon, to illustrate principles is a valuable format. As increasing numbers of people are 'programmed' on animated media in contrast to written media, the use of contemporary media is quite effective. The book, origianlly published in 2000, will have to be evaluated in time. In the same way Tom Peters' 'Excellent Companies' were reviewed for performance. It was interesting to note that the authors cited Lucent Technologies and Iridium as prime examples of 'Working on Borrowed Brains.' All told, the book will contribute buzzwords to our lexicon. Update your buzzword bingo cards.

Ineresting way to get a point across:
A How to Business book is normally outside my lane. However, I glanced at the cover and thought this is what my husband keeps claiming is needed even for the Feds in an international economy. Plus I must admit I grew up with brilliant self-destructive Wile eating the Road Runner's dust. I decided to read this book and found it humorously entertaining with references to the Warner cartoon universe and with specific pointers on how to compete in the age of overwhelming instant information where objects communicate and not just in C language. Though quite interesting, well written, and cleverly packaged, this how to not suicide in business by really trying. It offers nothing new even with its "seven new rules of the road". Sports teams from the fifties and sixties or even the recent Yankees and Bulls understood and implemented that teamwork and learning are the keys to winning. Harriet Klausner

A fast, worthwhile read --:
In Beep! Beep!, Bell and Harari provide the reader with an entertaining look at business practice and culture today. In highlighting the behavior and actions of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, the authors provide a compare and contrast view of all facets of business and a unique perspective on how to be more competitive. The message is simple and clear, capturing the spirit of what it takes to compete in the fast-paced, global marketplace. (The book's preface is: "Road Runners don't have prefaces...they just begin!") Although the boxes which describe actual scenes from the Road Runner cartoons get a bit redundant as the book moves along, the "Birdseed" and "Tail Feathers" sections that summarize most of the chapters were appropriate and welcome. All-in-all, Beep! Beep! is a worthwhile read. It can easily be consumed in an average plane ride (as I did).

A Good Read!:
Wile E. Coyote hovers in a hot air balloon over the road, waiting to drop an anvil on the unsuspecting Road Runner. Wile E. puts a grenade in the seat of a toy airplane and ... you know what happens. He becomes the victim of his own diabolical plans. The Road Runner wins every time. Chip R. Bell and Oren Harari's book turns a cartoon classic into a wonderful metaphor for today's fast-paced work environment. Organizations are changing their cunning competitive ways. Instead of behaving like Wile E. Coyote, they are becoming like the quick, agile, joyful Road Runner. In an amusing style, the authors illustrate their points with cartoons of the famous duo and plenty of plot scenarios and interesting tidbits of trivia. The "Birdseed" sections scatter tips to help you and your company make the transition to the wide-open desert of opportunity ahead. Those who grew up with Road Runner will relate to this book immediately. We ...recommend this book to Road Runner's business fans or to anyone who wants to have fun while learning how to steer a company through the speedy new marketplace.