Today, I bumped into the full-text version of the book “Almost Perfect”, a history of WordPerfect by following random Wikipedia links. I read this book many years ago and found it very interesting. The guy has a plain, straightforward, and engaging style. Highly recommended. [Btw, here is a less-than glowing review].
If you read this book hoping to learn more about running a business, then I hope you noted the parts about teaching correct principles and allowing employees to govern themselves. In spite of the problems I had understanding and implementing this philosophy, I am convinced it is the best way to run a business. In today’s competitive environment, businesses can no longer afford the overhead of one supervisor for every five or six employees. As organizations flatten and supervision decreases, employees will make more decisions on their own and govern themselves much more than they have in the past. If a company is to function effectively, its employees must have a good understanding of what is expected of them. Very small organizations may be able to find success without defining and teaching correct principles, but any business with more than 25 or 30 people must get organized. [emphasis mine]
