The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment

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The average life span of a Fortune 500 company is less than half a century, yet there also are corporations around the world that have been in business for 200, 500, even 700 years. Arie de Geus, a retired Royal Dutch/Shell Group executive, maintains after studying both extremes that the most enduring treat their companies as "living work communities" rather than pure economic machines. The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment persuasively outlines his resultant prescription for organizational longevity.


From Library Journal
According to a study conducted by Royal Dutch Shell, where the author worked for 38 years, the average life expectancy of Fortune 500 firms is 40 to 50 years. Many such companies don't survive beyond a few years, while others have existed for over 200. Why? De Geus, widely credited with originating the concept of the learning organization, writes: "Companies die because their managers focus on the economic activity of producing goods and services, and they forget that their organizations' true nature is that of a community of humans." He summarizes the components of the long-lived company as sensitivity to the environment, cohesion and identity, tolerance and decentralization, and conservative financing. In this insightful study, he describes how today's managers and staff should strive to develop a living company and increase its life expectancy. An important work; recommended for academic libraries.?Lucy T. Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Queens Village, N.Y.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Business Week, July 14, 1997
"Biology is turning up in the strangest places. Just consider Arie de Geus' THE LIVING COMPANY. With a light touch and an interesting variety of examples, de Geus employs biological metaphors in order to analyze corporate management. His provocative stories also draw upon experiences from his nearly 40-year career at Royal Dutch/Shell Group.... de Geus provides an interesting challenge to basic assumptions about the way companies work."


Quality Digest, May 1997
"THE LIVING COMPANY earns a spot as one of this year's best business books"


Training, September 1997
"...in contrast to the common gaggle of management books, few of which can truthfully be called thought-provoking, The Living Company is one that deserves a read."


National Productivity Review, Autumn 1997
"A seminal book that will initiate far-ranging discussions regarding the nature and purpose of the company."


Directors & Boards, Summer 1997
"Arie de Geus has written an excellent book that gives senior executives and board members provocative insights into success."


Book Description
Most companies do not survive the upheavals of change and competition over the long haul. But there are a few remarkable firms that have withstood the test of several centuries. What hidden lessons do they hold for the rest of us? Arie de Geus, the man who introduced the revolutionary concept of the learning organization, reveals the key to managing for a long and prosperous organizational life. The Living Company speaks not just to aspiring leaders, but to anyone trying to adapt to a turbulent business environment. Only those steeped in the habits of a living company will survive. "This profound and uplifting book is for the leaders in all of us. Arie de Geus challenges most of the conventional wisdom in management thinking today."-Dr. James F. Moore, author of The Death of Competition"Arie de Geus gives leaders of the future an indispensable guidebook in which commitment to values, people, learning, and innovation defines the living company. It's in my book bag."-Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO, The Drucker FoundationAUTHORBIO: Arie de Geus worked for Royal Dutch/Shell for thirty-eight years and is widely credited with originating the concept of the learning organization. Since his retirement, he has advised many government and private institutions and has lectured throughout the world.


Book Info
In this book, the author reveals the keys to managing for a long and prosperous organizational life and draws a sharp distinction between Living companies and Economic companies. DLC: Industrial management.


From the Publisher
Winner, The Edwin G. Booz Prize for the Most Innovative, Insightful Management Book of 1997, The Financial Times/Booz-Allen & Hamilton Global Business Book Awards


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