TOP DRAWER BOOK REVIEW
by
HL Carpenter

 

Why Can’t We Get Anything Done Around Here?
by Robert E. Lefton and Jerome T. Loeb
ISBN 0-07-143006-7
158 pages; softcover; $12.95
McGraw-Hill, New York, 2004

Productivity is the password of business these days. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan credits productivity increases for the economic expansion of the 1990’s. Companies facing offshore threats attempt to boost productivity levels to stay competitive.

But what is productivity? And how can you increase it at your company?

In economic terms, productivity is output per unit of labor. On the job, it’s how much useful work you do in a day. Raising those limits – while maintaining quality and meeting deadlines – is the topic of Why Can’t We Get Anything Done Around Here?

The book’s premise is simple: Assign the right tasks to the right people. Though the execution may seem difficult, it’s a matter of knowing your staff and figuring out what tasks are important to the success your company. Those are basic managerial principles you’re already familiar with.

If you’re looking for fresh insights, you won’t find them in Why Can’t We Get Anything Done Around Here? The only new ideas the book brings to the discussion are acronyms and quotations. Oh, yes, and a pitch for you to sign up for the workshop sponsored by the author’s company.

Instead of reading Why Can’t We Get Anything Done Around Here?, consider using your time more productively by getting something else done.

 

Review originally published June 2005.