Corporate Lifecycles

This is one of the best business books of all time. A must-read for business owners and top management. An updated version is available, now titled Managing Corporate Lifecycles. Be sure to mark this review as helpful before jumping to the new version.

If you are thinking about setting up your own business, or have actually started up yours, you better read this book. It could really save you many a headache.I did not quite understood why companies would behave in given ways. Even worse, I had not realized how to cope with common entrepreneurial problems until I came accross Dr. Adizes' work. "Lifecycles" is written in an enjoyable style. Once you start reading it you will not put it down. Dr. Adizes book deserves all praise.

If you are a person who desires to create change in your organization, improve profitability, manage the implementation of Strategic or Succession plans, or build a management development process, This book is for you! Most of my clients cannot put the book down as they read about their organization and how predictable companies grow and die. I insist my clients read this book in order for me to help them build strategic or succession plans, as well as implement them. I do not have a CEO or Senior Exec, who has read the book and found it usesless or meaningless. This book helps me communicate with executives, as to what they see and experience within the company, in order for me to help them. This is a "MUST READ" before you begin a "Change or Strategic Implementation Process." This is not a "touchy-feely" book. It is right to the point, and has good examples of each element. My favorite part is the Insultant vs Consultant discussion.

Adizes really does explain how and why corporations (indeed all organizations) grow and die...and what to do about it. He has identified a series of specific "lifecycles. His analysis of each (within a sequence) is especially valuable because, as he explains each with meticulous care, each lifecycle is best understood within a broad as well as deep frame of reference. A careful reader of Corporate Lifecycles can thus determine (a) where his or her organization is now within the sequence, (b) what will be required to reach or return to Prime or Stable (the two most desirable locations within the sequence), and (c) what to expect in terms of obstacles, perils, etc. en route.Because the ideal combination, the ideal balance, of four critical "factors" (ie performance, administration, entrepreneurship, and integration) will always be a "moving target" under constant "attack" by internal as well as external forces, each organization must constantly be aware of what that ideal combination is for it at any given time, what that ideal balance should be. Change is the only constant.There really isn't another book quite like Corporate Lifecycles. My brief comments can only begin to suggest Adizes' knowledge, wisdom, and experience which enable his reader to understand how and why organizations grow and die...and what to do about it.

I read this book as part of an assignment for an MBA class on leadership. The book provides meaningful insight into the various cycles of a company from birth to death. It outlines strengths and weaknesses of a company during these cycles. There also is a valuable piece on types of leadership required during each cycle. After reading this book, I now have a better understanding of why some companies fail and others succeed. Very valuable reading.