Broken Windows, Broken Business

Book excerpt: Now revised and updated, this "inspired, impactful, and important" book shows how to achieve the ultimate success by rectifying the small problems that can sink a business (Stephen R, Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). Once every few years a book comes along with an insight so penetrating, so powerful—and so simply, demonstrably true—that it instantly changes the way we think and do business. Such a book is Broken Windows, Broken Business, a breakthrough in management theory that can alter the destiny of countless companies striving to stay ahead of their competition. In this vital work, author Michael Levine offers compelling evidence that problems in business, large and small, typically stem from inattention to tiny details. Social psychologists and criminologists agree that if a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired, soon thereafter the rest of the windows will be broken—and the perception will build that crime in that neighborhood is out of control. The same principle applies to business. Drawing on real-world corporate examples, from JetBlue's decision to give fliers what they really want—leather seats, personal televisions, online ticketing - to Google's customer-based strategy for breaking out of the pack of Internet search engines, to business-to-business firms' successes and failures, Levine proves again and again how constant vigilance and an obsession with detail can make or break a business or a brand. With tips and advice on changing any business to one that dots its i's, crosses its t's, and attracts more clients, Broken Windows, Broken Business goes straight to the heart of what makes all enterprises successful—the little things that mean a lot.