We’ve got our heads down, working hard on the book. The red team has the draft manuscript and has provided a very critical review — we have some work to do. Has anyone got a good idea for a title? We’re offering a very small prize for the best suggestion.
Click on the comments link to share your thoughts.
- Bob
Here are my responses to previous weeks’ comments:
Sam Smith (Week 14): You may just see your “good news, bad news” comment in the book.
Dave Cox (Week 13): CHCS was clearly a turning point for the health care business for SAIC and, as you mentioned, it clearly had strong implications on our performance on other contracts in the future.
Lyle Dunbar (Week 13): I think the Los Angeles experience was a good one because it exposed us far more to the Air Force than trying to satisfy that customer from afar. It was one of the first experiments that succeeded business-wise after La Jolla and Washington D.C. had gotten underway. The fact that it worked out encouraged me to think in terms of establishing small offices in places like Huntsville and Dayton.
Chris Rowe (Week 13): I think some of us — including you and me — felt strongly that VoIP was going to revolutionize next-generation telephony. I think you picked the right pony to ride.
Jim Nabeer (Week 11): It’s good to hear from you. We’ll check out Terry and JNI Corporation. What are you up to? I’m curious what you are doing these days.
Book Title Suggestion – The Beyster Blueprint: A Design for Sustained Business Success
Book title:
I’m thinking, but its difficult to come up with a more vivid characterization than Harold Agnew’s “Farmer’s Market with Central Heating”.
Not really knowing the context of his comment, I don’t know how you or others view it, but for me it captures some of the essence, “sights and sounds” of SAIC. Some of the “raw” entrepreneurship of the company, visualizing and remembering some of the more chaotic “between the meetings” cramped crowds “bartering for business” in the hotel foyers when SAIC was outgrowing the venues for Meetings Weeks in the mid to late 1990s, but with a sense that there was an underlying solid infrastructure of support, guidance and wisdom to what we were all doing. All of those many “farmer” division managers who were very energetic and very proud of their individual products and services to their customers.
Dr. B.:
Idea for the title:
Business Fusion: The dynamics behind SAIC’s success.
(I’d argue that you were the catalyst that started the reaction.)
Be well,
Mike
Dr. Beyster,
The key ingredient is ownership, and I believe should be mentioned somehow in the title:
“The SAIC Solution: Empowerment and Ownership”
Respectfully,
Dan
Dr. B.,
How about this title? “Creative Destruction”
The article I read said the term was introduced in 1942 by economist Joesph Schumpeter and he described it the process of industrial transformation that accompanies radical innovation. The article also said that innovative entry by entrepreneurs would be the force that would sustain long-term economic growth.
How about?
“The Entrepreneur’s Enterprise:
SAIC from Start-Up to $8 Billion”
Cheers and I’ll donate the prize to the FED if I win.
Gael Tarleton
“Building Value: The Power of Employee Ownership”
“None of us were as smart as all of us”
Allen
All of Us Are Smarter: The legacy of employee ownership
Bob:
One thought for the title of your book:
“Unconventional Wisdom – The Architecture and Evolution of a Unique Enterprise”
“The Real Story Behind SAIC’s Road to Success By the Founder”
Dr. Beyster,
It will be hard to beat your
“None Of Us Is As Smart As All Of Us”.
But, here are a few humorous attempts.
All of them will require subtitles,
[as an exercise left to your readers].
1. Leading a Litter of Lions
2. Taming a Troop of Tigers
3. Wall Street, sans Walls
4. Wall-Less Street
5. Wall Street, Tear Down Your Walls
6. SAIC = Starting An Innovative Conglomerate
7. FUNny BUSINESS
8. Some Of Us Are Smarter Than Most Of Yous
Respectfully,
Bob. K.
Since the tremendous growth was driven by the founder’s vision/guidance – and executed by a group of managers who believed in the approach – I think an appropriate title would be (stealing from a popular Sinatra song):
“We did it our Way!” The story behind SAIC’s dramatic growth
How about using SAIC’s current tag line with the current subtitle?
From Science to Solutions:
The Unconventional Success Story Behind Employee-Owned SAIC
Dr. B,
How about…
“OUT OF THE BOX FROM THE BEGINNING”
Hi Dr. Beyster.
I’ve enjoyed reading your ideas on the book.
I like your motto for the title “None of us is as smart as ALL of us” because it really does reflect what I have seen during my 20 years at SAIC.
But here is another idea for the title -
“SAIC – From Science to Success”
I can’t wait to see it published.
Sincerely,
Connie Samson
How about “The SAIC story- Empowering Individuals”
I don’t know if there’s a title in this or not. But the thing that struck me while reflecting was how sometimes extraordinary personal ambitions were harnessed and redirected toward company-level goals. Not always, but often. And that was somehow further refracted toward client problems (often national security) which was always acknowledged as important at the top of the company. That acknowledgement from the top created a further acceleration of the momentum. And, eventually, the contributions of administrative functions helped. It just kept building and building so that one thing begets the next and so on. It was like a family tree that kept branching out with the resulting geometric progressions. I often wondered as we went ever higher (given my handwringing conservative nature on risks) when it would just stop and come crashing down. It didn’t, but I always worried it would.
So. . . . as to a title. I don’t know. This snowball just kept rolling down the hill and growing bigger and bigger. And why it did is too complex to describe in a tag line. I have an idea. Maybe you write a book to describe it. Too late – you thought of that! Maybe “SAIC – Directing Ambition to Client and Employee Owner Success”.
I’m really looking forward to reading this book. Best wishes.