Almost Perfect by W.E. Pete Peterson
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2091881.Almost_Perfect
- My biggest regret in all my years at WordPerfect Corporation is that I did not do a good enough job of teaching and explaining how I thought the company should be run. I was too involved in the day to day activities of the company to take the time to make sure our principles were defined and taught, or to explain the reasons behind all of the decisions I made. I thought good results would be enough to convince others that I knew what I was doing, but the good results only kept those who disagreed with me at bay. When sales went down, so did I. My fate was no different from anyone else who has had poor results when running a company owned by others.
- I admit I was a difficult person at times, but I could never find a way to run the business efficiently without disappointing a few people. If those who advise others have to work with a few more people than they can easily handle, and if everyone else has well-defined, important, and meaningful responsibilities, then everyone in the company has to work. Anyone who wants to take it easy and avoid their duties is bound to be unhappy. Anyone who wants to define their own principles and follow their own agenda is bound to get in trouble. There is simply no place to hide in a flat, well-run organization, when those who run the company are so close to those who do the work. There is also too much competition for a tall, poorly-run organization to offer a permanent refuge for anyone, because that type of company will go out of business very quickly.