Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business

Rating:
Summary: Neither Passionate Nor Informative
Review: "Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business" by James Olan Hutcheson is just another "how to succeed at business" book. I wish its value was more than that, but it isn't. It is neither passionate nor any more informative than its competitors.

In the business books I have read recently, I found this one lacks the authority and substance I found in others. William Pollard's "Soul of the Firm" has the authority, as he took ServiceMaster to a new level. "Values of the Game" by Bill Bradley was worth the read because of Bradley's unique metaphorical look at life. "Leadership" by Rudolph Giuliani has power because of what Giuliani has gone through. "Portraits," however, has a flaccid tone to it. I felt as if it was researched information regurgitated into book form. I felt like I was reading the kind of book which gets sold after a corporate sales seminar.

The book, as seen in the subtitle, can be boiled down to nine major points. In each, Hutcheson retells stories of business success and failures, from security company founder Richard Wackenhut to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Action items accompany each chapter, and herein lay the book's greatest value. Hutcheson provides a topic sentence to lead the mini-lesson, but weakly completes the thesis in the following paragraphs.

The redundancy of subject matter mixed with a bland presentation has me suggesting to you to look elsewhere. It was not edited tightly enough to build the necessary tension and excitement. Overall, "Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business" lacks the poignancy I have come to expect from professional advancement books.

Anthony Trendl

Rating:
Summary: Neither Passionate Nor Informative
Review: "Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business" by James Olan Hutcheson is just another "how to succeed at business" book. I wish its value was more than that, but it isn't. It is neither passionate nor any more informative than its competitors.

In the business books I have read recently, I found this one lacks the authority and substance I found in others. William Pollard's "Soul of the Firm" has the authority, as he took ServiceMaster to a new level. "Values of the Game" by Bill Bradley was worth the read because of Bradley's unique metaphorical look at life. "Leadership" by Rudolph Giuliani has power because of what Giuliani has gone through. "Portraits," however, has a flaccid tone to it. I felt as if it was researched information regurgitated into book form. I felt like I was reading the kind of book which gets sold after a corporate sales seminar.

The book, as seen in the subtitle, can be boiled down to nine major points. In each, Hutcheson retells stories of business success and failures, from security company founder Richard Wackenhut to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Action items accompany each chapter, and herein lay the book's greatest value. Hutcheson provides a topic sentence to lead the mini-lesson, but weakly completes the thesis in the following paragraphs.

The redundancy of subject matter mixed with a bland presentation has me suggesting to you to look elsewhere. It was not edited tightly enough to build the necessary tension and excitement. Overall, "Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business" lacks the poignancy I have come to expect from professional advancement books.

Anthony Trendl

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read for any business
Review: As the world changes, a business must change or decline and die. Some do so even if their business climate has not changed at all. These businesses self-destruct due to internal incompetence or conflicts that blur their focus on what it is their business should do. James Olan Hutcheson is the grandson of the founder of Olan Mills, the world's largest photography company. After starting in the company as a telemarketer, he rose to a position of responsibility and then resigned to pursue a career as a business consultant. Therefore, while he draws heavily from the history of Olan Mills, he also uses examples from several other businesses.
His advice is sound, logical and yet not simple. Ideas such as having proteges (including relatives), work their way up through a company rather than having the reins of power simply handed to them without training is a sound yet often ignored management principle. Another bit of sound advice that is often ignored is the toleration of honest, well meaning and factually based dissent. An examination of business, political and religious history shows quite clearly that when dissent is crushed an organization loses its' health and eventually dies, sometimes rather abruptly. As greater details of the latest corporate fiasco's come to light, it is clear that those who dissented were hounded, and sometimes it continues even after they were proven correct. This is an absurd business practice, as denying the truth only makes it worse when the end finally comes.
The nine keys listed in this book will not make your business a success. Only the making of a valuable product and executing a sound business plan can do that. What it can do is increase the odds that you will do both by showing you how others have done it.

Rating:
Summary: Good Advice, Especially When Paired With Another Book
Review: First of all, I must say that I'm a complete outsider to the business world. This makes it difficult to review this book, but also means my review might mean something different from some other reviews. In order to do the review, I asked myself, "If I were starting a business, would this book help me?" and "Would I want my employees to read this book?" A resounding "Yes" to both, especially if the book were paired with another (see third paragraph).

James Olan Hutcheson has analysed lasting, and non-lasting, businesses, and looked for the ingredients that separate the two. The result is a well-written cookbook for success, if success is defined as a business that will last, be generally profitable over the long haul, and have employees who have a real sense of being more than just cogs in a wheel.

The companion book I'd suggest is Thom Hartmann's "ADHD Secrets to Success". The reason that the two books fit together is that they each deal with one of the two main types of people in the business world (per Mr. Hartmann): Hunters and Farmers. Hartmann refers to people with traits of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (energetic, enjoying moving from task to task, comfortable with short-term focus, and quick to make decisions) as "Hunters", while "Farmers" are cautious, good at long-term planning and cultivating, comfortable with slow growth, and enjoying staying with tasks until they're completed. Hartmann's book (which I also reviewed) focuses on Hunters, while Hutcheson's book focuses on Farmers. However, both authors clearly acknowledge the value of both types of people in the business world (Hartmann directly, Hutcheson by description). Also, both have succeeded in the business world.

"Portraits of Success" is a well-written, well-organized book with LOTS of practical wisdom (not an oxymoron in this case). If you're entering the business world, trying to improve an existing business, or trying to salvage a company on the brink, buy and read both books, then share them with your employees. I wonder if Hartmann and Hutcheson have read each other's book? Despite their differences, they are two sides of one valuable coin.

Rating:
Summary: Get the Scoop
Review: I really enjoyed the scoop on how other small businesses dealt with difficulties. ....good read! Helpful advice I will use to further my own family's Inn. Now I know what we are doing right & where we can improve.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read for any business
Review: I was skeptical at first that this was a book by someone born with a silver spoon just looking to sell a book. But after reading through the thoughts and stories included, it's evident that Hutcheson has been on the front line throughout his career and the information included can be a benefit to any business owner and manager, particularly one looking to grow and transition ownership while facing the rough roads that will come with it.

Rating:
Summary: an invaluable book on building and transition
Review: James Olan Hutcheson has written a book that should prove invaluable to owners of small businesses and other nonhierarchical organizations. Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business is a book that deserves--and will hopefully get--a large readership.

Drawing on what he has seen in his own family business' transition to second generation leadership, as well as what he has witnessed as a consultant on such transitions, Hutcheson gives the reader much to think about. As he makes each point in his "9 Keys" he illustrates it with a real-life example.

Many of the keys are basic but easy to overlook and (after having overlooked them) sometimes tricky to introduce in a static leadership environment. Yet Hutcheson is a faithful guide through the peaks and valleys.

Having suffered through encounters with ineffective organizations (my daughter's school) and reveled in being a part of an effective, on-purpose organization (my Church), I cannot stress enough how important it is for people in leadership positions to be intentional in what they do and have the ability to be life-long learners. Learning about leadership and listening to those who "have been there," like Mr. Hutcheson, is a big part of this. Nothing less is in the balance than the difference between a life of drudgery and one of joy and freedom.

My only critique of this book is one that springs from my Christianity. I feel that the missing tenth (and possibly most important key) is Spiritual giftedness. When people serve in an area they not only enjoy, but also are gifted by God to serve in, explosive results are to be had. Also, as part of the Kingdom, "Business Traditions, Myths, and Shared Beliefs" melt away in the face of the kind of common purpose given by the Great Commission and the whole history of salvation.

Bearing this in mind and also recognizing that Mr. Hutcheson's audience probably have not all partaken of the Kingdom as of yet, I have to say that this book does a darn good job as a whole. It is less of a compilation of other sources than are most other leadership books. I found it refreshing to be able to distinguish an actual authorial voice in a work such as this. Too many leadership books read like a cross between a presentation and an instruction manual.

Get this book. It is well worth the time spent reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Rare Business Book Providing Good Practical Application
Review: Many business books I have read in the past tend to be 'textbook.' What I mean by this is that the book might provide some great material, but what it lacks is real life application. This is certainly not the case with this book! Hutcheson presents his 9 Keys to sustaining value in any business not only with facts, and the regular "textbook" material, but he knows how to present it to his reader so that application is not missed. For instance, in chapter 1 (The Secret of Great Business Leadership), Hutcheson does not merely present the "obvious" skills that a leader will need to be effective. Rather, Hutcheson present these skills from two vantage points, as what is needed, and how a leader can teach or apply these things that are needed to other potential leaders. So he writes with a two fold purpose, first, to get his information presented and secondly, to teach how the information can and should be applied.

Additionally, Hutcheson presents his 9 keys in a nice systematic fashion and provides real life examples of people in major business/corporations who have either succeeded at using these keys or failed with interesting end results. Moreover, Hutcheson (being the grandson of Olan Mills) focuses a good bit of space in this book on the "generational" problem (shifting from one generation of ownership to another) in businesses big or small. He describes how this "generational" shift can keep from having negative ramifications with just a few simple actions applied.

This is a great book for businesses big and small. There is much in these pages which not only would be beneficial for leaders and managers in big and small businesses but for workers as well. Hutcheson also discusses some common things that can cause problems in businesses such as change, self-esteem (in leaders and employees), growing pains, knowing what direction, aim, or course to take, passions or the lack thereof in businesses from generation to generation, etc. Much is covered in these pages and would be very beneficial for not only business owners but managers/leaders of businesses as well. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: He Has Been There
Review: One type of book that is never in short supply is the type that offers or even promises to solve any manner of personal or professional problem a person may face. If an individual were to judge our state of mind as a nation or even a species, they would be well within reason to conclude that a large percentage of people are either miserable in their personal life, hate what they do for a living, or are desperate to be told how to run their own companies. Fortunately many of these books are not worth the paper they are written on, even if it is recycled, and we are not as desperate or dysfunctional as the shelves packed with these books would suggest.

Another valid criticism is how few of these books are written by people who have actually experienced what it is they are trying to share with others. I don't know how I can take a book seriously on running a company if the author has not successfully run his or her own company. And in addition, a person who has known success and failure and survived both. Surviving success may so strange, but you need only look at recent events and all the dot.com busts to know how quickly success on a modest scale becomes disaster on a mammoth scale

Chances are fairly high that you have the product of the company that this man capably managed in your home, or have seen his product in many homes of friends and relatives. The gold lettering of Olan Mills appears on countless numbers of photographs covering many generations of people. James Olan Hutcheson is the grandson of the founder of, "The Nation's Studio", and long before he put pen to paper suggesting how companies can improve, prosper and survive generation after generation, he was there working from the bottom up. His rise was based on merit not nepotism. He has experienced success and failure, he is qualified to speak, and his thoughts are worth listening to.

If your reaction to many of the ideas in this book is, "no kidding", you are definitely amongst the targeted readers. Mr. Hutcheson's advice and detailed suggestion for implementing action do not require an advanced degree in pure math, game theory, or quantum physics. The idea that people in an organization need to communicate effectively, that persons should advance on merit, have goals they must meet, and show respect for ideas all sound like common sense. The line about why is common sense so uncommon has never been truer. The author also discusses the importance of legends/myths in a business, why first generation companies generally struggle so badly as the next generation comes along, and a host of other issues.

What most impressed me about this book was its honesty and the personal history the author shared. He would be the first to tell you that this book is of no value if it is read and tossed on a shelf. He offers no guarantees or promises. He also placed the responsibility where it should be, on the reader. All the talk and study and planning in the world is useless without proper execution and continual evaluation of results, and then makings further changes when necessary.

There are hundreds of this type of book and a handful that have value. This book is one of the valuable few, for it is direct, concise, and there is no ego behind this pen. Organizing a commonsense plan to run a business is anything but simple, it is also far from complex. The key is recognizing what is important and then having the discipline to make and maintain appropriate change.

Rating:
Summary: A New Area for Business Outlook (an Old One Revisted)
Review: This book moves over Steven Covey and establishes an area in which we go
way back to the roots of capitalism. Way back. Planting a seed deep down.
In good soil. And allowing it to become something great. The satisfaction here
is not to become rich or even to be successful. It is knowing that you have
really created something of great use to humanity. So you water the seed. It grows.
There are setbacks. There are lightening storms. But the plant still grows. This
is the great business that you have created. You care for it like a mother does for a child. This is the only book on business that I've seen which exemplifies
what this country was originally all about. To do something worthwhile in business.
To do something great in life. One may become rich from the seed. Or famous.
But the point is "meaning." If you want to be a REAL businessman (and I do),
please buy this book. I also believe that many of the criticisms of capitalism
would dissapear if we all had the attitude of this great man.