Whether you're new to the field or a seasoned executive this book will give you a firm grasp on what it takes to make an organization perform It presents the basic principles of management simply but not simplistically Why did an e Bay succeed where a Webvan did not? Why do you need both a business model & a strategy? Why is it impossible to manage without the right performance measures & do yours pass the test? What Management Is is both a beginner's guide & a bible for one of the greatest social innovations of modern times the discipline of management Joan Magretta a former top editor at the Harvard Business Review distills the wisdom of a bewildering sea of books & articles into one simple clear volume explaining both the logic of successful organizations & how that logic is embodied in practice Magretta makes rich use of examples -- contemporary & historical -- to bring to life management's High Concepts value creation business models competitive strategy & organizational design She devotes equal attention to the often unwritten rules of execution that characterize the best-performing organizations Throughout she shows how the principles of management that work in for-profit businesses can -- & must -- be applied to nonprofits as well Most management books preach a single formula or a single fad This one roams knowledgeably over the best that has been thought & written with a practical eye for what matters in real organizations Not since Peter Drucker's great work of the 1950s & 1960s has there been a comparable effort to present the work of management as a coherent whole to take stock of the current state of play & to write about it thoughtfully for readers of all backgrounds Newcomers will find the basics demystified More experienced readers will recognize a store of useful wisdom & a framework for improving their own performance This is the big-picture management book for our times It defines a common standard of managerial literacy that will help all of us lead more productive lives whether we aspire to be managers or not