Build Your Own Garage

Book Review: Build Your Own Garage by Bernd H. Schmitt and Laura Brown
Build Your Own Garage by Bernd H. Schmitt and Laura Brown is about how to better manage your company. It talks about a garage, which is spoken in the title. Although when reading this book they are not talking about how to build your garage. It is just there to put a better picture in your head. The Garage is actually changes; it carries with it the new ideas, technologies, products and services of the company.
In November 1999 HP (Hewlett Packard) has embarked on an initiative and has in fact started a crusade to recapture the innovative spirit of its own. By building around the theme invent. Fiorina brought out a couple of ground rules in developing a garage, and they are the way of thinking and the behaviors of the company. HP was one of the companies that made the garage possible. Schmitt argued that the experience oriented corporations need to plan and manage excitement.
The Garage in this book explains that the type of organization of both elements is joined together. The three elements or layers of an organization are The Bizz, The Buzz, and The Stuff; they always create tension with each other. The Bizz is the way companies are organized and structured, it is the activities the company does. Since the Bizz is about strategy and planning, and without the Bizz creatively cannot be something useful. Also in the garage it makes the company less profitable or less secure to sustain an advantage over the other competitor.
The Buzz is motivation, passion, and excitement the organization uses to grow. Lastly The Stuff in the garage refers to the place where the facilities actually are and the skills to develop the organizations product. The Buzz is the satisfaction the employees have when working; it is also due to the climate of the environment. It also falls under three components. Motivation is the way to make the work interesting; it is the way to change the environment. Communication everything has to be clear and concise. The final component is Interaction. Interaction is very similar to communication but, more visual. It is the way you would act with a type of person.
The final major element in the garage is the stuff. The Stuff refers to the resources. Without the stuff you can?t have a place to do business or won?t have any help to run the organization.
There are many ways to setup a garage, and every way has a different beginning and a ending. The first thing you could do is buy a garage like company. There are two ways to incubate to the garage. Internally and Externally, Internally is the best way to go forward but it is the hardest. The Internal garage requires a lot more understanding/commitment for the transformation.
In a real garage there are tools to repair maybe you house or your car. The garage in this book has tools too. There are five different types of work style tools. The first tool is ?Think big and pay attention to the small detail.? This means that in every stage you are in there could be the smallest detail and it will be important to look closer and know all the details. Tool two is ?Be reflective in planning and determined in execution.? This requires you to have a strong skill in planning and to have a good communication skill to help the planning process. The Third tool is ?Don?t duplicate; innovate? It is important to be open to ideas that you see around you but, when you find a successful idea it is important to think first before you copy and use the idea. The forth tool is ?Be accountable for mistakes, but unafraid of risks?. This means that if something went wrong it is best to tell the truth and analyze what you did then learn how to avoid for the next time. The Last tool in the toolbox is ?Always keep a creative tension?.
In conclusion the garage is not just where you park your car. It is more then that it is the emotions that come from the business and it gives you a different aspect how to run a business. It is my recommendation to you to as the reader to get this book. Its a must read.