Liberation Management

At a large Florida medical center, a cross-trained duo--a nurse and a lab technician--can perform for a patient 80% of all necessary services. At Cable News Network, a 30-minute, nine-bureau online meeting determines each coming day's program. These and 50 other flexible, innovative companies--Ingersoll-Rand, Electronic Data Systems, Chiat/Day/Mojo, Random House--provide the case studies for Peters's ( In Search of Excellence ) punchy, freewheeling primer. ``Fashionable'' products tailored to customers' ever narrower-gauge needs will define the marketplace of the 1990s, asserts Peters. Companies that respond to this environment, he predicts, may fissure into small, autonomous units; such ``brain-based'' firms will recognize the value of letting project teams and empowered employees have access to all of the firm's information. Part pep talk, part grab-bag of business strategies, this energizing, idea-rich handbook will shake up traditional managers and rank-and-file workers alike. 250,000 first printing; BOMC main selection. (Nov.)