Aha!

That would you give for easy answers to all your management dilemmas? How tempting is it to convince yourself that the leadership theory du jouris just the ticket to prosperity? If only you did (fill in the blank), your company would be a lean, smoothly running machine . . . right?

Think again. In Fad Surfing in the Boardroom: Managing in the Age of Instant Answers (Addison-Wesley Publishing, $12 paper), author Eileen C. Shapiro sounds a note of reason against the crescendo of contemporary management theories. Simply put, the book serves as a much-needed reality check.

"The hard truth is that there are no panaceas," Shapiro cautions. "What is new is the sheer number of techniques . . . now positioned as panaceas. What is not new is the need for the courage to manage. In my view, in the age of instant answers, this courage is more valuable than ever."

Throughout Fad Surfing, Shapiro examines such highly touted cure-alls as Total Quality Management, re-engineering and employee empowerment. Confused by the jargon? Don't worry: A dictionary of fad surfer's terms is included.

Improvement is an admirable and realistic ambition--a quick fix is foolish (and short-lived) at best. Before you tinker too much with your company, separate myth from reality. In the end, fad surfing is a dangerous sport indeed.

This article was originally published in the February 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Aha!.