Issue No 156 February 2006
Book Review
Broken windows, broken business: how the smallest remedies reap the biggest rewards Michael Levine
The broken windows theory originated in the context of crime. It states that if a window in a building is broken and is not quickly repaired then within a short period all of the windows will be broken, or that leaving such minor infractions uncorrected indicates that major crimes might also be condoned. Levine has taken this model and applied it to business. His hypothesis is that it is the small problems left unattended that lead to business failure.
This is an interesting book. It deals with some familiar issues including customer service, marketing and website design, but from a slightly different angle. Levine recommends an obsession with the details and a compulsion to fix problems as soon as they arise. He emphasises the importance of customer perception and the obvious, if too frequently ignored, fact that values and promises are no good to the company if they are not practised by everyone.
Levine is not necessarily advocating that a CEO micromanage the frontline business, but he makes some good points around the value of maintaining high standards in the small, seemingly unimportant things.
Some might find the tone and repetition of this book tiring, but customers everywhere would endorse the message. Levine contends that it is the details that say whether or not you care. The practicality leaps off the page, challenging the reader to do something. These are not difficult ideas, but they are not often stated this clearly and that makes this book worth reading.
Kate Ogden
Business and Computing Centre
