Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic: Inside One of the World's Most Admired Service Organizations 1st Edition

This book merely deals with health care delivery at Mayo Clinic, one of the best run HSOs worldwide. It examines intricate processes at various practices or product lines and they how are managed. It exposes a culture that is well understood by the employees and how that culture is vivid in the care for every patient.With that said, the material is applicable to any service organization. The concepts can be applied in delivering service to customers. For example, personable and customizable service is a key to retaining customers and scoring high on customer satisfaction surveys. Treating customers differently than competitors is what keeps those customers coming back and become a free advertisement to the organization.The book is well written and easy to understand.

I read a good deal of Discovering the Soul of Service - also by Mr. Berry - in conjunction with a Business Plan I wrote for an Econ class in college. I could have sat and read the entire thing, but didn't have the time ----- so I BOUGHT IT! :)Then I came across THIS title: Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic, a clinic "referenced" in the above-mentioned book. Mayo has been my family's clinic for over 30 years, and I can attest to the accolades bestowed upon this organization! In 30+ years, I have come in contact with only 2-3 employees I found unacceptable in the field of service! I'm thinking that's a near-impossible feat!So I found and bought this one, as well, right here on Amazon - my favorite site from which to make purchases.

"Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic" explains how one service organization built a brand based on customer service that has lasted more than a century. This book offers examples of customer service that could be applied to the management of any organization.After reading the book, it is obvious to me that the authors have successfully communicated why Mayo Clinic has become an almost mythical institution. They stated in the beginning that the Clinic culture was based on its core principles and then described how the founders reinforced these principles by example and passed on the culture of value to the subsequent leaders and other employees. They drive home the point of the book and mantra of the clinic: "the needs of the patient come first."The authors tended to emphasize the positives within the organization while glossing over the negatives. Perhaps you can argue that it was not the purpose of the book to point out the mistakes the Clinic has made. The authors admit that there have been mistakes and problems but didn't give much depth into what the problems actually were. It should be noted that one of the authors had recently retired from 15 years of service to the Clinic and may not be able to offer an objective critical analysis of the Clinic.The authors mention the time spent in committees but don't really mention anyone complaining about the time lost (page 116). It would be interesting to hear suggestions or even an outright complaint from an employee regarding the time spent in these meetings. Has the Mayo Clinic become so proficient at communication that every employee understands the value of time spent in meetings? Perhaps they have. The authors seem convinced when they make the statement: "We conclude that what is most impressive about Mayo Clinic is how well it has executed its core values and strategies for more than a century. And this is the basis for our conclusion that the people of Mayo Clinic--represent the crucial explanatory variable in the Clinic's sustained excellence. "As Leonard Berry states in an earlier work: Attracting great people is the first rule of execution. Great service companies attract great people to perform the service. It is a simple idea. It is a powerful idea. And it is--for most companies--an elusive idea" (page 255)."The authors spent 265 pages describing how Mayo Clinic has used the Cycle of Success to develop and maintain a successful business and brand. Mayo Clinic, or rather the employees of Mayo Clinic have created a culture of success to carry the clinic into the future as a leader in not only patient treatment but also in employee treatment.Although the authors' presentation of the Clinic may be a bit biased to the positive, the book is well-written with many valuable insights into the operation of a successful service organization, and I highly recommend it.

Among the most important service marketing books ever written, Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic clearly and cohesively delves into what makes Mayo Clinic extraordinary. More importantly, however, the book reveals the principles, attitudes, and values behind Mayo's operations. The reader quickly discovers these principles and attitudes apply in every industry, and that many successful businesses have adopted the practices and policies that have guided Mayo Clinic to such lasting success. Every business, every manager, and every leader will benefit from Dr. Berry's insightful perspective. Recommending the book is almost too weak of an endorsement. As a student of marketing, and owner of a customer experience consulting firm, this book is essential.

It’s my course book recommended from the university.

This book is worth reading if you have an interest in healthcare management and want to get some tidbits on Mayo Clinic, but I was left a bit disappointed.There is very little effort made to benchmark Mayo against other hospitals, especially other leading hospital systems. The authors emphasize Mayo's values such as "putting patients first," but it is hard to find a respectable hospitable that would not prioritize that same value.Unfortunately I felt like I learned little more about why Mayo is great than I would reading a book about why Oxford or Harvard universities are great: they established a reputation for excellence long ago and have thus been able to attract the faculty (physicians) and administrators that have perpetuated their spot at the top.Given my interest in healthcare management I found it worth the read, but I would not recommend it for people looking for general management lessons or specific in-depth analysis about what is unique about the Mayo model.