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By Daniel Akst

Masters of the obvious

The Management Myth: Management Consulting Past, Present, and Largely BogusBy Matthew Stewart Norton, 304 pages, $27.95

In their guts most entrepreneurs know that management is an art, not a science, and that success has little to do with what you learned in school -- especially business school.
For business owners with lingering doubts, this book is a worthy antidote. The author, a philosopher-turned-consultant-turned-critic, argues that "management science" is mostly a lucrative religion, with consultants its know-nothing high priests. These consultants, in his view, are woefully short on knowledge and experience; at one firm where he worked, "even the older partners had managed little that was more complex than a Thanksgiving dinner." (more)