What the Internet Can’t Teach You
Ageless Information for the Information Age
by
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For more than ten years, I searched for a book, any book, that would lay out the pitfalls of the almighty Internet and its beguiling ability to subtly replace one-on-one personal contact and learning. I discovered hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books and articles on everything, including how to manage, how to lead, how to train, how to transform, how to reengineer, how to motivate, how to downsize, how to grow, how to inspire, how to market. I found no lack of good material written by smart people on every subject even remotely associated with the theory of managing and leading both large and small business enterprises.
Astonishingly, I also discovered that there were no books that called attention to the dangers of this new and mind-boggling thing called the Internet replacing the human touch, oral tradition, human passion, and the atavistic pulse within us all that asks, “how may I serve you?” Nor were there any books that summarized the personal and institutional learning of the millions of men and women who had gone before—no one had summarized this ageless information into a simple, easy-to-comprehend guide.
The Internet, for all its wonderful positives, had once again demonstrated the wisdom of the old Jesuit saying, “Your greatest strength, faithfully carried out, can eventually become a weakness.” Loosely paraphrased, I believe that the Internet has moved many to use electronic communication only, leaving a frigid void in old-school interpersonal communications where we learned through caring, sharing, and human-to-human dialogue. We are rapidly losing the one-on-one, the storytelling process that the cultures before us so successfully used to transfer rules, mores, acceptable behavior, taboos, etc. to those who would follow. Text messaging, (thumb-to-thumb communication, as my good friend Forrest Cottrell calls it), and e-mailing, as fast and expedient as they are, are no substitutes for face-to-face dialogue and even confrontation.
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About the Book
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR WHAT THE INTERNET CAN’T TEACH YOU
“In a new digital world where instant communication has left us feeling more disconnected than ever, it is the tried and tested values and principles that really make the difference to today’s managers. There’s a reason why guys like Sam Walton and Lou Pritchett have been so successful. We should all be so lucky as to listen and find out why.”
—DAN MANGRU,
Host of The Mangru Report on Fox Business
“What the Internet Can’t Teach You has, in one place, the lessons one learns in a military career. I know many military people who failed because they didn’t learn these principles of leadership and management!”
—COL. WILL MERRILL,
West Point, Class of 1958, Airborne Ranger, US Army (ret)
“I wish I had had Lou’s book back in 1986 when we introduced Stainmaster carpeting to the world. His succinct maxims are a timeless road map to business success, cutting through the fog of circumstance and technology. I recommend it to all young aspiring leaders.”
—TOM MCANDREWS, the “Father of Stainmaster,”
Former DuPont Worldwide Director, Flooring Systems
Each morning, millions of managers—from supervisors at McDonalds to Fortune 500 presidents—commute to their respective jobs, where their subordinates rely on their leadership, advice, and coaching in order to be successful themselves. Desperate to achieve greatness in a highly competitive world driven by technology, these leaders are often frustrated with the loss of one-on-one mentorship from a boss who has “been there.”
Lou Pritchett, a former executive who was instrumental in the creation of the partnership between Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart, shares decades of hands-on experience in company leadership, training, and organizational development in order to mentor others with snippets of wisdom and universal truth not found in cyberspace. Future leaders that include entrepreneurs, educators, executives, administrative assistants, and sales representatives will find inspiration in both Pritchett’s wisdom and the seasoned advice of other famous leaders, such as Napoleon Bonaparte, John F. Kennedy, “Stonewall” Jackson, and Ross Perot.
Management is of dollars and things. Leadership is of hearts, souls, and spirits. In What the Internet Can’t Teach You, Pritchett allows others to take a step back in time and learn the same way successful leaders have learned for centuries—through the wisdom of those who know.
About the Author
Lou Pritchett rose through the ranks at Procter & Gamble and was instrumental in the creation of the partnership between Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart. Now retired, Lou is a sought-after public speaker and author of Stop Paddling & Start Rocking the Boat. He lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.