Book Review: 'The E-Myth Revisited' by Michael E. Gerber

The sub-title of this book, “Why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it”, may not seem, at first glance, to be applicable to schools.  However, this will be of both interest and value to anyone involved in maintaining organisational or administrative processes.

The main thesis of the book is that high quality operations can be established through clear systems, which ensure consistent standards of performance.  Through the example of a small business, the author describes the processes which can be built to ensure quality control.  He illustrates that such operational consistency is the key to efficient and reliable outcomes in any organisation.

For teachers and sports organisers who feel that their creative capacity is being restricted by the burden of logistics and administration, this book will be especially helpful.  It describes how dependable systems can be built to deal with repeatable, everyday processes. They can then be reliably operated, to a pre-determined standard, with a minimum of direct supervision. This allows the “Entrepreneur” – the creative leader – to devote time and energy to more important issues.

The metaphor of school sport as a small business is  surprisingly relevant.  Dealing efficiently with the urgent, day to day processes will allow greater time, energy and creativity to be devoted to improving programme outcomes.