Stanger on Frazier and Frazier, _Boss: Management Tips for Today from a Nineteenth Century Cattle Drive_

[eh.net-review at eh.net]

Published by EH.NET (June 2007)

Tim Frazier and Dana Frazier, _Boss: Management Tips for Today from a 
Nineteenth Century Cattle Drive_. Abilene: McWhiney Foundation Press, 
2006. 112 pp. $13 (paperback), ISBN: 1-933337-10-9.

Reviewed for EH.NET by Howard R. Stanger, Department of Management 
and Marketing, Canisius College.


Some time in the 1880s, a successful cattle rancher from West Texas 
named Oscar Thompson wrote a letter "full of practical advice and 
fatherly wisdom" (p. 13) to his son who was soon to embark on his 
first drive as a trail boss. Trail bosses were responsible for 
driving a few thousand head of cattle to market, an arduous and risky 
venture that could take months to accomplish. From Thompson's letter 
emerged "21 Simple Rules to Make Your Business Grow and Keep Your 
People Happy." The authors of _Boss_, Tim and Dana Frazier, who own a 
management consulting firm, argue that a "few simple rules that 
helped a cow crew succeed in the nineteenth century can help a 
corporate boss succeed along the demanding terrain of twenty-first 
century corporate America" (p. 15). There is some good homespun 
advice in this book, but business school deans need not worry about 
the irrelevancy of the MBA.

After moving my cheese and reading this slim and lively book, I was 
both pleasantly surprised and slightly disappointed. First, some of 
Thompson's more sagacious words of wisdom (the complete list of rules 
can be found on pages 17 and 107): A few key organizational 
guidelines include: "When you camp at night, always point your wagon 
tongue toward the North Star" (understand and stay focused on the 
organization's mission); "Be ready to go at all times" (make a plan 
but be flexible); "Don't leave your herd for anything" (understand 
the business and focus on core competencies -- sorry for the 
management speak); "Water your cattle and fill them up before night" 
(effective communications keeps things running smoothly); "Look after 
the comfort of your men, and they will follow you to hell" (create a 
culture of respect, support, and integrity); and "Keep your mind on 
your business and make your head save your heels" (rely on experience 
and common sense and trust team members).

Much of the trail boss's job was devoted to managing his crew of 
cowboys, each with specific duties. Some of Thompson's advice on 
managing people is timeless, but some hark back to more traditional 
employee-management approaches: "First of all, obey orders from your 
boss. He is paying you for your service" (yes, sir); "Never say 'no' 
to your employer" (accept the boss's authority, but be willing to 
offer alternatives and suggestions after earning the right to do so); 
" Don't say 'You boys do this,' but 'Come on, boys, follow me" (lead 
by example); "Explain to your cook that he must be ready with meals 
at all times" (take care of the team and treat them individually with 
respect); "When you graze your herd, explain to your men that they 
must graze toward the shipping pens or camp" (do not waste time on 
unproductive tasks); "Keep your harness and camp equipment clean and 
up out of the sand" (remove irritants that drag down productivity); 
"Don't fight your men unless they jump you; but if one of them, or 
anyone else, jumps you, give them the best you have" (manage conflict 
but do not create it; stay in control at all times); and "Don't drink 
while on duty, and don't allow any gambling in camp" (do not be 
foolish with company resources).

Each rule is presented in a single chapter that contains two opening 
quotes, one from a nineteenth-century cowboy and one from a current 
businessperson. Chapters progress in a fairly formulaic manner with 
the authors elaborating on each rule and weaving in "real" examples 
(there are no citations) from their professional experiences. The 
Fraziers' advice can best be described as commonsensical, intuitive, 
and practical. Managers who will enjoy advice books will chow down on 
_Boss_ sampling of these tender morsels.

But business historians might be somewhat disappointed. The first 
petty academic grievance is that the quotes from cowboys include the 
name, location, and year, but not the source (presumably they derive 
from exhibits inside the museum, Frontier Texas, outside which Oscar 
Thompson's advice has been preserved in stone). Second, there is no 
historic context provided to understand better the economic, social, 
and cultural lives of cowboys and cattle driving. We learn that a 
trail boss could earn a hundred dollars a month (current dollars), a 
cook sixty dollars, and wranglers thirty dollars, but not about who 
these men were, what (e.g., high pay, opportunity, restlessness) 
induced them to take these risky jobs, and the economics of cattle 
ranching. Readers will be more tolerant of these shortcomings if they 
accept the authors' objective of distilling lessons for practicing 
managers. Historians -- and others -- will likely appreciate the 
illustrations from _Harper's Weekly_ and _Frank Leslie's Illustrated 
Newspaper_ scattered throughout the book. Taken on its own terms, 
_Boss_ is an engaging book that fits into the genre of management 
advice books sold in general and airport bookstores. Happy trails.


Howard R. Stanger is Associate Professor in the Department of 
Management and Marketing at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. He 
has recently authored articles on the Larkin Company's corporate 
culture, welfare capitalism, and club-based marketing practices 
covering the period 1875-1941.

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