Mike Garrett - Using crystal reports with SAP

This book is not just about Crystal Reports. Its about you. As you turn the pages, youll start seeing a lot about how to do this, that, or the other using Crystal Reports. But in the end, thats not really the point. This book is really more about recognizing who really runs your company. And one thing is for certain: its not the person sitting in the big corner office.

This is not so say the person sitting in the big corner office is not important. Of course he or shes important. The point is that they are no more important than you , or the person sitting in the cube next to you, or down the hall, or anyone else in your company. And the ones who are the very best at running their companies will be the first to recognize that, at the end of the day; they really dont run anything at all.

More than ever before, decision making in any organization is a decentralized, democratized, and distributed process. Obviously decisions are made, and should be made, at the highest levels in any organization on a daily basis. And we all recognize that these are the types of decisions they typically have far-reaching implications and oftentimes affect every individual in the organization, sometimes in very profound ways. Many of us know firsthand the difference it can make to have the right person at the wheel of you company, especially during difficult and turbulent times.

That said; lets make what should be a painfully obvious point: it is impossible to make every decision about what to do in your company from the top down . Not going to happen. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. In todays dynamic, rapidly changing economy it is more important than ever that each individual in any given organization be fully empowered to take quick, decisive action when faced with the question of what to do next.

You may be wondering why someone who is essentially a report writer would begin what is supposed to be a practical, hands-on book on creating reports with a diatribe on the best way to make decisions in an organization. And if you are, then you just might be the right person for the job and the type of person who should read this book. It could also be an indication that you possess a good balance of strategic, big picture thinking and in-the-trenches, hands on thinking, or, as you might call it, the Drucker-Adams combo.

Peter Drucker was, of course, one of the foremost experts of our time on the ins and outs of running any type of organization. Regardless of what you may think of his opinions and ideas about how best to operate a company, no one would deny that he was well informed, educated, and thought through his positions carefully. As the pioneer of modern management consulting, he could synthesize a wide variety of inputs and ideas to form a clear, concise, and sensible perspective. He was undeniably one of the worlds foremost experts on organizational effectiveness.

Then youve got Scott Adams. Sometimes I think Scott was put on the earth for one purpose: to restore balance to the universe. Or perhaps to help us laugh before we cry. And again, regardless of what you might think of Scotts irreverent, no-holds-barred, sometimes painful look at the life of todays knowledge worker, theres no denying he has struck a collective nerve in a big way. Just take a casual stroll through the cube farm of any IT department in the world and youll see Dilbert literally everywhere.

In my opinion, it takes two kinds of people to run the world (or your company). It takes a Drucker and it takes an Adams. It takes a heres the way it should work person and it takes a heres the way it really works person. It takes the visionary and the realist. Without the visionary nothing ever gets started. Without the realist nothing ever gets finished.

I intentionally began this introduction by telling you the way things are supposed to be. Or at least the way I think things are supposed to be. You really are as important to the success of your organization as is the person at the top. Its the little decisions you make every day on the front lines that add up and determine the ultimate fate of your company and whether you succeed or fail in the marketplace.

Well, thats the way things ought to be. Then you turn the page of your Dilbert desktop calendar, and wham, back to reality! This is of course what Scott Adams does so well. He takes the way things are supposed to be and shows us the way things really are. The unenlightened would label him a cynic. Those who know would say hes just saying it like it is, which is the first step toward any real change or growth. Until we fully recognize where we are, we are never able to truly move on.