14. A Systemic Model

The principles or columns we have described in earlier chapters allow us to explain in analytical form the characteristics of Arthur Andersen’s management model. However, more than each single element, what made it more distinctive and gave it the special touch that made possible its great force was the overall balance and the reinforcing mechanisms between the machine’s gears. That was its great secret, as is surely the case with most successful, hard to mimic, business models.

It is possible to have business activities with alternative models; what is difficult is to achieve balanced harmony and consistency sustainable over time.

Under this perspective, in the opinion of the book’s authors, the most valuable secret was ...

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