This book, by Paul Barrett, a business writer for the Bloomberg network, is fantastic. It was published in 2012 and came out in paperback earlier this year. I highly recommend it.
Even if one does not have an appreciation for firearms, it is worth reading if one is interested in how a better mousetrap is designed, manufactured, marketed, sold and then defended against competitors and critics.
And, as we all can appreciate, clearly this is a better mousetrap! The Glock semi-automatic pistol is universally regarded as one of the best in the world. It is relatively easy to fire accurately. It is just about indestructible. Having only 38 parts, it is easy to service and clean. It has been romanticized in the popular culture of its time, much like the Winchester '73 rifle and Colt "Peacemaker" revolver were in their times. It has few detractors.
Remarkably, the Glock has been adopted by the United States and is the semi-automatic handgun of choice among police departments, special forces units and American gun owners, who number in the millions. Remarkable because, before the Glock was introduced to the United States market, Americans had a huge bias in favor of revolvers -- not pistols -- and guns made in the USA.
The book contains several stories in one; including, the fascinating account of how Gaston Glock, a middle-aged, Austrian curtain-rod maker designed his eponymous handgun without any experience in firearms design; how this predominately plastic and wholly foreign pistol made huge inroads into the American market; how the company was able to neutralize its competitors; how the company dealt with constant attacks by gun opponents as well as the occasional irrationality of the gun lobby; and how the company dealt with various bizarre internal issues ranging from an assassination attempt on its founder to fraud by some of its high level managers.
Mr. Barrett has done a wonderful job in producing a well-written, objective chronicle of the rise of the Glock. Business students interested in the areas of product design, manufacturing, quality control, marketing, governmental relations, risk and crisis management as well as leadership studies would find this book instructive and entertaining.
Even if one does not have an appreciation for firearms, it is worth reading if one is interested in how a better mousetrap is designed, manufactured, marketed, sold and then defended against competitors and critics.
And, as we all can appreciate, clearly this is a better mousetrap! The Glock semi-automatic pistol is universally regarded as one of the best in the world. It is relatively easy to fire accurately. It is just about indestructible. Having only 38 parts, it is easy to service and clean. It has been romanticized in the popular culture of its time, much like the Winchester '73 rifle and Colt "Peacemaker" revolver were in their times. It has few detractors.
Remarkably, the Glock has been adopted by the United States and is the semi-automatic handgun of choice among police departments, special forces units and American gun owners, who number in the millions. Remarkable because, before the Glock was introduced to the United States market, Americans had a huge bias in favor of revolvers -- not pistols -- and guns made in the USA.
The book contains several stories in one; including, the fascinating account of how Gaston Glock, a middle-aged, Austrian curtain-rod maker designed his eponymous handgun without any experience in firearms design; how this predominately plastic and wholly foreign pistol made huge inroads into the American market; how the company was able to neutralize its competitors; how the company dealt with constant attacks by gun opponents as well as the occasional irrationality of the gun lobby; and how the company dealt with various bizarre internal issues ranging from an assassination attempt on its founder to fraud by some of its high level managers.
Mr. Barrett has done a wonderful job in producing a well-written, objective chronicle of the rise of the Glock. Business students interested in the areas of product design, manufacturing, quality control, marketing, governmental relations, risk and crisis management as well as leadership studies would find this book instructive and entertaining.