Seen Any Good Books Lately?

By Gordon M. Henry

As a hushed roomful of executives looks on, Luke Skywalker makes a daring decision. Crouched in the cockpit of his spaceship, the hero of the Star Wars saga switches off a computer scanner and aims the craft's laser guns himself. Goof-off time in the boardroom? In fact, that dramatic scene is from a videocassette of the best seller Megatrends, one of a growing number of popular books being used in taped form in management-training programs. The next face on the screen belongs not to Darth Vader but to Author John Naisbitt, who explains the lesson of the space segment: executives must use their instincts to harness technology.

Videotapes of business books are among the fastest-growing offspring of the VCR revolution. More than 50 of these taped tomes are now for sale at prices ranging from $475 to about $1,500. The works include such management best sellers as In Search of Excellence, The One Minute Manager and What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School. A typical tape is 60 to 90 minutes long, and some come with instructional pamphlets.

The books on tape generally feature their authors acting as hosts and use TV and movie clips, as well as original footage, to show managers how to succeed in business by really trying. In What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School, Author Mark McCormack, a leading sports and leisure consultant, likens the fiercely competitive corporate world to an athletic playing field. Seated at his office desk, McCormack offers tips on how to "seize the initiative" to come out on top. In one film clip, former Pittsburgh Steeler Quarterback Terry Bradshaw is shown on the sidelines during a game bragging to a teammate about how well he "read" the opposing team's defense. Another tape, based on In Search of Excellence by Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman, shows Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse leading a march at Florida's Disney World. A narrator's voice off-screen intones, "If you are looking for excellence in American business, this parade is a good place to start."

At least one tape has appeared first as a training video and then as a book. Released in hard-cover by Random House in September, Going International deals with problems faced by American business executives living abroad. Chock-full of dos and don'ts on getting along in an alien culture, the tape has been bought by 75 of the top 100 U.S. multinationals. Says Author Lewis Griggs: "No matter what you do overseas, whether it's CIA, Exxon or a missionary, you can do it better if you understand the local culture."

Every year some million American employees are involved in training programs. Von Polk, general manager of CBS/Fox Video, estimates the size of the new video market at between $500 million and $600 million a year. Says Polk, whose firm has about 20 titles: "What we're arriving at is video publishing."

Because of their cost, training tapes are rarely found in corner video stores. Even a top business cassette like Mega trends (cost: $1,350) will sell only 5,000 copies at best, compared with a hot video like Raiders of the Lost Ark ($39.95), which has sold more than 745,000. Still, many companies view the tapes as bargains. A top author charges $20,000 to lecture for a day. --By Gordon M. Henry. Reported by Peter Ainslie/New York

With reporting by Reported by Peter Ainslie/New York