On this site I have pleasure in presenting you my book, written with great fun. It was a good feeling to review once again the professional experiences with all their tricks and tips.

My special thanks go to Mrs Dr. Stampfl-Blaha, VP Austrian Standards Institute, for the book idea and the possibility to get it published by her Institute, and Mrs Reznicek and her team for the realization.

May the book get known particularly to all managers who want to learn more about the business-promoting opportunities of standardization, and this in a most compact manner. Here you find opinions of readers.

Standardization – challenge and opportunity

– what management and staff should know –

How the book originated

When the ISO working group on "ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility" met in Vienna, November 2007, Mrs. DDr. Stampfl-Blaha, Vice President of the Austrian Standards Institute, approached me unexpectedly with the thought, whether I would not have fun in taking all my “smithers of experience" in standardisation together, the Austrian standards Institute may have an interest in publishing them in the series of „QuickInfo“ books. I hesitated a bit because I couldn't really imagine how much work this would be. Having concluded to contract the March 2010 I structured the content, but my thoughts in order (with much pleasure, thinking it all through once again), used a speech-recognition software and spoke the text into the computer. The resulting book emerged in an outstanding cooperation with the lector (reader) Mrs. Reznicek and her team, so that the German edition could already be published in October 2010. Since there may be a considerable interest in the English-speaking world, I prepared the English translation, the language of which was checked by my friend Peter Houghton as an invaluable service. In March 20 11 the English edition was published.

Content

• What are standards for, their potential and where and how they evolve
• What managers should know
• The committee member, a ‘polymath’
• Committee work, situations and how best to master them
• The tactical side of standardisation
• Extra-committee work, promotion, public relations
• Fascinating international friendships
• The entrepreneurial question: what should be done?

For whom this book is of particular interest, and why?

Decision-makers of the upper management of enterprises, heads of organisational units where the standards department as part of: because they can better estimate the strategic value of standards for their business; because the standards department may get equipped accordingly, in regard of personnel and budget;

Heads of intellectual property departments: because sometimes standards and patents are connected in a way that they both are of extreme value for a business;

Decision-makers in trade associations: because they can offer the adequate support to their member companies;

Auditors, advisers, and consultants: because they can base their evaluation of a company’s engagement in external committees on a sound basis;

Staff in development and sales functions: because they can include the productive engagement in standardisation activities into their arguments;

Heads of standardisation departments: because the book offers many recommendations for the strategic positioning so that no opportunities get lost;

Staff in standardisation departments: because the book offers a lot of practical tips that may be helpful for organising the own work;

Members in standardisation committees: because practical committee work is the area where technical arguments compete and everyone active there should know the rules of the game, regardless of having a leading position or not;

Professors and trainers at universities and other high schools: because the content of the book may considerably in rich and roundup their presentations;

Teachers of standardisation seminars: because due to its comprehensive and practical presentation the book can be part of the seminar documents;

and for everybody, who wants to get the knowledge, or share it with valuable partners.

Where to get the book

The book has been published in pocket format so that it can be easily read e.g. when travelling. The publisher AS+ is an enterprise of Austrian Standards Institute (Österreichisches Normungsinstitut):

Austrian Standards plus Publishing
1020 Wien, Heinestraße 38  Tel.: +43 1 213 00-805
Fax: +43 1 213 00-818  E-Mail: sales@as-plus.at

English edition: The International Standard Book Number of the is ISBN 978-3-85402-231-2.
Internet: https://www.astandis.at/shopV5/search/Details.action?showDetails=&dokkey=387196 ; Order Nr. ON V 55
Fax: The easiest way to order is by fax, please click here.

German edition: The International Standard Book Number of the German edition is ISBN 978-3-85402-224-4.
Internet: https://www.astandis.at/shopV5/search/Details.action?showDetails=&dokkey=373688 ; Order Nr. ON V 54
Fax: The easiest way to order is by fax, please click here.

Also a short A5 Folder is available for download.

Guido Gürtler, April 2011

Opinions of readers (since mid June 2011): you go to http://www.kaguigu.com/html/opinions_meinungen.html or to
 www.stdn.phile.com where you can see what readers felt and, so you wish, you are invited to add your own view or send it to guido.guertler@t-online.de .