How many copies of Swanson's unwritten rules of management were distributed?

Question

I have seen many different numbers ranging from 10,000 to 500,000. What is the true number of copies distributed?

Answer 1

As of Apr 24, 2006, 300,000 copies have been given away, and more each minute are downloaded on the net. But the important thing is Swanson admitted he got some of the rules from W. J King's book written in 1944.

Borrowed Work Of The Week

Sometimes the unwritten rules have been written after all. A popular pamphlet penned by Raytheon (RTN ) Chairman and CEO William Swanson, Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management, is said to resemble advice in a 1944 book by a UCLA professor, W.J. King. Many of the book's 33 "rules" are strikingly akin to King's work, The New York Times revealed on Apr. 24. The Times story was prompted by a blogger who noted the resemblance. In a statement, Swanson said he regretted not crediting King, and in the guide's introduction he notes it is "a product...of people I have learned from, and things I have heard and read." Original or not, the booklet is a genuine phenomenon. Raytheon has given away more than 300,000 copies and was considering a second iteration with new rules for 2007. The magazine Business 2.0 even devoted a cover story ("The CEO's Secret Handbook") to the guide last summer, heralding Swanson's folksy wisdom as "part Ben Franklin and part Yogi Berra, with a dash of Confucius thrown in." Not to mention that ancient sage, W.J. King.