Amazon.com
Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.
Execution is "the missing link between aspirations and results," and as such, making it happen is the business leader's most important job. While failure in today's business environment is often attributed to other causes, Bossidy and Charan argue that the biggest obstacle to success is the absence of execution. They point out that without execution, breakthrough thinking on managing change breaks down, and they emphasize the fact that execution is a discipline to learn, not merely the tactical side of business. Supporting this with stories of the "execution difference" being won (EDS) and lost (Xerox and Lucent), the authors describe the building blocks--leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs--that need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. Both Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., and Charan, advisor to corporate executives and author of such books as What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards That Work, present experience-tested insight into how the smooth linking of these three processes can differentiate one company from the rest. Developing the discipline of execution isn't made out to be simple, nor is this book a quick, easy read. Bossidy and Charan do, however, offer good advice on a neglected topic, making Execution a smart business leader's guide to enacting success rather than permitting demise. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you’re running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they’ve pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn’t just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a “vision” and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader’s most important job—selecting and appraising people—is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there’s a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He’s been putting the ideas he writes about in
Execution to work in real time.
Download Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results... whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world's most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they've pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world's most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn't just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a "vision" and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader's most important job -- selecting and appraising people -- is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there's a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He's been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.
Customer Reviews:
Universal truths presented but people views flawed.......2007-10-05
I thought there were many good take-aways in this book. Was it all original? Of course not. Most management books are saying the same things with a slightly different twist. I've got a bookshelf full of them. However, it seems that humans are so often incapable of remembering the fundamentals and have a tendency to overcomplicate things thus history repeats itself over and over.
The tone of the book regarding people gave me a little pause. Although I do think they were spot on in their assessment of how many companies do succession planning (not at all or incorrectly), it does seem to advocate that everyone needs to be a mini-Jack Welch type persona. I've worked in a company managed by ex-GE guys and believe me, they don't have it all figured out. I think organizations will benefit by having a mix of skills. Some people are better doers and others are better thinkers. Some superstars are good at both. It takes all types.
execution 101.......2007-08-22
I did receive this book in an executive seminar; read it over couples of nights, a simple book with day to day tips to make things happen.
A must read for any one how dreams to become a successful executive and a reality check for those already there.
Beyond Talk.......2007-08-20
So many times in this marketing-focused world, we do very well at the talking but not very good at the walking. Many of us have seen amazing sales presentations . . . only to realize that the promises would never be met.
This book engages us in the discussion about how to do what we promise. It helps us to go beyond the sales presentation and really design a process by which we can follow through, build relationships and live a life that is full of integrity and trustworthiness.
Prime Example of Mediocraty .......2007-08-11
This book did very little for me. Largely, the book is unoriginal and simply restates ideas already presented in tons of business leadership books. This book might as well have been written for the sole purpose of patting prominent CEOs, namely Jack Welch, on the back. You would be better served to bypass this one and just go read something by Welch on leadership.
Practical business.......2007-07-27
I teach MBAs. Its well known in the field that MBAs are very competent in analysis but not so good in implementation. The reason for this is that most professors who teach business have never actually worked in business and are research analysts. They teach analysis because they are excellent in that area. I worked in business 10 years before becoming a professor. I teach my students about implementation and they are interested. This is a book about implementation at the CEO level. I'm thinking of using it as a supplementary executive MBA text.
Book Description
Whether challenged with taking on a startup, turning a business around, or inheriting a high-performing unit, a new leader's success or failure is determined within the first 90 days on the job.
In this hands-on guide, Michael Watkins, a noted expert on leadership transitions, offers proven strategies for moving successfully into a new role at any point in one's career. The First 90 Days provides a framework for transition acceleration that will help leaders diagnose their situations, craft winning transition strategies, and take charge quickly.
Practical examples illustrate how to learn about new organizations, build teams, create coalitions, secure early wins, and lay the foundation for longer-term success. In addition, Watkins provides strategies for avoiding the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter, and shows how individuals can protect themselves-emotionally as well as professionally-during what is often an intense and vulnerable period.
Concise and actionable, this is the survival guide no new leader should be without.
"Few companies develop a systematic 'on-boarding' process for their new leaders, even though this is a critical function with major organizational implications. Michael Watkins's The First 90 Days provides a powerful framework and strategies that will enable new leaders to take charge quickly. It is an invaluable tool for that most vulnerable time-the transition."
-Goli Darabi, Senior Vice President, Corporate Leadership & Succession Management, Fidelity Investments
"Every job-private- or public-sector, civilian or military-has its breakeven point, and everyone can accelerate their learning. Read this book at least twice: once before your next transition-before getting caught up in the whirl and blur of new faces, names, acronyms, and issues; then read it again after you've settled in, and consider how to accelerate transitions for your next new boss and for those who come to work for you."
-Colonel Eli Alford, U.S. Army
"Watkins provides an excellent road map, telling us what all new leaders need to know and do to accelerate their learning and success in a new role. The First 90 Days should be incorporated into every company's leadership development strategy, so that anyone making a transition in an organization can get up to speed quicker and smarter."
-Suzanne M. Danielle, Director of Global Leadership Development, Aventis
"Michael Watkins has nailed a huge corporate problem and provided the solution in one fell swoop. The pressure on new leaders to hit the ground running has never been greater, and the likelihood and cost of failure is escalating. Watkins's timing with The First 90 Days is impeccable."
-Gordon Curtis, Principal, Curtis Consulting
"The First 90 Days is a must-read for entrepreneurs. Anyone who's been the CEO of a start-up or early-stage company knows that you go through many 90-day leadership transitions in the course of a company's formative years. In this groundbreaking book, Michael Watkins provides crucial insights, as well as a toolkit of techniques, to enable you to accelerate through these transitions successfully."
-Mike Kinkead, President and CEO, timeBLASTER Corporation, serial entrepreneur, and Cofounder and Trustee, Massachusetts Software Council
Customer Reviews:
Good way to get prepared.......2007-07-04
It just makes sense, and is very thorough. Many things I would not have thought about, or gotten around to thinking about - we live in such a fast paced world that it would have been a challenge to do. Luckily, I had a cross country trip, so this gave me the time to read this book and compile my "list" of notes and apply them to my upcoming job change. Bottom line - many good new perspectives that I simply would not have thought of. Highly recommended.
Practical and Actionable. It is an excellent book on the subject of management transitions........2007-06-22
As a human resources professional, I have seen a great deal of management transition. Many succeed but some do not. Unfortunately for our people and our organizations those that do not leave a stream of damage in their wake.
Recently I wrote a review about Scott Eblin's, "The Next Level" and I called it a real disappointment. This book is not and it is a far more actionable and practical approach to managing transitions.
One of the reasons this book is so practical is that each section not only provides you with clear direction but each section also ends with an action checklist. This make creating a 90-day transition plan doable and improves your prospects for success.
Lastly, the steps from this book create a framework that a company can use to create a "transition strategy" for all its new and upwardly moving managers. This alone will enable a firm to increase their odds that a new hire or promotion will be in the "win" column.
*****First 90 Days.......2007-06-10
I only ordered this for a superior and he is VERY VERY happy with the book...he asked for it by name so we ordered three copies! Thank you for the great service you provide.
A Must Read.......2007-05-30
Great book for all business leaders who are advancing to a new role or coming from the outside into an organization. Simple, easy to read with pertinent lessons for a successful transition.
Some great tips, but often not well developed or organized.......2007-05-28
We bought this book along with the "New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan" and read them side by side.
Pro:
-"STaRS" concept is excellent. Start-ups, Turnarounds, Realignments and Sustaining success are all different scenarios that you might be thrown into, and the environment you join directly affects what you need to do.
-Checklists are helpful, when available, to boil thoughts down to the most essential elements
-There are many good tips interspersed throughout the book that are good reminders of the basics you need to adhere to in order to be successful
-Breaks the "sink or swim mindset" often associated with starting a new position
Con:
-Does not really address the time opportunity BEFORE you start a job and in my experience is a major lost opportunity that I've been able to surprise and delight. Set up pre-meetings, arranging for email/phone and a place to sit, etc. as a chance to listen and learn without the pressure to perform. Any items that can/should be done ahead of time appear to me as afterthoughts, underdeveloped, and often out of sequence in this text.
-Would not serve as a handy reference... better chapter summaries and a stronger introduction with time lines and meaty chapter outline would have been helpful both now and in the future
-I think that many good concepts like "STaRS" were underdeveloped or under leveraged... I sense more detail that was perhaps omitted
-To me, many of the illustrations were filler and did not offer additional information
-Sometimes poor or awkward word choice or idea sequence (e.g. rather than "Promote Yourself" why not just call it "Prepare Yourself" as this is what you are really saying, so why not just say it that way?)
-Real life examples were unnecessarily detailed, consuming time and space that I think could be better used by the author as he's clearly brilliant and has some great observations
-I think that the scope is too narrow, picks up after you've started the job (day 1) and neglects the opportunity (and chaos) beforehand of the interview, moving, doing "pre-work" to get your basics at work set-up
Bottom line: While there were some interesting moments, I was disappointed. The book does offer several cautionary tales of CEOs who crashed and burned, and if nothing else serves as both warning and motivation to be smarter about your transition.
Book Description
America's most sought-after executive coach shows how to climb the last few rungs of the ladder
The corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They're intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic. But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle -- and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference. These are small "transactional flaws" performed by one person against another (as simple as not saying thank you enough), which lead to negative perceptions that can hold any executive back. Using Goldsmith's straightforward, jargonfree advice, it's amazingly easy behavior to change.
Executives who hire Goldsmith for one-on-one coaching pay $250,000 for the privilege. With this book, his help is available for 1/10,000th of the price.
Customer Reviews:
Leadership Development 101.......2007-10-03
I have coached over 500 individuals over the last 10 years. I do referral only business. After reading Marshall's book, I felt as if someone punched me hard in the stomach! I at first wanted to dismiss his premise that leaders want to win, be right, and generally look good. Was that me? After careful reflection and becoming introspective, I found Marshall's insights profound, and so simple, not only as a coach, but also as a manager in business. I now use the book as a reference book, and have purchased two copies. For me it's a must read for anyone interested in their personal development, or the development of others.
Good, but not the whole story.......2007-09-16
Bo Burlingham's book offers an interesting look at the ultimate objectives of privately held businesses. Each case is unique and engaging. However, I think Bo could have spent more time discussing exit strategies. Some of the owners stuck with their companies when they could have cashed out and do an even bigger, better company with the proceeds. Risk has to be considered and the failure to more heavily weight this aspect is the only issues I have with Mr. Burlingham's book. I will pass it along to others.
This years fall must read!!.......2007-09-14
I have recently graduated college and decided to read this book for that short time in between school and the real world. Although, it's intended for top CEO's, I believe this book has help me become more successful. For starters, I did get my first full time office job after reading it.
Marshall's book inspires you to become a better leader, as well as a better person by learning how to communicate more effectively with co-workers, which easily carries over into other facets of life. Marshall uses smart tactics such as humor, personal stories and work stories, which all make the book very relatable and helps get his points across.
It's a very fun and effective way to learn the business dos and don'ts in order to succeed. I recommend this book to CEO's, high school students and everyone in between!
Getting to the next level in life's journey.......2007-09-13
This is a must audio for anyone that wants to get to the next step in business. This audio is also a must for all of your subordintes.
Incredible book.......2007-09-12
This book is a step by step exploration of the holes we "successful" types dig for ourselves. It really lays it out in a way that's easy to hear - what you're doing wrong, why, and how to fix it. If you want to be much more successful, or even just more effective as a leader or as a person, read this book.
Book Description
In his nearly thirty years of teaching leadership, John Maxwell has encountered this question again and again:
How do I apply leadership principles if I'm not the boss? It's a valid question that Maxwell answers in
The 360 Degree Leader voted best business book of the year by Soundview Executive Book Summary subscribers, and 2006 recipient of their Harold Longman Award. In this award-winning book, Maxwell asserts that you don't have to be the
main leader to make significant impact in your organization. Good leaders are not only capable of leading their followers but are also adept at leading their superiors and their peers. Debunking myths and shedding light on the challenges, John Maxwell offers specific principles for Leading Down, Leading Up, and Leading Across. 360-Degree Leaders can lead effectively, regardless of their position in an organization. By applying Maxwell's principles, you will expand your influence and ultimately be a more valuable team member.
Customer Reviews:
Leadership 360.......2007-08-09
John Maxwell does it again. He bring perspective to you and your environment wherever you may be in the orgnaization and helps you look at yourself in a different light.
Everyday Practicality.......2007-08-06
Once again John Maxwell gives us sound advice on how to be more effective and he does it in ways that we can actually accomplish.
I like the fact that he gives us tasks and subtasks that allow us to meet each goal and become effective from where ever we may be in the company. Everyone has the potential to influence others if they can only find the right way to do it.
Maxwell believes that leading can occur from most anywhere and he gives practical ways to do just that. The thing that holds many people back is that they often feel that because they don't have any direct reports or because they are not in middle management or above that they can't lead and have influence. Maxwell refutes that myth and shows us how to lead up, down and across. These 3 directions will touch everyone and improve their ability to lead.
The book is broken into sections that covers each of the leadership directions and each direction is filled with tips and advice. The book isn't too long and is never boring. It it worth reading again and again to make sure that you are staying on track with your leadership goals and growth.
Required Reading for Today's Leaders.......2007-07-07
Another great book by leadership guru, J. Maxwell. This is an excellent book on leadership and contains many good ideas that anyone can apply from anywhere in their organization.
OK.......2007-06-20
This book has a lot of usefull information in it however at times I felt myself getting a little bored. The writer used to be a pastor and refers back to that a lot. Although I know he is trying to use real world examples I feel as though I have no relation with that genre of life. All in all, it's a good book and I learned a lot but I wish it was a little more interesting and more importantly exciting!!!
Developing middle-managers.......2007-06-13
This is a very good book to develop middle managers in an organization. John Maxwell points out how those in the middle can have a great leadership influence and shouldn't wait until they make it to the top to sharpen their skills. The book is easy to read and full of insightful quotes and stories.
Book Description
Do you want to get ahead in life?
Climb the ladder to personal success?
The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people. As Ferrazzi discovered early in life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships—so that everyone wins.
In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps—and inner mindset—he uses to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his Rolodex, people he has helped and who have helped him.
The son of a small-town steelworker and a cleaning lady, Ferrazzi first used his remarkable ability to connect with others to pave the way to a scholarship at Yale, a Harvard MBA, and several top executive posts. Not yet out of his thirties, he developed a network of relationships that stretched from Washington’s corridors of power to Hollywood’s A-list, leading to him being named one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 and selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the Davos World Economic Forum.
Ferrazzi's form of connecting to the world around him is based on generosity, helping friends connect with other friends. Ferrazzi distinguishes genuine relationship-building from the crude, desperate glad-handling usually associated with “networking.” He then distills his system of reaching out to people into practical, proven principles. Among them:
Don’t keep score: It’s never simply about getting what you want. It’s about getting what you want and making sure that the people who are important to you get what they want, too.
“Ping” constantly: The Ins and Outs of reaching out to those in your circle of contacts all the time—not just when you need something.
Never eat alone: The dynamics of status are the same whether you’re working at a corporation or attending a society event— “invisibility” is a fate worse than failure.
In the course of the book, Ferrazzi outlines the timeless strategies shared by the world’s most connected individuals, from Katherine Graham to Bill Clinton, Vernon Jordan to the Dalai Lama.
Chock full of specific advice on handling rejection, getting past gatekeepers, becoming a “conference commando,” and more, Never Eat Alone is destined to take its place alongside How to Win Friends and Influence People as an inspirational classic.
Download Description
Do you want to get ahead in life?
Climb the ladder to personal success?
The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people. As Ferrazzi discovered early in life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships–so that everyone wins.
In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps–and inner mindset–he uses to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his Rolodex, people he has helped and who have helped him.
The son of a small–town steelworker and a cleaning lady, Ferrazzi first used his remarkable ability to connect with others to pave the way to a scholarship at Yale, a Harvard MBA, and several top executive posts. Not yet out of his thirties, he developed a network of relationships that stretched from Washington’s corridors of power to Hollywood’s A–list, leading to him being named one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 and selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the Davos World Economic Forum.
Ferrazzi’s form of connecting to the world around him is based on generosity, helping friends connect with other friends. Ferrazzi distinguishes genuine relationship–building from the crude, desperate glad–handling usually associated with “networking.” He then distills his system of reaching out to people into practical, proven principles. Among them:
Don’t keep score: It’s never simply about getting what you want. It’s about getting what you want and making sure that the people who are important to you get what they want, too.
“Ping” constantly: The Ins and Outs of reaching out to those in your circle of contacts all the time–not just when you need something.
Never eat alone: The dynamics of status are the same whether you’re working at a corporation or attending a society event&mdash “invisibility” is a fate worse than failure.
In the course of the book, Ferrazzi outlines the timeless strategies shared by the world’s most connected individuals, from Katherine Graham to Bill Clinton, Vernon Jordan to the Dalai Lama.
Chock full of specific advice on handling rejection, getting past gatekeepers, becoming a “conference commando,” and more, Never Eat Alone is destined to take its place alongside How to Win Friends and Influence People as an inspirational classic.
Customer Reviews:
You get what you give .......2007-10-06
Generosity over courting someone hoping to get an in...The author points out that the key to success is holding a generous mentality toward others. Being a leader is based on working for and with others not ahead of or independent from them. When you are excited to help others progress their ideas, they will innately do the same for you.
Never Eat Alone.......2007-09-28
What a wonderful read!
At the core of this entertaining book are Keith's suggestions how to build a powerful network of friends and acquaintances. He starts out reasoning that you won't make it (or at least have a real hard time) in today's business world without contacts. What makes him really likeable though is his twist on the motivation and how to approach it. It is clear that he despises the calculating networking jerks that are just out to take something from a new relationship, but are not willing to give anything. On the contrary, his advise is to stretch out to others and offer your help, your advise where you have expertise, and your existing contacts to do the other a favor, and not ask and not even expect anything in return. He argues that return favors will come automatically and plentiful, without you asking for it (through your network, not necessarily from every person you ever helped).
As a personal advise to anybody's development, he offers a three step plan (sounds familiar). Only in the last step he suggests to actively look for people who can help you achieve your goals, and start networking so that you get to know them.
All throughout the book Keith parts with his incredible wealth of knowledge how to handle the most common situations on your mission to create your network, like dealing with the secretaries of powerful people (the gatekeepers), how to warm cold calls, following up, or the art of small talk. I have to say that I discovered many interesting tips that I had not heard or read before. Meanwhile, Keith is really entertaining, and this pearl never gets boring. There is so much information contained about how to start relationships, how to maintain them, and on principle how to be a people attractor that it will take quite a while for anybody to put all these principles to good use.
I admit that some of it may be too intense, and if you are not necessarily inclined or motivated to become a Fortune 500 CEO, some of the material sounds like overkill. Nevertheless, there are many aspects presented and advise given that apply to regular human interactions as well, and if studied and applied should help you become a better communicator and people attractor.
Tip of the iceberg for building relationships.......2007-09-27
Excellent read. Fast read that sets-up a lot of tangible strategies through heartfelt experiences of success and failure. Some great references to other texts that have also turned out to be fantastic reads.
Underwhelmed..........2007-09-23
After significant media PR, I went out and bought this book. Like that great movie your friends (the media) say that you have to see, this one is a pass. After you cut through the fluff, there are two important concepts to be taken away from this book: 1) always be networking and 2) the most effective way to network is to think about how many ways you can give value, provide leads, or be of service to those in your professional network - this goodwill granted will come back to you in spades.
The Gold Standard of Books on Connecting with Others.......2007-07-30
I found this book as I was perusing the aisles of my local bookstore and have recommended this book to all of my friends who are interested in becoming better or sharpen their "networking" (I prefer the word "connecting") abilities. As a recent college graduate who is just starting out my career, I feel that his book is extremely helpful by providing a solid outline of specific tools and tips for those just starting out and even for those well-seasoned careerists.
In addition, I enjoyed how he wrote the book in a way where both extroverts and introverts could benefit from reading the book. I liked how he used personal examples in his book (which uses his tip of having a certain level vulnerability when communicating with others) which really opens him up to his readers.
Finally, I would highly recommend people to either attend one of his seminars (if possible) or simply watch the short clips of Keith Ferrazzi readily available on YouTube.
Amazon.com
If you judge books by their covers, Jack Welch's Winning certainly grabs your attention. Testimonials on the back come from none other than Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rudy Giuliani, and Tom Brokaw, and other praise comes from Fortune, Business Week, and Financial Times. As the legendary retired CEO of General Electric, Welch has won many friends and admirers in high places. In this latest book, he strives to show why. Winning describes the management wisdom that Welch built up through four and a half decades of work at GE, as he transformed the industrial giant from a sleepy "Old Economy" company with a market capitalization of $4 billion to a dynamic new one worth nearly half a trillion dollars.
Welch's first book, Jack: Straight from the Gut, was structured more as a conventional CEO memoir, with stories of early career adventures, deals won and lost, boardroom encounters, and Welch's process and philosophy that helped propel his success as a manager. In Winning, Welch focuses on his actual management techniques. He starts with an overview of cultural values such as candor, differentiation among employees, and inclusion of all voices in decision-making. In the second section he covers issues around one's own company or organization: the importance of hiring, firing, the people management in between, and a few other juicy topics like crisis management. From there, Welch moves into a discussion of competition, and the external factors that can influence a company's success: strategy, budgeting, and mergers and acquisitions. Welch takes a more personal turn later with a focus on individual career issues--how to find the right job, get promoted, and deal with a bad boss--and then a final section on what he calls "Tying Up Loose Ends." Those interested in the human side of great leaders will find this last section especially appealing. In it, Welch answers the most interesting questions that he's received in the last several years while traveling the globe addressing audiences of executives and business-school students. Perhaps the funniest question in this section comes at the very end, posed originally by a businessman in Frankfurt, who queried Welch on whether he thought he'd go to heaven (we won't give away the ending).
While different from the steadier stream of war stories and real-life examples of Welch's first book, Winning is a very worthwhile addition to any management bookshelf. It's not often that a CEO described as the century's best retires, and then chooses to expound on such a wide range of management topics. Also, aside from the commentary on always-relevant issues like employee performance reviews and quality control, Welch suffuses this book with his pugnacious spirit. The Massachusetts native who fought his way to the top of the world's most valuable company was in many ways the embodiment of "Winning," and this spirit alone will provide readers an enjoyable read. --Peter Han
Book Description
Jack Welch knows how to win. During his forty-year career at General Electric, he led the company to year-after-year success around the globe, in multiple markets, against brutal competition. His honest, be-the-best style of management became the gold standard in business, with his relentless focus on people, teamwork, and profits.
Since Welch retired in 2001 as chairman and chief executive officer of GE, he has traveled the world, speaking to more than 250,000 people and answering their questions on dozens of wide-ranging topics.
Inspired by his audiences and their hunger for straightforward guidance, Welch has written both a philosophical and pragmatic book, which is destined to become the bible of business for generations to come. It clearly lays out the answers to the most difficult questions people face both on and off the job.
Welch's objective is to speak to people at every level of an organization, in companies large and small. His audience is everyone from line workers to MBAs, from project managers to senior executives. His goal is to help everyone who has a passion for success.
Welch begins Winning with an introductory section called "Underneath It All," which describes his business philosophy. He explores the importance of values, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity for all.
The core of Winning is devoted to the real "stuff" of work. This main part of the book is split into three sections. The first looks inside the company, from leadership to picking winners to making change happen. The second section looks outside, at the competition, with chapters on strategy, mergers, and Six Sigma, to name just three. The next section of the book is about managing your career—from finding the right job to achieving work-life balance.
Welch's optimistic, no excuses, get-it-done mind-set is riveting. Packed with personal anecdotes and written in Jack's distinctive no b.s. voice, Winning offers deep insights, original thinking, and solutions to nuts-and-bolts problems that will change the way people think about work.
Download Description
"
Jack Welch knows how to win. During his forty-year career at General Electric, he led the company to year-after-year success around the globe, in multiple markets, against brutal competition. His honest, be-the-best style of management became the gold standard in business, with his relentless focus on people, teamwork, and profits.
Since Welch retired in 2001 as chairman and chief executive officer of GE, he has traveled the world, speaking to more than 250,000 people and answering their questions on dozens of wide-ranging topics.
Inspired by his audiences and their hunger for straightforward guidance, Welch has written both a philosophical and pragmatic book, which is destined to become the bible of business for generations to come. It clearly lays out the answers to the most difficult questions people face both on and off the job.
Welch's objective is to speak to people at every level of an organization, in companies large and small. His audience is everyone from line workers to MBAs, from project managers to senior executives. His goal is to help everyone who has a passion for success.
Welch begins
Winning with an introductory section called ""Underneath It All,"" which describes his business philosophy. He explores the importance of values, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity for all.
The core of
Winning is devoted to the real ""stuff"" of work. This main part of the book is split into three sections. The first looks inside the company, from leadership to picking winners to making change happen. The second section looks outside, at the competition, with chapters on strategy, mergers, and Six Sigma, to name just three. The next section of the book is about managing your career -- from finding the right job to achieving work-life balance.
Welch's optimistic, no excuses, get-it-done mind-set is riveting. Packed with personal anecdotes and written in Jack's distinctive no b.s. voice,
Winning offers deep insights, original thinking, and solutions to nuts-and-bolts problems that will change the way people think about work.
"
Customer Reviews:
Winning Recipe.......2007-09-16
Jack Welch gives a comprehensive guide to winning in business. He provides practical advice on a broad array of topics to include: Leadership, people management, change management, setting strategy, crisis management, and budgeting. He gets personal too, giving tips on how to find the right job and how to find the proper work life balance.
Jack's approach to budgeting is enlightening. He advocates setting targets, but compensating based on performance against last year and against the competition. This ensures energy is not wasted on efforts to come up with magic numbers and playing the common budgeting games. Rather, the focus is on finding opportunities for growth and eliminating obstacles. Wouldn't it be nice if your company followed a similar process?
There is much to learn in this one.
Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager
Guru to the MBAs, false prophet to the working grunt.......2007-09-16
He has his bits of general good advise, but nothing really wildly new except his enthusiam in regurgitating it. However, many of his philosophies seem like simplitic generalizations from the executive 30,000ft level. It's easy to come off like a fearless leader, full of direction, when it's other 'human resources' below you're squeezing like lemons for the needed juice of 'change', 'cost reductions', etc. He doesn't get into details of actually getting it done too much, which is typical of these high-power executive types. Doesn't sound like somebody who's really acquainted with the bloody, dirty nuts-and-bolts details of the low-level grunt world. His piece on dealing with Communist China is exemplary of this: why, we'll just re-invent ourselves perpetually to always be ahead of them... right! His point of view is that of Julius Cesar high up in his emperor's stand, whereas life looks a lot different if you're one of the gladiators or christians down in the sand waiting for his thumb signal!
Winning.......2007-09-15
This is the best business book on the shelf. Organizations should make this required reading for all managers and employees.
Great Business Book.......2007-09-03
I think that it is a very good business book. Jack Welch is been an icon in the business industry and his shares can help to improve anyone performance.
Great advice from a highly successful and experienced CEO.......2007-08-30
The writing style is excellent: simple and straight to the point. It's full of great advice from the icon of CEOs in the 80s and the 90s. Highly recommended!
Book Description
12: The Elements of Great Managing is the long-awaited sequel to the 1999 runaway bestseller First, Break All the Rules. Grounded in Gallup's 10 million employee and manager interviews spanning 114 countries, 12 follows great managers as they harness employee engagement to turn around a failing call center, save a struggling hotel, improve patient care in a hospital, maintain production through power outages, and successfully face a host of other challenges in settings around the world.
Authors Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter weave the latest Gallup insights with recent discoveries in the fields of neuroscience, game theory, psychology, sociology, and economics. Written for managers and employees of companies large and small, 12 explains what every company needs to know about creating and sustaining employee engagement
Customer Reviews:
The path to being a great manager. .......2007-10-01
If you are a manager - PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! If you are not a manager, buy this book; gift-wrap it, and GIVE IT TO YOUR MANAGER!
Managers take note - This book is the answer to getting your people engaged.
I love good advice and this book has plenty. I took out my highlighters and marked all over this book. It goes on my reference shelf for years to come. As I work with organizations to help them engage their people to take action (see theactionator.com) this book will go on my "must read" list. If you have a list of books to read this year, add "12 The Elements of Great Managing".
My favorite element is number three: The Opportunity to Do What I Do Best. This chapter addresses the issue of "matching a person to the right job, or a job to the right person". This is one of the hardest elements to pull off but the payback is HUGE! Imagine how engaged your workforce would be if everyone had an opportunity to do what they do best!
Buy this book, get out your highlighters, and get to work. The 12 elements in this book can help the good manager become GREAT!
Larry Kevin Adams
theactionator.com
Managing the Human Element.......2007-09-09
Once again, researchers from The Gallup Organization remind us of the performance benefits that accrue when leaders acknowledge the `human element' of business. In this expanded dialogue about the 12 elements of great managing, as identified from extensive research in the 1999 best seller First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently; authors Wagner and Harter bring each element to life through shop-floor stories interwoven with Gallup's foundational research that provides the elements' psychological underpinning. The result is a convincing and readable book that might have you wondering why so many organizations work so hard "to make their "human resources" more productive while fighting what makes them human."
Hidden within this book is the underpinnings of a methodology for meeting the needs of the organization (Business Inc.) while meeting the needs of the individual (Me Inc.), and it is not just about the money - and as the 13th element of great managing, the authors tell you why in a section titled, "The Problem with Pay." Great book delivering the underpinnings of a great concept; it is highly recommended for anyone interested in engaging people with the performance demands of their business. Dennis DeWilde, author of The Performance Connection.
an excellent guide.......2007-05-13
I have found this book helpful as the writers combine real situations and stories from their research to bring to life the theory. I am already putting into place some of the ideas in my role at work. Highly recommended.
Overdue Update on First, Break All the Rules with Detailed Examples.......2007-03-27
If you haven't read First, Break All the Rules, I have good news for you: Just read this book instead. 12: The Elements of Great Managing is a better book.
If you have read First, Break All the Rules, chances are it was a long time ago. You are probably ready for a refresher if you read that book back in 1999 or 2000 as I did.
As before, the Gallup people have asked that reviewers not list the 12 elements. I think they are overly sensitive, but I'll honor their request.
Let me characterize the 12 elements instead: Each point relates to either a necessity for being able to do your job well, having a sense that people care that you come to work, feeling engaged by your work, and seeing a future in what you are doing. Employees who feel engaged in these dimensions usually stay longer, are less likely to be out sick, and perform at higher levels of productivity. After you see the list, you'll accept those conclusions, I'm sure.
Since the first book came out, Gallup has done a lot more interviews. One of the benefits of all hose millions of additional interviews is to provide extra information about how and why each element is important. I was pleased to see that the authors also draw on psychological and physiological research to help explain their findings.
But the best parts, for me, were the 12 case studies that were like mini-fables of the sort that Ken Blanchard likes to write . . . except these cases involve real people. The leaders make mistakes as well as do things right, and you get a sense of how hard it is to improve performance in an important employee dimension when your organization has been doing it badly for some time. One of the things I liked best about the cases was that the authors didn't go overboard by just presenting organizations that perform in the top 1 percent that wouldn't seem quite real to most people.
I also liked the section at the end about how pay overlaps with all of the other findings. Most people are affected by their pay, and I thought that the authors put that into perspective quite well.
Although part of the message is that you need Gallup surveys to figure out what your problem is with employee engagement, the book is tactfully quiet on that point. Nice!
Although you may be tempted to either just read the list and feel like you've got it or just read the cases in areas where you think you have problems, I encourage you to read all of the material. You might get a new assignment tomorrow that will look totally different from where you are today. That happened to several people in the book. You'll be better prepared when that happens.
I thought that First, Break All the Rules was better than an MBA education on how to be an effective leader. This book is probably better than most DBA educations on the same subject.
Be engaging!
Production flaws.......2007-03-21
Disk #2 and #4 have the same disk #4 material. Disk #2 information is missing.
Amazon.com
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman expose the fallacies of standard management thinking in First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. In seven chapters, the two consultants for the Gallup Organization debunk some dearly held notions about management, such as "treat people as you like to be treated"; "people are capable of almost anything"; and "a manager's role is diminishing in today's economy." "Great managers are revolutionaries," the authors write. "This book will take you inside the minds of these managers to explain why they have toppled conventional wisdom and reveal the new truths they have forged in its place."
The authors have culled their observations from more than 80,000 interviews conducted by Gallup during the past 25 years. Quoting leaders such as basketball coach Phil Jackson, Buckingham and Coffman outline "four keys" to becoming an excellent manager: Finding the right fit for employees, focusing on strengths of employees, defining the right results, and selecting staff for talent--not just knowledge and skills. First, Break All the Rules offers specific techniques for helping people perform better on the job. For instance, the authors show ways to structure a trial period for a new worker and how to create a pay plan that rewards people for their expertise instead of how fast they climb the company ladder. "The point is to focus people toward performance," they write. "The manager is, and should be, totally responsible for this." Written in plain English and well organized, this book tells you exactly how to improve as a supervisor. --Dan Ring
Book Description
The greatest managers in the world seem to have little in common. They differ in sex, age, and race. They employ vastly different styles and focus on different goals. Yet despite their differences, great managers share one common trait: They do not hesitate to break virtually every rule held sacred by conventional wisdom. They do not believe that, with enough training, a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They do not try to help people overcome their weaknesses. They consistently disregard the golden rule. And, yes, they even play favorites. This amazing book explains why.
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization present the remarkable findings of their massive in-depth study of great managers across a wide variety of situations. Some were in leadership positions. Others were front-line supervisors. Some were in Fortune 500 companies; others were key players in small, entrepreneurial companies. Whatever their situations, the managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup's research were invariably those who excelled at turning each employee's talent into performance.
In today's tight labor markets, companies compete to find and keep the best employees, using pay, benefits, promotions, and training. But these well-intentioned efforts often miss the mark. The front-line manager is the key to attracting and retaining talented employees. No matter how generous its pay or how renowned its training, the company that lacks great front-line managers will suffer. Buckingham and Coffman explain how the best managers select an employee for talent rather than for skills or experience; how they set expectations for him or her -- they define the right outcomes rather than the right steps; how they motivate people -- they build on each person's unique strengths rather than trying to fix his weaknesses; and, finally, how great managers develop people -- they find the right fit for each person, not the next rung on the ladder. And perhaps most important, this research -- which initially generated thousands of different survey questions on the subject of employee opinion -- finally produced the twelve simple questions that work to distinguish the strongest departments of a company from all the rest. This book is the first to present this essential measuring stick and to prove the link between employee opinions and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover.
There are vital performance and career lessons here for managers at every level, and, best of all, the book shows you how to apply them to your own situation.
Customer Reviews:
And the next trend in management is..........2007-08-29
This information is very well researched and clearly presented. Since most of these results were taken from a Gallup poll I recently took at my former company, I can vouch that a significant percentage of the questions are absurd, including one mentioned in this book. Do you have a best friend at work? And how that has anything to do with happiness on the job...
This audiobook explains you how to customize relationships with those who report to you. It's very practical info: everyone is unique and has specific talents that are greater in one than the other. I also appreciated the explanation of how so many managers end up being so pathetic -- especially if they are moved up because they're not very good in their current positions (or my favorites, they kiss butte or know the right people).
No one, by improving themselves dramatically, is trying to become a hero as claimed here...but I am glad Marcus spells out very clearly how it is impossible for a manager to get people to change (change is up to the employee). Props to Marcus for being one of the only authors I've actually enjoyed listening to on an audiobook. All well packaged and marketed with an attention-grabbing title.
Relational Leadership a Proven Performance Winner.......2007-08-27
An evidence-based book demonstrating the performance benefits of relational leadership. In this captivating and engaging read, Gallup Organization researchers Buckingham and Coffman show how good leadership taps individual identity (At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?), is relational (Does your supervisor seem to care about you as a person?), and demands accountability (Do you know what is expected of you at work?). These management elements and the several others described are not necessarily conventional wisdom, but clarified as they are in this book, they ring of good old common sense. After nearly 10 years on bookstore shelves, this book speaks more common sense than ever. This book is highly recommended for everyone -- if you have read it more than 5 years ago, read it again.
Great prep course for new managers!!.......2007-08-23
My son had just been made a manager of a large multi-location furniture and appliance and tv company. I purchased (First, Break all the rules) for him to give him some insight to being a manager. He devoured the CD's and called for more.
I choose the same author and purchased more of his work. Thanks for having this quality product available.
Whoever wrote the description of this book on cd did a great job. It was the reason I bought it.
Ideas that are applicable to managers--and a lot more!.......2007-07-18
Heard FIRST, BREAK ALL THE RULES by Marcus Buckingham
and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization . . . it was the report
on a massive in-depth study of great managers across a wide
variety of situations, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to
key players in small, entrepreuneurial firms.
It got me thinking about the difference that effective leadership
at the top can make and how, unfortunately, this doesn't
happen as much as it perhaps should.
Many of the ideas I've come across before . . . yet it wasn't until
I heard the spin placed on them by the authors that I came to the
realization that though they were seemingly basic, implementation
of them isn't always quite so simple.
Also, I realized that most of the ideas can easily be applied to great
parenting, great running of virtually any club or organization, etc.
For instance:
* Best managers don't treat everybody like they want to be
treated. Instead, they treat each employee as how he or she wants
to be treated.
And to find this out is easy:
* Just ask!
Among the other valuable tidbits I gained from listening were these:
* Effective managers spend their most time with their best people.
* Great managers know that any attempt to impose one best
way is doomed to fail.
* Never try to perfect people.
* Great managers focus on the future with their people.
* When told an employee was late, great manager almost
always ask why.
Buckingham also did the reading of FIRST, BREAK ALL THE
RULES . . . I was so impressed with this book that I'm now going
to read his other works, including his latest: GO PUT YOUR
STRENGTHS TO WORK.
Best Management Audiobook Available.......2007-07-17
What separates Buckingham and his co-author from the crowded bookshelves is their reliance upon statistics instead of anecdotes. There are too many management books out there that tell you what to do without backing their words up, so this book is well worth the investment. The audiobook, narrated by Buckingham, is especially rewarding, since it's one you'll want to listen to every month to remind yourself that there is a better way to manage and that you need to stay on that path.
Book Description
In Mavericks at Work, Fast Company cofounder William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre, a longtime editor at the magazine, give you an inside look at the "most original minds in business" wherever they find them: from Procter & Gamble to Pixar, from gold mines to funky sandwich shops. Want to stop doing business as usual? Then take some lessons from the 32 maverick companies Taylor and LaBarre profile.
Questions for William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre
Amazon.com: Whom do you think this book will appeal to?
Taylor and LaBarre: This book should appeal to a wide "coalition" of business leaders and innovators--impatient, change-minded executives in big companies, senior leaders in smaller, entrepreneurial companies, young people with big dreams about their future and their careers. This book should inform and energize anyone and everyone who wants to do big things in business by shaking up the status quo and challenging the powers-that-be. One important point: We strongly believe that this book should appeal to women as well as men. It is not meant to be an uptight, starched-shirt type read--your typical all-male business book. The book doesn't target women executives per se, but we believe it will appeal to men and women alike.
Amazon.com: What's the story behind the book?
Taylor and LaBarre: In one sense, Mavericks at Work has been 18 months in the making. That's the amount of time that the two of us spent totally focused on the travel, research, interviewing, and writing to create Mavericks at Work. In another sense, this book reflects more than a decade's worth of learning, thinking, and writing about the best way to do business and the new cast of companies and individual leaders that represent the face of business at its best. First at that classic voice of the business establishment, Harvard Business Review, and then at the new-generation magazine that he cofounded, Fast Company, Bill Taylor has been traveling the world, visiting companies, and interviewing great business leaders. Much the same goes for Polly LaBarre--first at the venerable IndustryWeek magazine, and then as one of the original members of the Fast Company team, Polly has made it her speciality to discover, understand, and chronicle the most exciting and innovative leaders in business.
With respect to Mavericks, the book reflects our in-depth access to the 32 companies featured in the book. This is anything but an "armchair" business book. We logged tens of thousands of miles and spent countless hours visiting, conducting interviews at, and participating in meetings, training sessions, and events inside a wide variety organizations. We went deep inside these organizations, looking to understand the ideas they stand for and the ways they work. We participated in a filmmaking class at one of the world's most successful movie studios. We attended a closed-to-the-public awards ceremony at Radio City Music Hall, where employees of what has to be the world's most entertaining bank sang, danced, and strutted their stuff. We sat in on a crucial monthly meeting (the 384th such consecutive meeting over the last 32 years) in which top executives and front-line managers of a $600-million employee-owned company share their most sensitive financial information and most valuable market secrets. We walked the corridors of a 120-year-old research facility where a team of change-minded R&D executives is transforming how one of the world's biggest companies develops new ideas for consumer products. We walked the streets of Manhattan with teams of employees from a hard-charging hedge fund, who were sizing up ideas about stock-market picks.
Amazon.com: What makes this book relevant today?
Taylor and LaBarre: We believe that this is the right book at the right time, with a set of messages and a collection of practices that will inspire business executives and entrepreneurs to bring out the best in their companies, their colleagues, and themselves. Why this book now? Because business needs a breath of fresh air. We are, after five long years, coming out of a dark and trying period in our economy and society--an era of slow growth and dashed expectations, of criminal wrongdoing and ethical misconduct at some of the world's best-known companies. But NASDAQ nuttiness already feels like time-capsule fodder, the white-collar perp walk has become as routine as an annual meeting, and the triumphant return of me-first moguls like Donald Trump feels like a bad nostalgia trip, the corporate equivalent of a hair-band reunion. We've seen the face of business at its worst, and it hasn't been a pretty sight. This book is intended to persuade readers of the power of business at its best.
Which speaks to one of our major goals for Mavericks at Work--to restore the promise of business as a force for innovation, satisfaction, and progress, rather than as a source of revulsion, remorse, and recrimination. Indeed, despite all the bleak headlines and blood-boiling scandals over the last five years, the economy has experienced a period of transformation and realignment, a power shift so profound that we're just beginning to appreciate what it means for the future of business—and for how all of us go about the business of building companies that work and doing work that matters.
In industry after industry, organizations and executives that were once dismissed as upstarts, as outliers, as wildcards, have achieved positions of financial prosperity and market leadership. There's a reason the young billionaires behind the most celebrated entrepreneurial success in recent memory began their initial public offering (IPO) of shares with a declaration of independence from business as usual. "Google is not a conventional company," read their Letter from the Founders. "We do not intend to become one."
Nor does the unconventional cast of characters readers will encounter in this book. From a culture-shaping television network with offices in sun-splashed Santa Monica, California, to a little-known office-furniture manufacturer rooted in the frozen tundra of Green Bay, Wisconsin, from glamorous fields such as advertising, fashion, and the Internet, to old-line industries such as construction, mining, and household products, they are winning big at business--attracting millions of customers, creating thousands of jobs, generating tens of billions of dollars of wealth--by rethinking the logic of how business gets done.
Alan Kay, the celebrated computer scientist, put it memorably some 35 years ago: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." We believe the companies, executives, and entrepreneurs you'll meet in the pages that follow are inventing a more exciting, more compelling, more rewarding future for business. They have devised provocative and instructive answers to four of the timeless challenges that face organizations of every size and leaders in every field: how you make strategy, how you unleash new ideas, how you connect with customers, how your best people achieve great results.
Amazon.com: Can you give us a brief summary of your book--in 250 words or less?
Taylor and LaBarre: This book is a report from the front lines of the future of business. It is not a book of best practices. It is a book of next practices--a set of insights and a collection of case studies that amount to a business plan for the 21st century, a new way to lead, compete, and succeed.
Our basic argument is as straightforward to explain as it is urgent to apply: When it comes to thriving in a hyper-competitive marketplace, "playing it safe" is no longer playing it smart. In an economy defined by overcapacity, oversupply, and utter sensory overload--an economy in which everyone already has more than enough of whatever it is you're selling--the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for a truly distinctive set of ideas about where your company and industry can and should be going. You can't do big things as a competitor if you're content with doing things a little better than the competition.
This book is devoted to the proposition that the best way to out-perform the competition is to out-think the competition. Maverick companies aren't always the largest in their field; maverick entrepreneurs don't always make the cover of the business magazines. But mavericks do the work that matters most--the work of originality, creativity, and experimentation. They demonstrate that you can build companies around high ideals and fierce competitive ambitions, that the most powerful way to create economic value is to embrace a set of values that go beyond just amassing power, and that business, at its best, is too exciting, too important, and too much fun to be left to the dead hand of business as usual.
Who are these mavericks? The core ideas in this book are rooted in the strategies, practices, and leadership styles of 32 organizations with vastly different histories, cultures, and business models. But all of them are business originals, based on the distinctiveness of their ideas and the power of their practices. They are rethinking competition, reinventing innovation, reconnecting with customers, and redesigning work. Together, they are creating a maverick agenda for business--an agenda from which every business can learn.
Book Description
In the last decade the business world has been dogged by bad leadership, CEO greed and the excesses of the dotcom craze. Now, as the authors of this lively new book suggest, companies and corporations are moving away from traditional methods of how to lead, manage and compete, towards a more 'maverick' management style that has proved highly successful.
Mavericks at Work is the first book to document this change – and to give readers a glimpse into the ideas and techniques behind fast–growing but unconventional companies such as Google, HBO, Lendlease and Southwest Airlines. It profiles some of the most exciting – and often eccentric – CEOs in the US, and details their strategies for success.
With its accessible tone, Mavericks at Work is both serious and fun; business 'edutainment' for a smart, ambitious readership.
Customer Reviews:
Stories to inspire - Lessons to Learn.......2007-08-10
Interesting stories and concrete examples are one of the most powerful ways to learn and be inspired. If you want to learn to succeed in the new world of work, then the collection of stories and examples in the book Mavericks at Work is a great starting point. The book profiles 32 remarkable US entrepreneurs who have battled bureaucracy and challenged the status quo, and won, while redefining success in their industries. The authors William Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company, and Polly LaBarre, a former writer for Fast Company, uncover some remarkable examples of how businesses are succeeding in hypercompetitive industries by being distinctively different.
Their findings are centered on 4 key themes:
1. Be different and pursue more than just money: Successful mavericks are fearless about breaking with outdated traditions and confining standards. Making money is only a small part of a bigger mission which they are deeply passionate about. Examples include Southwest Airlines, the company that pioneered low cost air travel and democratized the skies. The book highlights how Southwest saw it as their mission to make air travel accessible to all and by going after this wholeheartedly they innovated on different ways to save cost such as using second tier airports, not serving food and seating people on a first come first serve basis. Keeping this mission at the centre of the organisation has differentiated them from the competition and enabled them to consistently make profits is a loss making industry.
2. Tap other people's brains: The innovators of today rely on more than just their own insight and intelligence. They create systems to enable and encourage others to help them solve problems and come up with ingenious solutions. Examples include TopCoder Inc., a software development house for many large multinational organisations. They create competitions for technology geeks from all over the world to come up with solutions for software problems in return for lucrative prizes and prestigious ranking points. In this way they are able to use the wisdom of many to solve very specific software development challenges.
3. Connect deeply with customers: Connecting with customers is about a lot more than just traditional advertising, it is about really understanding what customers' value and connecting with that value system in a deep and meaningful way. Jones Soda asks customers to contribute photographs to be used on the labels of their cool drink bottles. Customers submit photos plus the story attached to each photo. Many photos are selected and placed on the bottles to be distributed in the region in which that customer lives. This creates a massive interest in the community as they discover "who is on the label?" and "what their story is?"
4. Partner with your employees: Maverick business enable employees to really understand what drives the business. They are given the opportunity to freely contribute to the overall mission of the business and be rewarded for doing so. At Cranium, a fast growing, innovative board game manufacturer in Seattle, the Chief Financial Officer holds companywide meetings on the company's numbers. He tutors the staff on cash flow and financial ratios, and every employee then assesses his or her own productivity. He recognizes that this helps keep the whole company focused on the right priorities
These are just a few of the many insightful, uplifting and inspiring examples that are highlighted in this energetic and well written book.
Great book!.......2007-07-25
This is one of the best business books I have read. Though it is written principally for managers and entrepreneurs, the book is truly inspiring for those starting up their own business. You will learn some very unconventional ways of managing your organization and innovating! "Playing it safe" is no longer playing it smart. The only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for a truly distinctive set of ideas about where your organization should be going.
Follow Southwest airlines' example by not hiring industry veterans in your organization. Industry veterans are harder to retrain, and come to your organization with preconceived ideas. Hiring people new to the industry fills your organization with fresh ideas.
Don't hesitate to fire your customers if they don't fit into your organization's culture. ING, a bank unlike others, does exactly that. ING also innovates by being different from other banks. They open on Sunday for example, and deposits are in a person's account within 24 hours (other banks take up to 3 business days). If groceries and malls can open on Sundays, why not banks?
Pixar Animation, unlike other companies in its industry (who hire on contract basis), hires full time crew. This creates a team atmosphere where everyone gets to know each other, and thus can be more productive.
Use open source. A Gold mining company in Canada did just that when it asked people from all over the world over the internet for their insight on where gold could be found. With worldwide expertise available, they found their answer! Cirque du Soleil similarly scouts the whole world for talent. Talent is everywhere, and you have to go everywhere to find it.
Any entrepreneur should be asking the following two questions: (a) If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would really miss you and why? (b) Why would people want to work for you?
Don't hire great people, or else you have to change your whole work environment into greatness. Hire good and smart people, but they don't have to be great. You have to be able to shun traditional ideas.
Finally, just in case some of you are wondering, Samuel Maverick, a Texan lawyer and politician, is the namesake of the eponym maverick, meaning an unbranded range animal. Gradually the term was enlarged to include anyone who could not be trusted to remain one of his group.
Alan Kay, the celebrated computer scientist, said some 35 years ago: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
Gets the creative juices flowing.......2007-07-05
A very inspiring book in helping think outside the box. Loads of real-world examples throughout. Starts with great energy and passion by the authors, and (maybe) runs out of steam in the end. Or maybe I just wasn't as interested in the subject covered. Anyway... I bought three more copies as gifts for clients.
Describes what it takes to have a breakthrough corporate success in the new millennium..........2007-06-20
Like a host of the new "psychosocial" business books, Mavericks at Work describes what it takes to have a breakthrough corporate success in the new millennium. The focus is not so much on the business styles of the 50's and 60's, as illustrated by the work of, say Peter Drucker, but rather it focuses on the new gestalt of branding through an intense devotion to customer service. By examining companies from the large scale of Proctor & Gamble and the World Bank, as well as new upstarts like Craigslist and ING Direct to open source communities like Wikipedia and TopCoder, authors William Taylor and Polly LaBarre take a new approach to finding out what the basis of the new energy and focus of companies who's products or services allow them to differentiate themselves and pull away from the pack. As veterans of the cutting edge business magazine Fast Company, the authors are well suited to have the inroads and knowledge in witnessing what works (and what doesn't) for the new breed of entrepreneurs or those within established enterprises trying to re-write the rules of business in the new world order. In addition, the pair operate one of the best follow-on websites we've seen featuring outtakes from the book, a blog, podcasts, interviews and information about their 'Mavericks Live' special events around the country [...]. A must for anyone thinking about Business 2.0. - Tim Devine
Hail to Originality, Hail to Creative Business Strategy!.......2007-05-30
Truly refreshing book full of great and fresh insights from many different businesses. As an enterpreneur who is constantly in pursue of original and creative business ideas, I really benefited from this book. I would recommend this title to enterpreneurs and business leaders who challenge the status quo and who are in constant search for originaly in this clutered and banal business world.
Average customer rating:
- Five Behaviors of Effective CEOs
- Great lessons, terrible writing
- The Five Temptations of a CEO
- A bland overview of the basics
- Another Lencioni Masterpiece
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The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable
Patrick M. Lencioni
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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