Great by Choice

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All
by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

He’s b-a-c-k-k-k-k-k! In 1994, he gave us Built to Last (Successful Habits of Visionary Companies), followed by the worldwide bestseller Good to Great (Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t). In 2009, it was How the Mighty Fall (Any Why Some Companies Never Give In).

With a track record like that, who better to take us to the next level? Now, teaming with co-author Morten T. Hansen and a team of more than 20 researchers, Jim Collins returns with nine years of research, rigorous analysis, and engaging stories focused on the principles for building a truly great business in today’s unpredictable, chaotic, and ever-changing times.

This talented team spent years trying to determine why some companies thrive during unstable times while other companies do not. In previous books, Collins and his associates highlighted some companies that later on lost their way. This, of course, has, can, and will continue to happen for a variety of reasons.

The point is that we, as readers, can learn a great deal from what these companies did during their periods of success, regardless of what may happen to them in the future.

In Great by Choice, Collins and Hansen select just seven companies (out of an initial list of more than 20,000) as examples of those that have thrived during chaotic times. The companies are Amgen, Biomet, Intel, Microsoft, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines and Stryker. These companies are called “10X” companies, given that their stock prices outdistanced the comparison companies by roughly an order of magnitude during the study period.

You might be surprised by some of the provocative study results, such as:

  • The best leaders were actually more disciplined and even more paranoid than most. They weren’t necessarily more risk-taking, visionary, or creative as many may have guessed.
  • Leading in a “fast world” doesn’t necessarily require “fast decisions” nor “fast action.” In fact, both strategies could result in the demise of any organization.
  • Great companies actually changed less in reaction to a radically changing world than their competitors.

Collins and Hansen may catch many readers off guard in their last chapter as they define, quantify, and study the role of “luck” in achieving success. They found that great companies and leaders weren’t necessarily luckier than their competition, but they did achieve a higher Return on Luck.

If you’re familiar with Collins’ work, you know to expect new expressions and buzz words to surface in each new project. This one, of course, is no exception. As the authors challenge conventional wisdom with thought-provoking, practical concepts, you’ll soon get acquainted with the following terminology: 10Xers; the 20-Mile March; Fire bullets, Then Cannonballs; Leading Above the Death Line; Zoom Out, Then Zoom In; and the SMaC Recipe.

If you’re a Collins fan, you’ll more than likely enjoy this book as well. If you’re new to his work and want to learn what makes companies tick, you couldn’t start with a better author. Check out his earlier work as well. You’ll learn that, even in a chaotic and uncertain world, greatness happens by choice, not chance!

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All is available from Amazon. The AchieveMax® company is an affiliate of Amazon.com.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Inside Steve’s Brain

Inside Steve’s Brain
by Leander Kahney

I like the thought of looking into someone else’s brain … especially someone with the track record of Steve Jobs. The title intrigued me immediately. However, I think there are a few guidelines I should set for myself before I undertake such an enticing journey.

  1. I may very well not understand all that I find there.
  2. I may not agree with all that is revealed.
  3. I should be willing to learn from the experiences of others.
  4. I should search for revelations from which I can benefit.

Under those guidelines, I should benefit greatly from this book by Leander Kahney.

I guess I was also influenced by a frightening statistic I recently read in USA Today:

Apple Inc. now has more cash on hand than the entire United States federal government. As of Wednesday, July 27, the balance sheet for the US Treasury dipped down to $73.768 billion. That compares to the $76.156 billion Apple has in its deep coffers—a difference of $2.388 billion.

Maybe someone should suggest to Steve Jobs that he should run for President.

Paradoxically, Steve Jobs continues to be one of the best-known and yet least understood CEOs in recent business history. The author sums it up best in his introduction: “Jobs is a control extraordinaire. He’s also a perfectionist, an elitist, and a taskmaster to employees. By most accounts, Jobs is a borderline loony. He is portrayed as a basket case who fires people in elevators, manipulates partners, and takes credit for others’ achievements. Recent biographies paint an unflattering portrait of a sociopath motivated by the basest desires—to control, to abuse, to dominate. Most books about Jobs are depressing reads. They’re dismissive, little more than catalogs of tantrums and abuse.”

This book however fills us in on some fascinating aspects in the life of Steve Jobs:

  • Long string of productive partnerships—both personal and corporate: Disney, Pepsi, and the big record labels.
  • His ability to retain and motivate lots of top-shelf talent … and then give them the freedom to be creative and shield them from the growing bureaucracy at Apple.
  • Details on the most important innovations and inventions of the last 20 years.
  • The creative, business, product development, and marketing side of Apple that we actually hear so little about in the media.
  • Why and how they keep things so secret.
  • How the Apple culture influences the creation of world-changing products.
  • The tremendous success of Pixar and plans for its future.
  • Steve’s battle with then-CEO John Sculley which led him to quit Apple before he was fired.
  • His return to Apple after 11 years for what has been said to be the greatest comeback in business history.

Here you’ll learn much about this unique leader who has turned his personality traits into a business philosophy. Journey, if you dare, into the mind of Steve Jobs!

Inside Steve’s Brain is available from Amazon. The AchieveMax® company is an affiliate of Amazon.com.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Army of Entrepreneurs

Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth
by Jennifer Prosek

I think you’re not only going to enjoy this book but will find it a tremendous asset as a Start Now—Get It Done—Step-by-Step Guidebook to transforming your organization, regardless of size, into a true Army of Entrepreneurs focused on exceptional business growth.

I enjoyed it for a number of obvious reasons:

The author, Jennifer Prosek, shares not only what she knows but, more importantly, what she’s actually done as the founder and CEO of CJP Communications, an international public relations and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, Connecticut and London. Much of the advice she shares has led her to be named an “Emerging Power Player” by PR Week Magazine. In addition, her organization was named “Small Agency of the Year” and was recognized as one of the “Top Places to Work in PR”!

She focuses on teaching readers how to insure that every employee becomes a powerful force for growth within an organization. This is so obviously a source of great potential for the majority of businesses in today’s chaotic and competitive environment—one that is so very often overlooked.

Jennifer provides a very clear game plan for building a workforce dedicated to generating new business, creating breakthrough products and services, and sustaining growth. I especially enjoyed the fact that, at the end of each chapter, she offered “Six Steps Forward,” which is advice as to what should be done immediately upon the completion of that particular chapter.

A number of interesting anecdotes and case studies also enhance clarification of key points throughout the text.

The author provides additional resources in the area of books, publications, national and global events, a list of well-regarded MBA programs, as well as thinking from top consulting firms.

Statistics, research, and commentary from experts in the business community adds foundational credibility to this powerful business model.

The author focuses on areas which are instrumental to organization growth and success in a way which is easily understood and motivational in its presentation:

  • the necessity of proper training and an unusual method which has proven to be successful (finder, minder, binder, grinder).
  • the creation of a Talent Pipeline resulting from successful recruiting and retention tactics.
  • technology as a communications strategy.
  • the necessity and action plan for measuring success (why, when, what, how, and the tools required).
  • the strategy of finding and training your future leaders.
  • tips, tools and strategies for maintaining your momentum.
  • managing disasters which may occur.
  • bringing everything together … dealing with doubts, problems and mistakes which may face any organization in the pursuit of growth and success.

At the conclusion of her book, she poses 10 thought-provoking questions for anyone who is ready to amass their own Army of Entrepreneurs. Answers provided to these key questions will certainly separate the talkers from doers!

At a time when old management models are falling by the wayside, this book will show you how to invest in your employees, play to their strengths, and engage them in your business as you pursue growth and success. This formula will work if YOU do!

Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth is available from Amazon. The AchieveMax® company is an affiliate of Amazon.com.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

The Little BIG Things

The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence
by Tom Peters

What do you say about this author/consultant/professional speaker? He falls into a somewhat unique category with other notables such as Bill Gates, Lee Iacocca, Jack Welch, Ted Turner and Donald Trump. They’re all successful businessmen and outspoken authors. They’re all well-educated, experienced, controversial, well-read, insightful, thought-provoking, heavily networked, often bombastic, highly respected and tremendously passionate.

Oh, one more thing. People either love them or hate them. There is no mid-ground with these men, and they could care less. Tom will tell you as much. He has valuable messages to share—it’s up to you to take them or leave them.

I’m not even certain how to review this book. I always struggle when it comes to reviewing anything Tom has written. A true review of his content would almost require a book to do it justice. There are several reasons for that:

  • While he had a good title and theme for each of his works, he’s all over the map with his content.
  • He writes like he thinks … short choppy sentences, buzz words, a variety of fonts in every size you can imagine, and a ton of exclamation points!
  • He repeats a great deal of material from his previous books but, oddly enough, blends it into new, creative content which flows smoothly and adds credibility to his message.

This book contains 538 pages spread across 163 chapters which focus on the pursuit of excellence. Thus far, Peters has published 16 books … all best sellers and all dealing, in one way or another, with the pursuit of excellence.

In this book, he does so by sharing “Little BIG Things” which he defines as: “Compelling nuggets of a life experience that is representative of a BIG and Potent Idea.” In this particular journey, he’ll take you all over the world as he drops very impressive names to illustrate his learning points.

To stay current, Tom writes this book in a blogging style and admits that it isn’t meant to be read like a regular book. While his ever-changing approach is a challenge to master, he continues to force readers to stop and think and offers a great deal of practical and achievable advice.

Peters has always been a “back-to-the-basics” guy and certainly stays true to form in this book. He argues that the power of small should not be underestimated, whether in big decisions like health care or in the power of having flowers in view or keeping restrooms clean at brick-and-mortar establishments.

The book also includes the 19 Es of Excellence and 7 Special Sections: Guru Gaffes, The Recession 46, The “Equations,” You, Me, & Charlie Wilson’s War, Quotations 34, Top 50 “Have-Yous,” and The Heart of Business Strategy.

Grab a box of highlighters, pour a drink, find a comfortable chair, buckle your seat belt and prepare for a typical “Tom Peters excursion” providing education, entertainment, and personal challenge. As usual, you won’t be disappointed!

The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE is available from Amazon. The AchieveMax® company is an affiliate of Amazon.com.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In

How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In
by Jim Collins

In working with our clients from coast to coast, I’ve discovered an interesting insight concerning author Jim Collins. Those who know of his body of work fall into two distinct categories:

  1. Those who appreciate his research, admire his product and wait anxiously for his next release and …
  2. Those who argue that he picks and chooses his data and that his content often runs counter to research on hundreds of companies, conducted over decades by dozens of scholars.

Either way you can’t argue that this noted author and devoted student of companies of all kinds can produce best sellers. As the author of the national bestseller Good to Great and coauthor of Built to Last, Collins’ work has been featured in Fortune, BusinessWeek, USA Today and the Harvard Business Review.

What I found very interesting in How The Mighty Fall was the fact that Collins chose to examine the decline of several companies which he hailed in his previous bestseller, Good to Great. While he obviously had nothing to do with the decline of such companies as Circuit City and Fannie Mae, which he previously praised, he could have easily chosen not to examine how they came to fall on hard times. Instead he decided to delve into exactly what happened as these companies strayed away from what once made them great.

Collins reveals that, in today’s financially perilous environment, decline can actually be avoided, detected, and reversed. The author and his research team spent more than four years on this research project and, in doing so, uncovered five stages of decline.

Stage 1: Hubris Born of Success
Stage 2: Undisciplined Pursuit of More
Stage 3: Denial of Risk and Peril
Stage 4: Grasping for Salvation
Stage 5: Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death

He describes each stage in detail, gives examples of companies in each, and points out that by understanding these stages of decline, leaders can substantially reduce their chances of falling all the way to the bottom.

I’ve always found it interesting that, in the very same economy, a Best Buy can prosper while a Circuit City fades into oblivion, Wal-Mart continues to grow and profit while we question the longevity of Sears and Kmart, Southwest Airline achieves a profit while all of its competitors fall short. The author’s research will provide you with some valuable insight into this unusual phenomenon.

Collins points out that every institution, no matter how great, is vulnerable to decline. However, that decline is largely self-inflicted and the path to recovery lies largely in the hands of the companies themselves.

You’ll find this 222 page work an easy and interesting read as we continue to witness major changes and challenges in the nation’s financial status. Looks like another winner for Jim Collins.

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

The 100 Best Business Books of All Time

The 100 Best Business Books of All TimeThe 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You
by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten

Ok, let’s get a few things straight right off the bat. Yes, this is a book about books … in fact, it’s a list of books you should read if you really enjoy business books. Why do you need to invest your time and money on something like this? Well, there is good reason.

More than 1.9 million business books are now offered by Amazon, including more than 267,000 in the “business management” category. Last year, 11,000 business book were published in the U.S. Yes, 11,000 focused on business. Placed one on top of another, the stack would stand as tall as a nine-story building! Can you visualize that? And the 880 million words in that nine-story pile would take six and a half years to read. Locked somewhere in this tower of paper is the solution to your current business problem. It’s that simple. However, do you have the time and money to purchase that pile and then search for that answer? Of course not, and that’s where this book comes in.

It’s much more than a simple list of books. It’s truly informative as it gives you a quick recap of the author and content, provides fantastic insights you couldn’t find elsewhere, some great one-liners, and important take-aways and sidebars.

Now, let’s be realistic; anyone reading this book is going to discover books listed that they personally would not have included in their own personal list of top 100 business books. They’ll also identify other titles which they feel should have been included and were not. This is typical. You can’t please everyone.

The authors, Covert and Sattersten, didn’t simply list their favorite books. They actually utilized a system to rate the hundreds of business books they’ve read and reviewed as founder and president, respectively, of 800-CEO-Read, a specialty book retailer. To choose the books in this list, the authors used a three-point criteria.

  1. The quality of the book’s idea.
  2. The applicability of the idea to businesses today.
  3. The accessibility of the book’s writing.

They then divided the books into twelve specific categories: You, Leadership, Strategy, Sales and Marketing, Rules and Scorekeeping, Management, Biographies, Entrepreneurship, Narratives, Innovation and Creativity, Big Ideas, and Takeaways.

Within those categories, the authors waste no time in telling us the major themes of each book, why they’re important for us to read, and how they can actually help us. At the end of each review, the authors direct readers to other books both inside and outside The 100 Best.

They even recommend movies that display characters with outstanding leadership characteristics, novels, and even children’s books that offer equally relevant insights. Some additional treats I found interesting include:

  • Fresh Perspectives Not in a Bookstore Near You.
  • Leadership in Movies.
  • Conferences to Attend.
  • The Best Route to an Idea.
  • Results of a Reader’s Poll.
  • Getting Your Bearings.
  • Globalization of Manners.
  • For Your Ears Only (podcasts).
  • Industry in Depth.
  • Choose Your Approach to Learning.
  • Selling on the Silver Screen.
  • Business Books for Kids of All Ages.
  • Learn from Experience (case studies).
  • Business Issues Found in Fiction.

At the end of the book, we’re invited to visit 100bestbiz.com for more information about all of the books discussed, including chapter excerpts, interviews with authors, videos about the books, and more. I also signed up for the 800-CEO-READ Blog which provides daily updates of various kinds. This book is a valuable resource to anyone who reads for business regularly.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 20.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald'sEverything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success
by Paul Facella

I must be honest here. When I began my business career decades ago, the above title would have been my very last choice for a successful business book. Who could have known?

Of course, those were the days when a McDonald’s hamburger sold for 15 cents, a cheeseburger sold for 19 cents, golden french fries were only 10 cents, a Coke was just a dime, and you could get a triple-thick shake for a mere 20 cents.

Now that I’ve read the book, I can assure you that this book should be mandatory reading for anyone about to enter or already working in the customer service industry and anyone leading employees in hopes of providing ultimate service.

I also learned a great deal about a company I’ve taken for granted for years as I drove by or feasted at thousands of its Golden Arch locations from coast to coast. For instance:

  • McDonald’s serves food to nearly 52 million people daily in 31,000 restaurants worldwide!
  • McDonald’s has sold well over 100 billion hamburgers!
  • McDonald’s employs more than 1.5 million people!
  • McDonald’s operates in more than 119 countries on six continents. Antarctica is the only continent without a McDonald’s!
  • McDonald’s has also produced more millionaires from within its ranks than any company in history!

I’m not certain this particular book could have been written by anyone more qualified as company insider Paul Facella. He’s one of many who started working behind the counter at age 16. Over the next 34 years, he moved from the counter to the grill to Regional Vice President. I guess you could say he practically grew up within the golden arches. As a result, he has a first-hand education living the fast-food giant’s management practices and culture. He has also built strong personal ties to its legendary leaders, including founder Ray Kroc and CEOs Fred Turner, Mike Quinlan, Jack Greenberg, former President Ed Rensi, and current CEO Jim Skinner. That may have led to some of his memories seeming a bit syrupy at times, but that’s understandable as he is speaking about what he considers his family and one of the great American business success stories.

The author shares seven good leadership principles that have certainly passed the test of time and, if implemented properly, should help any business … even in tough business climates like those we’re facing today.

These principles are:

  1. Honesty and Integrity: All in a Handshake.
  2. Relationships.
  3. Standards: Never be Satisfied.
  4. Lead by Example.
  5. Courage: Telling It Like It Is.
  6. Communications.
  7. Recognition.

Facella devotes a separate chapter to each of the seven principles, sharing examples and anecdotes supporting each.

Throughout his 226 pages, the author includes 36 valuable “Lessons” accompanied by “Food for Thought” personal observations to enlighten his readers. At the end of each chapter, he provides a brief “In Summary” recap and “Key Learnings” from that chapter.

The author also uses an interesting “one-on-one” feature to share personal insights about company executives, franchisees, and vendors. These reader-friendly devices certainly add value and insight as this book delivers an up-close-and-personal look at a company where talent is cultivated and encouraged to thrive, from the individual restaurant to the corner office.

Again, we tend to overlook how successful this organization has become as we think of it as only a local fast food restaurant. Keep in mind that seven out of the top 10 current McDonald’s executives began as restaurant “crewmembers” and built their careers through the chain. In addition, Fortune magazine reveals that McDonald’s revenues were greater last year than all of the following competitors combined: Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W, Long John Silver’s, and Cracker Barrel.

Pick up a copy of Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s and learn how it achieved and managed to maintain that level of performance.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 20.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Six Disciplines® Execution Revolution

Six Disciplines® Execution RevolutionSix Disciplines® Execution Revolution: Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier
by Gary Harpst

I really enjoyed this book for the simple reason that it addresses an issue which could very well be the decisive factor for any organization in pursuit of success—an illusive target in today’s chaotic environment.

The author, Gary Harpst, is right on target with his sub-title: “Solving the One Business Problem That Makes Solving All Other Problems Easier.” Let’s identify that one business problem right up front—execution.

Much of this book is everyday common sense that we’ve been hearing for years. The author has re-framed basic knowledge that is anything but new to today’s business leaders. His approach is appropriate because this priceless knowledge has also been avoided like the plague for just as long.

This point is illustrated by some convincing observations the author derived from other experts:

  • An astounding 90% of well-formulated strategies fail due to poor execution.
  • Only 5% of employees understand their corporate strategy.
  • Only 3% of executives think their company is very successful at executing its strategies, while 62% think they’re only moderately successful, or worse.
  • More than 671,000 new businesses open each year, and every year nearly 544,800 businesses close down.

This book is built on three core premises.

  1. What most business leaders think their greatest challenge is, isn’t. And whatever their problems are today, they’ll be different tomorrow, and they will be bigger too.
  2. There is one business problem that, if solved, will make solving all other problems easier. This foundational challenge is executing strategy.
  3. An execution system helps organizations get the right things done by identifying execution problems as early as possible and addressing the problems.

Harpst introduces his Business Excellence Model to explain that the focus and capability of an organization can be understood in two dimensions: strategy (deciding what to do) and execution (getting it done). Coupled with four quadrants of performance, the author explores the topic of excellence and how we can go about pursuing it.

In this book, the author sets a new course for how small and mid-sized businesses can finally confront the never-ending challenge of executing strategy. It centers on a methodology designed to guide you through actionable steps to become better at execution within the business, with the goal of taking your business to the next level. Just as his first book focused on Six Disciplines, Harpst has focused Execution Revolution on a six-phase system to address problems with execution:

  1. Decide what’s important (Strategy).
  2. Set goals that lead (Plan).
  3. Align systems (Organize).
  4. Work the plan (Execute).
  5. Innovate purposefully (Innovate).
  6. Step back (Learn).
  7. And the whole thing repeats.

The challenge is simple. How do we close the ever-challenging “knowing-doing gap”? This book will provide a formula to help you assemble a strategy and keep on task with that strategy. With execution of any strategy, losing focus is the main issue. This will keep you on track, and focused.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 20.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

The Tao of Warren Buffett

The Tao of Warren BuffettThe Tao of Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett’s Words of Wisdom: Quotations and Interpretations to Help Guide You to Billionaire Wealth and Enlightened Business Management
by Mary Buffett and David Clark

Here’s another of those novel “mini-books” (172 pages) that seem so popular in this day and age of readers pressed for time. This one, however, is a bit unique in a number of ways. For instance, note that the subtitle alone is longer than many of today’s “mini-books.” In addition, that lengthy title might be a bit misleading. While it is indeed factual, I think it’s more accurate to say this is a book of 125 insightful quotations from one of the most colorful Americans on the financial scene today.

Warren Buffett is a famed American businessman, investor, and philanthropist as well as the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He has consistently ranked as the #1 or #2 richest man in the world for as long as one can recall. Earlier in the year, we featured Buffett in our blog series Little-known Facts about Well-known Leaders. Click on this link to learn why this man is one of today’s most interesting American trailblazers.

Among Buffett’s observations in this book, you’ll find many enlightening truisms on investing, business management, choosing a career, and pursuing a successful life. Following each comment you’ll find additional remarks from the co-authors as they attempt to reveal the life philosophy and the investment strategies that have made Warren Buffett, and the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, so enormously wealthy.

Mary Buffett—ex-daughter-in-law and author of three books on Warren Buffett’s investment methods—joins noted Buffettologist and international lecturer David Clark in this ambitious task.

This edition makes a great gift as it reveals Warren Buffett’s worldly wisdom … which is deceptively simple and enormously powerful in application. For instance:

  • “Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.”
  • “Never be afraid to ask for too much when selling or offer too little when buying.”
  • “It is impossible to unsign a contract, so do all your thinking before you sign.”
  • “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”
  • “Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.”
  • “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

The Tao of Warren Buffett will inspire, entertain, sharpen your mind, and provide the kind of priceless investment savvy that made Warren Buffett one of today’s most respected American leaders. This “mini-book” is destined to become a classic.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 19.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.

Executive Warfare

EExecutive Warfarexecutive Warfare: 10 Rules of Engagement for Winning Your War for Success
by David F. D’Alessandro and Michele Owens

This book was recommended to me by a long-time colleague who knew I would enjoy it. He was indeed correct. However, he also voiced his opinion that I probably wouldn’t want to review it for our readers because it focuses exclusively on senior managers and executives only. However, after reading the book, I feel anyone who aspires to be an executive, works or lives with an executive, or is simply interested in the politics of the workplace would find the authors work not only intriguing and insightful but also very useful in many ways.

Books are written every day expounding the attributes of tips, tools and strategies to succeed in the workplace but very few address the need to be politically savvy, the relationships you build with people of influence, or survival tactics for your journey to success.

Note that both the title and subtitle suggest direct correlations between the battlefield and the business world. The first few lines of the book give you an idea of the on-going focus and direction of the content.

Legendary bluesman B.B. King begins one of his many famous songs with the lyric: “Nobody loves me but my mother, and she could be jivin’ too.”

Much of the content I discovered with the 266 pages of Executive Warfare could easily qualify for the category of “what you’ll never learn in business school although you’d be much better off if you did.” Not a catchy category title but very descriptive and precisely on point.

I worked many years with an associate who despised corporate politics and, as a result, refused to participate. He chose, instead, to focus on his career. Little did he know that the choice was not his. We’re all in the game whether we choose to participate or not.

Note the obvious: The single greatest reason why otherwise talented people get stuck in mid-career is because they believe that the same rules that applied for the first part of their careers still apply. They don’t. (That reminds me of another great book title: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There!) You have to master a much subtler set of rules. The same skill sets, aptitudes, and mind sets must now be replaced and re-trained toward the new goal.

By the time you reach the executive level, it’s no longer enough to be smart, hard-working and able to show results. Most of your peers can do that very well at this stage. What really sets you apart is the relationships you build with people of influence. These people can include your peers, your employees, your organization’s directors, reporters, vendors, and regulators, as well as the people directly above you in the organizational hierarchy.

To truly attain the success you seek you must now learn how to acquire the global perspective your peers lack, when and how to deliver bad news, when to take a shot at your rivals and when to be gracious, and, most important, how to handle the many new influences on your career trajectory.

The authors offer concrete advice for handling all of them, including:

  • YOUR PEERS: They are the most valuable of allies or the most dangerous of enemies.
  • THE CEO: His/Her office is often where the real fairy dust is kept. Make sure you have a good relationship here.
  • THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: They won’t judge you fairly if all they see of you is your PowerPoints.
  • YOUR DIRECT REPORTS: They are your vital organs, so treat them accordingly. And if you find a blood clot among them—excise that person before he kills you.
  • YOUR RIVALS: It’s not always wise to shoot at them, but if you do, do not shoot to wound.

The way to the top is filled with pitfalls and dangerous routes, and this book teaches us to avoid or survive them to fight another day. It teaches us which battles are worth fighting and winning to ensure that we win the war.

The authors offer sound advice that will allow the reader to balance impeccable integrity with essential “street smarts.” Alessandro seems to capture all the key issues of avoiding corporate exile and the slow death of a manager.

I especially appreciated the one or two “nuggets of knowledge” which appear on every single page of the book in a special illustrated graphic box.

(This book review was originally published in 2009 as one of the Top 10 Books – Edition 19.)

About Harry K. Jones

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.