Suggested Reading
Browse by Subject
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From Worst to First
Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback
by Gordon Bethune
In “From Worst to First,” Gordon Bethune tells how he led the transformation of twice-bankrupt Continental Airlines into a award winning company after years as an unprofitable airline hated by employees and customers alike. Under Bethune's leadership, Continental became one of the most respected and reliable airlines in the industry. According to Bethune, everything you do to create a successful company will depend on your ability to create, develop and maintain good, healthy, honest and straightforward relationships. Bethune argues that there's no such thing as a successful company that has a product nobody wants and where employees don't want to come to work. Therefore, you need to create an environment in which employees create added value by serving the customers and each other. When people feel good about the value they're creating, they become highly motivated. “From Worst to First” is a great read for all managers. If you are willing to change the way you're running your business, this book is an excellent guide.
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Built from Scratch
How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion
by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank
“Built from Scratch” is about two businessmen who achieve the American Dream by fundamentally changing home-improvement retailing. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, cofounders of the Home Depot, explain how they established the first national chain in the industry by concentrating on low prices, customer service, and strong leadership values. Marcus and Blank began Home Depot in Atlanta with little backing and lost $1 million in its first year of operation, but today Home Depot is one of the great business successes. The authors candidly discuss setbacks, including a multimillion-dollar discrimination settlement, as well as ideas gone bad. “Built from Scratch” complete with real world advice for any business leader.
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Direct from Dell
Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry
by Michael Dell and Catherine Freedman
At nineteen, Michael Dell started his company as a freshman at the University of Texas with $1,000 and has since built an industry powerhouse. As Dell journeys through his childhood adventures, ups and downs, and mistakes made along the way, he reflects on invaluable lessons learned. Michael Dell's revolutionary insight has allowed him to persevere against all odds, and “Direct from Dell” contains valuable information for any business leader. His strategies will show you effective ways to grow your business and will help you save time by avoiding costly mistakes by following his direct model for success. The lessons contained in “Direct From Dell” are applicable for any leader building a business.
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How to Grow When Markets Don’t
by Adrian Slywotsky and Rickland Wise
Slywotsky and Wise analyze companies in mature markets that have managed to achieve significant growth without venturing outside their industry or acquiring other companies. Their chief insight is that established companies with experience in their field have, aside from their core business, a wealth of hidden assets—customer relationships, technical expertise, efficient business models—that they can exploit to grow new businesses. “How to Grow When Markets Don’t” is a worthwhile look at the possibilities open to mature companies looking to rejuvenate themselves.
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Authentic Leadership
Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value
by Bill George
In “Authentic Leadership,” Bill George makes the case for a new type of leadership, authentic leadership, where people of the highest integrity are committed to building enduring organizations. George describes authentic leadership as a leadership style that is consistent with a leader’s personality and core values, and that is honest, ethical and practical. George suggests that to begin developing your authentic leadership style, you should begin by assessing yourself against the five dimensions of an authentic leader: understanding your purpose, practicing your values, leading with your heart, establishing connected relationships and demonstrating self-discipline. George argues that authentic leaders are dedicated to continued personal growth and committed to building lasting relationships and strong organizations. “Authentic Leadership” is a worthwhile guide for character-based leaders and all those who have a stake in the integrity and success of any business.
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Beyond Entrepreneurship
Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company
by Jim Collins and William Lazier
In “Beyond Entrepreneurship,” Collins and Lazier aim to help entrepreneurs make the shift from starting a successful business to building a great company by focusing on leadership style, vision, strategy, innovation, and tactical excellence. Collins and Lazier argue that great companies meet four criteria: sustain high performance, play a significant leadership role in shaping their industries, are admired and respected, and remain successful for generations. This is a practical handbook for turning an existing small to mid-sized enterprise into an enduring great company.
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The Advantage
Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
by Patrick Lencioni
Patrick Lencioni argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. An organization is healthy when it is whole, consistent and complete, when its management, operations and culture are unified. Healthy organizations outperform their counterparts, are free of politics and confusion and provide an environment where star performers never want to leave. “The Advantage” provides leaders with a four-discipline model for achieving organizational health: build a cohesive leadership team, create clarity, overcommunicate clarity, and reinforce clarity. In “The Advantage,” Lencioni brings together many of the themes cultivated in his other best-selling books and delivers a cohesive and comprehensive exploration of the unique advantage organizational health provides. This practical guide is a must-read for all managers and executives.
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The Fifth Discipline
The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization
by Peter Senge
In “The Fifth Discipline,” Peter Senge contends that over time the only sustainable competitive advantage is your organization’s ability to learn faster than the competition. The basic rationale for “learning organizations” is that in situations of rapid change only those that are flexible, adaptive and productive will excel. For this to happen, it is argued, organizations need to discover how to tap people’s commitment and capacity to learn at all levels. Senge describes five disciplines that must be mastered at all levels of the organization: (1) personal mastery, (2) mental models, (3) shared vision, (4) team learning, and (5) systems thinking. As Senge explains, the fifth discipline is particularly important because it involves analyzing the organization's complex system of relationships and removing obstacles to true learning. The “Fifth Discipline” provides the insights to help transform organizations into interconnected, aligned, continuous learning systems that produce consistently positive results.
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Power
Why Some People Have It—And Others Don’t
by Jeffrey Pfeffer
Jeffrey Pfeffer suggests that talent, intelligence, performance, and likeability alone are not the key to moving up in an organization; instead, he argues political skill, self promotion, building relationships, cultivating a reputation for control and authority, and perfecting a powerful demeanor are vital drivers of advancement and success. Case studies feature the careers of leaders like G.E. CEO Jack Welch, General George Patton, Time CEO and Chairman Ann Moore, Lt. Colonel Oliver North, and President Bill Clinton. Filled with frank, practical insights, and even contrarian advice, “Power” offers unexpected—and aggressive—directions on how to advance and flourish in an ever-more competitive work world. This book has a realpolitik analysis of human behavior that isn't for everyone but its candor and straightforwardness offers insights into how power is successfully built, maintained, and employed in organizations. Reading “Power” may make you uncomfortable, but it will provide an understanding of the political dynamics at play in organizations small and large.
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Deals from Hell
M&A Lessons That Rise Above the Ashes
by Robert Bruner
About half of all merger and acquisition transactions destroy value for the buyer's shareholders, and about three-quarters fall short of the expectations prevailing at the time the deal is announced. In “Deals from Hell,” Robert Bruner uncovers the real reasons for these mishaps by taking a closer look at twelve specific instances of M&A failure. Through these real-world examples, he shows readers what went wrong and why, and converts these examples into cautionary tales for executives who need to know how they can successfully navigate their own M&A deals. By addressing the key factors to M&A success and failure, this comprehensive guide illustrates the best ways to analyze, design, and implement M&A deals. “Deals from Hell” helps readers avoid the common pitfalls and presents them with a clear framework for thinking about how to make any M&A transaction a success.
