Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?: Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround


Louis V. Gerstner Jr. - 2002
    By 1993, the computer industry had changed so rapidly the company was on its way to losing $16 billion and IBM was on a watch list for extinction -- victimized by its own lumbering size, an insular corporate culture, and the PC era IBM had itself helped invent.Then Lou Gerstner was brought in to run IBM. Almost everyone watching the rapid demise of this American icon presumed Gerstner had joined IBM to preside over its continued dissolution into a confederation of autonomous business units. This strategy, well underway when he arrived, would have effectively eliminated the corporation that had invented many of the industry's most important technologies.Instead, Gerstner took hold of the company and demanded the managers work together to re-establish IBM's mission as a customer-focused provider of computing solutions. Moving ahead of his critics, Gerstner made the hold decision to keep the company together, slash prices on his core product to keep the company competitive, and almost defiantly announced, "The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision."Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? tells the story of IBM's competitive and cultural transformation. In his own words, Gerstner offers a blow-by-blow account of his arrival at the company and his campaign to rebuild the leadership team and give the workforce a renewed sense of purpose. In the process, Gerstner defined a strategy for the computing giant and remade the ossified culture bred by the company's own success.The first-hand story of an extraordinary turnaround, a unique case study in managing a crisis, and a thoughtful reflection on the computer industry and the principles of leadership, Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? sums up Lou Gerstner's historic business achievement. Taking readers deep into the world of IBM's CEO, Gerstner recounts the high-level meetings and explains the pressure-filled, no-turning-back decisions that had to be made. He also offers his hard-won conclusions about the essence of what makes a great company run.In the history of modern business, many companies have gone from being industry leaders to the verge of extinction. Through the heroic efforts of a new management team, some of those companies have even succeeded in resuscitating themselves and living on in the shadow of their former stature. But only one company has been at the pinnacle of an industry, fallen to near collapse, and then, beyond anyone's expectations, returned to set the agenda. That company is IBM.Lou Gerstener, Jr., served as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 to March 2002, when he retired as CEO. He remained chairman of the board through the end of 2002. Before joining IBM, Mr. Gerstner served for four years as chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco, Inc. This was preceded by an eleven-year career at the American Express Company, where he was president of the parent company and chairman and CEO of its largest subsidiary. Prior to that, Mr. Gerstner was a director of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Co., Inc. He received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

If You're Not First, You're Last: Sales Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your Competition


Grant Cardone - 2010
    Mistakes become more costly, and failure becomes a real possibility for all those who are not able to make the transition. But imagine being able to sell your products when others cannot, being able to take market share from both your competitors, and knowing the precise formulas that would allow you to expand your sales while others make excuses.If You're Not First, You're Last is about how to sell your products and services--despite the economy--and provides the reader with ways to capitalize regardless of their product, service, or idea. Grant shares his proven strategies that will allow you to not just continue to sell, but create new products, increase margins, gain market share and much more. Key concepts in If You're Not First, You're Last include:Converting the Unsold to Sold The Power Schedule to Maximize Sales Your Freedom Financial Plan The Unreasonable Selling Attitude

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance


Angela Duckworth - 2016
    Rather, other factors can be even more crucial such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments.Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently bemoaned her lack of smarts, Duckworth describes her winding path through teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not genius, but a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance. As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created her own character lab and set out to test her theory.Here, she takes readers into the field to visit teachers working in some of the toughest schools, cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she's learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers; from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to the cartoon editor of The New Yorker to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that not talent or luck makes all the difference.

How to Make $1,000 Per Day Clear Profit on Amazon with One Single $35 Product You Choose: - and - How to Become an After-Tax Cash Millionaire in 3 Simple ... Make Money on the Internet, Small Business)


Bradford Sullivan - 2014
     * Compelling evidence that selling products on Amazon may be the best home-based business opportunity ever created * The Simple Profit Blueprint – How to Make $1,000 Per Day Clear Profit on Amazon with One Single $35 Product You Choose * The biggest obstacle in your way of achieving that goal and how I will help you overcome it (Hint: It's all in your head) * What selling products on Amazon is all about * The common misconceptions about selling products on Amazon * The powerful advantages to selling on Amazon as opposed to trying to sell products online on your own * The PRICELESS benefits to “Partnering” with Amazon * The basics of selling products on Amazon * The basics of finding profitable products to sell on Amazon * The two distinctly different methods to find the products you’ll be selling on Amazon * The “Retail Arbitrage” method of sourcing products to sell on Amazon * The “Private Label” method of sourcing products to sell on Amazon * Two distinctly different methods of Private Labeling products to sell on Amazon * Two distinctly different ways to sell your products on Amazon * Our (my partner and I) experience in our first year as Amazon sellers, exactly how much money we made and what it taught us * Retail Arbitrage vs. Private Label * The two major obstacles to making really big money with Retail Arbitrage * How to sign-up as an Amazon seller today for free and why you'll soon want to pay $39.99 per month to go "Pro" * You're creating "AZ Money Machines" (AMMs instead of ATMs) * How Amazon pays you and the breakdown of the check Amazon would be sending you every two weeks (or depositing directly into your bank account) * How the blueprint creates a self-perpetuating NET annual income of $360,720 * Why you should NOT make your goal $1,000 per day * How to become a cash millionaire in 3 simple steps * How building an enormously successful Amazon business is a simple step-by-step process * How to earn insanely high annualized returns on your product investments * How you can “fail” your way to success * The “Beyond Amazon” Bonus * How to scale your business up with three simple steps to where you are a bona fide cash millionaire * Can you really make more money in one week than you've ever made on your old job in one year? (Simple answer – YES!) * Where to get 100% of the money you need to grow your Amazon business as large as you want – at 0% interest * Where to find MORE money to build your business * Your Free* Training * Your Shortcut to the BIG Money * Your action steps to get started today * Chart your success to $1,000 per day – and more * The "Secret Sauce" that will supercharge your motivation and determination to succeed in this business Tags: Amazon Private Label FBA, FBA, Private Label FBA, Amazon FBA, Amazon FBA Secrets, Sell on Amazon, Retail Arbitrage, Physical Products, Private Label, FBA, Private Label, Home-Based Business, Amazing Selling Machine, Fulfillment by Amazon, Private La

Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends


Tim Sanders - 2002
    By that I mean: Your knowledge: everything that comes from all the books that I’ll encourage you to devour.Your network: the collection of friends and contacts you now have, which I’ll teach you how to grow and nurture.Your compassion: that human warmth you already possess—in these pages I’ll convince you that you can show it freely at the office.What happens when you do all this?* You become a rich source of information to all around you.* You are seen as a person with valuable insight.* You are perceived as generous to a fault, producing surprise and delight.* You double your business intelligence in one year.* You triple your network of personal relationships in two years.* You quadruple the number of colleagues in your life who love you like family.In short, you become one of those amazing, outstanding people to whom everyone turns, who leads rather than follows, who never runs out of ideas, contacts, or friendship.Here’s the real scoop: Nice guys don’t finish last. They rule!From the Hardcover edition.

Code Halos: How the Digital Lives of People, Things, and Organizations Are Changing the Rules of Business


Malcolm Frank - 2014
    Today's outliers in revenue growth and value creation are winning with a new set of rules. They are dominating by managing the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes, and products--what authors Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig, and Ben Pring call Code Halos. This is far beyond "Big Data" and analytics. Code Halos spark new commercial models that can dramatically flip market dominance from industry stalwarts to challengers. In this new book, the authors show leaders how digital innovators and traditional companies can build Code Halo solutions to drive success. The book:Examines the explosion of digital information that now surrounds us and describes the profound impact this is having on individuals, corporations, and societies; Shows how the Crossroads Model can help anticipate and navigate this market shift; Provides examples of traditional firms already harnessing the power of Code Halos including GE's Brilliant Machines, Disney's theme park Magic Band, and Allstate's mobile devices and analytics that transform auto insurance. With reasoned insight, new data, real-world cases, and practical guidance, Code Halos shows seasoned executives, entrepreneurs, students, line-of-business owners, and technology leaders how to master the new rules of the Code Halo economy.

Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change


William Bridges - 2003
    When restructures, mergers, bankruptcies, and layoffs hit the workplace, employees and managers naturally find the resulting situational shifts to be challenging. But the psychological transitions that accompany them are even more stressful. Organizational transitions affect people; it is always people, rather than a company, who have to embrace a new situation and carry out the corresponding change. As veteran business consultant William Bridges explains, transition is successful when employees have a purpose, a plan, and a part to play. This indispensable guide is now updated to reflect the challenges of today's ever-changing, always-on, and globally connected workplaces. Directed at managers on all rungs of the corporate ladder, this expanded edition of the classic bestseller provides practical, step-by-step strategies for minimizing disruptions and navigating uncertain times.

The Science of Intelligent Decision Making: How to Think More Clearly, Save Your Time, and Maximize Your Happiness. Destroy Indecision!


Peter Hollins - 2017
    There’s a science to improving your critical thinking, weighing pros and cons, and avoiding the traps that take you down the wrong path. We can systematically make decisions that will improve our lives if we just know what to focus on. Learn why most of our instincts about decisions are flat-out wrong. The Science of Intelligent Decision Making will teach you to seize control of your life and make sure your decisions aren’t making you . This book cites years of research and scientific studies about what constitutes a great decision and the factors that will inevitably lead you there. It is an in-depth look at human nature and psychology and why we think the way we do. It’s largely subconscious, but easily overcome with the methodologies described within. Think more quickly and more thoroughly – at the same time. Peter Hollins has studied psychology and the human condition for over a dozen years. This book contains tactics pulled from his personal experience, as well as some of the most famous studies in decision theory and social psychology to help you make snap decisions. Beat analysis paralysis. • Learn your subconscious motivations, needs, and desires. • Discover the surprising causes and cures for decision fatigue. • Over 10 of the most dangerous cognitive biases and decision traps. • How to make your pros and cons lists incredibly useful. Never have “buyer’s remorse” regrets again. • The 6 Hats Method of intelligent decisions. • How to make group decisions optimally. • The WRAP method of preparing for failure. • How to think outside the box and creatively solve problems. Remove the stress of tough and uncertain decisions forever. When you master decision making, you can control your happiness and seize the opportunities life gives you. Better decisions more information and understanding and less stress and anxiety. What if you could predict the future with consistency through your decisions? You will fail far less, stop wasting your time, and cut down on the regrets in your life. Wise choices will allow you to perform under pressure, and even strategically think outside the box. Start choosing happiness by QUICKLY AND DECISIVELY clicking the BUY NOW button at the top of this page.

How To Stop Worrying And Start Living & How To Make Friends And Influence People (Unabridged)


Dale Carnegie - 2016
    How to Stop Worrying and Start Living – The book's goal is to lead the reader to a more enjoyable and fulfilling life, helping them to become more aware of, not only themselves, but others around them. Carnegie tries to address the everyday nuances of living, in order to get the reader to focus on the more important aspects of life.How to Win Friends and Influence People - can enable you to make friends quickly and easily, help you to win people to your way of thinking, increase your influence, your prestige, your ability to get things done, as well as enable you to win new clients, new customers.Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) was an American writer and lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. Born into poverty on a farm in Missouri, he was the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), a massive bestseller that remains popular today. Excerpt:"I came home to my lonely room each night with a sick headache-a headache bred and fed by disappointment, worry, bitterness, and rebellion. I was rebelling because the dreams I had nourished back in my college days had turned into nightmares. Was this life? Was this the vital adventure to which I had looked forward so eagerly?"

Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary


Frank Luntz - 2011
    Frank Luntz comes an unprecedented examination of communication excellence and how top performers win in all areas of human endeavor by utilizing superb communication skills. From Mike Bloomberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger to business icons Rupert Murdoch, Steve Wynn, and Fred Smith; to the CEOs of MGM Resorts, J. Crew, and Gibson Guitar; to legendary sports superstars like Larry Bird, Jimmy Connors, and Mike Richter; to media legends Roger Ailes, Don Imus, and dozens more, Luntz tells their stories--in their own words--and demonstrates how their style of operation and communication is absolutely essential to their success. Luntz makes it clear that following the rules of effective communication is indispensable in any successful human endeavor.Dr. Luntz offers more than seventy new "words that work" for private one-on-one meetings with your boss, for public presentations to hundreds of colleagues, or for television appearances that reach millions. There are more than three dozen specific lessons and recommendations--and each one directly illustrates the nine essential action-oriented principles of winning at every level: People-Centered, Paradigm-Breaking, Prioritizing, Perfection, Partnerships, Passion, Persuasion, Persistence, and Principled Actions.Do you have what it takes Win is an unprecedented examination of the art, science, and language of winning, and a must-have for people who want to understand and emulate the winners of today. THE DEFINITION OF WINNINGThe ability to grasp the human dimension of every situationThe ability to know what questions to ask and when to ask themThe ability to see the challenge, and the solution, from every angleThe ability to communicate their vision passionately and persuasivelyThe ability to connect with others and create an enduring chemistryand 10 other universal attributes of winners.

Measure What Matters


John E. Doerr - 2017
     With a foreword by Larry Page, and contributions from Bono and Bill Gates. Measure What Matters is about using Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), a revolutionary approach to goal-setting, to make tough choices in business. In 1999, legendary venture capitalist John Doerr invested nearly $12 million in a startup that had amazing technology, entrepreneurial energy and sky-high ambitions, but no real business plan. Doerr introduced the founders to OKRs and with them at the foundation of their management, the startup grew from forty employees to more than 70,000 with a market cap exceeding $600 billion. The startup was Google. Since then Doerr has introduced OKRs to more than fifty companies, helping tech giants and charities exceed all expectations. In the OKR model objectives define what we seek to achieve and key results are how those top­ priority goals will be attained. OKRs focus effort, foster coordination and enhance workplace satisfaction. They surface an organization's most important work as everyone's goals from entry-level to CEO are transparent to the entire institution. In Measure What Matters, Doerr shares a broad range of first-person, behind-the-scenes case studies, with narrators including Bono and Bill Gates, to demonstrate the focus, agility, and explosive growth that OKRs have spurred at so many great organizations. This book will show you how to collect timely, relevant data to track progress - to measure what matters. It will help any organization or team aim high, move fast, and excel.

How to Improve Your Leadership and Management Skills - Effective Strategies for Business Managers


Meir Liraz - 2013
    It points out that you must be a leader that people follow, keep informed, make timely decisions and take effective action. In effect you must control the activities of your organization rather than being controlled by them. Here's what’s in the book: * How to lead and manage people; powerful tips and strategies to motivate and inspire your people to bring out the best in them. Be the boss people want to give 200 percent for. * How to Make a Good First Impression * How to Motivate Your Employees in the Workplace * How to Manage Change Effectively * How to Deal With Difficult Employees * Effective Business Negotiation Techniques * How To Set and Achieve Goals * Effective Delegating Strategies * How To Ensure the Profitability of Your Business * How to Create a Business Environment that Supports Growth * All these and much much more. My name is Meir Liraz and I'm the author of this book. According to Dun & Bradstreet, 90% of all business failures analyzed can be traced to poor management. This is backed up by my own experience. In my 31 years as a business coach and consultant to managers, I've seen practically dozens of managers fail and lose their job -- not because they weren't talented or smart enough -- but because they were trying to re-invent the wheel rather than rely on proven, tested methods that work. And that is where this book can help, it will teach you how to avoid the common traps and mistakes and do everything right the first time. Table of Contents 1. How to Lead and Manage People 2. How to Make a Good First Impression 3. How to Motivate Employees in the Workplace 4. How to Manage Change Effectively 5. How to Deal With Difficult Employees 6. Effective Business Negotiation Techniques 7. How To Set and Achieve Goals 8. Effective Delegating Strategies 9. How To Ensure the Profitability of Your Business 10. How to Create a Business Environment that Supports Growth Tags: leadership development, student leadership challenge, business leadership, leadership development program, leadership dynamics, management skills and application, developing management skills.

Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less


Michael Hyatt - 2019
    You know, all those things that make life great.Most people think productivity is about finding or saving time. But it's not. It's about making our time work for us. Just imagine having free time again. It's not a pipe dream.In Free to Focus, New York Times bestselling author Michael Hyatt reveals to readers nine proven ways to win at work so they are finally free to succeed at the rest of life--their health, relationships, hobbies, and more. He helps readers redefine their goals, evaluate what's working, cut out the nonessentials, focus on the most important tasks, manage their time and energy, and build momentum for a lifetime of success.

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders


L. David Marquet - 2013
    As newly appointed captain of the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine, he was responsible for more than a hundred sailors, deep in the sea. In this high-stress environment, where there is no margin for error, it was crucial his men did their job and did it well.But the ship was dogged by poor morale, poor performance, and the worst retention in the fleet. Marquet acted like any other captain until, one day, he unknowingly gave an impossible order, and his crew tried to follow it anyway. When he asked why the order wasn't challenged, the answer was "Because you told me to." Marquet realized he was leading in a culture of followers, and they were all in danger unless they fundamentally changed the way they did things. That's when Marquet took matters into his own hands and pushed for leadership at every level. Turn the Ship Around! is the true story of how the Santa Fe skyrocketed from worst to first in the fleet by challenging the U.S. Navy's traditional leader-follower approach. Struggling against his own instincts to take control, he instead achieved the vastly more powerful model of giving control. Before long, each member of Marquet's crew became a leader and assumed responsibility for everything he did, from clerical tasks to crucial combat decisions. The crew became fully engaged, contributing their full intellectual capacity every day, and the Santa Fe started winning awards and promoting a highly disproportionate number of officers to submarine command.No matter your business or position, you can apply Marquet's radical guidelines to turn your own ship around. The payoff: a workplace where everyone around you is taking responsibility for their actions, where people are healthier and happier, where everyone is a leader.

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling


Edgar H. Schein - 2013
    But all too often when we interact with people—especially those who report to us—we simply tell them what we think they need to know. This shuts them down. To generate bold new ideas, to avoid disastrous mistakes, to develop agility and flexibility, we need to practice Humble Inquiry.Ed Schein defines Humble Inquiry as “the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person.” In this seminal work, Schein contrasts Humble Inquiry with other kinds of inquiry, shows the benefits Humble Inquiry provides in many different settings, and offers advice on overcoming the cultural, organizational, and psychological barriers that keep us from practicing it.