Why Some Firms Thrive While Others Fail


Book Description

Why did some firms weather the financial crisis and others not? This book investigates inner workings of over a dozen major financial and nonfinancial companies, reveals what went wrong and proposes a remedy. Regulators too must learn from past mistakes and require "constructive dialogue" for companies they supervise.




Good to Great


Book Description

The Challenge Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the verybeginning. But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? The Study For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great? The Standards Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world's greatest companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck. The Comparisons The research team contrasted the good-to-great companies with a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to make the leap from good to great. What was different? Why did one set of companies become truly great performers while the other set remained only good? Over five years, the team analyzed the histories of all twenty-eight companies in the study. After sifting through mountains of data and thousands of pages of interviews, Collins and his crew discovered the key determinants of greatness -- why some companies make the leap and others don't. The Findings The findings of the Good to Great study will surprise many readers and shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice. The findings include: Level 5 Leaders: The research team was shocked to discover the type of leadership required to achieve greatness. The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity within the Three Circles): To go from good to great requires transcending the curse of competence. A Culture of Discipline: When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great results. Technology Accelerators: Good-to-great companies think differently about the role of technology. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Those who launch radical change programs and wrenching restructurings will almost certainly fail to make the leap. “Some of the key concepts discerned in the study,” comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people.” Perhaps, but who can afford to ignore these findings?




Invent, Reinvent, Thrive: The Keys to Success for Any Start-Up, Entrepreneur, or Family Business


Book Description

In today's uncertain world of business, one rule stands above the rest: If you want to survive--let alone thrive--you must embrace change. Everything else comes after. In Invent Reinvent Thrive Kellogg School of Management Professor Lloyd Shefsky provides the inspiration and insight any entrepreneur or family business needs for long-term success--and he backs it all up with proven models of what works and what doesn't. Shefsky reveals the common thread of all business success stories: reinvention. He explains not just how to reinvent concepts and ideas from the start, but ways to continuously innovate and reinvent your business to meet today's constantly changing marketplace conditions. In addition to his own expert insight, Shefsky provides firsthand advice through case studies derived from dozens of original interviews with entrepreneurs and family business giants, consisting of the leaders of some of today's most successful companies, including: Howard Schultz (founder, Chairman, and CEO of Starbucks) Jim Sinegal (founder of Costco) Chuck Schwab (founder of Charles Schwab & Co.) Tom Stemberg (founder of Staples) The author also gives special attention to family businesses (which account for over half the U.S. GDP) and how to address vexing family disparities, enabling family businesses to last more than two generations. Invent Reinvent Thrive offers all the answers you need to get your business where you want it to be. You'll learn exactly where new and multi-generational business owners fall short and miss incredible opportunities, why they fail to take the plunge or innovate--and how you can rework, revitalize, and reinvent your business not just to avoid the most common perils but to lead your business to the apex of your industry. "Entrepreneurship is not a cataclysmic event," Shefsky writes. "It is a constant process." Follow his advice through every step of the process and you will successfully invent, reinvent--and thrive. PRAISE FOR INVENT REINVENT THRIVE: "If you think business books are boring, this is your chance to prove yourself wrong. Storytelling is an art, and Shefsky brings that art to business. Invent Reinvent Thrive is a treasure trove of valuable lessons." -- STAN KASTEN, President and CEO, Los Angeles Dodgers; former President of the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves, Hawks, and Thrashers "Invent Reinvent Thrive is full of wise and practical guidance for both would-be and continuing entrepreneurs. Shefsky's discussions provide wonderful advice that will aid anyone embarking on or continuing in an entrepreneurial enterprise." -- DAVID RUDER, former Chairman, Securities & Exchange Commission "Our company's direct experience with Lloyd Shefsky . . . inspired us to methodically pursue Brown-Forman's never-ending greatness, and this book can do the same for others. I highly recommend Invent Reinvent Thrive to all businesspeople." -- PAUL VARGA, CEO and Chairman, Brown-Forman Corporation, producer of Jack Daniels, Finlandia, Southern Comfort, and other spirits "Lloyd Shefsky tackles the issues many entrepreneurs face and offers practical advice to defy the odds. If you've had business success, yet need to go to the next level, read this book." -- GINGER GRAHAM, former President and CEO, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, and former faculty at the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School "This is a very serious study of a critical issue, and no one dealing with entrepreneurship or family businesses should make the mistake of ignoring it." -- ISRAEL ZANG, Professor and former Dean of Business School and Vice Provost of Tel Aviv University







How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm


Book Description

We live in a values-driven world. As times change, businesses must evolve. The way that leaders have run companies for generations is no longer relevant.Today -- Purpose wins over products. Values win over features. Stories win over pitches.Everyone everywhere craves fulfillment. You must share the reason why you exist and infuse it into everything you do, in order to thrive. Many leaders see the shift in the market and make an effort to adapt. Companies quickly learn that one-off workshops and off-sites are not enough. Purpose is more than a press release. Your vision and mission statements should live in practice as well as print, and permeate through every aspect of your organization. You must close the gap between the messages you declare and the experiences you deliver. How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm shares the vital experience and valuable insights that leaders require to evolve their organizations and navigate the values-driven world we live in. Live your purpose to stay alive and build a faithful following of clients and team members. Employ your authentic values as your guide through the modern market and drive profitability. Share meaningful stories that emotionally connect with todays clientele to transform them into tomorrows brand ambassadors. 3 keys to unlock purpose and profit will enable you to turn the obstacles of the shifting market into your greatest opportunities, soar above your competitors, and grow your revenue beyond your highest projections.







The Red Queen among Organizations


Book Description

There's a scene in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass in which the Red Queen, having just led a chase with Alice in which neither seems to have moved from the spot where they began, explains to the perplexed girl: "It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." Evolutionary biologists have used this scene to illustrate the evolutionary arms race among competing species. William Barnett argues that a similar dynamic is at work when organizations compete, shaping how firms and industries evolve over time. Barnett examines the effects--and unforeseen perils--of competing and winning. He takes a fascinating, in-depth look at two of the most competitive industries--computer manufacturing and commercial banking--and derives some startling conclusions. Organizations that survive competition become stronger competitors--but only in the market contexts in which they succeed. Barnett shows how managers may think their experience will help them thrive in new markets and conditions, when in fact the opposite is likely to be the case. He finds that an organization's competitiveness at any given moment hinges on the organization's historical experience. Through Red Queen competition, weaker competitors fail, or they learn and adapt. This in turn heightens the intensity of competition and further strengthens survivors in an ever-evolving dynamic. Written by a leading organizational theorist, The Red Queen among Organizations challenges the prevailing wisdom about competition, revealing it to be a force that can make--and break--even the most successful organization.




The Economic Activities of Business


Book Description

This volume provides academics and professionals in business with an overview of business economics. Joyce utilizes economic theory to explain how a company functions, and draws upon the experience of modern firms to describe their operations. Topics covered include: different types of firms that exist in our economy, the different ways that a firm can grow and the limits of expansion, an analysis of various organizational forms, an economic analysis of marketing decisions and models, the process of strategic planning, special features of foreign operations, how firms raise funds, the record of mergers in the United States, the use of forecasts and their techniques, the impact of public policies and the need for business regulation, and failure, bankruptcy, and reorganization.







Firms of Endearment


Book Description

Today’s best companies get it. From Costco® to Commerce Bank, Wegmans to Whole Foods®: they’re becoming the ultimate value creators. They’re generating every form of value that matters: emotional, experiential, social, and financial. And they’re doing it for all their stakeholders. Not because it’s “politically correct”: because it’s the only path to long-term competitive advantage. These are the Firms of Endearment. Companies people love doing business with. Love partnering with. Love working for. Love investing in. Companies for whom “loyalty” isn’t just real: it’s palpable, and driving unbeatable advantages in everything from marketing to recruitment. You need to become one of those companies. This book will show you how. You’ll find specific, practical guidance on transforming every relationship you have: with customers, associates, partners, investors, and society. If you want to be great—truly great—this is your blueprint. We’re entering an Age of Transcendence, as people increasingly search for higher meaning in their lives, not just more possessions. This is transforming the marketplace, the workplace, the very soul of capitalism. Increasingly, today’s most successful companies are bringing love, joy, authenticity, empathy, and soulfulness into their businesses: they are delivering emotional, experiential, and social value–not just profits. Firms of Endearment illuminates this, the most fundamental transformation in capitalism since Adam Smith. It’s not about “corporate social responsibility”: it’s about building companies that can sustain success in a radically new era. It’s about great companies like IDEO and IKEA®, Commerce Bank and Costco®, Wegmans and Whole Foods®: how they earn the powerful loyalty and affection that enables truly breathtaking performance. This book is about gaining “share of heart,” not just share of wallet. It’s about aligning stakeholders’ interests, not just juggling them. It’s about building companies that leave the world a better place. Most of all, it’s about why you must do all this, or risk being left in the dust... and how to get there from wherever you are now.