New Ideas from Dead CEOs
It dumbfounds me how little credence politicians give to the past. Tax policy, war strategy, the decision to go to war in the first place...it's almost as if the economics of the 80's didn't exist, we never bothered researching the history (especially regional religious politics) of the middle east, and wars (oh sorry..."conflicts") such as Vietnam never existed. Sure, every new situation brings its own set of variables, but history shows us that some things work, some things don't. Some tax policies drive us into frightful levels of debt while feeding a select few people who, believe it or not, don't actually let the wealth trickle down; others tax policies don't. I've even heard certain commanders in chief claim that our current War on Terror is "different" because we are fighting an unknown enemy. HELLO!!!! Were you...oh never mind, we don't know what you were doing in the 60's? But we do know what you weren't doing.
Anyways. The same lack of historical understanding is often on display in business. Company heads simply don't seem to learn from the mistakes, and successes, of past business leaders. Perhaps this is because business history isn't as well-known or well-taught, or as visible, as other forms of history - especially now when corporate news is framed as daily info-tainment sensation as opposed to a learning experience we binness geeks can genuinely learn from. If a lack of recourses is to blame, then I have the book for you. It's called, New Ideas from Dead CEOs: Lasting Lesson from the Corner Office, and it's sure to help all you decision makers gain valuable perspective and glean invaluable insights from leaders who have been put, or have put themselves, through the management grinder.
I love these few lines from the pub copy for this book:
The featured CEOs in this book were not candidates for sainthood. Many of them knew "god" only as a prefix to "dammit." But they were devoted to their businesses, not just to their egos and their personal bank accounts and yachts.
I love those lines simply because we're talking about past leaders who may have made mistakes along the way, but when the rooster crowed, their intentions were focused solely on the success of the company they were running, and not on individual wealth or fame. What this book does is delve into the professional and personal lives of these once dedicated, now deceased, leaders so that present day leaders can related, learn, and apply some lessons of business days gone by.
Ray Kroc - The dude took McDonald's to unbelievable heights at the same time other burger joints were flopping and wondering who put failure-dust in their chocolate malts. How was his plan different and why did it succeed? And to put histories lessons into immediate perspective, how on [any variance of a supreme being]'s green earth did Krispy Kreme not study Kroc's history and heed his lessons.
Walt Disney - Life wasn't always as goofy as Goofy and smiley as Mickey. His young days as a cartoonist saw their share of hard ship. But how did these days totally change his direction? It's in the book.
Those are just two examples of dead CEOs. The book is filled with them. But what makes the book even more valuable is that it doesn't simply talk about some dead people and what they did and didn't do - it takes the lessons those folks learned and implemented and shows how they are applicable to today's current corporations. It shows how ideas from then still apply to companies like Dell and Costco, Sony and Carnival Cruises, and of course, you and the company, department, or team you are leading.
If we don't learn from the past, we will continuously repeat the mistakes of the past. New Ideas from Dead CEOs is a great way to get us learning form the great leaders who came before us.
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