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Giants of Enterprise: Seven Business Innovators and the Empires They Built (平装)
by Richard S. Tedlow
| Category:
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Business success, Corporate history |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 168.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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Library Journal (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-25 00:00>
Business historian Tedlow (Harvard Business Sch.) presents seven magnates in a historical context that reflects the growth of the United States as an economic power from the mid-1800s to the latter part of the 20th century. Presenting biographical essays divided chronologically into three sections, he first discusses Andrew Carnegie (U.S. Steel), George Eastman (Kodak), and Henry Ford (automobiles) and their contributions to the emergence of America as an economic force. The founding of IBM by Thomas Watson Sr. in 1924 and Revlon by Charles Revson in 1932 are then used to highlight technological leadership and marketing, respectively. The leadership, management, and determination of Robert Noyce (Intel) and Sam Walton (WalMart) demonstrate the success of entrepreneurs in recent times. Each essay concerns the central figure and his contribution, personal attributes and faults, family, close associates, and a history of the specific industry and American society at the time. Well-documented and very readable, this compendium is a good addition to academic and large public libraries. Steven J. Mayover, Philadelphia
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. - This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Booklist (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-25 00:00>
In today's market of dot-com dysfunction, maybe it is good to take a look back in history to learn how other businessmen and businesses started and stayed around long enough to succeed. As in his other books, Tedlow takes a penetrating look at the history of business by examining seven leaders - Andrew Carnegie, George Eastman, Henry Ford, Thomas J. Watson Sr., Charles Revson, Sam Walton, and Robert Noyce--who had the power to control business and affect the fates of others. Tedlow explains how they did it and analyzes why they did it, and he examines how they sometimes defied laws and conventions, set trends, created new business philosophies, and pushed forward to succeed. This is an interesting, cautionary tale for those in business, taking the reader through the beginnings of entrepreneurship and the realization of innovative, hard-edged business practices, such as brand marketing and mass production, that have played a role in defining the U.S. as the land of opportunity. Eileen Hardy
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Business Week (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-25 00:00>
One of the top ten business books of 2001 -This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Atlantic Monthly (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-25 00:00>
From Richard Tedlow’s insightful group portrait of seven American entrepreneurs ... a rough formula for titanhood can be educed. |
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Darwin magazine (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-25 00:00>
Tedlow delivers his reearch with a keen sense of style, humor and candor. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-25 00:00>
In Giants of Enterprise, Dr. Tedlow presents us with analyses of seven unique individuals who utilized their curiosity, their exuberance, and even their haughty foolishness, to shape American business not only during their era, but onward into ours.
Of the seven (who are presented chronologically), Andrew Carnegie first greets us, with his robust demeanor and exquisite manner, energetically shunting from his years as a teenage telegraph boy to pot-luck investor [auspiciously, thanks to his mentor, Tom Scott (p.38)], then quickly onward to cunning business manager and, inevitably, steel mogul. He was a man who quickly outgrew his impecunious upbringing in Scotland as he realized the epitome of the American dream: Limitless wealth, earned by one's own ability. In 1901, Carnegie would be congratulated by J.P. Morgan for achieving the status of "the richest man in the world (p. 64)." (J.P. Morgan was certainly by no means a 'small-timer' himself - his purchase of Carnegie Steel in 1901 founded U.S. Steel, which is now USX [market capitalization of 1.51 billion as of 12/4/01].)
At the turn of the last century, Carnegie was at a point in his life when he could afford to buy tracts of land in New York City for the construction of vast properties, and even purchase a castle back in his homeland of Scotland (today, 'Skibo Castle' is a luxurious golfer's resort).
Nevertheless, Carnegie wished for a power greater than he had achieved. All too often he displayed his callow, unrealistic visions for the world to see throughout his legacy, and Dr. Tedlow exposes these vain dilemmas with compassion and candor, from Carnegie's dealings with labor issues (the inexplicable publication of "The Advantages of Poverty" in 1891, when it was well known that Carnegie was worth quite a hefty sum), to Carnegie's futile attempt to convince Kaiser Wilhelm II to [paraphrased] 'meet with Theodore Roosevelt and warmly embrace [Carnegie's] idea for world peace (p.67),' just before World War I.
And therein lies the crux, the power of Giants of Enterprise: each of these men - these powerful, elite, seemingly invulnerable men - were, inevitably, 'deranged' by their power.
The vigorous, yet cordial prose of Professor Tedlow's shrewd observations span the 500 pages of Giants of Enterprise, and it is delivered gracefully, as if he is across from the fireplace, seated comfortably, sharing a family chronicle (or in this case, several chronicles). Dr. Tedlow does not resort to clinical observations - i.e., the kind typically culled from industry reports - and it greatly humanizes the book, making it a fascinating read. He also seems to eschew trickled-down, corporate bias for the sake of verification of these remarkable histories; it is obvious that the material within this book was exquisitely, exhaustively compiled and examined, cross-checked and researched, in order to establish a factual, honest depiction of the seven subjects. From Andrew Carnegie's aforementioned, misguided strides toward world peace, to Kodak founder George Eastman's seeming Oedipus complex (pp.72-117); from Henry Ford's anti-Semitism (pp.119-178; p.138), to Charles Revson's alleged game-show fixing and blatant misogyny (pp.247-305; p.279; p.303); all of these men are shown to be less than perfect - and Dr. Tedlow displays them in an unerring light that, for the better of all, casts them as the fallible, and very successful, people that they were.
If you've ever taken a picture, or ridden the Amtrak rails; if you've ever watched a game show, worn make-up, or wondered how Wal-Mart keeps their prices so darned low; if you have ever used a computer - to shop online, or even to read a quick book review - Giants of Enterprise will rivet you, be thee an historian; an analyst; a programmer; an MBA; or an inquisitive layman, comfortable at home, sitting by the fire, curious to read several well-written, satisfying tales of some visionaries and their visions, and how America got to where it is today. |
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1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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