Author: Richard S. Tedlow

Publisher: Collins

Pub. in: July, 2003

ISBN: 0066620368

Pages: 528

Measurements: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA01167

Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0066620367

In Giants of Enterprise, Harvard professor Richard Tedlow examines seven business titans: Henry Ford, Thomas Watson, Andrew Carnegie, George Eastman, Charles Revson, Robert Noyce, and Sam Walton. He analyzes their business acumen, their management style, their interpersonal style, and the business environment in which they operated.

Henry Ford and Thomas Watson, Sr., of IBM, are examples of domineering, manipulative men who built extraordinary business empires in spite of their abrasive personalities. The were not leaders in the classical definition of James MacGregor Burns because they systematically crushed individuality in their employees rather than cultivate it. They drove a lot of good people away, and stunted the growth of many more.

Still, their businesses experienced exceptional periods of prosperity, and they have lasted for several generations.

Two of the seven titans valued people. Eastman and Noyce were leaders. Eastman empowered people. He told chemist Charles Mees, "your job is the future of photography." Eastman hired women and Irish people-these were enlightened practices in the late 1800s. He questioned his own management expertise, and sought advice from professionals.

Noyce is known for his slogan, "Go off and do something wonderful." His employees had it printed on tee shirts. Noyce had an ability to create in people a "euphoric sense of possibility," and he nurtured talent when he found it.

Giants of Enterprise provides informative short biographies of each of the seven business icons. It is valuable reading for both the student of leadership and the practicing executive. For the student, it shows that organizations are often held together by forces other than leadership. The opportunity to be part of something successful will hold many people in place in spite of intense personal pain inflicted by the boss.

For the executive, it illustrates the need to install checks and balances on one's self. Ford and Watson both weakened their businesses by indulging their personal biases in public and by suffocating creativity in others. They surrounded themselves with yes-men, and they diminished their business enterprises as a result.

Studying the lives of these seven men provides useful insights into the relationship of leadership and business success. It is a fact of our times that business is increasingly turning to leadership as a source of competitive advantage, and this book is helpful in that effort.

Dr. Tedlow examines what he calls inflection points. These are moments in history that some rare people recognize as moments in history while they are happening. The book is worth reading for what it says on this topic alone. In addition, he examines the destructive effect vast money and power can have on the human spirit. He refers to this as deranging one's perspective on life. The term is a useful addition to leadership vocabulary.

There are hundreds of books about famous executives. This book is an excellent introduction to executives as a key element in business development. It is readable, interesting, and it does not require the reader to have a detailed knowledge of business or leadership principles.

(From quoting Daniel Wilson, USA)

Better with Be Unreasonable: The Unconventional Way to Extraordinary Business Results :

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