The World's Best Book Summaries
What makes a Top CEO? Is it their business strategy, or is a Top CEO an inventor? William Thorndike argues that the Top CEOs of all time are ones that went above and beyond what their competitors did, and successfully grew their businesses. These 8 Top CEOs followed smart, but unorthodox business strategies that made them the best in the business.
What is EBITDA, and what does it stand for? What’s the importance of EBITDA in business management? For many top CEOs, EBITDA is one of the most vital metrics in business. EBITDA’s meaning in finance is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, can affect operations and spending power. Keep reading to find out the importance of EBITDA, and one huge EBITDA example.
Have you ever wondered what management top CEOs use to run their companies? Or do you need advice on how to implement them? What are the best business strategies? In The Outsiders, William Thorndike outlines some of the management practices common amongst “outsider” CEOs: top CEOs that clearly succeeded far beyond their competitors. These CEOs all had unorthodox business strategies and practices, and their management practices led to growth and profits.
What is decentralization, and how can it help businesses succeed? What are the advantages of decentralization, and what can they teach you about business strategy? Decentralization is a business practice where executives develop a system to keep decision making limited to a few people. Typically, these businesses don’t have a headquarters with thousands of people in decision making roles, and instead limit decision making power. Read about the advantages of decentralization, and how it worked for top companies.
Why did General Cinema cease to operate after building a successful and diverse company? How can diversifying your portfolio create more value? Even though General Cinema ceased operations in 2006, it is still regarded as one of the most successful companies of the twentieth century. Find out how General Cinema’s CEO Dick Smith increased company value, and then created profit for investors.
Can a business get too big and lose focus? Can that negatively affect profits and share value? Bill Stiritz thought so, and moved swiftly to redefine the focus of Ralston Purina. Ralston Purina was a consumer packaged goods company producing commercial animal feed, consumer pet food, and human foods. With Bill Stiritz, Ralston Purina CEO, the company defined its focus, and worked on acquisitions that fit their profile. In 2001, Ralston merged with Nestle in a transaction worth $10.4 billion. Read on to find out how Bill Stiritz redefined the company and increased its value.
Why was William Anders’ (Bill Anders) work as CEO of General Dynamics Corporation so impactful? What strategies did he employ to make growth possible? William Anders is a former fighter pilot and astronaut. Anders joined General Dynamics to offer a new perspective on the defense company’s tactics following the end of the Cold War. Anders immediately worked to scale back operations, and find ways to grow the company’s value. Learn Bill Anders’ key business strategies at General Dynamics.
What does top business tycoon Warren Buffett invest in? Will Warren Buffett’s stock portfolio and investment strategy help you succeed? While the complete portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway may not be available to most of us, you can take a learn about Warren Buffett’s stock portfolio, how he built it, his investment history, and major stock purchases to understand his investment strategy–and maybe use it yourself.
TCI sold to AT&T for $43.5 billion in stock in 1999. So how did John Malone, TCI CEO, build such a high value, high return rate company during his time there? John Malone was the CEO of Tele-Communications Inc. from 1972-1991. During his time as CEO, Malone focused on growth, and the company. Learn about the management style and practices that made this growth possible.
What made General Dynamics Corporation so successful? Did the short terms of its CEOs make a difference? General Dynamics Corporation is one of the largest and best known major companies. Discover General Dynamics’ history, how General Dynamics thrived, and how they applied lessons from one of its most successful CEOs, Bill Anders.