The World's Best Book Summaries
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.
Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) was a cable television provider founded in 1958. It grew to be the largest cable company in the country, owning both cable providers and content programming. It was acquired by AT&T in 1999 for $43.5 billion in stock and, through a series of transactions, would ultimately become Comcast. As CEO from 1972 to 1991, John Malone pursued a virtuous cycle strategy—grow subscriber count through acquisitions of cable providers, which would give scale to negotiate lower fees with content providers, which would make acquisitions of cable companies further cheaper.
Does diversifying your portfolio really work? How can Warren Buffett’s diversification advice help you grow your business? Like most successful CEOs, Warren Buffett understands the value of diversification. Read about how Warren Buffett’s diversification of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, and how having a diverse portfolio helped the company grow with Buffett as CEO.
Who is Tom Murphy, Capital Cities CEO, who facilitated the sale of Capital Cities Broadcasting to Disney in 1996? How did Murphy create such a valuable company? Tom Murphy was the CEO of Capital Cities Broadcasting, a media company owning television stations, radio stations, and print publications, from 1966 to 1996. Murphy implemented management strategies that dramatically increased the annual return rate, making him one of the most successful CEOs of a media company during that period. Read about how Tom Murphy grew the company leading up to the famous Disney deal.
How can a CEO becomes a great CEO? Can a COO learn better management practices to increase profits? In The Outsiders, author William Thorndike analyzes the management styles and business decisions of eight successful CEOs who all had unorthodox management styles to determine that qualities of a CEO. These Outsider CEOs all thought outside the box, but they had in common the management style and qualities of a good CEO.
What made Capital Cities Broadcasting successful? Was it the CEO, or good business practices, or both? Capital Cities Broadcasting was a media company owning television stations, radio stations, and print publications. CEO Tom Murphy, in charge from 1966 to 1996, implemented management strategies that showed a 19.9% annual return rate, compared to the 10.1% for the S&P 500 and 13.2% return for leading media companies. Tom Murphy, Capital Cities Broadcasting CEO, enacted several business policies during his tenure there that helped the company grow and succeed. Read about the history and major successes of Capital Cities Broadcasting.
It’s a big question: who are the best CEOs of all time? What makes them the best? Some big names come to mind when we consider the best CEOs of all time, including old business giants who built some of the biggest companies we know today. While there were undoubtedly many great CEOs, William Thorndike poses in The Outsiders, that the most successful CEOs are the ones that were the most profitable and grew their companies by following unorthodox business strategies. Read about the 8 best CEO’s of all time and why being an “outsider” makes them great CEOs.
What is Teledyne, and why is the company featured in The Outsiders as one of the most successful companies of all time? Teledyne is an industrial conglomerate founded in 1960, currently involved in businesses ranging from aerospace electronics to digital imaging. CEO Henry Singleton was the founder and its CEO until 1991. Under Henry Singleton’s leadership, Teledyne saw significant growth. Learn about Teledyne and how Henry Singleton helped it becomes successful.
What makes a great CEO? Is it their education, experience, or just natural business instincts? What are the most important CEO personality traits? In The Outsiders, William Thorndike claims that a certain personality may be part of what makes a great CEO. When examining the top CEOs of all time, certain CEO personality traits are clearly shown to benefit management style and company success.
How do you make sure you have time for your high-priority, Quadrant II goals, while also leaving room in your schedule for the unexpected? Delegate. Stewardship delegation is a type of delegation that lets managers dictate their desired results, and empowers employees to choose how to go about it. Stewardship delegation is one of two types of delegation, and it’s considered the most effective.