Honest to Greatness: How Today's Greatest Leaders Use Brutal Honesty to Achieve Massive Success

by Peter Kozodoy

Overview

In today's hyper-transparent world, consumers have enormous power to decide which brands are worth their time and money—so how do you make sure they choose yours?

Unfortunately, most leaders and organizations are stuck following archaic, detrimental business practices. Meanwhile, savvy consumers and employees across every generation are making their stance perfectly clear: They are not interested in supporting organizations that seem inauthentic, soulless, or untrustworthy.

In this environment, only the honest will survive.

In Honest to Greatness, serial Inc. 5000 entrepreneur Peter Kozodoy shows how today's greatest business leaders use honesty—not as a touchy-feely core value, but as a business strategy that produces game-changing, industry-dominating success.

Through case studies and interviews with leaders at Bridgewater Associates, Sprint, Quicken Loans, Domino's, The Ritz-Carlton, and more, Kozodoy presents fresh business concepts that anyone in the workplace can implement in order to: 

   • Reach, engage, and retain your best customers
   • Attract and inspire the best talent in any industry
   • Create an unbeatable culture of innovation that dominates your competitors
   • Earn your team's respect and loyalty 
   • Unlock deep personal fulfillment by setting the "right" goals

Filled with powerful lessons for current and future leaders, this timely book demonstrates how to use honesty at both the organizational and individual level to achieve true greatness in business and in life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781948836753
Publisher:	BenBella Books, Inc.
Publication date:	08/11/2020
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Peter Kozodoy is an Inc. 5000 serial entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and business coach who works with organizations and their leaders to help them overcome self-limiting bullsh*t and use honesty to achieve greatness. His articles on leadership and entrepreneurship have appeared in Forbes, Inc., HuffPost, PR Daily, and more. He holds a BA in economics from Brandeis University and an MBA from Columbia Business School, and lives outside New York City with his wife and their spoiled dog. To strike up an honest conversation, visit PeterKozodoy.com.

Table of Contents

Contents
Foreword
Introduction

Part I: Why Honesty? Why Now?
Chapter 1—Fraud Is Our Fault
Chapter 2—The Complicated Story of Why We Lie
Chapter 3—Giving Power to the People Will Make You Rich
Chapter 4—The Hourglass of Honesty

Part II: What It Means to Be an Honest Organization
Chapter 5—Sales: The Honest-to-Goodness Technique for Explosive Sales
Chapter 6—Marketing: The Undeniable Power of Courageous Candor
Chapter 7—Finance: Investing Like Buffett in Long-Term Honesty
Chapter 8—Management: How Audacious Authenticity Built an Empire
Chapter 9—Communication: How Honest Feedback Led to Billion-Dollar Greatness
Chapter 10—Innovation: Saying No to the Status Quo
Chapter 11—Leadership: The Underappreciated Quality of Supreme Ignorance

Part III: How to Use Brutal Honesty to Achieve Massive Success
Chapter 12—How to Get Honest with and about Your Community
Chapter 13—How to Get Honest with and about Your Others
Chapter 14—How to Get Honest with and about Yourself
Chapter 15—Effective Honesty for Managers and Frontline Employees

Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Index
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Honest to Greatness is a timely read for anyone who wants to engage with consumers in today's market. Peter Kozodoy sheds light on why some companies soar and others falter—it is as fascinating as it is informative!”

—Barbara Corcoran, Shark Tank star and founder of The Corcoran Group

"Here is a shocker of shocks: Honesty IS the best policy. Kozodoy outlines powerful, simple, honest techniques in this book. Follow his guidance and you will see your life and work improve, honestly."

—Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and Fix This Next

“Honest to Greatness should be required reading for any aspiring leader. Filled with jaw-dropping stories and packed with actionable business tips, this book forces you out of your comfort zone and inspires you to make huge changes in your life and business!”

—Richie Norton, author of The Power of Starting Something Stupid

“This is honestly one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time!”

—Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“Honest to Greatness explains why leaders need to be honest with others, but most importantly, honest with themselves. The book is chock-full of examples from companies like Domino’s, Quicken Loans, The Ritz-Carlton, and Netflix, where leader-led cultures, focused on ‘honest’ practices like learning from customers and frontline employees, led to transformative breakthroughs.”

—Dan Hesse, former CEO of Sprint

“The old rules of business no longer work in today’s complicated environment. Only the most honest, transparent leaders and organizations will thrive into the future—and that's where Honest to Greatness comes in. You can't afford to miss this book.”

—Dave Kerpen, New York Times bestselling author of Likeable Social Media

“So well written, so timely. This book is a refreshing deep dive into the transformative power of total transparency. A masterpiece!”

—Gino Wickman, author of Traction and Entrepreneurial Leap

Editorial Reviews

Honest to Greatness is a timely read for anyone who wants to engage with consumers in today's market. Peter Kozodoy sheds light on why some companies soar and others falter—it is as fascinating as it is informative!”

—Barbara Corcoran, Shark Tank star and founder of The Corcoran Group

"Here is a shocker of shocks: Honesty IS the best policy. Kozodoy outlines powerful, simple, honest techniques in this book. Follow his guidance and you will see your life and work improve, honestly."

—Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and Fix This Next

“Honest to Greatness should be required reading for any aspiring leader. Filled with jaw-dropping stories and packed with actionable business tips, this book forces you out of your comfort zone and inspires you to make huge changes in your life and business!”

—Richie Norton, author of The Power of Starting Something Stupid

“This is honestly one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time!”

—Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“Honest to Greatness explains why leaders need to be honest with others, but most importantly, honest with themselves. The book is chock-full of examples from companies like Domino’s, Quicken Loans, The Ritz-Carlton, and Netflix, where leader-led cultures, focused on ‘honest’ practices like learning from customers and frontline employees, led to transformative breakthroughs.”

—Dan Hesse, former CEO of Sprint

“The old rules of business no longer work in today’s complicated environment. Only the most honest, transparent leaders and organizations will thrive into the future—and that's where Honest to Greatness comes in. You can't afford to miss this book.”

—Dave Kerpen, New York Times bestselling author of Likeable Social Media

“So well written, so timely. This book is a refreshing deep dive into the transformative power of total transparency. A masterpiece!”

—Gino Wickman, author of Traction and Entrepreneurial Leap

From the Publisher