How I Did It: Lessons from the Front Lines of Business

by Harvard Business Review, Daniel McGinn (Editor)

Overview

Powerful stories from the world’s top CEOs to help prepare you for the hard decisions ahead.

The essays in How I Did It teach and inspire. Pulled directly from the pages of one of the most popular columns in Harvard Business Review, these essays offer firsthand accounts of the most difficult management challenges faced by the men and women who occupy the corner office. It’s the next best thing to sitting down and talking face-to-face with these corporate leaders. You’ll hear from renowned global leaders including:

• Kevin Ryan, Gilt Groupe
• Mindy Grossman, HSN
• Kevin Plank, Under Armour
• Daniel P. Amos, Aflac
• Pramod Bhasin, Genpact
• Eric Schmidt, Google
• Ellen Kullman, DuPont
• Patrizio Bertelli, Prada
• Pierre Omidyar, Omidyar Network
• Jorge Cauz, Encyclopaedia Brittanica
• Richard Gelfond, IMAX

Let these potent stories of strategic thinking—and often bold and unconventional action—be your guide as you step into your own future as a leader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633694811
Publisher:	Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date:	03/18/2014
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Harvard Business Review is the leading destination for smart management thinking. Through its flagship magazine, twelve international licensed editions, books from Harvard Business Review Press, and digital content and tools published on HBR.org, Harvard Business Review provides professionals around the world with rigorous insights and best practices to lead themselves and their organizations more effectively and to make a positive impact.

Mark Cabus is a classically trained actor as well as director, who graduated from Belmont University. He also studied at the National Shakespearean Conservatory, Columbia, Oxford, and the Roundabout Theater’s Theatrical Teaching Institute. He has performed in film and television as well as Off Broadway all over the world.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Picking the Right People

Building a Team of A Players Kevin Ryan, Gilt Groupe 3

Giving Up the CEO Seat Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation 10

Why Succession Shouldn't Be a Horse Race Anne Mulcahy, Xerox 19

Choosing the First Nonfamily CEO Bill Marriott, Marriott International 27

How I Avoided Layoffs David Cote, Honeywell 35

Building the Right Culture

Going to Extremes for Customers Tony Hsieh, Zappos 45

Fixing the Shopping Network's Culture Mindy Grossman, HSN 54

Getting Serious About Safety Cynthia Carroll, Anglo American 62

Persuading His Team to Leap into the Future Vineet Nayar, HCL Technologies 70

Jump-Starting a Sluggish Company Jin Zhiguo, Tsingtao 80

How "Mystery Shopping" Helped Spark a Turnaround Kevin Peters, Office Depot 88

Telling the Right Story

Learning to Leverage Celebrity Endorsements Kevin Plank, Under Armour 97

How I Fell for the Duck Daniel P. Amos, Aflac 105

Standing Up to 65,000 Angry Activists Jeff Swartz, Timberland 113

Learning from a Recall Farzad Rastegar, Maclaren USA 122

Learning to Work with Green Activists James E. Rogers, Duke Energy 131

Growing Around the World

Turning an Aging British Icon into a Global Luxury Brand Angela Ahrendts, Burberry 143

Building a Company Without Borders Bart Becht, Reckitt Benckiser 152

Turning a Failed Sale into a Huge Opportunity Fadi Ghandour, Aramex International 160

Building an Industry in India from Scratch Pramod Bhasin, Genpact 168

Powering Growth in Emerging Markets Bill Johnson H.J. Heinz 176

Reinventing the Business to Succeed in China Doug DeVos, Amway 184

Building a Business on the World's Poorest Continent Mo Ibrahim, Celtel 191

Doing Smart Deals

The Enduring Lessons of a Quirky IPO Eric Schmidt, Google 201

Pulling Off a Sweet Deal in a Down Market Raj Gupta, Rohm and Haas 212

Executing a Complex Cross-Border Acquisition Ellen Kullman, DuPont 220

How Integrating an Acquisition Transformed Business Andrew C. Taylor, Enterprise 229

Finding a Strategy That Works

Sparking an American Manufacturing Renewal Jeffrey R. Immelt, General Electric 241

Staying Independent in a Consolidating Industry Patrizio Bertelli, Prada 251

Sparring with an Activist Shareholder John Antioco, Blockbuster 260

Innovating the Business Model of Social Change Pierre Omidyar, Omidyar Foundation 270

Growing After a Patent Cliff Joseph Jimenez, Novartis 278

Killing Off a 244-Year-Old Product Jorge Cauz, Encyclopædia Britannica 286

How IMAX Became a Hollywood Powerhouse Richard Gelfond, IMAX 296

Index 305

About the Editors 319