How They Blew It: The CEOs and Entrepreneurs Behind Some of the World's Most Catastrophic Business Failures

by Jamie Oliver, Tony Goodwin

Overview

How They Blew It is a series of eye-popping tales of entrepreneurs and business leaders who went from corporate gurus to financial disaster zones in rapid and humiliating fashion. Full of surprising details and mind-blowing sums of money, it looks at the characteristics of these leaders and the fine line between hero and zero.How They Blew It is about the people at the heart of these business catastrophes. It is about what drives them to succeed and then to fail. It is a compelling examination of the rights and wrongs of each case and it seeks to get into the minds of the people behind the business disasters and ask "Why the hell did they do that?" By examining how business ventures can go so badly wrong, you can learn to avoid those mistakes in the first place.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780749460655
Publisher:	Kogan Page, Ltd.
Publication date:	07/27/2010
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jamie Oliver has over 15 years experience as a freelance journalist writing about business topics and entrepreneurs. A former Daily Telegraph columnist, his work has appeared in The Financial Times, The Independent and a range of leading business magazines.

Tony Goodwin runs the international recruitment business, Antal, and is one of the UK's most successful business service entrepreneurs with over 25 years' experience in business. Tony has recently been selected as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 London & South winner.

Hometown:

London, England

Date of Birth:

May 27, 1975

Place of Birth:

Essex, England

Table of Contents

About the Authors vii

Introduction 1

1 Chosen? Bernie Ebbers 13

2 Deadly Intent Christopher Foster 24

3 Stitch Up Mikhail Khodorkovsky 34

4 Rock Star Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson 45

5 All That Glitters Reuben Singh 56

6 More Than He Could Chew Tim Power 66

7 King Kong Dick Fuld 77

8 The Art of Money Guy Naggar Peter Klimt 88

9 One Step Too Far Adolf Merckle 99

10 Exile Boris Berezovsky 109

11 Power Politics Zhou Zhengyi 119

12 Paying the Penalty Mark Goldberg 128

13 Friends in High Places Ken Lay 139

14 How to Blow a Billion Kevin Leech 152

15 A Bridge Too Far James Cayne 165

16 Credit Crunched Robert Tchenguiz 176

Conclusion 189

Index 206

Editorial Reviews

"In this timely yet disturbing book, journalist Jamie Oliver and recruitment expert Tony Goodwin present a rogues gallery of entrepreneurs and CEOs who have disgraced themselves and destroyed their companies...The authors lightly, charmingly depict the lives of these corporate desperados, offering lessons other leaders can draw from their stories."

October 2010. Washingtonpost.com

"Jamie Oliver has a wonderful turn of phrase and that rare ability to bring business to life."

The Daily Telegraph Richard Tyler

"Sixteen business leaders dissected with autopsy-like precision to explain how such remarkable business people all did something unbelievable - they totally blew it. All share similar traits..."

December 2010 HR magazine

"In a reflection of the times we live in, when are heroes are increasingly being found to have feet of clay, the authors (one of them being a journalist and the other an entrepreneur) bring a lot of experience and empathy towards the Icarus-like saga of 16 business leaders who built empires of epic proportions on the back of their unrelenting ambition and grit, only to see their businesses vaporise around them in no time."

September 2010 Financial Express

"Of itself, the collection of stories in interesting, and encouraging for those who like to see others fall from a high place. But it also has significant value as a lesson for business...Being an entrepreneur is all about risk taking - but the stress here is on a calculated risk."

July 2010 Brianclegg.blogspot

"How They Blew It is an excellent book, written by people that really know business and entrepreneurship. It is not intended to show you how to blow it, though. It is mostly intended to give you the hints on how to avoid following in the footsteps of the people that have."

Continuity

"...they have delivered a readable, well-referenced enticement to those who are in business or who are contemplating a business venture. Perhaps the biggest lesson to be gleaned from How They Blew it is that an overdose of hubris can be a lethal business partner
Foreword Reviews, October 2010

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Foreword Reviews

"[A] fresh take on self-help." - Management Today


"Jamie Oliver has a wonderful turn of phrase and that rare ability to bring business to life." - Richard Tyler, The Daily Telegraph


"Oliver and Goodwin take us on an enthralling journey to the dark side of business achievement." - Matthew Rock, Managing Editor of Real Business

"...people are fascinated by other people's troubles...It is precisely this fascination that makes reading How They Blew It by Jamie Oliver and Tony Goodwin so alluring.  But this book is more than mere voyeurism in that Oliver and Goodwin use these vignettes as instruction for other entrepreneurs in how to avoid disaster. ...a readable, well-referenced enticement to those who are in business or who are contemplating a business venture." -ForeWord Reviews

From the Publisher