What It Takes (eBook)

Seven Secrets of Success from the World's Greatest Professional Firms

Charles D. Ellis (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2013 | 1. Auflage
304 Seiten
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-1-118-56057-0 (ISBN)

Infos

Expert insights on what sets the great professional firms apart
from all the rest

Having devoted a career that spans fifty years to consulting
with and studying professional firms in the Americas, Asia, and
Europe, author Charles Ellis learned firsthand how difficult it is
for an organization to go beyond very good and attain, as well as
sustain, excellence. Now, he shares his hard-won insights with you
and reveals "what it takes" to be best-in-class in any
industry.

Enlightening and entertaining, What It Takes explores
firms that are leaders in their particular field and the superior
people who create and maintain them. Along the way, it identifies
the secrets of their long-term success and reveals exactly how they
can put your organization in a better position to excel when
properly executed.

* Contains many stories of achieving excellence, and addresses
the obstacles that top-ranking organizations face in sustaining
it

* Includes insights on leaders in their particular
field--from McKinsey & Company in consulting and Cravath,
Swaine & Moore in law to the Mayo Clinic in healthcare

* Written by one of the most experienced and respected business
consultants/advisors of our time

What It Takes skillfully shows you how innovation and a
commitment to excellence can drive success, while also revealing
how easy it is to fall behind. With it, you'll discover what
separates the great firms from the good ones and learn how to
attain, and maintain, organizational success throughout the
years.

Autor

CHARLES D. ELLIS was for three decades managing partner of Greenwich Associates, the international business strategy consulting firm. A popular teacher, he has taught advanced courses on investing at the business schools of both Harvard and Yale, is the author of fifteen books, including the bestselling Winning the Loser's Game, has served on the governing boards of Yale University, Harvard Business School, Exeter, NYU Stern, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and chairs the Whitehead Institute.

Inhalt

Foreword ix

Introduction xi

I. Achieving Excellence

Chapter 1: Mission 3

An Inspiring Long-Term Purpose

Chapter 2: Culture 25

How We Do Things around Here

Chapter 3: Recruiting 47

Getting the Right People

Chapter 4: Developing People 65

Training, Educating, and Organizing for Excellence

Chapter 5: Client Relationships 97

Developing Ties That Last

Chapter 6: Innovation 111

Changing How the Game Is Played

Chapter 7: Macro Innovation 133

Changing the Game

Chapter 8: Leadership 151

Bringing the Secrets Together

Chapter 9: . . . and Luck 173

Sometimes It Really Matters

II. Sustaining Excellence

Chapter 10: Trouble 181

Excellence Challenged

Chapter 11: Arthur Andersen 211

Excellence Lost

Afterword 245

Thanks 249

Notes 251

About the Author 285

Index 287

Rezensionen

"This is the best book about corporate leadership thatI've ever read. Charley Ellis really knows what he's talkingabout."--John Whitehead, former Co-Chairman,Goldman Sachs & Co., former Deputy Secretary of State

"Clear, crisp, and actionable insights on leadership,which can only come from a well experienced scholar andpractitioner like Charley Ellis in his usual wise simple andriveting story-telling style. And yes, simple doesn't meaneasy."--Abdullatif A. Al-Othman, Governor, SaudiArabia General Investment Authority

"What It Takes is Ellis' finest work onorganizational excellence. He has distilled the essentialprinciples of organizational excellence, illustrating them withpotent examples and memorable anecdotes. His intimate knowledge ofthe organizations, deepened by 300 interviewers with insiders,imparts powerful insights and lessons for those aspiring to buildand sustain great and enduring organizations."--NgKok Song, Chief Investment Officer, Government of SingaporeInvestment Corporation

"Charley Ellis has taken an incisive look under the hoodof some of the world's greatest professional organizations and hasput his perceptive finger on not only what has made them succeedbut has also led them to endure."--D. RonaldDaniel, former Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company

"Once, again, Charley Ellis has delved into the mysteriesof leadership with clarity and insight."--JimRothenberg, Chairman, Capital Research and ManagementCompany

"Charley Ellis looks hard at how great firmssucceed in fields as different as law, consulting and medicine . .. and finds what it takes that they have incommon."--Jeff Bewkes, CEO, Time Warner

"Charley Ellis takes us through a series of master classeson corporate leadership. This is an outstanding contributionto help us understand that which divides winners fromlosers."--Lord Myners, former UK TreasuryMinister

"A very interesting study of the similarities anddifferences in the leadership of five very different professionalfirms. Should be required reading for other firms in thoseprofessions."--Samuel C. Butler, former PresidingPartner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore

"What It Takes is a clear-eyed view into thecomplexities of building and sustaining great organizations.Charley Ellis' artful storytelling imparts insights thatwould benefit anyone aspiring to thoughtful, effective leadershipthroughout markets and histories."--Lei Zhang,Founder and CEO, Hillhouse Capital Management Group

"I cannot imagine anyone better qualified than Charley Ellisto analyze, identify and describe those characteristics whichseparate outstandingly successful professional firms from themerely very good ones. This fascinating book should berecommended reading for anyone wishing to become a leader in any ofthe professions described and indeed for anyone with an ambition tosucceed in business."--Peter Stormonth Darling,former Chairman, Mercury Asset Management

"Of course everyone knows of the five great institutionswhich are the subject of Charley Ellis' latest book. But what is itthat made them outstanding? Charley in this searching andunsentimental if admiring analysis provides answers: A good ideatransformed into a novel business model, passion, commitment, goodjudgment particularly in the early years and great people. AnotherCharley Ellis book to treasure."--Sir WinfriedBischoff, Chairman, Lloyds Banking Group

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 25.1.2013
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management
• Schlagworte: Business & Management • Führung • Führung • Management f. Führungskräfte • Management f. Führungskräfte • Management / Leadership • Wirtschaft u. Management
• ISBN-10: 1-118-56057-4 / 1118560574
• ISBN-13: 978-1-118-56057-0 / 9781118560570