HOW TO BE A Fierce Competitor

How to Be a Fierce Competitor: What Winning Companies and Great Managers Do in Tough Times......Page 5
CONTENTS......Page 7
Preface......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 15
CHAPTER 1: The Fierce Competitor Company......Page 19
CHAPTER 2: Bad Times Are Good Times......Page 22
CHAPTER 3: Hustle. Hustle. Hustle.......Page 24
CHAPTER 4: Leadership Is Not ‘‘Pushership’’......Page 27
CHAPTER 5: The Difference Between Leaders and Managers......Page 29
CHAPTER 6: Know Your Company’s Raison d’Etre......Page 31
CHAPTER 7: Manage As You Would Invest......Page 33
CHAPTER 8: ‘‘I Visit Customers in Stores’’......Page 36
CHAPTER 9: Always Answer the Phone......Page 38
CHAPTER 10: Pile Up Cash......Page 42
CHAPTER 11: Be Ever Fearful......Page 45
CHAPTER 12: Show Fearlessness......Page 47
CHAPTER 13: Play ‘‘What If?’’ Games......Page 49
CHAPTER 14: Leadership Is Full Disclosure......Page 51
CHAPTER 15: Get a Kitchen Cabinet......Page 53
CHAPTER 16: Always Have a Plan......Page 55
CHAPTER 17: Stay Off Magazine Covers......Page 57
CHAPTER 18: ‘‘I Never Made a Dime Talking’’......Page 59
CHAPTER 19: Never Take Your Hand Off the Tiller......Page 61
CHAPTER 20: Control or Roll......Page 64
CHAPTER 21: Get Out of the Office......Page 66
CHAPTER 22: Walk Around the Company......Page 69
CHAPTER 23: Never Forget the Third Shift......Page 71
CHAPTER 24: Be Obsessive About Execution......Page 74
CHAPTER 25: Get Rid of Executive Parking Spaces......Page 78
CHAPTER 26: Fight Unionization......Page 81
CHAPTER 27: People Are Not the Most Important Asset......Page 85
CHAPTER 28: Nurture Those You Hire and Acquire......Page 87
CHAPTER 29: Prune All Deadwood......Page 89
CHAPTER 30: Bulldoze All Silos......Page 91
CHAPTER 31: Broom Out All Bureaucracy......Page 93
CHAPTER 32: Scoop Up Newly Available Talent......Page 96
CHAPTER 33: Forget About Pedigrees......Page 98
CHAPTER 34: Pay for Performance, Not for Activities......Page 100
CHAPTER 35: Continuously Rip Out, Tear Out Bad Costs......Page 103
CHAPTER 36: The Do and Don’t Cut List......Page 107
CHAPTER 37: Forget Monthly Reports......Page 109
CHAPTER 38: No Money, No Meeting......Page 111
CHAPTER 39: Be Fanatical About Selling......Page 114
CHAPTER 40: Don’t Fire Sales People......Page 118
CHAPTER 41: Hire Fiercely Competitive Sales People......Page 121
CHAPTER 42: Banish All Selling Thieves......Page 124
CHAPTER 43: Always Conduct Daily Sales Meetings......Page 127
CHAPTER 44: The Big Opportunity......Page 129
CHAPTER 45: Never Cancel Batting Practice......Page 133
CHAPTER 46: Double the Training Budget......Page 136
CHAPTER 47: Love That Cranky, Fickle, Demanding Customer......Page 138
CHAPTER 48: Fire the ‘‘Strategic Customer’’......Page 140
CHAPTER 49: Customer Service Is a Survival Strategy......Page 143
CHAPTER 50: Worship at the Altar of Quality......Page 147
CHAPTER 51: Get Rid of ‘‘Mr. Ought-to-Be’’......Page 150
CHAPTER 52: Always Leave Flowers, Floor Mats, and Footprints......Page 152
CHAPTER 53: Don’t Cut Prices......Page 155
CHAPTER 54: You Are Never on Vacation......Page 158
CHAPTER 55: Lock, Load, and Launch......Page 160
CHAPTER 56: Sue the Blankety-Blanks......Page 162
CHAPTER 57: Welcome Serendipity......Page 165
CHAPTER 58: Go Green!......Page 167
CHAPTER 59: Be a Master Gardener......Page 169
CHAPTER 60: Summary: Characteristics of the Fierce Competitor Companies......Page 172
About the Author......Page 177