"Built To Last " by James Collins & Jerry Porras

What has enabled some corporations to last so long, while other competitors in the same markets either struggle to get by, or fade away after a short period of time? This is the major question that Mr's Collins and Porras try to answer. They took a look at 18 well known, well established and healthy companies ('visionaries'), and compared them to a counterpart in their specific area of business. They analyzed all the information they could get their hands on, compiled it, and looked at it to try to find patterns both between the visionary companies and their counterparts, as well as among the visionary companies themselves. The result of all of this is a set of guidelines and principles that all companies, large or growing, can use to keep themselves growing, strong, and ahead of the competition.These are outlined below:

• Be a Clock Builder, not a Timekeeper - All the successful corporations focused on building the organization and company so it would run 'as smooth as a clock.' The visionary companies didn't simply follow others in their fields (watching the clock), but tended to lead the way.

• Your Company must have a set of 'Core Values' - Each of the visionary companies had established a set of core values in its infancy that still survive today. If it ever came upon hard times, the values would still be retained. They would only be modified in the most extreme cases.

• Preserve Your 'Core Ideology' - While the core values stay the same, the core ideology can be modified. The ideology of a company is the stimulus that keeps the company evolving over time. This change usually takes place slowly, one piece at a time, but is fast enough to keep ahead of the competition. Without this constant evolution of products, the company will eventually be left behind and disappear.

• BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) - In addition to the day-to-day ideology changes listed above, you occasionally need to paradigm shift in your product or service environment. These monumental changes are called 'BHAG,' and are considered clear-cut, compelling, cutting edge goals the company sets to progress forward. Examples of these given in the book are Boeing's BHAG's of building the first commercial jetliner in the U.S. in 1952 (the 707), and the first truly 'Jumbo Jet' in 1965, and the mission to put a man on the moon in the 1960's.

• Have a 'Cult-Like" Culture - This must pervade the company, invading it like a disease. Everyone in the company must be committed to following the path of the leader (similar to a cult leader). They must commit to the same core ideology, must be indoctrinated into the company culture, must develop a tight fit with others in the company, and must think of themselves as the 'elite' in their field.The best example given was that of Nordstroms department stores, who have the most fanatical, loyal sales persons. Other examples given were Disney with their 'cast members' in the theme parks, and IBM with its early devotion to office machinery.

• Don't be Afraid to Evolve: Try New Things and Use What Works. - All companies have to do this. As the company grows, tastes, preferences, and technology change. The visionary companies keep abreast on upcoming changes, anticipate them, or make them themselves, or else the company's products will become obsolete. You try different things and see how they work, quickly getting rid of the things that don't work. Two good examples given in the test are 3M (evolved from a mining company to a sandpaper company, to an adhesives based products company) and Marriott (from a small chain of restaurants to an airline commissary service to a full service hospitality corporation).

• Look Inside for your Top Management - The study found it is extremely difficult to bring in persons from the outside who can effectively manage a company. Instead, the company should have management development processes and succession plans in place to insure smooth transitions and direction as the company ages. A good example of this is GE, where current CEO Jack Welch started with the company and worked up to CEO. And with GE's management development processes, his retirement should not create a succession problem.

• Constantly Innovate- Without this, the company's products/services become obsolete and lead to a decline. You must constantly keep ahead of the pack, innovating your products to try and keep ahead of the competition. And this involves an investment in innovation that can't be eliminated. Examples given in the text is Boeing. They have consistently created innovative airliners, while McDonnell Douglas had simply tried to keep pace. And in the end Boeing Swallowed up McDonnell Douglas.

• Make the Core Ideology/Values a Reality - It is not enough to simple craft vision and mission statements, they must be put in place so that all persons/divisions of the company known what they are and work together toward those vales and ideals. In other words, get everything aligned on the same plain. One example of how this focus was achieved was in Hewlett-Packard. Both Hewlett and Packard initially avoided any outside corporate debt so its entrepreneurial discipline would not be compromised by the need to maximize profits. In addition to the things Collins and Porras found that made the visionary company, they also found a few things that these companies did NOT possess.

• No Strong Dynamic Leader Necessary. - Many of the companies did not have a well known 'figurehead' in the CEO/COO position. Most top executives were too busy 'building the clock' and innovating to do extensive PR work that would promote themselves.

• No 'Great Idea' Needed to Start a Company. - Many of the companies' founders did not start the company with a set idea. The best example given in the test is Hewlett-Packard. Both of these friends did not have an idea for what their product would be before starting their business. They tried making a few interesting products until they developed a piece of military hardware that caused their business to start growing.

An ABSOLUTE MUST.

# "Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs"
By Don Tapscott, David Ticoll and Alex Lowy

The industrial-age corporation is crumbling. The new form of wealth creation is the business web, and the new basis of wealth is digital capital.

Schwab, eBay, Cisco, MP3, Linux, and dozens of other companies have transformed the rules of competition in their industries, seemingly overnight. They hijacked long-entrenched industry leaders with revolutionary offerings that surprised and delighted customers. These transformers could not and did not act alone: partners enabled them to move with stealth, speed, agility, and force. Such teams of innovators pioneered the business web, or "b-web", the new platform for competition in the twenty-first century. B-webs partner networks of producers, service providers, suppliers, infrastructure companies, and customers linked via digital channels are destroying the firm as we have known it and generating wealth in entirely new ways.

In Digital Capital, information-age visionaries Don Tapscott, David Ticoll, and Alex Lowy describe and explain the b-web phenomenon and the forces behind its emergence. Drawing on three years of multimillion-dollar research into hundreds of b-webs as diverse as the Microsoft alliance and the automotive industry, the authors illuminate the five distinct types of b-web now in play: Agoras, Aggregations, Value Chains, Alliances, and Distributive Networks. Punctuating their analysis with a rich set of case studies, they provide the definitive guide to business model innovation in the digital economy.

The book includes:

* The untold real story behind the story on successes like eBay, Cisco, Linux, Schwab, and Priceline

* Positioning and analysis of emergent e-businesses like Webvan, OptiMark, AT&T Solutions, and Enron

* A step-by-step process for b-web strategy design

* A new approach to maximizing organizational effectiveness in a multi-enterprise environment

* The "ABCDE's" of marketing—heir to the "four P's" of the industrial age

* Guidelines for deciding whether to hire, buy, or partner a needed capability

* A new set of lenses for viewing the stock market

The authors warn that participation in b-webs is not optional. To encounter and satisfy the digital customer, firms must lead or partner in one or more of these new business networks. While no single path leads to b-web success, businesses will adopt effective b-web strategies-or they will simply fade away.

Sustaining advantage in the digital economy demands more than superficial actions like attracting "eyeballs," launching a hot IPO, following "new rules," building a cool Web site, or even just focusing on customers. In Digital Capital we finally have a book that gets beyond whiz-bang clichés to today's central issues of competitive strategy.

Reviews:

"By far the best work on the new business models required to compete in e-business. Pray that your competitors don't read it!" --J. Bruce Harreld, Senior Vice President of Strategy, IBM

"This dynamic work provides an unprecedented in-depth look at the new economics and the fundamentals driving the digital revolution. Anyone intrigued by the Internet's boundless possibilities will view Digital Capital as an essential guide to innovation and success."-Jeffrey Mallett, President and COO, Yahoo! Inc.

"The seminal book on business webs and how they can help move your business units into the new, new economy. Every business leader should read this book!"-Robert Eaton, Chairman, Daimler Chrysler

A tad jaded..but still very relevant.

# “Never Wrestle With A Pig and Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business and Career” By Mark McCormack

"Mistakes are not like Doritos", "Know your Super Bowl Sunday" and "Never wrestle with a pig!" Each phrase is a clever metaphor with a meaning that reveals how to be a success in contemporary business.

This worthwhile read is a narrative of business lessons developed by McCormack in response to the increasingly fast-paced business of the new millennium. Never Wrestle with a Pig is a metaphor used in McCormack's time management lesson. The lesson's core message is that arguing or wrestling, with an associate who loves to argue, namely a pig, wastes time. The result: both you and the argument-loving associate are placed in a bad light and only the pig enjoys himself. This small, yet true, lesson buried midway through the book was successfully employed as the title in a brilliant marketing move.

Never Wrestle with a Pig contains 91 short lessons which have been proven to enhance professional performances in a new business world where the need for speed often over-rides common sense. This book's lessons range in topic from office politics to setting achievable goals, from networking to hiring and firing. It emphasizes the importance of communication and relationships in the e-mail age.

Got it.