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Few individuals in business history can
match the bottom-line success of former GE CEO Jack Welch.
Welch has become a business school archetype for corporate
innovation and impact by working almost exclusively from
one strategic credo -- while you can seek new and innovative
solutions to suit your present needs, you can only, in the
end, do what has already been done.
As simple as it may appear, that credo is
actually the profound secret to achieving breakthrough success.
The Art of What Works presents principles, tools,
and examples for observing what has worked and what hasn't
in the real world. The key is in understanding and benefiting
from coup d'oeil, the sideways glance that allows you to
use existing knowledge to power your own endeavors. Cutting
against the conventional wisdom of "original is best"
-- which was the principal driver behind the dot.com and
telecom debacles -- this insightful and practical guide
features:
- Examination of today's three leading
schools of strategy -- and how the art of what works improves
each one
- Guidelines for consistently getting results-driven,
"highly calculable" success by first understanding
the achievements of others
- Examples of the art of what works in
action, from Ray Kroc to Bill Gates, Disney to Du Pont
While the content of all successful ventures
changes on a case-by-case basis, the structure remains remarkably
similar, The Art of What Works brings unique and
valuable insights to today's business leadership precisely
because it claims to provide no world-changing structures
or paradigm-shattering methodologies -- just solid, proven
strategies that have worked before, are working today, and
will provide value far into the future.
From ancient strategist Sun Tzu through
latter-day business legends like Welch, Steve Jobs, and
many others, the value of adopting great ideas and adapting
them to one's own benefit is well known. Let The Art
of What Works provide you with a ready guide for systematically
implementing what was until now simply intuitive, and show
you how to build successful new strategic frameworks by
first observing what works -- and just as important, what
doesn't -- in the real world.
William Duggan, Ph.D., teaches strategy
at Columbia Business School. He is the author of four previous
books, including Napoleon's Glance: The Secret of Strategy,
and has twenty years of experience as a strategy advisor
and consultant. Duggan is also cofounder of Creative Strategy
Group, which helps organizations and individuals apply the
art of what works to whatever they do.
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