What the CEO Wants You to Know: The Little Book of Big Business - Hardcover

Ram Charan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0609608398 ISBN 13: 9780609608395

Publisher: Crown Publications, 2001

Synopsis

The universal laws of business success . . . no matter whether you are selling fruit from a stand or running a Fortune 500 company.

Have you ever noticed that the business savvy of the world's best CEOs seems like a kind of street smarts? They sense where the opportunities are and how to take advantage of them. And their companies make money consistently, year after year.

How different is it to run a big company than to sell fruit from a cart or run a small shop in a village? In essence, not very, according to Ram Charan. From his childhood in India, where he worked in his family's shoe shop, to his education at Harvard Business School and his daily work advising many of the world's best CEOs, Ram understands business as few can.

The best CEOs have a knack for bringing the most complex business down to the fundamentals -- the same fundamentals of the family shoe shop. They have business acumen -- the ability to focus on the basics and make money for the company.

What the CEO Wants You to Know captures these insights and explains in clear, simple language how to do what great CEOs do instinctively and persistently:

* Understand the basic building blocks of a business and use them to figure out how your company makes money and operates as a total business.

* Decide what to do, despite the clutter of day-to-day business and the complexity of the real world.

Many people spend more than a hundred thousand dollars on an MBA without learning to pull these pieces of the puzzle together. Many others lack a formal business education and feel shut out from the executive suite. What the CEO Wants You to Know takes the mystery out of business and shows the secrets of success used by business legends like Jack Welch of GE.

About this title

Review:

" What the CEO Wants You to Know is a book that should be read by everyone-from the newest recruit to the most seasoned senior manager."
-- Jac Nasser, CEO and President, Ford Motor Company
" These ideas help simplify complexity and provide a lifetime of value. What the CEO Wants You to Know is a gem of a book."
-- Larry Bossidy, former Chairman and CEO, AlliedSignal
" This is a book that's been needed for years. Ram Charan shares the secret to finding your way in the business world and making your career more meaningful."
-- Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO, Dupont
" Reading this book is like putting on a pair of glasses-suddenly the guts of the business are crystal clear."
-- Dave Robino, Vice Chairman, Gateway Computer
" Finally, a book that shows how business really works."
-- Bob Nardelli, President and CEO, GE Power Systems
" Business acumen-Ram Charan's term for using the universal laws of business -- is the name of the game today."
-- Lois D. Juliber, COO, Colgate-Palmolive

"What the CEO Wants You to Know is a book that should be read by everyone-from the newest recruit to the most seasoned senior manager."
— Jac Nasser, CEO and President, Ford Motor Company
"These ideas help simplify complexity and provide a lifetime of value. What the CEO Wants You to Know is a gem of a book."
— Larry Bossidy, former Chairman and CEO, AlliedSignal
"This is a book that's been needed for years. Ram Charan shares the secret to finding your way in the business world and making your career more meaningful."
— Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO, Dupont
"Reading this book is like putting on a pair of glasses-suddenly the guts of the business are crystal clear."
— Dave Robino, Vice Chairman, Gateway Computer
"Finally, a book that shows how business really works."
— Bob Nardelli, President and CEO, GE Power Systems
"Business acumen-Ram Charan's term for using the

"What the CEO Wants You to Know is a book that should be read by everyone-from the newest recruit to the most seasoned senior manager."
Jac Nasser, CEO and President, Ford Motor Company
"These ideas help simplify complexity and provide a lifetime of value. What the CEO Wants You to Know is a gem of a book."
Larry Bossidy, former Chairman and CEO, AlliedSignal
"This is a book that's been needed for years. Ram Charan shares the secret to finding your way in the business world and making your career more meaningful."
Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO, Dupont
"Reading this book is like putting on a pair of glasses-suddenly the guts of the business are crystal clear."
Dave Robino, Vice Chairman, Gateway Computer
"Finally, a book that shows how business really works."
Bob Nardelli, President and CEO, GE Power Systems
"Business acumen-Ram Charan's term for using the universal laws of business is the name of the game today."
Lois D. Juliber, COO, Colgate-Palmolive"

-What the CEO Wants You to Know is a book that should be read by everyone-from the newest recruit to the most seasoned senior manager.-
-- Jac Nasser, CEO and President, Ford Motor Company
-These ideas help simplify complexity and provide a lifetime of value. What the CEO Wants You to Know is a gem of a book.-
-- Larry Bossidy, former Chairman and CEO, AlliedSignal
-This is a book that's been needed for years. Ram Charan shares the secret to finding your way in the business world and making your career more meaningful.-
-- Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO, Dupont
-Reading this book is like putting on a pair of glasses-suddenly the guts of the business are crystal clear.-
-- Dave Robino, Vice Chairman, Gateway Computer
-Finally, a book that shows how business really works.-
-- Bob Nardelli, President and CEO, GE Power Systems
-Business acumen-Ram Charan's term for using the universal laws of business -- is the name of the game today.-
-- Lois D. Juliber, COO, Colgate-Palmolive

"What the CEO Wants You to Know is a book that should be read by everyone-from the newest recruit to the most seasoned senior manager."
-- Jac Nasser, CEO and President, Ford Motor Company

"These ideas help simplify complexity and provide a lifetime of value. What the CEO Wants You to Know is a gem of a book."
-- Larry Bossidy, former Chairman and CEO, AlliedSignal

"This is a book that's been needed for years. Ram Charan shares the secret to finding your way in the business world and making your career more meaningful."
-- Chad Holliday, Chairman and CEO, Dupont

"Reading this book is like putting on a pair of glasses-suddenly the guts of the business are crystal clear."
-- Dave Robino, Vice Chairman, Gateway Computer

"Finally, a book that shows how business really works."
-- Bob Nardelli, President and CEO, GE Power Systems

"Business acumen-Ram Charan's term for using the universal laws of business -- is the name of the game today."
-- Lois D. Juliber, COO, Colgate-Palmolive

Synopsis:

Ram Charan has seen the business world from both ends of the spectrum. While growing up in India, working in his family shoe business, he came to understand how a business works and the critical elements of success: return on assets, growth, rate of inventory turnover, understanding your customers, and the changing marketplace. After coming to America, teaching at Harvard, and advising world class CEO's like Jack Welch of GE, Jac Nasser of Ford and Chad Holliday of DuPont, he knew that there are universal laws of business success and that they are the same for street peddlers and Fortune 500 CEO's. A powerful lesson in what is really important in business, this remarkable book takes the lessons of the peddier and reveals how they can be used by the rest of us. Reminiscent of best-sellers like Who Moved my Cheese? and The One-Minute Manager, What the CEO Wants You to Know is simple, direct and of immense use to everyone in business - from those just starting their careers who want to master the essentials of business, to senior executives who need to be reminded that success in the executive suite is based on the same common sense and universal business laws that make or break the corner fruit stand.

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown Publications
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0609608398
• ISBN 13: 9780609608395
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 148