Confronting Reality Doing What Matters to Get Things Right

by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Kevin Gray (Reading)

Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan have a message that cuts to the core of what people in business are concerned about. Overcapacity, compressed profit margins, intensifying competition are realities not only limited to big companies but to all sorts of businesses, including the ones that are too specialized, small or local to worry about global-scale change. Never has there been a greater need to understand the world environment and the impact it has on an individual business or product line. Businesses are damaged not only by poor management technique but the failure to confront the behavior of others who can affect the business outcomes: customers and markets, traditional industry competitors or nontraditional competitors from completely different industries. Focus on internal processes, policies and politics, and wishful thinking are disastrous; while restructuring, cutting costs, developing new market programs though sensible and necessary are yesterday's solutions. CONFRONTING REALITY shows what really works.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Management, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Self Help

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Lawrence Arthur "Larry" Bossidy is an American author and retired businessman. He was CEO of AlliedSignal (later Honeywell) in the 1990s, prior to which he spent more than 30 years rising through executive positions at General Electric.

Reviews

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

what is nature of game playing what future how make money, fifth structural change since ww2, six bad behaviors filtered info selective hearing wishful thinking fear of being fired emotional over investment unrealistic capital market, risk of unpredictable regulations via states, subsidy as a prolonged death, who is learner who is future, talk straight stretch goals simple message.

[Kimball · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I was bored on a Friday while listening to this book and couldn't concentrate on it. But it was okay.

Businesses need to answer three questions: What's the nature of the game we're playing, where's it going, and how do we make money in it?

Man some of these business things go way over my head.

[Shannon Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good business principles and clear explanation of the business model, but felt longer than in needed to be. I enjoyed the last two chapters the most which focused on creating a culture that is adaptable to change and developing leaders who can face reality and make the necessary changes in their businesses and people to overcome the challenges they face.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only Larry’s parts are worth reading. Those excerpts typically have the “I” pronoun. He has had real management experience, and it shows in his writing.

The other portions (85% of book) are common sense or can easily be read in more detail from other books.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hindsight being what it is, one can point out all sorts of successes and hold up those to support your argument. Not sure what their point was from the title, so perhaps I missed it.

[Regis Lucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

resumo

[kareem · Rating 4 out of 5]

original review posted here:
http://www.reemer.com/archives/2005/0...

This book is part of the curriculum of the 2005 Creative Good Fellows program that I'm taking part in. It outlines a holistic method to develop a business model for one's business: the external forces, internal capabilities, and financial targets all work in conjunction with each other to paint a picture of a business' health and growth oppotunities.

The first half of the book describes how to use this model to "confront reality" and look at your business how it actually is, instead of how you want it to be. The emphasis on seeking out reasons for change and reacting to the root causes (instead of reacting simply to the change) make intuitive sense to me. A long-term outlook balanced with fulfilling short-term objectives is a party line often preached but not followed in corporate America.

The second half of the book describes case studies of heroic CEOs who used Charan and Bossidy's model to right companies (in industries where fundamental structural change has occurred) or to ride out cyclical changes and position their companies for future growth.

It's an easy read and there are some very good ideas in here (specifically: the notions that seeking out diversity of perspectives, focusing on the consumer's needs, and keeping an eye on the reasons "why" industry change occurs are healthy for a business), and makes me want to check out Charan and Bossidy's better-known book, Execution.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seemed more like a missing chapter from Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done than a book in its own right. Although the discussion of the business model and how it needs to react to external variables was interesting, a lot of the other content felt like filler.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transferrable lessons from business.

[Ricardo Osuna · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Hasta ahorita es como entrar a una máquina del tiempo. Bossidy y Charan ya veían el elefante enorme que fue el crédito fácil antes del 2008.
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[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read book on change management for knowledge workers, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.