Why Smart Executives Fail
And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes
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Narrated by:
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Don Hagen
About this listen
A definitive study of executive failures - why they happen and how to prevent them.
There's a scenario that keeps repeating itself in today's business climate. A company is voted one of the most admired in the world. Then three or four years later, it's in dire financial trouble. A CEO is celebrated on the covers of BusinessWeek, Forbes, and Fortune. Soon after, the company is in the midst of a disastrous merger or some other fiasco. What goes wrong in these cases?
Usually it seems that the top management made some incredibly stupid mistake. But the people responsible are almost always remarkably intelligent and usually have terrific track records. Even more puzzling than the fact that brilliant managers can make bad mistakes is the way they so often magnify the damage. Once a company has made a bad misstep, it often seems as though it can't do anything right. How does this happen? Instead of rectifying their mistakes, why do business leaders regularly make them worse?
To answer these questions, Sydney Finkelstein has carried out the largest research program ever devoted to business breakdowns. In Why Smart Executives Fail, he uncovers - with startling clarity and unassailable documentation - the causes regularly responsible for major business breakdowns. Why Smart Executives Fail relates the stories of great business disasters and demonstrates that there are specific, identifiable ways in which many businesses regularly make themselves vulnerable to failure. The result is a truly indispensable, practical, must-have audiobook that explains the mechanics of executive breakdowns, how to avoid them, and what to do about them if they happen.
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To make these big moves happen for your company, you’re going to have to break through inertia, gamesmanship, and risk aversion. You’re going to have to mitigate human biases and manage group dynamics. Eight practical shifts can help you do this, and unlock bigger, bolder, better strategies. This is not another by-the-book approach to strategy. It’s not another trudge through frameworks or small-scale case studies promising a secret formula for success. It’s an irreverent, fact-driven, and humorous take on the real world of strategic decision making.
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Ok beginning, superb finish
- By Rancher on 01-01-21
By: Chris Bradley, and others
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The Amazon Way: Amazon's 14 Leadership Principles
- By: John Rossman, Tom Alberg - foreword
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The 3rd edition of The Amazon Way is one of the rare business leadership books giving actionable insights for innovation and business growth to be the basis for your digital transformation gameplan. The Amazon Way translates Amazon's unique culture and management practices into insights and opportunities, as only an Amazon executive and expert advisor could do for the Amazon Leadership Principles giving listeners one of the essential business leadership books for the digital era.
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Good overview about Amazon
- By MrsSnuggs0512 on 06-05-24
By: John Rossman, and others
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The Oz Principle
- Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability
- By: Roger Connors, Tom Smith, Craig Hickman
- Narrated by: Wayne Shepherd
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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The Oz Principle is the groundbreaking work that demonstrates the vital role of accountability in the achievement of business results and the improvement of both individual and organizational performance. With more than a half million copies sold, The Oz Principle has emerged as one of the most influential and useful business ideas of recent times. The Oz Principle shows how to overcome The Blame Game that is so prevalent in organizations today.
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Trustless Accountability
- By Michael on 04-23-17
By: Roger Connors, and others
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The Reinventors
- How Extraordinary Companies Pursue Radical Continuous Change
- By: Jason Jennings
- Narrated by: Jason Jennings
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Eventually every job and every business will become irrelevant. According to Jason Jennings, the past few decades have seen unprecedented shifts: former third-world nations have transformed themselves into high-tech manufacturing powerhouses; technology has democratized business and increased competition in ways never before seen; and customers, used to getting exactly what they want when they want it, are no longer beholden to the corporate giants.
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Good advice
- By Myers on 07-28-18
By: Jason Jennings
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The Complete Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions
- Process Tools to Support M&A Integration at Every Level, 3rd Edition
- By: Timothy J. Galpin, Mark Herndon
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Merger and acquisition activity across the globe continues to grow, and is also playing a major role in the development of expanding markets. A well-managed integration effort is essential to success, and failure means a tremendous waste in terms of time and money, as well as the rapid destruction of shareholder value. The Complete Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions: Process Tools to Support M&A Integration at Every Level, Third Edition is an invaluable resource to guide firms in managing M&A integration and maximize the value of their deals.
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Sales brochure for the authors
- By J Garner on 04-18-22
By: Timothy J. Galpin, and others
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Start with Why
- How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
- By: Simon Sinek
- Narrated by: Simon Sinek
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The inspirational best seller that ignited a movement and asked us to find our why. Discover the book that is captivating millions on TikTok and that served as the basis for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time - with more than 56 million views and counting. Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek started a movement that inspired millions to demand purpose at work, to ask what was the why of their organization. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, and these ideas remain as relevant and timely as ever.
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Useless Dribble
- By Chimdi Azubuike on 03-10-18
By: Simon Sinek
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Lead and Disrupt
- How to Solve the Innovator's Dilemma
- By: Charles A. O'Reilly III, Michael L. Tushman
- Narrated by: James Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In the past few years, a number of well-known firms have failed; think of Blockbuster, Kodak, or RadioShack. When we hear about their demise, it often seems inevitable - a natural part of "creative destruction." But closer examination reveals a disturbing truth: Companies large and small are shuttering more quickly than ever. What does it take to buck this trend? The simple answer is: ambidexterity. Firms must remain competitive in their core markets, while also winning in new domains.
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Very very inspirational to me.
- By Fábio on 06-12-17
By: Charles A. O'Reilly III, and others
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The High-Potential Leader
- How to Grow Fast, Take on New Responsibilities, and Make an Impact
- By: Ram Charan, Geri Willigan
- Narrated by: Bob Reed
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Companies need high potential leaders (Hi-Pos) more than ever before to help them adapt to today's tumultuous, digitally-driven business environment. If you meet the Hi-Po criteria, you're in high demand - and this book explains how to fast-track yourself.
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Good book for people wanting to climb the corporate ladder and for executives to accelerate high - potential leaders
- By Niel on 06-23-19
By: Ram Charan, and others
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Think Like Amazon
- 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader
- By: John Rossman
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings, John Rossman
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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“What would Jeff do?” Since leaving Amazon to advise start-ups and corporations, John Rossman has been asked this question countless times by executives who want to know “the secret” behind Amazon’s historic success. In this step-by-step guide, he provides 50½ answers drawn from his experience as an Amazon executive - and shows today’s business leaders how to think like Amazon, strategize like Bezos, and beat the competition like nobody’s business.
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A must read if you really want to innovate like Amazon
- By Npino on 05-19-19
By: John Rossman
What listeners say about Why Smart Executives Fail
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- MD
- 02-07-17
Right in time
This book is surprisingly good. It has very few reviews but I kind of liked it after it was mentioned in another audiobook I listened.
The stories are real and the explanations are interesting and based, according to the writer, on research and interviews.
I think every business executive should listen to this audiobook.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jennifer Hall
- 08-19-17
Old references
The thinking and examples are too old to be relevant now. A new version with post GFC would be far more useful
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