Iacocca: An Autobiography

Lee Iacocca, the corporate icon of the "go go" era, recounts (with co-writer William Novak) how he did it his way, with a little help from his friends. He sets the record straight about insinuations that he was a flamboyant flash in the pan or had Mafia ties. A sense of honesty pervades his narrative, which often reveals more about the man than he probably intended. This 1984 classic is a cultural account of a time when American manufacturing was full of vitality, and marketing was simpler and more direct. At the time, experts warned Iacocca that you can know too much about everything and that a flood of information will just slow you down. He decided to know it all, anyway. His philosophy, well expressed between anecdotes, seems almost naïve now, certainly when contrasted with the ruthlessness of his nemesis, Henry Ford II. Iacocca gets the last laugh with his insider descriptions of life in the corporate glass house. getAbstract recommends this frank, refreshing yarn to postboomer business leaders, managers on the ascent, car buffs and manufacturers who operate within a dealer network.

Iacocca, an Autobiography, by Lee Iacocca with William Novak A few concepts and quotes stayed with me from this book: Every Sunday Lee would make a list of what it is he wanted to accomplish in the upcoming week. "I began my life as the son of immigrants and I worked my way up to the president of the Ford Motor Company. When I finally got there, I was on top of the world. But then fate said to me: "Wait. We're not finished with you. Now your going to find out what it feels like to get kicked off Mt. Everest!" "As you go through life, there are thousands of little forks in the road, and there are a few really big forks-those moments of reckoning, moments of truth. This was mine as I wondered what to do." "There are times in everyone's life when something constructive is born out of adversity. There are times when things seem so bad that you've got to grab your fate by the shoulders and shake it." ""Don't get mad," Mary reminded me. "Get Even" In times of great stress and adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive" His father would tell him, "You've got to accept a little sorrow in life. You'll never know what happiness is unless you have something to compare it to." "The most important thing I learned in school was how to communicate. Miss Raber, our ninth grade teacher...would quiz us on the Word Power Game from Readers Digest. Without any advance warning she'd rip it out the magazine and make us take the vocabulary test. It became a powerful habit with me-to this day I still look for the list of words in every issue of the Digest" "Setbacks are a natural part of life, and you've got to be careful of how you respond with them." The book talks about how Lee rose through the ranks at Ford as well as his beliefs and strategies that he has picked up through the years. If you want to learn and grow, read about leaders, and people that have overcome adversities. By Kevin Kingston, author of, "A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate" (...)

If Business Executives had a Hall of Fame, Iacocca would probably have a floor dedicated to him.Iacocca life was a wilder then a roller coast, his failures made headlines across the nation and his successes were larger then life. He spent eight years as the running Ford only to fired in his prime, only to enjoy revenge in an almost truly capitalistic way by taking an another company out of bankruptcy and making it succeed again.It's the story of an ordinary guy who wanted to design cars and instead decided to sell them. Along the way he ended up as President of one company and Chief Executive at another one and became a household name all the while.Iacocca is interesting and inspiring, a great book for Business men and women and even better book for ordinary folk just like he was.

I opted to read this book out of curiosity on how Lee lead Chrysler the way that he did; I was also surprised to learn about his beginnings with FORD. This book is a sort of "in your face" look at how management and leadership worked at both Chrysler and Ford to bring about successes. If you're in management or a leadership role, this book makes for good reading, and you may find yourself referring back to periodically--I have. There are some excellent points that remain quite valid in today's corporate environment. I think that Iacocca's comment: "Good leaders know how to follow their people.", says a lot about one's role in a leadership capacity, and what a good leader should be capable of. Good leaders should lead, but they should also know when to listen to their people. This book is a keeper!

I've read biographies, a number of them, but this is just about the best I have ever read. It reads like a novel, with interesting twists on every page. If you don't like cars or corporate management, drop your predispositions and read this book. Its the best advice I could give.