New Ideas from Dead Ceos: Lasting Lessons from the Corner Office

Any businessman seeking the keys to business success from CEO expertise will welcome NEW IDEAS FROM DEAD CEOS, which examines the professional and personal lives of corporate giants who succeeded where others failed. From Estee Lauder's ideas on selling high-priced cosmetics through a new market to Kroc's lessons from Krispy Kreme, discussions of inventions, business school and real world influences, and businessman influences and innovations make for enlightening, lively business history reading perfect for both business and public libraries alike.

An insightful collection of essays and glimpses into the lives of some of the most successful CEO's of the 20th century. Passion, drive, talent, and luck are all certainly the characteristics evident in each life story. Todd Buchholz delivers a fair mix of trivia and insights into the evolution of each company and the CEO at the helm. One recurring theme: find an un-served market segment; a niche that is sneered at by the current market. For a similar read, make sure you take a look at `Founders at Work' by Jessica Livingston.

Actually, it was Bernard of Chartres, not Isaac Newton, who should be properly credited with first observing that "we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness on sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size." I thought of that observation as I began to read Todd Buchholz's book about ten "giants" of the business world, each of whom introduced or refined "new" ideas that have, by now, been widely adopted. The ideas on which Todd Buchholz focuses in this book were obviously "new" at one time but have by now become widely-adopted core concepts for achieving and then sustaining success in business. For example, almost all of the ideas about salesmanship that Thomas J. Watson, Sr. institutionalized so effectively at IBM and his son Thomas Jr. then refined were developed years earlier at National Cash Register when CEO John Patterson noted that his brother was outselling everyone else, examined how he achieved it, and established what is reputed to be the first corporate sales training program (in 1893) based on his brother's sales strategies and tactics. It is worth noting that Watson Sr. worked for IBM for several years and later acknowledged the value of what he learned about salesmanship from its branch manager in Buffalo, John J. Range. In (of all places) the book's concluding chapter, Buchholz offers a challenge to his reader and makes a statement that indicates his approach top each of the ten "giants": "I dare you. Search this book for the solitary secret that will guarantee riches while protecting you from being flung against the wall by competitors. You won't find it." Buchholz then continues, "Not because I have failed to divulge the lives and lessons f great CEOs, but because I tried to reveal the simple truth about making it big: It does not take a village, a Harvard MBA, or even a rich uncle. It takes passion, and obsession with turning a great idea into a sweeping revolution." That is certainly true of A.P. Giannini who "invented modern banking" by establishing and then building his Bank of Italy (that eventually became Bank of America) with a customer base of "the little people" (e.g. immigrants) and small businesses ignored by other banks. It is also true of Estée Lauder who "recognized that by placing herself among the `power elites,' to borrow C. Wright Mills' phrase, she could more easily market her cosmetics to the strata just below them." One of her most important insights was that she could sell more perfume by avoiding the word "perfume." She was among the earliest (if not the earliest) of those who recognized how important it is to members of the lower and middle economic classes to have a "taste of luxury" even if and especially if, that is all they can afford. Mass affluence has become and remains among the most significant phenomena in contemporary

Unbelievable what this author has done! He has gone to the past and brought to life CEO's that I have heard of as I was growing up, and never really knew much about. His writing holds the interest of the reader from beginning to the end of the book. This is a book that shows impeccable knowledge and humor that should be in your library .

This book was entertaining and informative for someone with a limited background in economics. I'm so glad it was recommended to me. The individuals who were profiled especially the women made it most relevant. The author is witty and his style keeps the reader interested from beginning to end. Anyone buying this book is in for a treat.