Review by Booklist Review
Risk-taking is the essence of the entrepreneurial spirit, which many people claim is lacking in the U.S. today. Kehrer, a business and financial reporter for the New York Times and Washington Post, illustrates how risk-taking invigorates business and how complacency destroys it. Kehrer devotes substantial attention to the case of Coca-Cola and its introduction of the ``new'' Coke. Although the new product was widely criticized, Kehrer points out that with its combined product line, Coca-Cola now has a larger market share than before. He argues that failures can be almost as valuable as successes for serving as catalysts for necessary change or improvement. Notes, bibliography; to be indexed. DAR.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Financial writer Kehrer here delves into risks taken by America's leading business executives. He analyzes the enormous gamble taken by Coca-Cola's Roberto Goizueta when, in response to Pepsi's inroads, he changed Coke's century-old formula. He details Robert Swanson's daring launch of Genentech when others thought gene-splicing techniques were too experimental. Another example of high-stakes risk-taking was Allen Neu harth's decision to create the national newspaper USA Today . Of particular interest is Kehrer's discussion of Harry Quadracci's ``management by walking away,'' which catapulted his printing company, Quad/Graphics Inc., from a $10,000 startup to $500 million in sales today. Kehrer provides insights on risk-taking garnered from psychologists and management consultants, as well as those from risk-takers themselves. Written in clear, direct prose, this book will appeal to business executives who are committed to excellence. Macmillan Executive Program dual main selection. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Using case studies of corporations like Coca-Cola, IBM, and Tenentech, Kehrer examines the components of risk-taking--the necessary elements of creativity, compromise, change, and responsibility--through example and analysis. He concludes the work with advice on various risk-taking tactics and ways to measure degree of risk. This well-written book is both informative and motivational. Recommended for business, university, and public libraries.-- Arthur J. Lieb, Library of Congress (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A journalist's instructive and down-to-earth briefing on the rewards available to capitalists prepared to run calculated risks. Financial writer Kehrer (The Cautious Investor's Guide to Profits in Precious Metals, 1985) provides a series of case studies illustrating the payoffs that can accrue to business people willing to take reasonable (as opposed to stupid) chances. For openers, he gives a fresh twist to the oft-told tale of Coca-Cola's abortive attempt to introduce a reformulated version of its best-selling soft drink; in his book, the putative failure was but one aspect of a largely successful campaign to extend the brand's reach in the beverage marketplace. Kehrer also logs against-the-odds victories achieved by Gannett's Allen H. Neuharth (with USA Today), Genentech founder Robert H. Swanson, aptly named J. Fred Risk (the Forum Group CEO who built a fast-growing chain of nursing homes and retirement centers), cable TV's Kay Koplowitz, and Harry Quadracci, the hangloose head of Quad/Graphics. Covered as well in cautionary fashion are the stories of those who came to grief for reasons that range from recklessness through stand-pat policies. The author's casualty list includes such names as Adam Osborne (whose lap-top computer company went bust in 1983), People Express Airlines, and Salomon (which learned the hard way about the perils of tentative responses to dynamic changes in Wall Street's operating environment). As a practical matter, Kehrer concludes, consistently successful entrepreneurs and managers are at least as adept at reducing as running risks. In like vein, he documents how bureaucratic complacency and playing not to lose (rather than to win) can prove bootless enterprises. A substantive contribution to the nothing-ventured/nothing-gained genre. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
