No comments about What Makes Dan Bollom So Tall?: A Memoir Of Life Experiences And Advice From A Retired CEO.

3 comments about DAY BY DAY: The Story of Cecil B. Day and His Simple Formula for Success.

1. In reading this book thus far, I've learned that I have yet to understand and put trust into following my "tug" to the fullest - which when reading this book is the main part of the formula for success. Add in the basic positives, such as faith, love and respect.....well you'll have to read it for yourself.



2. Mr. Day is someone I never met, but feel like I know after reading Day by Day by his son, CB Day, Jr. I hope to be like him when I grow up. Honest, in attitude, and spiritually. I'm just 10, but now I know good really can be got in America.

   Mr. Day is proof. Read it.

   aaron humes




3. ... or should I say "WOW!" This one almost snuck by me.

   Amazing, fast reading and I want to read more!

No comments about Brett Kebble: The Inside Story.

No comments about Secrets of Successful Women Entrepreneurs.

No comments about Automotive Giants Of America.

5 comments about Executive Blues.

1. I first read Mr. Meyer's book in the early 90s and was touched and amused by it. As the decade progressed, so did the number of layoffs I also encountered, and I never went through a layoff without thinking of his story. I can't tell you how many people I have referred to this book, and that's why I'm on this web site today - to send a link to yet another middle-aged worker who is feeling "Down and Out in Corporate America."
   
   It's a must-read for anyone who has been laid off and anyone who works in Human Resources. It stands the test of time!



2. The corporate life is much like a chicken coop: the few chickens on the top of pecking order have friends and a full access to the feeder. Once a chicken slides down the pecking order, it is unlikely to regain its spot. At least, not at the age of 50 and not without strong connections.
   Jerry Meyer, an ex-senior executive at MacDonnell-Douglas, wrote a painfully frank story of a corporate chicken, who made it to the top of pecking order without connections or old money, and fell back to the bottom.
   It is a must-read for every executive wannabe. Maybe, the reader will think of Meyer's message and reconsider the career strategy: it is safer to be paid for what you DO than for what you ARE. A title is no substitute for skill, creativity and, most important, sense of self-worth.



3. I so enjoyed this book I devoured it in one sitting -- which surprised even me. I have not a thing in common with the author: I am not male, I'm nowhere near 50, I have never been a senior executive and I've never been fired. In fact, I'm a stay-at-home mother. But Meyer writes well. And if you've ever had to look for a job under any circumstances, you'll identify. Don't believe the reviewers who call Meyer bitter -- he's not, he's just very, very specific about the details of his humiliation. His book does raise real questions about employers today, but more to the point, it's a good read.



4. Even if you are securely employed or living off a comfortable trust fund, this book is a superb read, painfully funny, sharp-witted, well written. Though I had never much sympathy for six- figure executives, Meyer's take on that world still engaged me to read the book in one sitting



5. G. J. (Jerry) Meyer writes an outstanding memoir reagarding his experience seeking work in the modern America of right-sizing and layoffs. Mr. Meyer writes honest and straight-forward prose about corporate life and the tough job market faced by the increasing numbers of people as production gets more efficient and automated. I read this book right after reading Jeremy Rifken's 'The End of Work' (which discusses WHY so many people are un- or under-employed), there should be a Surgeon General's warning about doing this, the experience is nearly too intense. One can only hope that Mr. Meyer gets screwed in some other manner, so that he'll be motivated to write more. Truly an excellent book by a very skilled and compelling writer

4 comments about A Traitor to His Class: Robert A.G. Monks and the Battle to Change Corporate America.

1. Robert Monks is a kind of a modern day "Don Quijote", battling single handed against corporate dirty tricks. This book tells the very interesting story of how the modern corporate governance movement got under way. A very important read.



2. Hilary Rosenberg has successfully woven together an engaging biography of a fascinating figure in the corporate world, an intriguing tale of the machinations of big business and government and a necessary primer for corporate shareholders, board members and officers on what rights, responsibilities and duties each has and should expect from the other. Ms. Rosenberg's writing style not only keeps the pages turning for the uninitiated reader but her excellent documentation throughout the volume allows the serious student to use this book as a reference source. A great read for all and a must read for every corporate shareholder, officer and board member.



3. A minister's son takes on the corporate establishment in this illuminating and exciting story of business, politics, and the power of ideas. Robert Monks says, "I've got this beautiful place, a beautiful wife, more than anyone can ask for. What else should I do with my time but think about big important issues?" He does much more than think -- as he also says, "You were not put on earth to be a spectator." His thoughts about big, important issues like corporate governance and accountability have transformed the behavior of every corporate director, every CEO, and every institutional investor in America. His adventures in breaking up Sears, replacing eight directors and three CEOs at Stone & Webster, and running in a roller coaster senatorial campaign read like a Tom Wolfe novel. Monks confronts CEOs (even picking one up and threatening to throw him through a window), takes out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal calling the Sears board "non-performing assets," and runs as an opposition candidate for one seat on the board of Sears. The lively and perceptive writing matches the lively and engaging subject. Must reading for anyone in the corporate world as a manager, director, or shareholder.



4. A Traitor to His Class, Robert A.G. Monks and the Battle to Change Corporate America, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. by Hilary Rosenberg

   Consider a book about a large man who built a small fortune in order to carry out a big idea. This biographical work extends the lessons of Robert Monks' previous books, Power and Accountability (1993) and Corporate Governancej (1995), about the need for reform of American corporate governance and together they constitute the best source for the intellectual origins and history of that movement, a subject (now after twenty years) part of every business school syllabus.

   To those who know him, Mr. Monks is a large man, not just in physical power but in the energy of his mind and vision. It must have taken more than rowing in the Harvard and Cambridge eights to generate the qualities needed to put his ideas on the national agenda. The words relentless, persistent, methodical, demanding, resilient, self-questioning, optimistic, risk-taking occur to many of his allies and opponents in the struggle. Experience counts, too. Along the way Mr. Monks is observed in various roles: lawyer, real estate businessman, CEO, venture capitalist, fund manager, director, politician (unsuccessful) and public servant. The battle plan appears to be to surround the problem and attack from every angle. Not every engagement is a victory. Time and again he bounces back.

   There are plenty of numbers in the book for the specialist reader. You learn about how to take over a company without putting up any money, rather as a chef uses egg whites to conjure up a soufflé. The essence of the problem is that there are 800,000 pension funds governed by the Department of Labor's ERISA program. They own publicly traded shares to a value of $1.25 trillion or 25% of the U.S. equity market. The power of their ownership, until Mr. Monks and a few others came along, was unrepresented and therefore ignored by American corporations. Left unsaid is that the financial press must have been asleep for a few generations, accepting press handouts from corporations rather than responsibility to report on corporate America.

   When you think about it, the idea is a big one. It dawned as an epiphany on Mr. Monks in 1977 when he chanced upon a proxy form of a large paper company which he knew to be polluting a river in Maine with its discharge. Why are corporations not accountable to their shareholding owners, what are the requirements of corporate governance? He becomes the Pensions Administrator at the Department of Labor where he is able to change some rules of the game. He goads major pension funds into recognizing their power and responsibility. He establishes the leading company in the field of proxy management. All the time he is amassing information, advocating his cause in any and every forum, writing the text book, girding for war.

   Chance favors the prepared mind, said Louis Pasteur. Mr. Monks was ready to take the battle to corporate America. Sears, Westinghouse, American Express, Eastman Kodak, Stone and Webster and other poorly managed, undervalued companies became the targets. The names have a ring to them, like the names of Napoleon's battles. Mr. Monks called for better financial management, strategic planning and corporate governance. He asked for confidential shareholder voting, the addition of independent directors, the elimination of staggered boards, accountability to shareholders and (usually) the spin off of unprofitable businesses. The aim was to create greater value for shareholding owners through better management. The CEO's and the boardrooms didn't like it. Many of them slammed the door in Mr. Monks' face or kept him waiting for hours as a deliberate insult. Most of them could not survive. It was left for their successors to follow Mr. Monks' recommendations and watch the value of their shares rise. A good feature of the book is that the opposing CEOs were given a chance to have their say. Some of them preferred to keep quiet.

   Mr. Monks is better off for it, and so are we. But most of all this book is a tribute to the power of an idea and what it takes to make it work.

   George Herrick

No comments about Winners Make it Happen: Reflections of a Self-Made Man.

2 comments about When Money Is King: How Revlon's Ron Perelman Mastered the World of Finance to Create One of America's Greatest Business Empires, and Found Glamour, Beauty, and the High Life in the Bargain.

1. When Money Is King: How Revlon's Ron Perelman Mastered the World of Finance to Create One of America's Greatest Business Empires, and Found Glamour, Beauty, and the High Life in the Bargain, by Richard Hack
   
   
   This is a great book to gain an understanding of how a one man force can create a multibillion-dollar empire in just 15 years through buying, selling and restructuring companies at a frenzied pace. This book is similar to most of the books I have reviewed both on Amazon and on my blog (at - bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston ) in that an empire builder (Ron Perelman in this case) has the common characteristics of a super achiever, he is: drive, has tremendous courage and confidence and he has the all important understanding of the importance of cash flow.
   
   The book starts out by explaining how Ron's relationship with his father was all about business, balance sheets and cash flow while growing up. He would sit in on board meetings with his father starting at age 11 and study financial statements after school instead of playing ball.
   
   In 1961 as his freshman year in college came to an end he pursued a buy out of a Pennsylvania family owned Brewery for $800,000. Three years later his father and he sold it for a profit of $1,000,000. This deal gave him the adrenaline rush on which entrepreneurs thrive. The victory was sweet-and-addicting. Ron was hooked! He then married into a $100 million dollar fortune and it's deal mania from then on.
   
   The key to Ron's success is the use of leverage, the understanding of cash flow and his ability to see and create value where others don't. It is no small task to take in money (Milken money) at a cost, in the area of 14.5% through the issuance of junk bonds and put it to work buying business that can not only pay the heavy debt load but generate handsome profits as well. This is really the key to most great fortunes, to understand how to borrow money and put it to work so it creates cash flow and builds equity over time.
   
   The details of the corporate takeover battle for Revlon is a must read for those interested in finance. A deposition of Ron on pages 193-204 regarding a law suit by a former executive is totally comical. When asked a few questions his answer was. "I'm not going to tell you". This set the tone for the deposition and also gives you a sense of Ron's personality. Also interesting is Ron's love of long private walks and his yearning to be in bed by 10pm every night.
   
   There is a lot to learn from this book to be sure.
   
   By Kevin Kingston, author of, "A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate"



2. I must say I was disappointed as soon as I perused the first few pages of the book. I was expecting a more business-oriented and substantive read but was disheartened by the excessive concentration on impertinent personal details on Ron's life that the average businessperson doesn't give a hoot about. The actual deals are mentioned in passing while the reader is forced to suffer through interminable fluff. Vendors should place this book as close as possible to the tabloid section of the bookstore.

5 comments about John D. MacArthur: A View from the Bar (A Memoir).

1. This is a well written book. It's lively and interesting. But before you buy it, you should know that it's not really a biography of John D MacArthur in the traditional sense. It's the story of Bob Sanford who worked at MacArthur's hotel as the beverage/bar manager. Sanford does tell a lot of stories about his own experiences with MacArthur (for example the book begins with Sanford being interviewed by MacArthur for a position at the hotel), but most of the book is limited to Sanford's firsthand experiences. And from that perspective the book is interesting (as a collection of experiences that a working man has with one of the wealthiest men in the world), but this is not a biography in the traditional sense. I just wanted to add that to the book's description.



2. Bob Sanford's entertaining, biographical, memoir, let's the reader in on what it was like to be up close and personal with the late billionaire John D. MacArthur. This is to date the only book written by someone who actually knew him. This printing contains an extensive chronology of this fancinating mans life. I know, because I was there, I worked for "Mr. Mac", and I lived at the Colonnades Hotel. Two thumbs up on your great book Mr. Sanford!!!



3. I loved this book. I had often wondered about John D. MacArthur when I read of the MacArthur Foundations' remarkably generous "genius" awards in newspapers. Here was a glimpse of him that might never have been recorded had it not been for Mr. Sanford. The photos are remarkable, I suspect, since I imagine that only Mr. Sanford could have obtained them. What's more, it's an absolutely fun book to read, since it obviously captures the "inside story". Thanks, Mr. Sanford for this well-written and informative book.



4. This is NOT a biography of "Mr. Mac" but a glimpse of a way of life of a powerful man. I've read much of the background material that the author, Bob Sanford used to create his memoir and it is totally accurate. Since I am a new-comer to Palm Beach Gardens it was great to read something about how this "garden" was created. Since I own the bookstore (the Book Rack) where Bob had his first book signing, I have a special interest and pride in that book. It is obvious that Bob admired John D MacArthur, and so the stories about this billionaire are (for the most part) flattering and entertaining.



5. Very disappointing. Costs much more than the book is worth. It is 149 pages of large print and many pictures. There is too much about the author's life and not enough about Mr. MacArthur.

   The section about MacArthur's rise to wealth adds nothing to an earlier book about MacArthur called "The Stockholder". The information in both books is sketchy and incomplete.

   There is almost nothing about MacArthur's wives or children.

   I think that the information about MacArthur's cause of death is incorrect. The author cites pancreatic cancer but I think it was lung cancer which killed MacArthur.

   No one to-date has written a thorough biography of the life of this fascinating man.