How to Be a Fierce Competitor

Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii 1 The Fierce Competitor Company 1 2 Bad Times Are Good Times 4 3 Hustle. Hustle. Hustle. 6 4 Leadership Is Not ''Pushership'' 9 5 The Difference Between Leaders and Managers 11 6 Know Your Company's Raison d'Etre 13 7 Manage As You Would Invest 15 8 ''I Visit Customers in Stores'' 18 9 Always Answer the Phone 20 10 Pile Up Cash 24 11 Be Ever Fearful 27 12 Show Fearlessness 29 13 Play ''What If?'' Games 31 14 Leadership Is Full Disclosure 33 15 Get a Kitchen Cabinet 35 16 Always Have a Plan 37 17 Stay Off Magazine Covers 39 18 ''I Never Made a Dime Talking'' 41 19 Never Take Your Hand Off the Tiller 43 20 Control or Roll 46 21 Get Out of the Office 48 22 Walk Around the Company 51 23 Never Forget the Third Shift 53 24 Be Obsessive About Execution 56 25 Get Rid of Executive Parking Spaces 60 26 Fight Unionization 63 27 People Are Not the Most Important Asset 67 28 Nurture Those You Hire and Acquire 69 29 Prune All Deadwood 71 30 Bulldoze All Silos 73 31 Broom Out All Bureaucracy 75 32 Scoop Up Newly Available Talent 78 33 Forget About Pedigrees 80 34 Pay for Performance, Not for Activities 82 35 Continuously Rip Out, Tear Out Bad Costs 85 36 The Do and Don't Cut List 89 37 Forget Monthly Reports 91 38 No Money, No Meeting 93 39 Be Fanatical About Selling 96 40 Don't Fire Sales People 100 41 Hire Fiercely Competitive Sales People 103 42 Banish All Selling Thieves 106 43 Always Conduct Daily Sales Meetings 109 44 The Big Opportunity 111 45 Never Cancel Batting Practice 115 46 Double the Training Budget 118 47 Love That Cranky, Fickle, Demanding Customer 120 48 Fire the ''Strategic Customer'' 122 49 Customer Service Is a Survival Strategy 125 50 Worship at the Altar of Quality 129 51 Get Rid of ''Mr. Ought-to-Be'' 132 52 Always Leave Flowers, Floor Mats, and Footprints 134 53 Don't Cut Prices 137 54 You Are Never on Vacation 140 55 Lock, Load, and Launch 142 56 Sue the Blankety-Blanks 144 57 Welcome Serendipity 147 58 Go Green! 149 59 Be a Master Gardener 151 60 Summary: Characteristics of the Fierce Competitor Companies 154 About the author 159