Fit to Bust: How Great Companies Fail (repost)

Description

Warren Buffet remarked that it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. "If you think about that, you'll do things differently." Journalist Tim Phillips turns his eye toward the most avoidable business disasters of recent history. In each case, the story begins at the point where a disastrous decision was made, and then it examines what happened, why it happened and what could have been different.

Each story highlights a flaw that could affect any organization -- for example, overexpansion, failure to do due diligence, or blindness toward an economic bubble. Phillips then isolates the moment, meeting or decision just before the failure, and asks "What were they thinking?" Engaging and informative, he offers insights on why smart people make bad decisions, as well as on the process of management and decision-making in today's business world.

Using first-hand accounts of the people involved, Fit to Bust discusses business collapses such as Enron, Polaroid, WorldCom, and Woolworth's and explains how changing one decision could have helped avoid disaster.

“Fit to Bust… explores the failure of not just any companies, but what are widely regarded as “great” companies. Phillips casts a critical eye on many big names of international stature, offering engaging sketches of each… Fit to Bust offers readers an insight into failure on such a large scale that it is almost inconceivable it is repeated time and again. But failure is a way of life that has been all too common in the business world for hundreds of years. Sadly, this is a book that proves it.” - ForeWord Book Reviews

“…Phillips takes us deeper into the psyche of the business world and exposes some of the unpalatable truths about ourselves as managers, employees or investors.” –Chartered Management Institute

“…provides an excellent and engaging investigation into the typical causes of business failure, and goes beyond the popular news to examine back-room boardroom decision-making processes and how such decisions can contribute to a company’s success or failure.” -Midwest Book Review