From best-selling author Jeffrey J. Fox, how the savvy see opportunity -- and capitalize on itEconomic downturns separate the winning companies from the struggling. And as best-selling author Jeffrey J. Fox shows, tough times also give solid companies, strong managers, and potential rainmakers the opportunity to seize market share. In this eminently readable, practical resource for business leaders and managers, Fox explains exactly how the savvy few who rise to the top stay focused and alert, get new market share, hire good recently fired talent, increase investments into customer service, speed innovation, train all customer facing people, make acquisitions, get rid of underperformers, build brand names, pay for measurable performance, and lots more.Potential rainmakers, CEOS, marketing superstars, and great bosses have long turned to Jeffrey J. Fox for advice. Now he shows exactly what to do to weather any climate.
Author(s): Jeffrey J. Fox
Edition: 1
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 176
How to Be a Fierce Competitor: What Winning Companies and Great Managers Do in Tough Times......Page 5
CONTENTS......Page 7
Preface......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 15
CHAPTER 1: The Fierce Competitor Company......Page 19
CHAPTER 2: Bad Times Are Good Times......Page 22
CHAPTER 3: Hustle. Hustle. Hustle.......Page 24
CHAPTER 4: Leadership Is Not ‘‘Pushership’’......Page 27
CHAPTER 5: The Difference Between Leaders and Managers......Page 29
CHAPTER 6: Know Your Company’s Raison d’Etre......Page 31
CHAPTER 7: Manage As You Would Invest......Page 33
CHAPTER 8: ‘‘I Visit Customers in Stores’’......Page 36
CHAPTER 9: Always Answer the Phone......Page 38
CHAPTER 10: Pile Up Cash......Page 42
CHAPTER 11: Be Ever Fearful......Page 45
CHAPTER 12: Show Fearlessness......Page 47
CHAPTER 13: Play ‘‘What If?’’ Games......Page 49
CHAPTER 14: Leadership Is Full Disclosure......Page 51
CHAPTER 15: Get a Kitchen Cabinet......Page 53
CHAPTER 16: Always Have a Plan......Page 55
CHAPTER 17: Stay Off Magazine Covers......Page 57
CHAPTER 18: ‘‘I Never Made a Dime Talking’’......Page 59
CHAPTER 19: Never Take Your Hand Off the Tiller......Page 61
CHAPTER 20: Control or Roll......Page 64
CHAPTER 21: Get Out of the Office......Page 66
CHAPTER 22: Walk Around the Company......Page 69
CHAPTER 23: Never Forget the Third Shift......Page 71
CHAPTER 24: Be Obsessive About Execution......Page 74
CHAPTER 25: Get Rid of Executive Parking Spaces......Page 78
CHAPTER 26: Fight Unionization......Page 81
CHAPTER 27: People Are Not the Most Important Asset......Page 85
CHAPTER 28: Nurture Those You Hire and Acquire......Page 87
CHAPTER 29: Prune All Deadwood......Page 89
CHAPTER 30: Bulldoze All Silos......Page 91
CHAPTER 31: Broom Out All Bureaucracy......Page 93
CHAPTER 32: Scoop Up Newly Available Talent......Page 96
CHAPTER 33: Forget About Pedigrees......Page 98
CHAPTER 34: Pay for Performance, Not for Activities......Page 100
CHAPTER 35: Continuously Rip Out, Tear Out Bad Costs......Page 103
CHAPTER 36: The Do and Don’t Cut List......Page 107
CHAPTER 37: Forget Monthly Reports......Page 109
CHAPTER 38: No Money, No Meeting......Page 111
CHAPTER 39: Be Fanatical About Selling......Page 114
CHAPTER 40: Don’t Fire Sales People......Page 118
CHAPTER 41: Hire Fiercely Competitive Sales People......Page 121
CHAPTER 42: Banish All Selling Thieves......Page 124
CHAPTER 43: Always Conduct Daily Sales Meetings......Page 127
CHAPTER 44: The Big Opportunity......Page 129
CHAPTER 45: Never Cancel Batting Practice......Page 133
CHAPTER 46: Double the Training Budget......Page 136
CHAPTER 47: Love That Cranky, Fickle, Demanding Customer......Page 138
CHAPTER 48: Fire the ‘‘Strategic Customer’’......Page 140
CHAPTER 49: Customer Service Is a Survival Strategy......Page 143
CHAPTER 50: Worship at the Altar of Quality......Page 147
CHAPTER 51: Get Rid of ‘‘Mr. Ought-to-Be’’......Page 150
CHAPTER 52: Always Leave Flowers, Floor Mats, and Footprints......Page 152
CHAPTER 53: Don’t Cut Prices......Page 155
CHAPTER 54: You Are Never on Vacation......Page 158
CHAPTER 55: Lock, Load, and Launch......Page 160
CHAPTER 56: Sue the Blankety-Blanks......Page 162
CHAPTER 57: Welcome Serendipity......Page 165
CHAPTER 58: Go Green!......Page 167
CHAPTER 59: Be a Master Gardener......Page 169
CHAPTER 60: Summary: Characteristics of the Fierce Competitor Companies......Page 172
About the Author......Page 177
