Leadership Biography

Series editor Andrew Leckey and guest editor Marshall Loeb have scoured the print media and have consulted with editors of major business and general-interest publications and with the deans of several schools of journalism in order to find the 30 best business stories from the past 12 months. Among the articles selected: Ken Auletta on Herb Allen's CEO retreat, from The New Yorker; Diane Brady on Martha Stewart, from Business Week; and Steve Silberman on creating a borderless global cyber-marketplace, from Wired.

Among the most famous Americans ever, Henry Ford was one of the greatest inventors and industrialists of the early 20th century. He built one of the most innovative versions of the "horseless carriage" and created the first factory assembly line. But the secrets to Henry Ford's success were not lost when he passed away. Take a journey through the lenses of his life, and see how the secrets to his success unfold.

In this deeply researched and yet still highly accessible book about the successor to Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, Steinburg takes us through Pope Francis' early days as a parish priest in Argentina, his Jesuit education, his role in Argentina's infamous "Dirty War", and his time as a bishop and a cardinal at the seat of the Catholic church in Rome.

While Abraham Lincoln’s stories, more often than not, made people laugh, they almost always had a point to them. The stories were Lincoln’s way of making it easy for people to understand what he was saying. Over the past year, I have taken the time to read hundreds of Lincoln’s stories, sayings, and quotes from his letters, and what really stands out to me, is his deep understanding of people. Many of his stories ring just as true today, as they did when he first told them over 150 years ago.

From October 2002 to September 2005, the crew of the USS San Francisco (SSN 711), a nuclear fast-attack submarine, took an incredible and gut-wrenching journey through three homeports, two missions vital to national security, two dry-dockings, dozens of leaders, and the worst submerged grounding in the history of the US Navy that did not result in the loss of the vessel.

The Big Bing will be a mandatory addition to the library of everyone who works for a living, or would like to. For nearly 20 years, Stanley Bing's funny, wise, pleasantly mean-spirited, and at times even useful columns have delighted readers in the pages of Esquire, Fortune, and a variety of other national publications. Bing has lived the last two decades inside the belly of the corporate beast, clawing his way to the top of one of the great multinational companies in the cosmos.

Being on The Apprentice made Bill Rancic an overnight celebrity. But his winning strategies were developed long before that, and in You're Hired, he uses examples from his own life to prove that the secrets of success can be found within us all.

At a time when Warren Buffet has again emerged as the defining sage and darling of Wall Street, this fascinating book explodes the myths that surround the man from Omaha and brings new insights into his remarkable successes ¿ as a manager, an allocator of capital, and a role model for financial managers, investors, and business executives around the world. Many best-selling books have tried to unlock Buffett's secrets by analysing his genius as a stock picker. But they missed the point.

Business mogul, brash, politically-incorrect, and now president of the United States, Donald Trump seems to have it all. Love him or hate him, there's no denying he got this far because of his unique personality and unwilling, almost unreasonable, drive to succeed.

Jim McNerney was one of Jack Welch's top protégés at General Electric and a finalist to replace the retiring Welch as CEO. McNerney lost that competition in 2001, but since then he has emerged as one of the most effective leaders of his generation.

Wayne Rogers has, over the past four decades, become an enormously successful entrepreneur and businessman - and in Make Your Own Rules he shows you how to retain your own identity and reap tremendous rewards in your career and business while doing so. Using fascinating examples from his wide array of experiences - all of which involved leaping into situations where he lacked the traditional background in a particular field - Rogers presents a clarion call to the creative-minded person who isn’t quite sure how to apply that creativity to the world of business.

The Change Maker catapults listeners into a world few will ever experience. Entertaining, fast-paced, and episodic, this memoir of an unconventional agent of change provides a lesson in the values of strategic thinking and responsible leadership found so wanting today. With self-deprecating humor and irony, Al Checchi chronicles the meteoric rise whereby his creativity, strategic thinking, and negotiating skills helped transform three major American institutions....

You've used their products. You've heard about their skyrocketing wealth and "don't be evil" business motto. But how much do you really know about Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin? Inside Larry and Sergey's Brain skips past the general Google story and focuses on what really drives these men and where they will take Google in the future.

Leigh Perkins bought Orvis in 1965 and over the next thirty years would revolutionize the catalog industry as he successfully blended his love for the outdoors with his business acumen. A Sportsman's Life is the story of a man, his company, and his love of the outdoors, his commitment to conservation, and his infectious enthusiasm for the good life.

As America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the 21st century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.

This book is about the early life of Richard Branson, the story of his success, and all his business lessons. Listening to it will begin to give you an idea of what it takes to be a mega-entrepreneur. It contains tips and business advice from Richard Branson himself.

In 2010 Tony Hsieh was introduced to many as a visionary modern business leader. Under Hsieh's leadership, Zappos became the world's largest online shoe company by championing satisfied customers and a valued workforce. After his company was purchased by Amazon, Hsieh turned his energies and considerable fortune toward a much larger goal: building a new and more socially conscious Silicon Valley in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, all within his five-year plan.

How the world's most powerful media mogul really thinks! Rupert Murdoch, the controversial chairman and CEO of News Corp., is the subject of endless gossip, speculation, and criticism. But what really drives his bold (and usually successful) gambles? Based on comments from News Corp. executives and competitors and interviews with Wall Street analysts, investors, and other media experts, this audio book explores some of the most fascinating questions about Murdoch.

Frank Savage's is an unlikely success story. Raised in segregated Washington, DC, by his mother, a hairdresser and entrepreneur with little formal education, Savage's career has taken him around the world as a globetrotting financier. From his first banking job at Citibank to his current position as Chairman Emeritus of Howard University, The Savage Way shares the life and business lessons he learned along the way.

Reed Hastings is one of the world's foremost business leaders. As co-founder, chairman and CEO of Netflix, he has built one of the largest media and entertainment companies on the planet, with an estimated personal net worth of $3.6 billion. A notable philanthropist, he has served on the boards of Facebook, Microsoft and a number of non-profit organisations. This concise but detailed biography provides an overview of Hastings' career trajectory, providing insights into his success.