Leadership Biography

There are not many successful entrepreneurs who will enthusiastically break off in the middle of a multi-million pound deal to have a huge snowball fight in the car park with their finance director. But then, Mark Mills is not just any successful entrepreneur. Whether organizing one of his infamous summer Christmas parties, flying to New York to find a new business idea, or staying up all night to celebrate a successful deal, Mark Mills has always believed in the absolute importance of having fun in business. And not just for him, but for his employees, customers, and suppliers, too.

Starting and running a small business is hard! These 21 authors have done the hard work and overcome the risks. Their stories will help every listener to empathize with the challenges of being an entrepreneur and to join in and celebrate the victories. The stories provide lessons in grit, determination, and faith. Whether you have "made it" in your business, are still struggling, or have just started thinking about getting into business, these lessons will be useful in motivating you through difficult days or circumstances.

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.

At some point in our lives, most of us have been affected by caring adults whose advice, guidance, and example made a difference. In The Person Who Changed My Life, individuals who have distinguished themselves in their fields write about the men and women who served as their mentors.

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.

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.

In Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success, Deborah James shares her personal and professional challenges, outcomes, strategies for success, and the problem-solving principles she used to overcome the daunting pressures, threats, and challenges that come with rising to the top of the US Armed Forces. As a supplement to her storytelling, Bain and Company, a top-tier management consulting firm, offers research and statistics that prove James's insights have widespread impact.

In seinen vier Jahrzehnten für den Weltkonzern Siemens durchlebte Heinrich von Pierer Höhen und Tiefen des Managerdaseins. Was muss ein Topmanager können, um sich an der Spitze zu behaupten? Wie geht er erfolgreich mit Mitarbeitern und Mitarbeiterinnen um, wie mit Betriebsräten, Investoren, Kunden - aber auch mit der Prominenz aus der Politik? Er beschreibt, wie begrenzt "Macht" sein kann, auch wenn man an der Spitze steht.

Join Nyimpini Mabunda on his journey from his childhood in an apartheid-era homeland to the CEO's office at one of the world's best-known businesses. In a career spanning Procter & Gamble, Nando's, Diageo, Boston Consulting Group, Vodacom and General Electric in South Africa, the UK and Uganda, Mabunda shows why he strives for continuous and active improvement of his business acumen and leadership skills.

What You Aren't Seeing uniquely combines the uplifting story of Herbert Greenberg, the founder of a global management consulting firm, with insights into the psychology of leaders and practical guidance on uncovering and developing true leadership potential in yourself and others. This life-changing guide shows you how to question your habits, preconceptions, and strategies for connecting with people in order to identify your personal leadership strengths and optimize them for personal and career growth.

Journalist Alison Owings slips behind the cold statistics and sensationalism surrounding San Francisco’s Tenderloin to reveal a harrowing and life-affirming account of Del Seymour—whose addiction led him into eighteen years of homelessness, pimping, and drug dealing. Once sober, he started Tenderloin Walking Tours and later Code Tenderloin, the remarkable organization teaching homeless, recovering addicts, sex workers, dealers, ex-felons, and other marginalized people how to get and keep a job.

Steven Mandis charts the evolution of Goldman Sachs from an ethical standard to a legal one and uncovers the forces behind what he calls Goldman's "organizational drift". Drawing from his firsthand experience; sociological research; analysis of SEC, congressional, and other filings; and a wide array of interviews with former clients, detractors, and current and former partners, Mandis exposes the pressures that forced Goldman to slowly drift away from the very principles on which its reputation was built.

Civil War historian Earl J. Hess presents a compelling biography of Braxton Bragg, the commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee from the summer of 1862 to the end of 1863.

Super Agent. Maverick. Reformer. Iconoclast. Dealmaker. Dentist? Jerry Argovitz has worn many hats in his remarkable life, both inside and outside of the world of sports. As a player agent representing and advising some of the biggest names in the game, Argovitz challenged the NFL both at the negotiating table and in the courtroom, earning a reputation as one of the most powerful men in professional sports.

Fresh from her triumph at Lucent, Carly Fiorina took command of Hewlett-Packard in July 1999. Suddenly a woman was running one of the largest technology companies on earth, venturing farther than anyone else dared into traditional men's territory. Perfect Enough is the definitive account of her daredevil bid to remake HP with a record-shattering $20 billion acquisition of archrival Compaq Computer.

Topgun on Wall Street chronicles one man’s extraordinary journey from the cornfields of Ohio, to the cockpit of an F-14, to the boardrooms on Wall Street. Lieutenant Commander Jeffery Lay and number-one New York Times best-selling author Patrick Robinson bring a provocative, ground-breaking voice to the business landscape with a revolutionary answer for stabilizing corporate America: business - the military way.

John Dalton's life is an inspirational American success story. At the Helm traces his journey from modest beginnings in Louisiana to traveling the world and working across private and public sectors and four presidential appointments all culminating in his appointment as the 70th Secretary of the Navy. As CEO of the Department of the Navy, including both Navy and Marine Corps, Dalton had to weather the storm of the Tailhook controversy, navigate through the Naval Academy cheating scandal, manage the new policies of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and women serving in combat.

In Refounder: How Transformational Leaders Take What's Broken and Make it Better, you'll see how a small but committed group of visionaries took a broken health technology startup and created a thriving, humanity-enriching company. Are you ready to be a Refounder? Whether you're a C-suite executive hoping to change a struggling business, a middle manager tasked with revitalizing a dysfunctional team, or a community organizer attempting to renew the city block, Refounder is an invitation.

30 Women in Power carries the inimitable voices of Indian women who have been pioneers and led large organizations - in banking, law, the media, advertising, government services, health care, consulting, the fast-moving consumer goods sector and the not-for-profit space. In these narratives - told up close and personal - 30 of India's greatest women achievers speak of the guiding principles that have held them in good stead; the role models who have anchored them; the childhood influences that have shaped their values; and more.

Paul Owhadi’s improbable entrepreneurial journey began as a first-generation immigrant coming to America with just a few hundred dollars in his pocket. Having learned a remarkable level of self-reliance, as a child sent to a French boarding school at age four, he was educated in London—and then headed to New York City and a whole new life. After an education and a career in urban planning and city management—one of the youngest city managers in the country—he excelled at creating and transforming cities for the betterment of its people.