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  • The Outsiders

  • Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
  • Written by: William N. Thorndike
  • Narrated by: Brian Troxell
  • Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (131 ratings)

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The Outsiders

Written by: William N. Thorndike
Narrated by: Brian Troxell
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Publisher's Summary

"It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different." - John Templeton.

What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the qualities of today's so-called celebrity CEOs charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.

In this refreshing, counterintuitive audiobook, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in investing, closely evaluating the performance of companies and their leaders. You will meet eight individualistic CEOs whose firms' average returns outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of twenty in other words, an investment of $10,000 with each of these CEOs, on average, would have been worth over $1.5 million twenty-five years later. You may not know all their names, but you will recognize their companies: General Cinema, Ralston Purina, The Washington Post Company, Berkshire Hathaway, General Dynamics, Capital Cities Broadcasting, TCI, and Teledyne.

In The Outsiders, you'll learn the traits and methods striking for their consistency and relentless rationality that helped these unique leaders achieve such exceptional performance. Humble, unassuming, and often frugal, these "outsiders" shunned Wall Street and the press, and shied away from the hottest new management trends. Instead, they shared specific traits that put them and the companies they led on winning trajectories: a laser-sharp focus on per share value as opposed to earnings or sales growth; an exceptional talent for allocating capital and human resources; and the belief that cash flow, not reported earnings, determines a company's long-term value.

Drawing on years of research and experience, Thorndike tells eye-opening stories, extracting lessons and revealing a compelling alternative model for anyone interested in leading a company or investing in one and reaping extraordinary returns.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2012 William N. Thorndike, Jr. (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
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What listeners say about The Outsiders

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Everything I needed was in the last Chapte

I loved how the author made a point of explaining the desirable traits that were not "popular" or "mainstream" at the time, that the leader were actually ahead of their time, that made the best examples of leaders in this book. I was happy to draw so many similarities from my own skill set and traits that. despite perceived weaknesses, in the long run, everyone wants the wealth and notoriety of Warren Buffet, but few others have been able to do what he has done. This book gave me hope that there is still time to prove myself.

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AMAZING BOOK!!! CEO's amazing critical thinkings

Thank you for sharing this useful data! Greatly appreciated! This book helps you to think like great CEOs that made some courage bold decision against the traditional norms and different than their peers with creativity and audacity led them to triumph and victory. Mainly is just human unlimited capacity if we think for ourselves instead of letting others think for us.

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No better way to understand capital allocation

I picked up this book because I wanted to understand how capital allocation works in organizations. I was not disappointed. It has excellent stories and the pace is just right. I don't think there is a better way to understand capital allocation from an organization's perspective if you intend to learn it through stories rather than in a text book format. The narrator on Audible also did a great job.

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Extra Ordinary

The Narrarator says Extra Ordinary an extraordinary amount of times, it gets Extra Annoying. Otherwise good book and good narrarator

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okay info but so boring

Don’t get this book unless you’re really into investing and business financial processes. There wasn’t much of a storyline for each of the CEO’s it just felt like a financial rundown of what they did. Every CEO was allegedly a maverick because they bought their own stock and strategically acquired assets while their competitors we’re playing it safe.

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