American Turnaround
Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business
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4.5 • 48 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Ed Whitacre is credited with taking over the corporate reins at General Motors (GM) when the automotive manufacturer was on the brink of bankruptcy during 2009 and turned the company around in magnificent fashion. In this business memoir, the native Texan explores his unique management style, business acumen and patriotism.
It was President Obama who reached out to Ed Whitacre to come out of retirement and take over GM in 2009. A down-to-earth, no-nonsense Texas native with a distinctive Texas twang in his voice, Whitacre was reluctant to come out of retirement to work at GM.
But Whitacre is that rare CEO with great charisma and extraordinary management instincts. And when he got to Detroit, he started to whittle down the corporate bureaucracy right away - and got GM back on track in record time
Before being pulled out of retirement to run GM by Obama, Ed Whitacre had spent his entire corporate career in the telecom business, where he ultimately ended up running AT&T.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An inspiring memoir from the laconic CEO and chairman of AT&T and GM. Whitacre spent 44 years at AT&T, starting as a student engineer in the early 1960s at what was then Southwestern Bell and eventually leading the company. His time there was rewarding, exciting, and beneficial for the company: he oversaw the original iPhone contract, implemented budget-saving, cost-cutting measures, and did away with executive privilege. He also made good but less popular decisions such as moving Southwestern Bell from St. Louis to his native Texas. After spending just two years getting accustomed to retirement, Whitacre was asked by the White House to take over the sinking GM. He agreed, intending to be quickly in and out, but instead ended up shepherding the company through the launch of the Volt and a highly successful IPO. The Obama administration approved of his success, and he finally stepped down, handing GM over to a new CEO. Whitacre characterizes himself as a "private man by nature," but wrote the book to "thank and publicly acknowledge" the people who helped him throughout his career. In what is basically a vanity project, albeit a sweet one, Whitacre describes his philosophy, management style, and business principles, all of which are interesting, but not particularly novel.
Customer Reviews
Phenomenal Story!
I first heard about this book through a talk show and became interested so i purchased the book through ibooks. Im am so glad i did because its just an amazing story and truley inpiring how he started from the bottom and worked his way all the way up. He does a great job in telling his story and I would recommend this book to anyone and a leadership position.
Leadership in Action
As an AT&T employee working for Southwestern Bell and SBC before and after we acquired AT&T and assumed the AT&T brand, I can attest to the vision and drive Ed Whitacre displayed leading us from the smallest of the Bell Operating Companies to the pinnacle of the telecommunications industry. This book is an easy read because as he always said: "Talk Straight, Follow Through". His book exemplifies his philosophy. It is unfortunate GM leadership before Ed came along didn't make the hard decisions needed to turn the company around. I experienced once how Mr. Whitacre asks difficult, open questions and listens to your response. Besides being an engineer and a consumate business leader, he was a shrewd judge of people. As a fellow Texas Tech Red Raider, I'd like to add: Hit 'Em, Wreck 'Em, Texas Tech!
Relevant
This treatise on one mans journey is a testament to his hard work and dedication to his principles. He correctly points out that micromanagement and other forms of management systems in use today are only tools being used by management groups to deflect their responsibilities as managers to get the job done right.