Tough Calls from the Corner Office

October 15, 2010

A former pharmacy CEO asks 39 successful business executives to reflect on their careers and recall the defining moment of their careers.

With the exceptions of famed restaurateur Danny Meyer, ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen and game-show host/creator Monty Hall, most of those interviewed here are little known outside business circles. The other participants in Steinbaum's exercise are all decidedly less glamorous, but all have achieved wealth or eminence directing major enterprises, selling everything from bread to airplanes, vitamins, shoes, dolls, newspapers, commercial furniture, real estate, cars, chemicals and candy. They have run insurance companies, health programs, advertising outfits and architectural firms. All appear delighted to assess their business lives. Steinbaum offers a brief, folksy introduction to each of his interviewees and, then, permits them to speak in their own words. He divides the answers into chapters that correspond roughly to predictable passages in many business lives: the initial choice to enter a particular field, become an entrepreneur, find the right partners and abandon the wrong ones, reshape the corporate culture, change a company's business model, reposition or renew a business and, finally, decide when to leave. Unsurprisingly, the answers are as varied as the individuals and the specific challenges they've confronted. For this reason, apart from an appendix, in which Steinbaum assembles some words of advice and wisdom also gleaned from his subjects, nothing here can be read strictly as a success manual. In fact, many of Steinbaum's respondents readily acknowledge the degree to which luck, accident or emergency shaped their choices. One person's decision to stay and transform a business is not inherently smarter than another's call to strike out on her own. One maxim cautions a man to look before leaping, while another warns that he who hesitates is lost. Which to follow? Well, these judgments are labeled "tough calls" for a reason. Other companies represented include Monsanto, Verizon, Time Inc., Enterprise Rent-A-Car, United Airlines and Chrysler Corporation (both represented by one executive, Gerald Greenwald).

Comfort food for business enthusiasts.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2011

Business is often complex, and many business leaders have faced major crises or life-changing experiences that led to pivotal developments. These events shaped them profoundly, often making them better leaders and decision makers. Steinbaum, a former CEO, has compiled short stories of "defining moments" in the lives of 39 professionals across different industries and organizations. The stories are organized into nine chapters focusing on different themes, such as career choices and organizational culture changes. A conclusion provides key ideas the author identified in writing this volume, and a distinctive appendix offers "Executive Advice and Wisdom" from 30 contributors. VERDICT Since many insights are the outcome of personnel decisions, this is suitable for human-resource and other management professionals and can be used as an alternative to textbook readings in business and human-resource programs. Although the book deals with major upheavals in business figures' lives, it is also an inspiring and enjoyable read, suitable for public libraries, too.--Caroline Geck, MLS, Newark, NJ

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 11, 2010
A former CEO of two leading pharmaceutical companies, Steinbaum compiles interviews with 39 industry captains into a real-life textbook for honing leadership skills and making difficult choices in today's ever-changing economy. Grouped around such management and leadership lessons as taking the entrepreneurial leap and transforming business models, these top players' stories encompass personal and professional moments of challenge and self-revelation that shaped their career choices and the direction of their companies. The essays are intimate, candid, and inspiring, including Bill Rasmussen's recollection of starting ESPN in the wake of being fired from his job, Union Square Cafe's Danny Meyer telling of forgoing law school to pursue his dream of being a restaurateur, and Maxine Clark's tale of quitting her prime post at Payless to start Build-A-Bear. Often deeply revealing, frequently dealing with tough situations like strikes, layoffs, or bankruptcy, these must-read stories will resonate with business owners, leaders, and managers at all levels who find themselves at crossroads, confronting difficult decisions, or simply striving for excellence and alignment with their true passions.