Death to All Sacred Cows How Successful Businesses Put the Old Rules Out to Pasture

by Fraser, Beau; Bernstein, David; Schwab, Bill

• ISBN13: 9781401303310
• ISBN10: 1401303315
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-11
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Summary

"Teams Create The Best Solutions." BANG. "Always Trust Your Research." BANG. "It's Okay To Put Up With Jerks, If They're Talented." BANG. When you think about it, there are a lot of Sacred Cows grazing lazily in the halls of corporate America. And we think it's time someone shot them. Dead. Don't get us wrong. While the authors have nothing against cows in general (they love steak), they do have a problem with Sacred Cows. Blindly doing things because . . . well . . . that's the way they've always been done. Formulas may be comforting, but they rarely work in the real world. This is the funniest--and truest--business book you'll ever read. Not only do the authors demonstrate how to identify and kill the Sacred Cows in your workplace, they also reveal brilliant alternatives that will put your career in overdrive and help make your business more profitable, innovative, and happy. From branding ("Branding Is Expensive."BANG.) to leadership ("Follow The Leader."BANG.) to hiring ("Only Hire Someone Who Has Done The Job Before."BANG.) no Sacred Cow is left standing. Oh, and here's another Sacred Cow of business books: "No one reads flap copy." BANG!

Table of Contents

Section I (calf)	p. 1
Introduction	p. 2
How To Spot A Sacred Cow	p. 8
Sacred Cows Down Through The Ages	p. 12
Why Sacred Cows Deserve To Die	p. 20
Section II (cows)	p. 27
Always Trust Your Research	p. 28
It's Okay To Put Up With Jerks, If They're Talented	p. 36
Focus On The Numbers, And The Rest Will Take Care Of Itself	p. 44
Teams Create The Best Solutions	p. 52
Always Focus On Solving The Problem	p. 60
Follow The Leader	p. 68
Success Breeds Success	p. 74
Marketing Should Follow Company Strategy, Not Drive It	p. 84
The Goal Of Marketing Is To Sell A Product	p. 90
Marketing Should Always Be Direct	p. 94
Only Hire Someone Who Has Done The Job Before	p. 98
Everyone Deserves A Second Chance	p. 104
Internal Competition Leads To Better Results	p. 112
Don't Screw Up	p. 120
Create A Corporate Culture	p. 130
The Customer Is Always Right	p. 138
Branding Is Expensive	p. 146
Don't Offend Anyone	p. 154
The Sales Force Makes The Sale	p. 166
Section III (carcass)	p. 175
Sacred Veal (4)	p. 176
E-mail Saves Time	p. 180
Always Know What Your Direct Reports Are Doing	p. 184
Learn To Multitask	p. 188
Business Should Be Serious	p. 192
A Self-indulgent Aside	p. 196
Cow Killing Culture	p. 198
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.