Confronting Reality

September 20, 2004
On the heels of their business bestseller Execution
, retired Honeywell chairman and CEO Bossidy and corporate guru Charan take a step back and focus on the more fundamental issue of figuring out what to execute in the first place. The message is simple ("relentless realism"), and their solution is a return to the "ancient analytical tool" of a three-part business model that includes external realities (such as customer demand and industry conditions), financial targets (such as cash flow and revenue growth) and internal realities (such as operational and workforce capabilities). Bossidy and Charan use that model to analyze how companies such as EMC, Cisco and Sun reacted to the meltdown of the high-tech sector, and how Home Depot built efficiency, 3M reignited growth through innovation and Thomson Corp. restructured its focus. The book loses steam in the final quarter, getting repetitious but still managing to make a few familiar points feel fresh, some as simple as developing one's own "business savvy" and "need to know." The authors use the same winning formula as in their first book. The concepts are basic, the tone is conversational and the content is not unique, but sales of the previous book (600,000 in the U.S.; 1.5 million worldwide) and the authors' personal platforms virtually guarantee widespread attention in the business media and corporate sales.

October 15, 2004
Sweeping changes have radically altered the business environment since the optimistic 1990s, including the harsh realities of globalization and outsourcing, and the hangover of overinvestment and overcapacity. Now, more than ever, businesses cannot survive if they continue to depend on what has worked in the past. Bossidy, former CEO of Honeywell International, and Charan, advisor to CEOs and senior executives, present a sound framework for confronting these realities head on. Going back to basics, they redefine the often hazy concept of the business model with a logical breakdown of its elements, linking and reinforcing external and internal realities in relation to financial targets. This model is demonstrated through the examples of real-world leaders, including Joe Tucci at EMC, John Chambers at Cisco, Jim McNerney at 3M, and Bob Nardelli at Home Depot, all of whom have had to face enormous challenges when the business climate shifted drastically and unexpectedly. Demonstrating their own capacity for business savvy, the authors teach that there are no cookie-cutter solutions; each situation is a unique challenge and requires a tailor-made solution.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)