New Word City: The Business School for Busy People

Legendary San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh has a lot to teach leaders everywhere.  Three Super Bowl rings attest that he was “The Genius” of modern professional football.  But the meticulous planning and preparation that made his game, and the care he took with his people, work just as well in businesses.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.

It would be difficult to overstate the impact Sam Walton had on American business.  The standalone box stores he pioneered have quite literally changed the nation’s landscape.  His innovations in supply-chain management and distribution totally reshaped the relationship between suppliers and retailers, and, for the most part, took wholesalers out of the equation.  His insistence on low prices altered customers’ expectations of what they will have to pay for everything from socks to soda.  Like few business leaders before or since, Sam Walton changed the world.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.

Katherine Graham was suddenly forced to take charge of The Washington Post after her husband’s suicide.  With no leadership training, she overcame timidity, mastered constant crises, and eventually made history in journalism, business, and politics.  In one lifetime, she experienced nearly all the pains and pleasures of self-renewal, American style.  Here are the lessons you can draw from her remarkable life and apply to your life and career.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.

From soda jerk to billionaire restaurateur, Ray Kroc exemplified American entrepreneurship at its finest.  In the course of building McDonald’s into the world’s biggest human food chain, Kroc adhered to certain virtues he considered indispensable -- passion, persistence, simplicity, trust in frontline employees, and partnering with suppliers.  Plus:  Smile, smile, smile.  Here’s what you can learn from his sizzling record.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.

The value of gold doesn’t depend on banks or governments keeping their word. In fact, the more they fail, the more gold is worth. And now, with public faith in the system dribbling away, gold is becoming one of the last safe havens. Also, the global financial crisis is far from over. It could topple into either inflation or deflation. According to respected institutional money manager Dean LeBaron, holding a strong position in gold is a good strategy in either case.

Dean LeBaron is author of Mao, Marx, and the Market. The founder of Batterymarch Financial Management in Boston and a distinguished alumnus of the Harvard Business School, he is one of the pioneers of index funds and quantitative investing. He was an early, and sometimes first, institutional investor in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, and Russia and was invited by the Gorbachev government to help privatize the Soviet military industrial complex. In 2001, he joined such investment luminaries as Warren Buffett as the recipient of the prestigious lifetime achievement award from the Association for Investment Management.

He invented corporate management, discovered modern marketing, and led General Motors to industrial dominance for half a century. But Alfred Sloan portrayed himself as a one-dimensional workaholic. Don’t take him at his word -- but learn and profit from his example. Specifically, he questioned conventional wisdom, made his company his first duty, understood that integrity and character matter more than charisma and showmanship, and welcomed disagreement.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.

What’s the best business advice that Seth Goldman, cofounder and TeaEO of leading organic bottled tea maker Honest Tea ever received? Never lose control of your company’s money, whether you’re spending it or raising it. And run your business as if you’re going to own it forever. Here, Goldman shows how he learned -- and you can use -- these words of wisdom.

Seth Goldman is co-founder and TeaEO of Honest Tea, the world’s leading organic bottled tea maker. An entrepreneur at heart, Goldman started his career with lemonade stands and newspaper routes and went on to create a non-profit urban service corps before he started Honest Tea in his kitchen in 1998. Since then, the company has initiated community-based partnerships with suppliers in India, South Africa, and Argentina and has created marketing partnerships with City Year, Terracycle, and Jamis Bikes. The Better World Shopping Guide recently included Honest Tea on its list of the ten "best companies on the planet based on their overall social & environmental record."

When Irene Rosenfeld took the reins of Kraft Foods in 2006, she found a company weakened by excessive cost cutting and a hidebound, inward facing management structure. She wanted to move decision-making closer to Kraft’s business units and their customers, but that meant she would have to make wholesale changes. It worked. Here are the lessons that apply not only to her business but yours: Get the facts. Get real. Get holistic. Get your people involved. Get the incentives rights. Get local. And, finally, get organized.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.

Edward M. Kennedy’s evolution as a leader is unique in American history. Born the youngest of four sons in America’s “royal family”, he was considered the least likely to succeed. His early years seemed to bear out this prognosis. But after being elected to the United States Senate, facing almost unspeakable tragedy, and owning up to his mistakes, Kennedy grew into one of the greatest senators in U.S. history. He was a leader who understood how to forge alliances, build consensus, and get results. The lessons of his life are essential for any leader.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.

Captain Mike Abrashoff learned about more than tactics and military history at the U.S. Naval Academy. He learned about leadership. The more insecure you feel, the more frightening situations become. That’s because most people resist, making matters worse. Suppose you do the opposite: Accept fear, treat it like a passing shower, and focus on things you control. Here’s how Abrashoff did it -- and you can, too.

At the age of 36, D. Michael Abrashoff became the skipper of USS Benfold, a troubled ship that, in a short 18 months, he and his crew transformed into the best guided-missile destroyer in the world’s best navy. Publications from Fast Company to the Harvard Business Review heralded their achievement. Abrashoff himself told their story in a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book, It’s Your Ship. Now a consultant to large corporations and popular speaker on leadership topics, he is the founding partner of Grassroots Leadership Solutions. Abrashoff is also the author of It’s Our Ship and Get Your Ship Together.

When processes don’t mesh smoothly, companies can find themselves at odds with one another. Suppliers don’t deliver the promised value, manufacturers turn out shoddy products, and customers depart. The new reengineering calls for redesigning your processes to fit with those of your partners.

Jim Champy is recognized as the world’s leading authority on the fundamental redesign of business processes, organization, and culture. His New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution sold more than 3 million copies, and his subsequent books on leadership, change management, and increased growth through counterintuitive thinking have reached wide audiences around the world.

Walt Disney presents a puzzling paradox. He was a salt-of-the-earth, hard-working artist who promoted family values. He was a tyrannical, wary, micro-manager whose associates decried the lack of charity in his soul. How, then, did he create such lovable characters and establish his empire? By utilizing all of his attributes. In fact, without his contradictions, he wouldn’t have been Walt Disney, and his fabled enterprise would almost surely have vanished long ago. We can learn a lot from his story.

Over the past 25 years, New Word City’s writers and editors -- New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Harper’s and Wall Street Journal veterans -- have turned out some of the bestselling business books of all time. Working closely with clients, the New Word City team has produced more than 70 books, of which more than 7 million copies have been sold. These titles have logged more than 500 weeks on The New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Now, in a new series of digital shorts, they are telling the stories of some of the business world’s most inspiring and instructive leaders and companies.