Boss Talk

Top CEOs Share the Ideas that Drive the World's Most Successful Companies

By: The Editors of the Wall Street Journal

Narrated by: Jay Gregory, Robert MacNamara, Bill Meisle, Jennifer Wiltsie

Timeless and effective business lessons from 21 top CEOs. Every business leader - from manager to entrepreneur - wants to know the ideas that motivate and inspire the world's most successful CEOs. Boss Talk presents expert advice on critical issues from a wide range of CEOs including Michael Dell, Jeff Bezos, Tina Brown, Ian Schrager, Steve Ballmer, and Sanford Weill. The topics they cover include:

Motivating Your Employees

Managing Growth

Building a Brand

Learning from the New Economy

Trendspotting

Beating the Competition

Leading a Successful Turnaround or Transition

Here's what some of the bosses have to say:
"You have to get rewarded in the soul and in the wallet. The money isn't enough, but a plaque isn't enough either." - Jack Welch, General Electric Co.
"Lead by example. If you do that as a CEO, your style will filter down through your team." - John Chambers, Cisco Systems
"We do a lot of quantitative stuff. But coupled with that is having an employee staff and culture that is inherently interested in what we do." - Tom Freston, MTV Networks
"Surround yourself with people you trust. You can't run a business over a certain size and sign off on everything." - Emily Woods, J. Crew

Executive Producer: Jacob Bronstein
Producer: Garet Scott
Original Jacket Design by Heidi North
©2002 by Dow Jones and Company, Inc.
(P)2002 Random House, Inc.

Disappointing

I was very excited about this book's topic. I thought the concept was great. However, almost all these "boss interviews" focus on topics like mergers and acquisitions, board talks, and other topics that won't help middle managers. There are a few good comments and insights about personal achievements and business success stories. However, unless you are a member of the "C-suite" (CEO, CFO, etc), you will find this book entertaining at best.

The Jack Welch interview was the best one - but I had already read "Straight from the Gut" and "Winning", two excellent books I highly recommend becuase they are eventually much more insightful and inspiring than "Boss Talk".