Success Built to Last

Creating a Life that Matters

By: Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, Mark Thompson

Narrated by: Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, Mark Thompson

Imagine discovering what successful people have in common, distilling it into a set of simple practices, and using them to transform your company, your career, and your life. Written by three thought leaders in organizational development and self-improvement, including Built to Last co-author Jerry Porras, Success Built to Last challenges conventional wisdom at every step. It draws on face-to-face, unscripted conversations with hundreds of remarkable human beings from around the world. Meet billionaires, CEOs, presidents of nations, Nobel laureates, and celebrities. Meet unsung heroes who've achieved lasting impact without obvious power or charisma. Famous or not, almost all started out ordinary.

Above all, discover why successful people stay successful and how you can too.

• Why it's so damn hard to do what matters, and what you can do about it
• See what you have in common with people who have impacted the world we live in, such as Nelson Mandela, Charles Schwab, and Maya Angelou
• Learn how these enduringly successful people harvested their victories and failures, and found the courage to follow their passions

The audio edition of Success Built to Last includes a variety of bonus materials, including audio excerpts from interviews with former President Jimmy Carter, Senator John McCain, Dell Computers CEO Michael Dell, and writer Maya Angelou. Co-authors Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, and Mark Thompson also give insight into the creation of, and the research behind, Success Built to Last.

©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

Critic reviews

"You can make a difference if you put your passions to work in a way that builds a better life for you, your business, and your community. Success Built to Last shows you how." (Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief, Forbes)
"Everyone wants success, but you can do better than that. This is an extraordinary book that finally reveals a meaningful 'secret formula' for success based on the lives of remarkable people." (Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Brands)
"If you're crazy enough to do what you love for a living, then you're bound to create a life that matters. Success Built to Last wisely counsels you to go nuts about something meaningful. That's what you're here to do, for heaven¿s sake." (Herb Kelleher, Chairman and Cofounder, Southwest Airlines)

Structure of personal development

If you're at all familiar with personal development authors, this book reiterates their teachings in a more 'business'-like manner. While it does not go into detail onto how to effectively apply the given knowledge (simple call to action is not enough for some people) it's a good read IF you're already familiar with the principles it discusses.

Good Work

Paradigms shifting brings much more creative energy into the picture. The view gives greater consideration to the future to include reframing the past.

Stay focused

A good business book discussing attributes common to all truly successful people. Focuses on getting results and going forward.

great book

I listened to this prior to hearing Good to Great. It was a good introduction. The stories of successful business leaders are inspiring. It provides a treasure trove of anecdotes for business motivation.

interesting and inspirational

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about leadership it is very well structured and easy to follow.