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Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street Audible Audiobook – Unabridged
From Wall Street to Main Street, John Brooks, longtime contributor to the New Yorker, brings to life in vivid fashion 12 classic and timeless tales of corporate and financial life in America
What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel, the fast and incredible rise of Xerox, and the unbelievable scandals at General Electric and Texas Gulf Sulphur have in common? Each is an example of how an iconic company was defined by a particular moment of fame or notoriety; these notable and fascinating accounts are as relevant today to understanding the intricacies of corporate life as they were when the events happened.
Stories about Wall Street are infused with drama and adventure and reveal the machinations and volatile nature of the world of finance. John Brooks’ insightful reportage is so full of personality and critical detail that whether he is looking at the astounding market crash of 1962, the collapse of a well-known brokerage firm, or the bold attempt by American bankers to save the British pound, one gets the sense that history repeats itself.
Five additional stories on equally fascinating subjects round out this wonderful collection that will both entertain and inform listeners... Business Adventures is truly financial journalism at its liveliest and best.
- Listening Length16 hours and 53 minutes
- Audible release dateAugust 19, 2014
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB00M047J9E
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 16 hours and 53 minutes |
---|---|
Author | John Brooks |
Narrator | Johnny Heller |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | August 19, 2014 |
Publisher | Random House Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B00M047J9E |
Best Sellers Rank | #25,954 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #23 in Economic Theory (Audible Books & Originals) #134 in Company Business Profiles (Books) #235 in Business Management (Audible Books & Originals) |
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I like this book for the following reasons: it's speaks to America Innovation and investors who had the courage to hang in there and bear the up and downs. 2) It demonstrates the fact that leadership requires set- backs & those companies that accepted the risk will learn and succeed. 3) it gives me hope that stock market investors will learn from the in depth analysis Mr. Brooks brought forward that investing in truly motivated companies with the guts to innovate are worth putting forth your money & time to invest in. Finally it's a lesson into studying & seeking companies focused on producing leading edge products regardless of the quarterly bottom line, and weekly up & downs of global events.
The early printings of this book are impossible to find. Therefore, Mr. Buffet & Gates have come forth to reveal this lost treasure providing lessons from our past, and hopefully will instill a new (but old) way of thinking on how to seek and invest in top businesses. Reading this book has change my perspective on investing (maybe long term investing in the right companies is the way to go), and I truly feel it's worth the read if you plan to invest in the stock market. Also, it reads very well and is simply enjoyable.
Strengths. This book covers many well-known companies that would probably be recognized by people who were baby boomers or older. The book covers a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, office equipment, and utilities.
While strategy books often cover the good decisions good companies make and the poor decisions that doom failing companies, Business Adventures also adds in some poor decisions good companies make. The Edsel chapter features Ford making a poor decision in releasing a new product. There is even a chapter about G.E., a very well known company, which is used to display how poor communication can having devastating effects on a company’s employees.
Business decisions are not made inside of a vacuum. Business Adventures provides useful information about the events leading up to decisions. When telling about the crash of ‘62, it tells how the delay in getting in orders precipitated panic that led to big sell offs.
In the Piggly Wiggly case, the author brings to light the idea of corners in the stock market and how they impact businesses. Personally, this was a very interesting topic to delve into and learn more about as the book reveals how one wealthy businessman was able to upheave the stock market for a period of time and go so far as to create his own little private stock market (which consisted entirely of stocks for his company). In this very same case, the author also explains how Piggly Wiggly was the first instance of what is known as the modern day supermarket, another fact which really stood out when reading this chapter.
Another great point to mention about Business Adventures is the fact that the stories are presented in a very casual and interesting way. When Piggly Wiggly’s owner is described as carrying wads of money in his pockets because his suitcase was too full, a slight sense of comedy arises. This is one of the better features of the book as it keeps the reader hooked by entertaining them rather than throwing a bunch of tedious factual information about various companies and their successes/failures.
Weaknesses. As mentioned earlier, most of the companies featured would be recognized by those who were baby boomers or older. Readers looking to learn about newer companies will need to look elsewhere. There are a few companies that are acknowledged in the text that do stand out even today. However, all of the information being provided about those companies is outdated.
At times the book can get bogged down into minute details that do not add to the development of the chapter. This happens quite a few times in the Edsel chapter when the author goes into details of the many key players in the Edsel’s development and failure. This can also be seen in the G.E. chapter where there is constant mention of the “wink” which represents how lax the company was about its corporate policy 20.5.
Some people may not appreciate the style of the book as it explores the successes and failures of many different corporations rather than sticking to just one specific case. However, the stories of this carry enough lessons that even readers today can gain insight from it. Evidence of this is that it is recommended by a founder of a tech company (Bill Gates) and holding company focusing on large cap companies (Warren Buffet).
This book goes to the heart of what makes a company not only profitable, but great. It touches on issues too often forgotten, or simply given lip service to, in modern business. Things like tenacity, investing for the long term, fair distribution of wealth, R&D, customer care. and social responsibility.
I was particularly struck by a comment from the then CEO of Xerox who said,
"The whole matter of committing the company to taking stands on major public issues raises questions that make us examine ourselves all the time. It's a matter of balance. You can't just be bland, or you throw away your influence. But you can't take a stand on every major issue, either. We don't think it's a corporation's job to take stands on national elections, for example. ..."
In an age of inversions, private equity, greed is good, and the Koch brothers, there are many valuable lessons to be learned here. Many of those have to do with the business ethics which too many modern companies have forgotten.
Top reviews from other countries
Excelente para melhorar a compreensão da língua inglesa.