Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right

by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

Book Overview

Confronting Reality will change the way you think about and run your business. It is the first book that shows how to connect the big picture of the new era of business with the nitty-gritty of what... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400050847
• ISBN13: 9781400050840
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Crown Business
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Business Book!

Confronting Reality" is a gold-mine of perspective on how to get an organization properly focused - starting by confronting reality. It belongs on the bookshelf of every manager with bottom-line responsibility. Bossidy begins by stating that any plan for a business has to answer three questions: 1)What's the nature of the game we're in? 2)Where is it going? 3)How do we make money in it? Incredibly, says Bossidy, in many organizations they rarely get asked, much less adequately answered. Strategic plans of most companies don't work. A key reason is that little time, if any, is spent harmonizing the facts of the external environment, the financial targets that are set, and the internal capabilities of the business. People with a well-developed sense of business savvy seldom have a strategy ahead of time - instead, they devise their strategies as a means of meeting financial targets, not the other way around. Buyers have much greater power today than in past years. Globalization + overcapacity (in many business lines) have shifted power to large buyers and intermediaries (Wal-Mart). Questions that help detail the answers to the first three include: 1)Is the how of making money in my business and industry changing? 2)Who is winning in my industry, who is not, and why? 3)How, specifically, are the winners making money? 4)If my business is a winner, what do I need to do to stay on top? Conversely, if I need to change my game, what specifically should I be doing? 5)Am I in a growth industry or not? If not, and I want to continue, how do I change it or play it better than the competition? 6)Is my organization moving quickly to spot and take advantage of growth opportunities generated by these changes? 7)How do major customers see my products? 8)Am I bound by legacy costs (eg. pensions, healthcare) that make competing difficult? Bossidy then identifies behaviors as common causes of failure to confront reality. (President Bush needs to read this section VERY CAREFULLY.) 1)Filtered Information: Possibly due to getting information only from those with the same point of view - typically in organizations looking at the world from the inside out rather than outside in. 2)Selective Hearing: The most common reasons are preconceived notions or the arrogance of past success. 3)Wishful Thinking: The merger will succeed because we need it to work (or have the best people on it). 4)Fear: Some tyrants fire people for disagreeing with them; more common is a situation where companies force-rank executives and use "attitude" as one of the criteria. Summarizing - a well thought-out framework for realistic planning is provided by a highly credible former top executive.

Almost as good as Execution

Since reading Execution by the same authors, I have called it "an MBA in a single book." That certainly overstates how effective a single piece of work can be, but Bossidy and Charan effectively capture in Execution the high point of management's responsibility: getting things done. This follow-up book is what Thoreau called the foundation required for the castles that one attempts to build in the sky. Confronting reality, (the act, not the book) is the primary ingredient in the "getting results" mix. Too few managers will read this book, and even fewer will act on it.

Confront and optimize reality.

This book is excellent for entrepreneurs and junior managers who have bought into the myth that optimism is a foundation for success. Bossidy has a wealth of corporate management experience and offers some compelling case studies (although sometimes I wish he would have gone into more detail). Bossidy does not explain the flaws of positive thinking, [...] but he does write a practical perspective on the power of confronting reality. I recommend this book [...] to rise above mediocrity and create optimum results.

Clarity in Complexity

In today's world of rapid change fuelled by globalization and competition, business success in the past in no guarantee for success or even existence in the future. Yesterday's innovative products are today's commodities. Industry Clock Speeds are increasing at faster rates thanks to the digital age. Multinationals are relocating manufacturing to low cost locations and realigning their supply chains. Shareholders are impatient for growth in revenues and earnings. This book is a guide to success in such challenging times. Patterns and frameworks are key to understanding and analysis of problems. The authors present a simple framework consisting of External Realities, Internal processes and Financial Targets as the three interlinked dimensions of their Business Model. Initially this model appears to be too simplistic and common sense approach that does not add much value. As the book progresses into specific case studies on companies in a wide range of industries ( like Cisco, Thomson, Home Depot, 3M, EMC ), the depth of understanding of business issues, attention to detail and the rigor of analysis to build up the ability to propose and execute successful strategies are truly world class. The Business Model as it is named in the book is a tool for reaching clarity in action in the maze and fog of complexity. It is intense, iterative and intuitive , providing a tool that acts as the lens for viewing the business world in the continuous search for opportunities and success. The distinction between cyclical change and structural change in industry is clearly illustrated. Many business failures are largely due to the inability to recognize this fundamental difference as it happens unannounced and unnoticed. Incumbents refuse to realize this reality. They are used to selective listening from executives who either do not acknowledge or refuse to confront the reality on the ground. Business leaders need to remove this lacuna at all levels and instead encourage and aggregate diverse opinions. A stomach for touch action with inner strength differentiates the winners from the rest. CEOs also need to cure themselves of Quarteritis, and shift gears towards sustainable long term financial targets rather than short term symptomatic remedies. A rare combination of Business Strategy and Leadership in one book. Embrace this book and confront reality.

Buy the 2 Books Together!!

This book has a lot of good case studies. The authors argue about the importance of execution in the first book and now the focus is back to the importance of strategy. Its like going a full 180 degree of choosing what you do is more critical than how you do it , wheras the previous book talked about executing well and with discipline. I like this book better because this personally rings true with me more, I have always believed the key to win is to pick what you do first(markets, players, products,services etc) and then execute it per the principles of the book on execution. All in all these 2 books go hand in hand and I would advise readers to read the Confronting Reality book before Execution. As always Ram and Larry have done a superb job of capturing their experiences.