Shift: Inside Nissan's Historic Revival

By Carlos Ghosn

Book Overview

In Shift, Carlos Ghosn, the brilliant, audacious, and widely admired CEO of Nissan, recounts how he took the reins of the nearly bankrupt Japanese automotive company and achieved one of the most remarkable turnarounds in automotive-and corporate-history. When Carlos Ghosn (pronounced like "phone") was named COO of Nissan in 1999, the company was running out of gas and careening toward bankruptcy. Eighteen short months later, Nissan was back in the black, and within several more years it had become the most profitable large automobile company in the world. In Shift , Ghosn describes how he went about accomplishing the seemingly impossible, transforming Nissan once again into a powerful global automotive manufacturer. The Brazilian-born, French-educated son of Lebanese parents, Ghosn first learned the management principles and practices that would shape his decisions at Nissan while rising through the ranks at Michelin and Renault. Upon his arrival at Nissan, Ghosn began his new position by embarking on a three-month intensive examination of every aspect of the business. By October 1999 he was ready to announce his strategy to turn the company around with the Nissan Revival Plan. In the plan, he consistently challenged the tradition-bound thinking and practices of Japanese business when they inhibited Nissan's effectiveness. Ghosn closed plants, laid off workers, broke up long-standing supply networks, and sold off marginal assets to focus on the company's core business. But slashing costs was just the first step in Nissan's recovery. In fact, Ghosn introduced changes in every corner of the company, from manufacturing and engineering to marketing and sales. He updated Nissan's car and truck lineup, took risks on dynamic new designs, and demanded improvements in quality-strategies that quickly burnished Nissan's image in the marketplace, and re-established the company in the minds of consumers as a leader in innovation and engineering. Like the best-selling memoirs of Jack Welch, Lou Gerstner, and Larry Bossidy, Shift is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to transform and re-create a world-class company. Written by one of the world's most successful and acclaimed CEOs, Shift is an invaluable guide for business readers everywhere.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385512902
• ISBN13: 9780385512909
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Crown Business
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent!

Simply wonderful. A fine example of how one person can make a difference in the world.

Good ... and definitely better than Turnaround

Quite an enjoyable read and certainly much better than Turnaround (by Magee) which worships Ghosn ad nauseam and at the expense of almost everyone else around him. Unfortunately neither book talks about what improvements were already taking place before Ghosn started at Nissan. Given how quickly the turnaround happened, it's hard to believe that some of the foundation wasn't being laid in the months and years prior to his arrival.

Worth the Read

Carlos Ghosn is a very talented and mutlicultured individual leading the way in the globalized economy. This is an important book for those having an interest in business and insight to the changing dynamic of the automobile industry. I read this book prior to the General Motors rejection of the global corporate alliance with NISSAN as advocated by Ghosn. The book gave me a much greater appreciation of the international alliance being sought among flagging automakers to enhance productivity, efficiency, and survival. I recommend the book for purchase for especially any reader interested in corporate globalization culture.

Absorbing

Great story, real life story. Turning vision to reality, that's what he did. Carlos Ghosn is a true pragmatist, among other things. In this book he provides many specific details about his plan for Nissan's revival. Nothing came by chance. He had checked everything down to the slightest detail prior to devising the plan, which in turn he then had to "sell" to everybody, i.e. he had to convince so many parties involved - Nissan's workforce, Japanese society, world's media, etc. Not exactly the easiest of jobs, but he did it. Once they believed in his vision and actually got down to DOING what they had to, they succeeded. Simple as that. Great book, great leadership lesson. Highly recommended.

Rags to riches

A must read for all CEOs. As the world gets smaller and smaller through globalization, internet and superfast communications, every manufacturer from your local shop to General Motors needs to serve the 6 billion customers. Carlos Ghosn did it with passion, integrity and style. The fact that he can change the mindset of the Japanese management is truly remarkable. He is a hero in Nissan, Japan and a true role model for all CEOs. The book will be better if he can include more about the future US expansion plan. Rick Wagoner, watch out, he is after your job!