What The CEO Wants You To Know - Ram Charan

Reading this book is like learning the ( business ) alphabets all over again and finding out how they work together to create a literary masterpiece or, as in this case, a succesful business. This book like no other leads you through the fundamentals of any business- cash generation, profitable and sustainable growth and customer satisfaction. For a mind weighed down by HBR articles and in-depth books on branding, marketing, innovation and stuff, Ram Charan's writing brings in a welcome change in this book by focussing on the oft-forgotten fundamentals.

The very first thing that strikes you is the simplicity of Ram Charan's writing, you can safely give this book to a high-school kid; in fact all of us "mature" business professionals do need this "back-to-basics" course to put things back into perspective. Drawing rich examples from companies like GE and Ford, Ram Charan goes on to explain in absolute basic terms all the different aspects of managing (and working for ) a business from a holistic viewpoint.

In fact the back cover of the book proclaims "How different is it to run a big company than to sell fruit from a cart or run a small shop in a village? In essence, not very, according to Ram Charan. From his childhood in India, where he worked in his family's shoe shop, to his education at Harvard Business School and his daily work advising many of the world's best CEOs, Ram understands business as few can." - and the book sure delivers what it promises.

A must read for anyone who works for a living whether you are managing a business or working for one.

-the bookBUG