The Moneymakers: How Extraordinary Managers Win in a World Turned Upside Down
Crown Business - Random House, January 2009
How to be a
moneymaker
When real money is at stake, it tends to
clarify the mind, and for over a decade, Anne-Marie Fink has had
literally billions of dollars resting on her assessments of
companies. As an equity analyst and professional investor, she has
been charged with understanding whether businesses are solid,
long-term moneymakers -- or rotten tomatoes -- before investing with
them.
She has had unusual access to an incredible variety of
businesses, from entertainment conglomerates to newspapers, Internet
companies, airlines, railroads, furniture manufacturers, auto
suppliers, staffing agencies, and others. Well known for her ability
to drill down to the details and understand what makes a business
tick, she has skillfully dissected the story of many a CEO and talked
with people up and down the ranks, as well as customers, suppliers,
regulators, distributors, bankers, and rivals -- anyone who could
give her insight on a company's operations.
The result is a
book of great originality -- an unusual and perceptive look at
business that busts myths and conventional thinking. Based on what
she and her investing colleagues have seen firsthand, Anne-Marie
Fink's The Moneymakers provides a highly pragmatic framework
for thriving in our hypercompetitive world. They include:
Shrink to grow: Why expanding a bad (low-return) business means you just have more of a problem, and how a step backward is often the best way forward.
Good performance requires inefficiency and duplication: How maximum efficiency produces suboptimal results by stifling innovation.
Don't be a customer fanatic: How to know when to listen to and when to ignore your customers.
Economics always trumps management: Ignore bedrock economic laws -- such as supply and demand -- at your peril; it is akin to ordering the tides to stay in place.
Why happy employees don't make for high-performance workplaces.
Problems in business are like cockroaches -- there's never just one: How to catch problems before they infest your company.
Avoid the trap of profitless growth: Additional profit is an illusion if it consumes too much capital.
Megatrends start as ripples: How to position your business to ride long-term waves, not be drowned by them.
hardcover | ISBN: 9780307396303 | Publication Date: January 2009
Reviews:
"An incredibly sharp mind,
Anne-Marie offers a strong, insightful point of view on what really
makes companies succeed. Her book should be read by anyone with a
serious interest in how companies achieve results."
--Leslie
Moonves, president and chief executive officer, CBS
Corporation
"Anne-Marie knows the dynamics of the
marketplace and what it takes for the best managers and companies to
win."
--Sumner Redstone, executive chairman of the board and
founder, Viacom
"Her knowledge of the factors underlying
long-term value creation will make her book essential reading for all
managers."
--Douglas H. McCorkindale, former chairman,
president, and chief executive officer, Gannett Co., Inc.
"I
have long been impressed with Anne-Marie's innate ability to
understand the dynamics that drive business. . . . A must-read for
all managers."
--Kenneth W. Lowe, president and chief
executive officer, the E.W. Scripps Company
"She probes
persistently to determine the economic reality underneath a company's
reported numbers and presentation. Her insights on what makes
companies successful will be valuable to all managers and those who
evaluate them."
--Trevor Harris, former vice chairman, Morgan
Stanley, and professor, Columbia Business School
"Her
insights into corporate management and operations are enlightening
and thought-provoking."
--Robert M. Bakish, president, MTV
Networks International, Viacom
