Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Full disclosure: the co-author of this book is a longtime friend. That being said, I would love this book even if it were written by an arch enemy [should I acquire one.]
John Crean made a fortune in the nascent prefab home and RV trade during the post-WWII boom. He did it despite long odds [no formal education, no capital to speak of, a drinking problem, and clashes with his own management.] He's humble enough, praises others when he feels they deserve it and unleashes a few barbs at the ones who have disappointed him.
But the real joy in this book is that Washburn and Crean have fashioned an autobiography that really retains the voice of Crean. You get the f-bombs, you get the bad grammar ... but even more, you get a sense of the man and the scope of his impact on Southern California and the boom that was the American economy from 1945 through the mid-1970s.
So the history lesson is great. It is akin to reading an expanded "Inside USA" essay by Gunther on Crean.
The part that I didn't expect, and that I truly appreciated, was the business insight that Crean showed. Not once, not twice, but myriad times Crean finds himself with some new bright-eyed theorist who knows how to run the business better than he does. This book unflinchingly shows the reader the formula for Crean's success. He developed a few foundational business principles. He kept his finger on the customer's wants and needs [the original "KISS" practitioner, it seems.] He developed and promoted people within his organization. And when his company floundered, he took the reins.
In this era of consultants and outsourcers and middle managers galore, Crean should be regarded as an object lesson on what to do. Sad that so few have read this book. I, for my part, recommend it heartily.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Wheel and I - John Crean: Driving Fleetwood Enterprises to the Top
0 comments:
Post a Comment