A book for managers and leaders. I bought it because I wanted to read a success-story, the same as, for example, about Zappos or Toyota.

What can I say, this book is inspiring! Well, or at least inspiring. You read about such bosses and almost want to work for them. But it's just a book. I think in real life people are really drawn to him.

Novak talks about life cases that have become instructive, draws conclusions from his stories. These are not only success stories, he shares his failures, taking them apart. Or someone else's inspiring stories.

For example, when his wife went blind after giving birth, the boss showed sensitivity:

When Wendy got to the hospital, Howard called everyone in the company, explained what I was going through, and then said he would fire anyone who called me on business until our family could deal with what had befallen them.

The author was so shocked by that story that he remembered it for the rest of his life. And now he tries to take care of his subordinates. If something happened, go home as soon as possible. Family generally comes first. In their restaurants, people can leave early, if the child plays basketball, you have to go to the match. Just come early, do all the work. If something remains, return the ambassador of the match and finish it. But leaving is no problem, you will also be praised for the correct prioritization.

A lot of the book talks about the motivation of employees and how important it is to encourage them. When Novak was appointed to the supreme position, his boss said: “You are spiritual leader". Because David loves to inspire people, loves to motivate and lead them. He shares his techniques in the book)

At the same time, the main thing is not even money, but praise. The book contains many stories on this subject. When people see that you respect them, that you appreciate them, it is very motivating! David was handing out rubber chickens as a bonus and one of the employees before his death asked to be buried with the chicken. Nothing touches people like the recognition of their merits.

Someone left this book on my desk. I read it, and since then everyone who has attended my leadership seminars has read it. Similar to The One Minute Manager at Work by Ken Blanchard and Robert Lorber and Where's My Cheese? Spencer Johnson, it is written in the form of a parable...

1. Make sure you have decent people working for you.
2. Rejoice in what you have achieved and strive for more, do not forget to express gratitude to your employees.
3. Strive for knowledge and pass knowledge on to others.

The author also talked about how incredibly lucky he was when he docked with a Russian businessman and opened a bunch of restaurants here in Russia (a moment of pride) and about how important retrospectives are. Yes, yes, they are not only in IT, but also in any other business!

“Once in a lifetime, fate knocks on everyone’s door. But often this one sits in a neighboring tavern and does not hear a knock.

When PepsiCo employees learned that management had decided to spin off the holding's restaurant division into a separate company, they had no idea who would be entrusted with its management. And they certainly did not expect that this person would be their colleague David Novak. As, however, David himself did not assume this ...

This book is about what to do if you suddenly became the head of a newly created company with a turnover of ten billion dollars. About how to use all your life experience and an avalanche of new information, so as not only to “not burn out” in a new place, but also to turn half the kingdom that has fallen on you into a strong empire.

And a little about what to do BEFORE you, if the opportunity arises, become the head of the company.

Book chip

If you think there are no Cinderella stories in business, you are wrong. They happen. True, in a business fairy tale, Cinderella and the good fairy are one and the same hero.

From the author

“No one knows in advance what he is capable of”
“What I want to achieve with this book is to help other people achieve their ambitions, no matter what direction their careers take, by showing by example how I managed to realize mine.” “In business, everything is relative. Whoever you work for, always look at your peers in position and status and judge for yourself whether they are superior to you in anything. If you're as competitive as I am, work hard to be better than them. And when you succeed, you will look at your boss and think: “What is there in him that is not in me? “And then you start working so as to become better than him. It has always helped me advance in my career." "There is a huge difference between what you know and what you do"

I first heard about this book from a colleague at work. After skimming through a few pages, she concluded:

The usual pulp fiction like How to Become a Millionaire in One Month or How to Marry a Prince.

Unlike my colleague, I have read the whole book, and in general I have positive emotions. The book was translated and published by the Mann, Ivanov, Farber publishing house, and these guys position themselves as suppliers of high-quality business literature.

The book is written in the same easy accessible language as C. Sewell's book "Clients for Life", published earlier by the same publishing house.

The book has 21 chapters, each of which consists of subchapters and has its own title. In my opinion, the titles of some subchapters do not correlate well with the content of the chapter, but let's leave this to the conscience of the author (or translator?!).

This book was written by a man who worked in top management Pepsi, Tako Bell, Pizza Hut. Launched a new brand on the market - Yum!Brands (the management company of several well-known restaurant brands). In a word, the book is written by a man whose work often shocked corporate America.

For myself, I divided this book into three parts:

1. The first part is a memoir. In this part of the book, the author reminisces about the skills he acquired as a child - in school, college, then at the University of Missouri. The acquired skills are the desire to be the best and the ability to negotiate. The author talks about the stages of his career. In his memoirs, the author shares his memories of meeting his wife, rivalry with comrades, memories of his teachers (not only school teachers, but also teachers "in life"). This part of the book describes the behavior of the top executives of the largest US corporations, their approaches to the implementation of change. Much is told interesting stories about corporate America and the history of the creation of some brands. It was evident how the author grew along with the goals. He did not have a general goal, he grew step by step: first - a copywriter, then - a seller, after - a marketing director.

This part of the book was simply interesting and informative to read; in practical terms, I didn’t learn anything new for myself. On the other hand, this part of the book is proof that "leaders are not born, but made."

1. The second part is the practical experience of the author. This part of the book starts at page 150. It was here that I began to actively write in the margins, to underline the text. I memorized the "eight principles of leadership" proposed by the author. The author shares the secrets of how to interest the work of subordinates, to make them a team. The author shows by examples how, why and for what it is necessary to create a corporate culture. In the chapter Leading the People, the author talks about 15 lessons for leaders. How to encourage and reward people. The nominations for sellers, cashiers, accountants, marketers, etc. are described very interestingly.

I was surprised that, even as the CEO of the largest restaurant chain, the author found the time and personally taught his subordinates how to properly manage and organize work of subordinates. Be a leader means to learn! In general, corporate training has an enviable role in the book.

It also talks a lot about the mistakes that the author made and how he corrected them. It was very interesting to read how the author analyzes his own mistakes: why he made them, and what needs to be done so that no one else in the company he leads makes such mistakes.

In an effort to become better, the author and his team researched many formulas for success (from W. Buffett, D. Welch and other successful CEOs) and came up with their own formula. Thus, this book tells not only about the author's own experience, but also about the experience of other management gurus.

It was interesting to read about the five principles of behavior in a crisis situation. The author reveals the secrets of how to resist the negative facts described in the press - I think this is especially true for Russia!

1. The third part is a separate chapter of the book, which is called "Leaders answer questions." This chapter stands out sharply against the background of the entire book, so I specifically noted this chapter. It's about layoffs, and about a reasonable balance between career and family, about how to create a successful team, how to manage it. Relations between business, career and religion are touched upon.

After reading the book, there was an opinion that the author was cunning and did not reveal all the secrets. The sense of understatement is present throughout the reading.

Who would i recommended this book? In my opinion, it would be useful and interesting top management companies, restaurateurs, HR professionals and those who train employees in the company. I also recommend reading this book to marketers and development specialists.

Quotes from the book:

- "You are capable of becoming what you are, according to your own deep conviction, you are capable of becoming."

- "No one knows in advance what he is capable of."

- “An outsider will consider the traditions and symbols of the organization stupid. But if everything is done sincerely, from the heart, then people have an urgent need to feel belonging to them, which ultimately encourages them to act.

“Deep conviction is not a fact of being right.”

book author David Novak in search of work, he sent out not standard resumes, but a brochure with poems of his own composition about why he should be hired for a vacant position. Then he got a job at PepsiCo, worked for eleven years in all sorts of positions and was sure that he would vegetate like that until retirement. But one fine day...

No, just don't think that this is a Hollywood story about a loser who caught the eye of the celestials and was assigned an experiment for the sake of the president of a corporation. Of course, when PepsiCo employees found out that the management decided to separate the holding's restaurant business into a separate structure, they had no idea who would be entrusted with its management, however, David Novak, who was appointed to this post, was still not chosen by chance - some he certainly had experience. It’s another matter to move from major marketers straight away to director generals - to the position of chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Yum! Brands (the world's largest restaurant chain - 35,000 restaurants around the world, brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc.) .

It is clear that getting an appointment does not mean becoming the boss - it is important to hold on and show the celestial shareholders that their choice was correct. Actually, the book is exactly about this - what to do if you suddenly became the head of a newly created company with a turnover of ten billion dollars, how to use all your own and other people's experience, process an avalanche of new information in order not only to stay in your chair, but and build a real beautiful business.

“What I want to achieve with my book is to help other people realize their ambitions, no matter what direction their careers take, by showing by my own example how I managed to realize mine,” says the author himself. Everything is relative in business. Whoever you work for, always look at your peers in position and status and judge for yourself whether they are superior to you in anything. If you're as competitive as I am, work hard to be better than them. And when you succeed, you will look at your boss and think: “What is there in him that is not in me? “And then you start working so as to become better than him. It has always helped me advance in my career."

Unlike many other memoirs of financiers or industrialists, this book is especially valuable for its "proximity to the people" - after all, street bistros, like no other business, are associated with ordinary people, both customers and those who stand at the counter. Moreover, the owners of each individual point are small franchisee companies. Can you imagine what a bunch of questions the new boss had to solve, and what a tangle of relationships to unravel? He established a council of chefs and tasted fried chicken with them and chose the recipe, thought through the service and built a system of relationships with franchisee partners. The KFC or Pizza Hut companies existed for many years before being merged under Yum!Brands.

David Novak managed to shake up the old system and bring the company to a different level of turnover and profit. Anyone who has ever had to eat, for example, at KFC, can get an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhis achievements. And in itself, the opening of new bistros around the world already speaks of the success of the business. The book is written in normal human language, without specific terms and special cleverness. All the problems described are clearly understandable to anyone who has encountered management at any level. After reading it, it makes sense to think, but if you were appointed boss tomorrow, would you manage?