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"Know-How" describes 8 "skills" that the author feels are needed to truly lead a company. These skills have little to do with book learning, and little to do with the charisma we often think of with business leaders. Instead, the most important skill according to the book is the ability to reposition the company or its products, especially as things change. I'm not sure anyone could argue this point. The other 7 skills are mostly traditional leadership skills, like understanding the social netwo...
Overall, probably a great book for people who are already executives, or have a good deal of management experience. While concepts did make a lot of sense, they still seemed over my head insofar as any practical applications were concerned.
A good business book.
The book has some basic general information about the qualities a CEO needs in order to succeed, especially when it comes to big companies. Some interesting case studies, pretty clear structure, some good lessons about empowering employees and raisin leaders.however, this book did not do very much for me as it is quite general in its scope, while the case studies are written from a very uninvolved perspective. As they are all very short, I can only wonder what else happened there. I prefer my bu...
A book I have to read again. When I know more about the business.It holds some interesting ideas, and the know hows are sensible, but I can't really use them right now. On the other hand, I know what to keep in mind until I need them.
A well-written summary of the challenges of a (high-level) business leader, and how to address them. Much is of course still applicable at lower levels as well, such as developing the social system and dividing up problems so they can be usefully worked on by subordinates.
Sage advice from one of the great thought leaders in management and leadership. Practical and insightful with illuminating anecdotes. A good companion read for Charan's "Profitable Growth is Everyone's Business".
A great read for all aspiring to lead themselves to successs in modern business envionment !!!
I listened to the audio book and Ram Charan is a guru when it comes to business books and self-help.I highly recommend this book.
The title is misleading. I thought the book was going to be about a person's traits that separate themselves, but it talks more about corporate America mentioning some CEOs along the way. It doesn't really teach you what characteristics of a person make them successful; it just gives different cases in business where CEOs succeeded or failed, but doesn't really dig deep into why.
Loy Machedo’s Book Review - Know-How by Ram CharanWhen I saw the title of the book crowned by an Indian Author, I had a strange reaction.My prejudices dismissed the book. Not because I have any problem with Indian names, rather the fact that there have not been many successful Indian authors out there who make to the best sellers list. Or at least come out with a non-fictional material that would make you sit down and think. The rare occurrences of a Black Swan have been in the form of Stay Hung...
Ultimately, this was a good book and I will take some notes from it before I return it to the library; however, it really needed lots more editing. A business book like this needs to be excellent if it is going to be blocks of text -- otherwise, wow, capitulate to the short attention span format of every other book and move on, man. This book (the stories, the examples) wasn't good enough to warrant all the endless text. My advice: look for a summary online and move on. It gets three stars becau...
This is my assessment of the book Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don't by Ram Charan according to my 7 criteria:1. Related to practice - 3 stars2. It prevails important - 3 stars3. I agree with the read - 4 stars4. not difficult to read (as for non English native) - 4 stars5. too long and boring or every sentence is interesting - 3 stars6. Learning opportunity - 3 stars7. Same old stuff - It has rich content - 2 starsTotal 3.14 stars
Good book. The 8 skills are useful and I appreciated them being condensed into such a short list.Some of the more interesting things in the book are the examples of GM as "successful" business leadership. This of course is related to timing. When the book was written, the comments were applicable. I'd be interested to know what Charan has to say about GM now.Overall, a good book with very useful information that I will likely revisit from time to time.
Ram really brings to light the characteristics of a CEO. If you are interested in being a CEO, are a CEO or what to know what makes a strong CEO , take the time to comprehend what Ram is telling you in this book.
Frames up the qualities of strong leadership with great examples of companies who've done well and those who haven't. A book probably every leader should read, either for affirmation of or direction for what they should be doing.
Well respected consultant but this book is really targeted at C-level execs. Certainly not applicable to my reality!
This is an okay book. A little too high level for me. I think this is better geared towards a a C-level associate.
He could have summarized the 8 skills in 1 page , instead he wastes a whole book on it. Boring read , uninteresting point of view , don't waste time reading it.
Ram Charan sits at the intersection of practice and theory. We would do well to meet him there. Jack Welch said, Ram Charan "has the rare ability to distill meaningful from meaningless and transfer it to others in a quiet, effective way.” So true! We see his unique talents and Know-How. In this book Ram Charan says:Know-how is what separates leaders who perform – who deliver results — from those who don’t. It’s the hallmark of people who know what they’re doing, those who build long-term intrins...