Relentless Growth: How Silicon Valley Innovation Strategies Can Work in Your Business

Book Description

The Achilles heel of every company is creating growth through new products and services -- a herculean challenge that must be met continuously, relentlessly, year in and year out. The antidote to this deficiency, argues high-tech expert Christopher Meyer, is to establish a "growth attitude," as Silicon Valley firms do, by making a sharp distinction between the innovation process and the operating pressures managers face daily. Drawing on fifteen years as an educator, researcher, and consultant in Silicon Valley, the world's oldest, most advanced, and most successful knowledge-based economy, Meyer presents a brilliant model for balancing these challenges based upon the actual strategies of explosive Silicon Valley growth machines. At the same time, he demonstrates how the Silicon Valley approach to growth and innovation has worked in companies far beyond the Valley, such as Procter & Gamble, Honeywell, and Ford Motor Company. Leaders must promote and diffuse the growth attitude throughout their firms, Meyer contends, showing how Valley leaders generate and spread competitive paranoia, get every employee focused externally, flatten and blur organizational boundaries, set "stretch" goals, and above all, find, nurture, and promote bright people with passion and motivate them with "skin".

With Meyer's "loose-tight" approach to new product and service development, executives and managers will be able to establish a creative environment without losing sight of risk management and cost control. Unlike other books, Relentless Growth lays out a focused, five-part model for integrating innovation and operations comprising: (1) the role of leadership in creating an organizational attitude for growth, (2) strategic alignment, (3) the innovation process and development paradigm, (4) the application of predictive and balanced metrics, and (5) the people, who are the most important ingredient in any innovation process. By focusing on the role that leadership plays in the innovation process, Meyer paves the way for companies to compete effectively while maintaining a vibrant creative culture.

Customer Reviews:

Irresistible Concept Explained Well.......2000-06-05

Developing successful new products and services is one of the most difficult tasks that a company has. Unless your products and services have very long life cycles (something that occurs less and less these days), your growth will depend a lot on how well you perform. The book's premise is that starting with the processes that work for the rapid growth, short life cycle companies in Silicon Valley, you can gather important insights. That's a sound and intriguing idea, and it is well executed by Christopher Meyer. One of the things I liked was that he looked beyond Silicon Valley to find how other companies of all sizes and types were employing the same principles. One of my favorite examples in the book was of Emerson Electric.

Here are the book's chapter titles: (1) Knowledge -- The Motherlode of Value (2) The Loose-Tight World of Innovation (3) Leading . . . with an attitude (4) Strategy in a $20 Billion Startup (5) Relentless Approach to Innovation (6) Collective Power of Pairs (7) Measuring Your Measurement System (8) Getting from Here to There

The key point of the book is that each company needs to create an attitude among its people which fosters growth. Meyer does a good job of comparing and contrasting what what makes innovation work from what makes running existing operations excell. Unless you create this attitude, the normal operating needs will push out the needs of innovation.

Building on Intel's Andy Grove's advice about paranoia, Meyer proposes having positive paranoia in regard to the need or positive momentum and change. He also encourages companies to look outward solely, rather than inward. He wants a flatter organizational structure that blurs the organizational boundaries among functions. He favors promoting people who have a passion for innovation and what your company does. He suggests stretch goals that are acted upon, with the whole process repeated.

I found the thoughts in the book to be accurately portrayed and very appropriate advice. A number of the examples were also new to me, which made the book more interesting. A good adjunct to this book is Mike Pessemier's original research from the 1970s on how the best companies develop new products. The case studies in this book draw on important lessons from that research.

Don't sit on your laurels. Develop your innovation attitude by applying the lessons of this book as a first step! That's the kind of leadership that can make a difference!

Sustaining rapid growth is harder than starting out well........1999-08-06

As with his first book, Meyer artfully combines theory and practice in how to deal with success. This book applies well to any business aiming for high (35%+ per annum) growth and the tremendous strain this places on having a shared understanding of the company's goals, direction, and values.

Meyer presents many attributes of successful, aggressive information-age companies and provides stimulating ideas about where and how to steer an organization's culture. Maintaining a sense of urgency and challenging things that brought about current success are hard to do, but this book sheds some light on how to avoid complacency.

I find the book a tad chauvinistic about Silicon Valley, but the area certainly has an enviable track record. I do think his ideas will work elsewhere. :)

Unveils the business secrets of Silicon Valley's champions.......1998-07-10

Drawing from the experiences of Silicon Valley's "best and brighest," Meyer shows how innovation can be learned and managed. He introduces a model that synthesizes the core elements of innovation and he explores the organizational nature and leadership characteristics of successful high technology firms. Meyer succeeds in conveying the intangible dynamics of these exceptional enterprises. The book is rich in insights that apply to organizations who are striving for a competitive edge. Meyer shows how knowledge, creativity and passion are pivotal to creating weath and shaping the future.

Relentless Growth: How Silicon Valley Innovation Strategies Can Work in Your Business.

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Relentless Growth: How Silicon Valley Innovation Strategies Can Work in Your Business.
Christopher. Meyer
Manufacturer: The Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NGX3ZU

Book Description

Work more effectively and gauge your progress as you go along! This Study Guide is designed to accompany Kidwell’s Financial Institutions, Markets & Money, 9 ^th Edition. It contains:

CHAPTER OVERVIEW AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES – Provides the student with an overall look at the chapter, its relationship to other chapters, and identifies specific learning objectives.
CAREER PLANNING NOTE – Each chapter considers a topic related to general career planning concepts and specific career opportunities in the financial services industry.
READING THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – A number of chapters have short essays related to the effective reading and use of The Wall Street Journal. Specific tables and sections that pertain to specific chapters, such as futures and options, are discussed in the appropriate chapters.
TOPIC OUTLINE AND KEY TERMS – Provides a short-sentence outline of each chapter and a definition of all key terms and concepts.
SAMPLE TEST QUESTIONS – Includes ten each of completion, true-false, and multiple-choice questions to test the student's comprehension of text concepts and terms.
PROBLEMS – Where applicable, problems and other analytical questions are presented for students.
ANNOTATED SOLUTIONS TO ALL QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS – Annotated solutions provide reasoning and analysis and are as important to student learning as are the questions.

Ever wonder how interest rates are determined?

Would you like to know how to read actual financial data?

Want to know what makes the financial sector really tick?

You’ll find answers to these questions and more in Kidwell, Blackwell, Whidbee, and Peterson’s Ninth Edition of Financial Institutions, Markets, and Money. Featuring a strong emphasis on fundamental concepts and how things really work in a market context, these four expert authors present a balanced, up-to-date overview of the U.S. financial system and its primary institutions and markets, coupled with an introduction to international markets.

Customer Reviews:

Great, well-organized.......2006-11-07

This study guide is quite useful for a student studying finance first time.

A good starting point for business and finance students.......2001-03-28

This book is updated to the latest development in financial market, institutions and structure.

It concisely presented the money and capital markets with a touch of history and functionality.

I particularly like the balanced view of the authors in their presentations. It successfully illustrates the functional as well as risk consideration of the markets and institutions.

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Doane Publishing Farm Managment Guide (Farm Management Guide)
Doane Publishing
Manufacturer: Doane Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000PE4ZGG

Product Description

Paperback, 16th ed,1985,Doane Publishing,336 pages,13 chapters plus index on all aspects of farm managment from types of farming to marketing.

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Doane's farm management guide
Doane Agricultural Service
Manufacturer: Doane Agricultural Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A History of Biology to about the year 1900. A general introduction to the study of living things.
Charles Singer
Manufacturer: Abelard-Schumann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TQD3AE

Product Description

580pp. Portrait frontispiece. Singer's" Introduction" has gained an esteemed place in the world of biological bibliographic material. " In this volume, it is shown how medicine, anatomy, philosophy, geology, chemistry, psychology, each brings its contribution to biology" From the blurb. An increasingly difficult book to find, and one worth pursuing! Bookplate of J.A. Freilich

A History of Biology to About the Year 1900: A General Introduction to the Study of Living Things

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A History of Biology to About the Year 1900: A General Introduction to the Study of Living Things
Charles Singer
Manufacturer: Abelard-Schuman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CKDNM

A History of Biology to About the Year 1900: A General Introduction to the Study of Living Things (History of Science and Technology Reprint Series)

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A History of Biology to About the Year 1900: A General Introduction to the Study of Living Things (History of Science and Technology Reprint Series)
Charles Singer
Manufacturer: Iowa State Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

A History of Biology to About the Year 1900: a General Introduction to the Study of Living things, Third, Revised Edition

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A History of Biology to About the Year 1900: a General Introduction to the Study of Living things, Third, Revised Edition
Charles Singer
Manufacturer: Abelard-Schuman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JNN8RK

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A HISTORY OF BIOLOGY TO ABOUT THE YEAR 1900: A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF LIVING THINGS.
Charles. Singer
Manufacturer: Abelard-Schuman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M255OW

A history of biology: A general introduction to the study of living things

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A history of biology: A general introduction to the study of living things
Charles Joseph Singer
Manufacturer: Schuman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Information and Control in the Living Organism: An Elementary Introduction

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Information and Control in the Living Organism: An Elementary Introduction
Berhard Hassenstein
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

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An Introduction to Fossils and Minerals: Seeking Clues to the Earth's Past (Living Earth)

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An Introduction to Fossils and Minerals: Seeking Clues to the Earth's Past (Living Earth)
Jon Erickson
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Mathematics | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books
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The study of fossils, minerals, and gems has played crucial roles in increasing our knowledge about the Earth, the changes the planet has gone through, and the species that have inhabited it. This volume introduces the fascinating disciplines of geology, paleontology, and mineralogy, and how they reveal secrets of the Earth's history.

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General | Biology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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This was a very interesting book.......1999-08-24

In my opinion this book is very educational and probably the best biology book on the market today. I enloyed reading this book many times and would love to read it again. Thank you to the author for writing such an electrifying book. I hope to see many more books like this one in the future , because I think biology in general is the most interesting topic in school and just for my own personal pleasure.

Book Description

Similiarity and Dimensional Methods in Mechanics, 10th Edition is an English language translation of this classic volume examining the general theory of dimensions of physical quantities, the theory of mechanical and physical similarity, and the theory of modeling. Several examples illustrate the use of the theories of similarity and dimensions for establishing fundamental mechanical regularities in aviation, explosions, and astrophysics, as well as in the hydrodynamics of ships. Other interesting areas covered include the general theory of automodel motions of continuum media, the theory of propagation of explosion waves in gases, the theory of one-dimensional nonestablished motion in gases, the fundamentals of the gas-dynamics theory of atom-bomb explosion in the atmosphere and the theory of averaging of gaseous flows in channels. Aspects of modeling include the dimensionless characteristics of compressor operation, the theories of engine thrust, and efficiency of an ideal propeller for subsonic and supersonic speeds. Similiarity and Dimensional Methods in Mechanics, 10th Edition is an ideal volume for researchers and students involved in physics and mechanics.

Book Description

In Islamic life and tradition, Hadith sayings enshrine the most important teachings after the Qur'an itself. Derived from the Sunnah or teachings of the Prophet and his Companions and their followers, these precepts were collected under the title Al-Adab al-mufrad-meaning Good behaviour singled out-by Imam al-Bukhari in the ninth century CE. The Hadith sayings in al-Bukhari's writings formed a large corpus that covered the way Muslims should conduct their lives, from duties to parents, family, relatives, neighbors and friends, to instruction about honesty, generosity, truthfulness and kindness. While al-Bukhari's original text runs to many hundreds of pages forming several volumes, Abdul Hamid has made a selection of the teachings that has relevance and appeal to today's readership, with appeal not only to Muslims but to all who seek to know more of the essence of Islamic life and teachings.

Studies in early Hadith literature: With a critical edition of some early texts

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Studies in early Hadith literature: With a critical edition of some early texts
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ProductGroup: Book
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Studies in early HadiÌ„th literature: With a critical edition of some early texts
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