Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Industry (Paperback)

~ (Author) "May Day-the day when fixed brokerage commissions were abolished-marked a crossroads for the U.S. securities industry and created the conditions for the birth of Charles..." (more)
Key Phrases: independent financial advisors, other brokerages, discount brokerage, Bank of America, San Francisco, Charles Schwab (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a sharp, sometimes brutal and frequently entertaining book.... For investors, entrepreneurs and students of business, it is simply a good read." ("The Financial Times," November 8, 2002)

Product Description

Schwab's revolutionary approach to success in the face of adversity
Since its founding in 1973, Schwab has led the full-brokerage market by stressing customer service. Today, Schwab has established itself as a company with a unique identity: old-fashioned integrity meets technology-empowered financial services. Charles Schwab tells the compelling story of this organization's uncanny ability to reinvent itself around an unchanging set of core values. This book is organized into five sections, each representing a critical juncture for the company when it was forced to reinvent itself or be consumed. Along the way, Kador highlights Schwab's immutable laws, direct from the Chairman and CEO: 1) Create a cause, not a business; 2) the corporate vision is only as good as the values of its culture; 3) welcome upheaval. In the whirlwind economic environment we currently face, Charles Schwab provides readers with valuable lessons on how businesses can survive and thrive in any situation.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471660582
• ISBN-13: 978-0471660583
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #775,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ex-Schwab Employee - Like a Walk Down Memory Lane., September 14, 2004

By	Scott Whyte (Troy, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Industry (Hardcover)

As an ex-Schwab employee (1991-2000), I recommend the book highly. Having firsthand knowledge of the people and many of the events that were reported in the book I found the historical portions of the book to be accurate.

John Kador has done an excellent job of capturing the history, heroic vision and ethics of Schwab (both Chuck and the company) and how the company revolutionized the discount brokerage industry and the distribution of mutual funds. Also, I thought his comments and perspectives into the many challenges the company overcame, and current hurdles to overcome, were incredibly insightful.

John writes in a narrative style that reads more like a fiction novel than what one might expect for a "business book". As I said, I'm an ex-employee and still found it to be a page-turner. I couldn't wait to read what else John had accurately captured about Schwab's long history. I have recommended the book to all of the Schwab employees and ex-employees I keep in touch with.

The book was written prior to the most recent re-emergence of Chuck Schwab as sole CEO of the company, so much has changed since the book was finished, but I still believe it is a great read for anyone who is interested in the history of one of the few revolutionary Fortune 500 companies.

This one is worth buying. You won't regret it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ex-Schwab employee enjoyed reading it!, February 20, 2003

By	Mark H. Josefczyk (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Industry (Hardcover)

As an ex-Schwab employee (1988 - 1996) I really enjoyed reading this book. I worked for or with several of the folks interviewed and was at HQ in San Fran. the day after the earthquake--pretty incredible day! I have recommended it to all of my ex-Schwab buddies.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!, December 16, 2002

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Industry (Hardcover)

Business writer John Kador describes the evolution of Charles Schwab & Company, a former discount brokerage blessed with the ability to transform itself through four different incarnations. Kador emphasizes Schwab's commitment to integrity and customer service, a code that enabled it to prevail despite upheavals and threats. While the book focuses on the company, the running portrait of Chuck Schwab gives it a personal core. Kador highlights Schwab's concern with exercising his values and leading a highly principled business amid an often shady industry he saw as corrupted by greed. Kador's engaging narrative style is designed to inform and entertain general investors, executives and managers. At times, the discussion of Chuck Schwab and his company sounds almost too laudatory, as if the book is an in-house publicity piece. We from getAbstract recommend that readers should take all that sugar with a grain of salt, given this otherwise compelling dish.