Customer Reviews

Guts!: Companies that Blow the Doors Off Business-As-Usual

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Kevin and Jackie Freiberg have done it again. In "Nuts!" they told the story of the growth of a fledgling airline that has grown to lead the industry today. In their new book "Guts!" they have once again placed their fingers on the pulse of business success and share with us stories of triumph.

What is apparent after reading this book is that to create a successful business you must create a customer base that sings your companies praises loud and strong to anyone who will listen. But, to do that effectively you must first create a working environment that causes your employees to sing your companies praises louder and stronger!

This is exactly what the business leaders in "Guts!" have done. Kevin and Jackie not only tell the story of business leaders that have vision, they tell the stories of business leaders capable of turning their vision into action.

Being a visionary is not all there is to being a leader. Being a leader that can transfer that vision into action is what Champions are made of. "Guts!" gives us dynamic examples of Champions who care enough to give the whole 9 yards.

This book is a "Must Read" for anyone responsible for the well being of people.

The husband-and-wife time of Kevin and Jackie Freiberg offer up a book filled with leadership advice built around stories of successful companies ranging from SAS to Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines to Synovus.

In general, I'm skeptical of business books which profile large companies written by people who have never run a large company. First, there's the "do as I say, not as I do (or have done)" credibility gap. And second, this genre tends to attribute too much of a company's overall success or failure to a single personality.

Having said that, I think the Freibergs have done a decent job of wrapping their high-level advice (e.g., create a sense of ownership, lead with love, make business heroic) around stories and interviews that are engaging, well-written, and carefully selected to make their point. And it's always intriguing to learn how a name-brand organization got its start.

On the other hand, be prepared for some dramatic (over-?)simplification of complex realities. The company case studies are less case studies and more one-dimensional illustrations the authors carefully package to make the point they want to make. Sometimes it feels just a little glib, as in "let me tell you this cute story that just so happens to illustrate the general leadership principle I'm pushing in this chapter."

My favorite chapter was about how gutsy leaders lead with love. As a person of faith, I find the idea of servant leadership (popularized by authors such as Robert Greenleaf and Peter Vail) powerful and resonant with my own religious beliefs. I also enjoyed the chapter on how effective leaders tie their organization's mission to a heroic cause. To illustrate this point, the authors tell the story of how one teacher's (Sandra McBrayer) heroic vision to teach homeless kids galvanized the San Diego community to build an entire school for disdvantaged kids called Monarch High School (complete with its own restaurant created with the help of Ralph Rubio, cofounder and CEO of Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill).

The book is visually attractive -- not quite as arresting as Tom Peter's new book called "Re-imagine!", but the layout, color, pull quotes, and photos call attention to the main points well.

Overall, it's worth a quick read for some interesting stories and a few ideas to consider as you think about how to improve your own organization's culture.

The Friebergs have met their own mission "to tell stories that improve organizations and inspire people to live bigger, better, more fulfilling lives." Backed by years of research and interviews, Guts! gives voice to a disparate group of business leaders who show us that vision, passion, living one's values, and treating people with openness and trust are the keys to greatness.

Like Nuts!, Guts! is a different kind of business book. Most are either dry (and boring) or simple "enter-trainment" (fluff without substance). This book is a delight to read. It's written using the same principles it espouses for business: it's fun, different, creative and gutsy. And filled to the brim with practical advice that can and should be used by anyone - business owners and men and women at all levels in their organizations. The Gut Checks are especially good as both summaries of the information and guidelines for the reader's own actions.

The principles in Guts! aren't just great business ideas; they make sense for any organization. Imagine these principles in use in schools, government institutions, in fact in human relationships in any setting. The book inspired me. I read it and found myself dreaming of great new ideas for use with my business clients, my university students, and my family. I am giving copies to everyone.

I didn't expect the Freibergs to actually surpass their first book, NUTS!-but they did! This book is another illuminating journey that shatters the status quo and kick-starts a re-evaluation of goals and what constitutes accomplishment. They present real life examples of leaders with the fire in their guts(!) to not merely succeed, but to re-create the whole definition of excellence. This is a book that should be required reading for anyone in a position of leadership-or aspires to be.

When it was first released, I gave NUTS! to my whole staff. It was an investment that, I know, paid dividends for years. They'll all have a late Christmas present from me once again, very soon---GUTS!

Going from NUTS to GUTS is easier than you think. Kevin & Jackie Freiberg tell great stories, how successful leaders change culture, inspiring people to live bigger, better more fulfilling lives while blowing the doors off the competition. How do you brand your culture, create owners, and make business heroic? You are introduced to visionaries from SAS, USAA, Medtronic, Planet Honda and others that provide eye-opening answers. It's up to you to inspire fun, lead with love and get deeply involved in recruiting the right people. The Freibergs' walk their talk. Check out Freibergs.com while you read the book.

Kevin and Jackie Freiberg have done it again. First NUTS and now GUTS. If you are a business leader or consultant who is responsible for helping organizations to improve their culture, GUTS is a must read. What I love best about GUTS is the Freibergs five years of research proves that you can build an incredibly successful business by treating employees and customers right, having fun, and still make a ton of money. Managers are a dime a dozen. Great heroic leaders are few and far between. GUTS gives you the insight and perscription into what great unconventional leadership looks like. If you have the guts to make a difference in your organization, this is a great book.

GUTS got me all fired up about work again. I loved reading about companies that are able to tap into people's passion and creativity and channel it into worthwhile ventures. We all want to be respected and to be able to use our unique talents to make a difference in the world, but a lot of us are just grinding it out, trying to make a paycheck and not get fired. GUTS gives many examples of companies where people are living that better version of work, and it provides practical advice for how to create that type of organizational environment. The author's say their purpose is to "...tell stories that improve organizations and inspire people to live bigger, better, more fulfilling lives." Mission accomplished.

Jackie and Kevin have proved to us with GUTS that people make the greatest difference in the sucess of todays businesses. They share with us amazing examples of gutsy leaders that empower their employees to take risks and have fun while making their companies hugely successful. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to revisit my thinking when it comes to business as usual with my team at the Hotel del Coronado...thank you GUTS!

Kevin and Jackie have once again created a wonderful book that is enjoyable to read and very practical and very real. I had used them as consultants for a very large Japanese US operation with great success. They guided significant cultural change in what I would consider to be a very challenging environmnet.

Literally every page delivers specific examples that are all workable and do deliver tangible results. I have seen those results first hand.

First Nuts, now Guts!

Two great books. Great reads and truly impactful studies on how to have a wonderful and successful business.

This is a book to be read and then kept near at hand at all times for a quick and helpful reference and guide.

I am positive you will enjoy the book, the stories, the examples, the lessons.

Jackie and Kevin Freiberg have done it again. Their newest extraordinary book, GUTS, takes off from where their previous book, NUTS, ended. From a school for homeless teens to a Navy ship, from USAA to the SAS Institute, the Freibergs delight their reader with incredibly inspiring tales of gutsy leadership. The Freibergs describe "gutsy leaders" as "passionate men and women who don't hesitate to slaughter the sacred cows of convention." GUTS provides real life practical guidelines on how to get the best from each individual in an organization and have fun doing so. In addition, the book gives valuable insights into unique busines leaders who lead with their hearts, as well as with their heads, in making magnificent decisions and positive changes in the work place. GUTS is a book which convincingly proves that a gutsy leader can make a real difference in the world and make real profits doing so. GUTS is the book for anyone who believes that "the world is changed by people willing to take risks." GUTS inspires us all to follow in their gutsy footsteps.