Customer Reviews

Hit the Ground Running: A Manual for New Leaders

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I have read and reviewed Jason Jennings' three previously published books and consider his latest, Hit the Ground Running, to be his most informative and most entertaining, indeed his most valuable book thus far. The narrative is driven by rigorous and extensive research conducted by Jennings and his associates. Through a process of elimination best explained in the book, he selected nine exemplar companies and their CEOs and explains how each of the nine combinations (i.e. company and its CEO) demonstrates an especially important "Rule." Jennings devotes a separate chapter to each of the ten, the last being "Be a Fish Out of Water." His focus is primarily on the nine CEOs and suggests that the best way to measure the performance of a CEO and compare one anther to each other is to calculate the total amount of economic value they created. "We defined economic value as the sum of the profits generated, dividends paid, increases in sales and profits, and the increase in the company's share price during the CEO's tenure." After all of the nine CEOs who took over companies because of death, retirement, resignation, or the poor performance of their predecessor, they hit the ground running and "almost doubled revenues, more than tripled earnings per share, nearly tripled EBITDA, and doubled their company's net profit margins." How did they accomplish these exceptional results? Jennings provides the answer in this book.

In Jennings' previous books, his focus is primarily on companies that, after rigorous and extensive research (including on-site visits and interviews with C-level executives), survived a series of cuts. For example, prior to writing Less Is More, Jennings and his research associates examined thousands of companies, selected eighty for further study, and finally identified eight great companies that use productivity as a competitive tool in business. And then prior to writing Thing Big Act Small, Jennings and his associates conducted research on 110 companies, eventually reduced the number to 17 "finalists," and then selected the nine publicly traded companies that were the "best performers" in that then increased revenues and profits by 10% or more each year for ten years or more.

As previously indicated, the focus in this book is primarily on the first-year performance of nine CEOs: Patrick Hassey (Allegheny Technologies), Marshall Larsen (Goodrich Corporation), Frederick Eppinger (The Hanover Group), Howard Lance (Harris Corporation), Jeffrey Lorberbaum (Mohawk Industries), Ronald Sargent (Staples), Keith Rattie (Questar), Mike McCallister (Humana Inc.), and finally, Tim and Richard Smucker (The J.M. Smucker Company). After lengthy interviews, Jennings notes an obvious connection between and among them, one overpowering characteristic that all the CEOs shared: "They told the truth. None of them deceived themselves about anything, nor did they surround themselves with executives who did; they all practice the Golden Rule; and as a result, they've become the best performing CEOs in the nation."

While reading this book, I was fascinated by a process that did not occur in any of Jennings' previous three books: Those interviewed seemed to assume control of the book's narrative (albeit unintentionally) and their contributions invested the narrative with an energy, substance, and direction quite unlike any others I have observed in other business books about exemplary CEOs. Literally, for me the book took on a life of its own. In this context, I am reminded of what a French Romantic poet (perhaps Baudelaire) once said when asked how to write a poem. His response: Draw a birdcage and leave the door open. Then wait and be very patient. After a while, if you are lucky, a bird will fly through the open door. Then you erase the cage. That is the best way I know of to describe how Jennings enables the CEOs interviewed to share their thoughts and feelings about what they and their associates did and how they did it during each CEO's first year. All of them stressed the importance of others' contributions to the success achieved. Consider this brief quotation from Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching:

"Learn from the people
Plan with the people
Begin with what they have
Build on what they know
Of the best leaders
When the task is accomplished
The people will remark
We have done it ourselves. "

That attitude explains how Eppinger gained credibility when he became CEO of The Hanover Group and why Lance asked his associates for their assistance when he became CEO of Harris Corporation. As is also true of the CEOs of the eleven "Good to Great" companies that Jim Collins interviewed, the nine CEOs that were interviewed by Jennings and his associates (notably Laurence Haughton) indicate almost no personal ego. They seem almost obsessed about the success of their companies but insist that that success is not about them. This is authentic humility, not false modesty, and (in my opinion) demonstrates the power of Lao-Tzu's observation.

In my opinion, one of Jennings' most important points is indicated when he discusses how and why high-performance leaders (including the exemplary CEOs) view themselves as stewards. Their decisions are guided and informed by the Golden Rule or an equivalent thereof, they are authentic and humble, their ego is so healthy they do not hesitate to acknowledge their own limitations and ask others for assistance, they are purposeful listeners, they surround themselves with as many talented people as possible, they empower others to lead and sincerely and enthusiastically delighted by their success, they focus on what is most important now and will continue to be important in the future, they trust but verify, they never preserve their neutrality in a moral crisis, they are allergic to waste, (as Einstein suggests) they make everything as simple as possible...but no simpler, they always set an example for personal accountability, (invoking a football term) they "move the chains" toward each objective, they cultivate and sustain "a fierce sense of urgency," and they follow what Bill George characterizes as their own True North. As George explains, it is "the internal compass that guides you as a human being at your deepest level. It is your orienting point - your fixed point in a spinning world - that helps you stay on track as a leader. Your True North is based on what is most important to you, your most cherished values, your passions and motivations, the sources of satisfaction in your life. Just as a compass points toward a magnetic field, your True North pulls you toward the purpose of your leadership."

On Pages 206-225, Jennings includes 120 brief quotations from the best performing CEOs he discusses in his book. I conclude my review with several that clearly indicate a strong sense of stewardship. "I need everyone to respect and support one another and work with each other. Everything else is B.S." (Fred Eppinger) "The CEO's job is to be a destination expert. The CEO's job is to let everyone know where we are going." (Pat Hassey) "The idea of aligning your business with your customers is as natural as breathing. I wouldn't know how to do it any other way." (Howard Lance) "Any CEO who thinks he can pull all the strings that make things happen is kidding himself." (Marshall Larsen) "Oversimplify everything! Sit down and ask, `If I could start with a blank sheet of paper today and create the best answer, what would I do?'" (Jeff Lorberbaum) "We try to treat all of our people like they are adults, which sounds like straightforward common sense, but it's amazing how many businesses don't." (Mike McCallister) "No spin. Look the facts in the eye and tell the truth. Always." (Keith Rattie), "You have to communicate what you're doing. If people don't know what's going on, they'll think nothing's going on." (Ron Sargent) "Listen. Be Humble. Doubt your own infallibility." (Tim and Richard Smucker)

All of these quotations are consistent with what they shared during lengthy and rigorous interviews that provide much of the material within Jennings' narrative. More to the point, the quotations are consistent with what the CEOs' associates said about them during their own interviews. Are these CEOs without deficiencies? Hardly. Here's the key point: They were able to "hit the ground running" precisely because they were well-aware of their own deficiencies and engaged the assistance of others when assuming their new duties.

New leaders are expected to make their mark immediately - to decide who's in and out - to build a winning team - to diagnose problems and identify opportunities - to develop and launch a winning strategy - to inspire the staff to execute - to start winning immediately. Author's studies indicate the more than 90% of companies don't keep any records of what lead to management's best or worst decisions. He studied 9-10 of America's best new CEOs who outperformed all others in a similar time frame and transformed their companies.

His key findings included 3 deadly mistakes: (1) don't study the competition (study what you do well and go after competition), (2) don't keep your strategy a secret (secret strategies leave workers feeling detached and disengaged - openness, transparency, accountability and out-performance go hand-in-hand), and (3) don't fire the existing team ("tribal knowledge is under appreciated").

And he found the following success factors: (1) Gain belief by (a) making a good first impression and demonstrating that you are different and (b) surrounding yourself with people that can and will be believed, (2) Ask for help from staff, the community, board of directors, (3) Be "humble, authentic, accessible, highly ethical, compassionate listener and truly, believably committed to doing the right thing for all stakeholders." (4) Work ruthlessly to simplify everything, (5) Cultivate a fierce sense of urgency in everyone because either things aren't going well and you need to fix them fast or expect the environment to change and you need to be nimble.

I didn't necessarily find the recommendations startling, however there are solid lessons supported by good research and compelling stories that make this book a worthwhile read.

Reading Jason's book is like being beaten over the head with lessons from the past that have been tragically forgotten! I found myself almost compelled to read the book under a blanket with torchlight so that my guilt in trying run a company in the conventionally accepted manner didn't show. It could easily have been titled "Wake up moron - here is where you are screwing up"

Jason continues his style of story telling to make his point. Hit the Ground Running is happily devoid of theoretical intstruction or personal opnion and instead uses real life (and timely) examples of CEO's who have succeeded beyond market expectation. Interestingly, they all seem to have very similar traits and attitudes. To find out what these are I suggest you buy the book.

This is an inspiring, and informative book. After applying the principals in this book, and taking the advice from the men reviewed I have seen a change in my momentum!

These accomplished CEOs - each of whom spearheaded a turnaround in their respective company - attribute their achievements to solid, honest values like simplification, communication and cooperation. Jennings focuses on personal stories, which I always enjoy and can really keep the reader engaged in the learning. Though each of the CEOs embodies all 9 of the characteristics Jennings lays out in the book - don't deceive yourself; ask for help; cultivate a sense of urgency; find, keep and grow the right people; etc. - he uses their individual stories to highlight the 9 different lessons.

I want to mention that I saw Mr. Jennings speak at a Direct Selling Association (DSA) conference a couple of years ago and he was very, very good and made great points about valuing people. These qualities that these CEOs cared about the most are grounded in valuing people and that is what each of us should be doing with everyone.

Though I really wish that Jennings had chosen at least one woman to profile and hold up as an example, I enjoyed the book. Perhaps he couldn't secure an interview with a female CEO who met the criteria he lays out in the introduction, but I was a tad disappointed to read any stories of women executives.

This book is great if you're looking to become a strong leader. It will also be particularly helpful for the existing leadership in a company, as well as executives who would like to move up to leadership. Readers who are corporate minded and always looking to learn about what's effective in other companies will truly love this book.

Readers who come from direct sales, in particular, will find inspiration in the evidence that truly building team spirit - creating a feeling that we're all in this together - can transform an organization. Regardless of your company or product, having a strong belief in your mission and rallying people around your common goal provides a powerful boost to any business.

I find it hard to believe that so many people gave this such a great rating.

For starters, I found it a redux of other people's work. For example many of Jenning's ideas can be traced directly to Kouzes and Posner's book "The Leadership Challenge". And even still it lacks a workable framework for assessing the type of situation you are heading into, which is critical to knowing how to hit the ground running. "The First 90 Days" by Watkins offers a framework and is much more practical in my humble opinion.

Second, the stories were all about CEO's of publicly traded companies. The book completely misses out on the millions of people who work in non-profits and governments. I did enjoyed learning about the leaders, companies and their histories. But the reality is that some of these histories are too specific to be easily applied to the rest of us. For example, we can't change our childhoods, which the book focuses a lot of attention on.

Thank goodness that I found this in the public library instead of purchasing it. If you want this book, borrow it or buy it used.

Jason Jennings interviewed the top CEOs in the nation (criteria provided in the introduction) to try to decipher the drivers that made them successful. He distilled their responses into 10 major rules for hitting the ground running. Some favorites of this reviewer are: Rule 3: Ask for Help. Rule 7: Simplify Everything. Rule 10: Be a Fish Out of Water. A different CEO is highlighted in each chapter. Jennings provides personal and business background information with interesting anecdotes. Each chapter also focuses on one of the rules. It is interesting to hear those that have met with success explain how they achieved it. Granted, they may not always be correct in their assessments, but it still makes for an interesting read, and the book does offer significant learning opportunities. Don't forget to take the quiz at the beginning of the book to see if you have what it takes to hit the ground running. Then take it again after you read the book. It's a fun exercise.

-- Nick McCormick, Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager

I have read several books by Jason Jennings and have even had the privilege of seeing him speaking at my company's annual meeting. His ideas are simple and straight-forward. More importantly, they are proven time and time again to be correct. I highly recommend "Hit the Ground Running" to new leaders. However, I would also recommend this book to those of you who think that you already have all the answers and tend to dismiss books such as this. You "old" leaders will find that this book will challenge many of your firmly held beliefs and might even make you rethink some of you management strategies.

I have read several leadership books, attended seminars, and this is without a doubt the best book I have read on leadership. Jason takes a no-nonsense approach to research, and presents real facts on why these leaders are successful. After you read this book, you will realize things that make so much sense it is hard to believe you missed them before. It is encouraging to know that people that care about their employees and don't take a "my way or the highway" approach succeed in business today.

As a leader in state government, there are different challenges, but I feel like these concepts can be used industry-wide.

Thanks Jason for a great book that I will be referencing for a long time to come..

Jason Jennings continues to live up to his reputation of providing value and take away in every page. This book is powerful, thought provoking and best of all practical. Jason stays away from the typical academic exercise and provides real insight and experiences based on extensive research. Hit The Ground Running belongs in the boardrooms not the classrooms.