Never Wrestle with a Pig and Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business and Career [Paperback]

Mark H. McCormack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2002

Drawing upon forty years of experience from his own sports and celebrity management practice, Mark H. McCormack is back with common-sense advice aimed at business owners and would-be CEOs. McCormack's tips include:

* End your day on time
* People who say they can keep a secret usually can't
* It pays to overestimate your competition
* The best ideas cannot be stolen
* Know when to say "It's none of your business"
* Get paid for thinking rather than doing
* Time in front of the customer is the best time of all
* Be wary of unanimous agreement
* Not every budget deserves your respect
* Learn the art of picking up the check


In ninety brief chapters that range in topic from getting ahead to staying competitive, McCormack makes clear that doing business in today's climate still involves the same basic elements of human interaction-intelligence, creativity, and efficiency-that have always meant the difference between success and failure.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark H. McCormack is the founder and CEO of International Management Group (IMG), the world's dominant sports marketing organization, whose clients include Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Venus and Serena Williams, and Arnold Palmer.

From AudioFile

Starting with What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School, McCormack has produced a steady stream of exceptional business advice on audio. Though I prefer the author's own voice, David Ackroyd does well with the material, which is rich in common sense. It's about how to function in a large business enterprise: how to get ahead, grow your skills, get recognized, handle difficult people. McCormack also describes judgment calls you can only learn in the school of hard knocks. In every way, this is an exceptional resource, highly understandable, without guile, compactly written, and loaded with fascinating examples from the author's brilliant career as head of a sports marketing company. An indispensable guide for people at all levels of experience. T.W. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 1st edition (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141002085
• ISBN-13: 978-0141002088
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #625,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and informative, but...(my but about it), February 13, 2002

By 

S. Kalsi (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Wrestle with a Pig and Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business and Career (Paperback)

The book was quite clear and informative. It had many experiences that were shared and communicated well. It did give me many interesting tid bits and pointers, but -

I started to get the feeling that the author was really full of himself, and it seemed after a while that he kept saying: "only after I stepped in did things improve most of the time because I am such a smart guy..."

That started to wear me down and it started to get a little annoying. If it wasnt for that, the book was good.

I would not recommend this book to any friend of mine because I think there are other books out there that tell the reader more with less personal glory attached to it.

Perhaps I should read biographies more?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It caught my attention, February 18, 2002

By 

"katebrady" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Wrestle with a Pig and Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business and Career (Paperback)

I usually tend to find career development/strategy books simplistic and mind-numbing. After having my attention caught by the title of this book though, I decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down and have already recommended it to many people. The format is very reader-friendly with McCormack's having done a great job of packaging his points in morsels that are easy to absorb. You'll probably find yourself nodding in agreement with his bits of common sense as you're reading. It's the kind of book that you want to share with everyone, but on the other hand keep it to yourself because what you learn from this book will make you appear like a genius. The only detraction from the material is that the author does come off as pompous at times, but looking at his accomplishments, I think this attitude is warranted.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good roundup of common sense in business relationships, October 30, 2003

By 

Keith Appleyard "kapple999" (Brighton, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Wrestle with a Pig and Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business and Career (Paperback)

(This book was previously published as 'Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age').
It's not the first book by Mark McCormack I've read. Like the others, its very readable, and gives a collection of homespun philosophies, interspersed with personal life experiences. There's a strong emphasis on Sales, but 'selling' is surely part of all of our business relationships.
Just don't believe in the gospel of everything McCormack has to say; there are contradictions, just as life is full of them, such as :
In Part 8 'When you are in Charge', there is the lesson "unlearn the bad habit of not trusting your 1st impression", whereas in Part 9 'Etiquette for the New Millenium', under 'reading people requires more than one reading', there is a "caveat about reading people too quickly" - so which is it to be?
Consider it light reading to just remind you of the good & bad things that you can do to others & they can do to you, and re-adjust & compensate accordingly.