The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company [Hardcover]

Dr. J. Robert Beyster (Author), Peter Economy (Contributor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470097523 | ISBN-13: 978-0470097526 | Publication Date: March 30, 2007 | Edition: 1

Can an employee-owned company succeed? Here is the inside story of one that thrived and grew to become a significant force in the nation’s scientific and technical markets.

In 1969, Dr. J. Robert Beyster founded Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) with a unique vision of creating an employee-owned organization run according to 12 principles of success that encourage entrepreneurship and accountability. Today, SAIC has grown from a handful of scientists to over 43,000 employees–most of whom hold company equity–and more than $8 billion in annual revenue, a steadily rising stock price, and top rankings as a contractor to government and business organizations. In this book, Dr. Beyster tells the story of SAIC, and offers valuable lessons to entrepreneurs and managers on how to build a company in which loyalty to values goes hand in hand with success.

Dr. J. Robert Beyster (La Jolla, CA) is the founder of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC). He served as CEO and chairman of the company for 35 years. Beyster continues to promote innovation and employee ownership through his Foundation for Enterprise Development and the Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego.

Peter Economy (La Jolla, CA) is Associate Editor of Leader to Leader, the award-winning publication for the Leader to Leader Institute, and a bestselling author of titles such as The Management Bible (0-471-70545-4) and Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs (0-471-39735-0).

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…one great big good-news story…there are important lessons to be learned here.” (Management Today, May 2007)

From the Inside Flap

For more than three decades, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)—the largest employee-owned research and technology company in the United States—has achieved unparalleled success in the areas of science, engineering, and technology, all while flying well below the radar of most casual business observers.

As the founder of SAIC, Dr. J. Robert Beyster has played an important role in the emergence of this company. And now, in The SAIC Solution, Beyster—with the help of bestselling business author Peter Economy—reveals how his vision of an employee-owned organization, run according to key principles that encourage entrepreneurship and accountability, allowed SAIC to become one of the most successful research and technology companies in the world.

Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this book describes how SAIC evolved as an ongoing experiment and how it continues to grow exponentially—with $8 billion in annual revenues—by applying counterintuitive operating principles that cut against the grain of contemporary business practice.

With this book as your guide, you'll quickly realize the uniqueness of SAIC's approach to business and discover how the groundbreaking principles and practices used by the company can readily be transferred to almost any industry. Some of the topics discussed include:

• The Culture: People First—hire smart people, encourage their entrepreneurial spirit, let them focus on customers, and reward them for their hard work

• The Glue: Employee Ownership—those who contribute to a company should own it, and ownership should be commensurate with a person's contribution and performance

• The Wild Card: Experiment Constantly—the willingness to constantly experiment with new business entities, corporate structures, and staffing is an essential element of any successful organization

• The Bottom Line: Expect Reasonable Profit with Stock Price Growth—placing greater emphasis on steady growth and customer satisfaction ultimately leads to long-term value and is reflected in the rising price of a company's stock

Written in an engaging and thought-provoking style, The SAIC Solution skillfully outlines the philosophy behind SAIC's extraordinary success, and distills important lessons that can help you—whether you're an executive or an entrepreneur—create your own success story in today's fast-changing and technology- driven business environment.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470097523
• ISBN-13: 978-0470097526
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to Great!, March 22, 2007

By 

D. FRIES "just my opinion" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company (Hardcover)

A great first person account of how a Level 5 leader (in the Jim Collins "Good to Great" tradition) formed a Great company and kept it Great for 35 years.
Once you read chapter 1 it is clear how Dr. Beyster lead his company from an idea to an $8 Billion science and technology power house, with his true commitment to people and excellence. But don't stop reading. Many business books talk about "people first" but Dr. Beyster achieved great success by "walking the talk". Though Employee Ownership a company of owners was created, a company that valued success and the employees were rewarded by that success. In addition, SAIC used a meritocracy to show its employees how there performance was valued not with a big cash bonus but with ownership of the Company. Offering the employee the chance to gain not just once from their contributions, but to gain as SAIC continued to increase in value over 35 years.
Dr. Beyster goes through each of the 12 principals used to build SAIC to a great company and shares an example of the principals at work. Well worth the read!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have Book, April 1, 2007

By 

Robert W. Smiley (Logandale, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company (Hardcover)

This is a clear, concise, and very readable book that makes the case for employee ownership as no other book ever has. It demonstrates clearly that when employees have an owneship stake, the bottom line is dramatically improved. Dr. Beyster's extraordinary account describes the events that brought the company he founded, and directed as its CEO, to over $8 billion in sales. Dr. Beyster shares his vision, his wisdom and counsel on his journey to founding and then sustaining one of the most successful corporations in America. Packed with example after example, year after year, the road to SAIC's pheonomenal success is clearly set out in the principles that guided the company to its success. You won't be able to set this book down, and will want to read it again.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating-clear read of a true success story, October 28, 2009

By 

Thomas L. Cohen "Tom Cohen" (San Diego, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company (Hardcover)

Being a research scientist has taught me a lot about the scientific method. Reading the SAIC Solution has proven that the same method can be used to experiment with business practices. Dr. Beyster, the author, allowed entrepreneurs in his company to experiment with creating new divisions. Those that prospered within a division remained, and those that didn't meet their goals were re-allocated to more successful divisions. In almost all cases, these entrepreneurs remained with the company because they practically owned it. What an eye-opener to see how a scientist can transform into an entrepreneur. Even more surprising was to see that entrepreneur establish new business practices that helped grow an $8 Billion private, employee-owned company.