Take It to the Next Level [Hardcover]

Dale Crownover (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0966751906 | ISBN-13: 978-0966751901

When a son with only a high school education realizes the small family business his father built for over 40 years may be forced into bankruptcy, he makes a crucial decision that wins national recognition and saves the future of the business for his employees and for the next generation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A business turnaround story whose very simplicity will at once dazzle you and stir your emotions. Crownover's courage to reveal his anxieties and insecurities along the way is the key to his strength. I recommend you read this compelling story ... and be better prepared for your own humbling experience. -- Robert McTeer, President & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

A wonderful story that brings the quality journey to life, revealing the rarely talked about epiphany that occurs within business leaders when we finally see it - the whole point of quality. A boost for those still trying to see it and a comfort for those who struggled along the way. Truly a quality story told in a quality way. -- James S. Pepitone, CEO, Pepitone Berkshire Piaget Worldwide

An essential guide for the aspiring leader's quality journey. Dale's candid, truthful approach provides business students of all ages and leaders of all levels useful insights into values, self-awareness and crucial decision making. -- Paula Hill, Director, Business Leadership Center, Edwin L. Cox School of Business Southern Methodist University

An invaluable example of the personal journey required of leaders who effect organizational change. Crownover's success highlights the fundamental need to create change through people - not software, machinery or technology alone. Amid a business crisis, Crownover delivered the kind of change most organizations only dream about. -- James Blayney Rice, Jr., Director, Integrated Supply Chain Management Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The environment and results at Texas Nameplate show what it takes to strengthen America and ultimately the world. Crownover's story may spark a transformation for leaders of any enterprise. -- Warren Hogan, Chairman, The Hogan Center for Performance Excellence

The talent, goodwill, energy, and determination that Crownover and his people bring to the job at Texas Nameplate are an inspiring example of the "real stuff" of the American enterprise system. -- Oliver Williamson, Kaiser Professor of Business, Haas School of Business University of California, Berkley

About the Author

Dale Crownover leads 63 high-spirited employees at Texas Nameplate Company, Inc., a second-generation, family-owned business in Dallas, Texas. Dale aims to strenghten American business by telling his story in this book, in speeches, artecles, seminars, and videos. He recently presented at the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council in support of its committee on supply chain integration. His company has been featured on PBS.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Next Level Pr (October 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966751906
• ISBN-13: 978-0966751901
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,255,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Want to go to the next level?, January 20, 2002

By 

Tai Wing Sze (Marketing Department of City University of Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Take It to the Next Level (Hardcover)

This book is really worth reading. I can learn a lot from it. It is about how Dale leads his company to success from nearly bankruptcy, which inspire me a lot. Dale's company is compelled to make a decision to adopt the Statistic Process Control program. If he refuses, his company will go bankrupt. After struggling for many times, he eventually adopts using SPC, making the performance of his company improved.

This book talks about "quality" not only in his work but also in his life. The environment changes constantly and we cannot avoid facing uncertainty. Very often, we are forced to make changes, like Dale. In the changing world, we should not stick to the past. We should be ready to try new ways of doing things.

Continuously improving ourselves is another insight that I learn. After fulfilling one goal, we should set another goal. Just like Dale, after he teaches his employees about SPC and meets the requirements for SPC certification, he then introduces TQM to the company to make it further successful.

There are no losers and winners, said by Dale. I strongly agree. After spending our efforts, if we cannot get any achievements or prizes, it does not mean that we are losers. The outcome is not the most important. The importance is the process, that is, your involvement.

Dale also says that there is no master and servants in the company. I think that if employers and employees are friends, the employees are much more willing to spend more efforts on their work voluntarily and they will work more happily, which in turn will increase the productivity.

To conclude, this book is useful to us. It brings out a very important message: to be successful, we should seize on every opportunity to improve ourselves. We should not stop at the existing level. Remember: "Take it to the next level!"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Please take this book to the next level., June 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Take It to the Next Level (Hardcover)

If quality is the issue, this book seems to be missing it. Before I read this book, I knew that Crownover's company had won the Baldridge award, and I had read other articles on some of the programs they adapted to do so. I largely expected this book to explain how they adapted quality principles in a small company to win that award. What I received was a somewhat brief, shallow treatment of the history of the company and the current president, and personal insights that seem rather topical. As compared to other business books I have read, or even compared to other "Personal journey" stories I have read, this book comes up short in the "useful material" department.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration at its best!, August 13, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Take It to the Next Level (Hardcover)

The inspiring true story of how a company rose from the doldrums of near bankruptcy to a level worthy of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This is extremely readable; don't expect a bunch of management mumbo-jumbo. This should be a textbook in every business school in the world. I had the privilege of attending the party celebrating this book's publication. Dale is a down-to-earth man of character who is enjoying richly-deserved personal and professional success.