Customer Reviews

The Three Financial Styles of Very Successful Leaders: Strategic Approaches to Identifying the Growth Drivers of Every Company

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This was an excellent read. The premise sounds so simple, but the implications for companies are complex and real. A leader makes hundreds of decisions every day, and every person brings a different set of personal characeristics to the table, which shapes their view on risk, reward... This is a valuable book that I believe can be applied to every enterprise.

I have been in a number of executive positions and this is the first I have ever heard of the ideas in this book. It blew me away! Although intuition and experience might bring one to the same conclusions, this book described perfectly the underlying forces and the reasons why most of the execs I have ever worked with managed business and behaved in their particular ways that produced, as I can see now, quite predictable results. For the first time I can now see why they acted as they did and why some did - and most didn't - make money. It also made me realize for the first time exactly what my financial signature - a concept the author introduces in the book - is and how I can use that knowledge to improve my business decision making, and particularly my own financial performance. It's certainly a refreshing change from many of the books on leadership I have read which, although they say a lot about a lot of things, never said much about the things that impact me and most working executives in their aim to improve their own capability to impact financial performance of their organization. This is not the usual academic mumbo jumbo - it's a book for people who want practical guidance as an executive and it gives it in spades.

I had the good fortune to read an advance copy of this book... it's a must-read !
The new book by Ted Prince is an exciting new way to view leadership in the corporate setting. The Perth Institute's research has found strong correlation between an individual's personal financial traits (Prince calls these "financial signatures") and how they will perform financially in a job setting.

This approach really gets down to the bottom line, showing managers how their team aligns with the corporate financial values. For the individual, they can understand what areas they may want to improve to increase their value to the company. I highly recommend this book for any leader seeking long-term financial improvement.

Finally, a book about leadership that focuses on the bottom line! Ted Prince has created a leadership model that moves beyond psychological typing,behavior categorizations and interpersonal skills. Ted's model is based on the notion that leaders have one of 9 financial signatures and that each of those signatures leads to some predictable business results. Unlike most leadership models, in which individual styles are typically equally effective. Ted's model posits that some financial signatures are intrinsically profitable (surplus styles), some are not(deficit styles) and some can go either way (puzzlers). An unprofitable financial signature that goes "uncorrected" will almost always lead to failure.This notion is a wakeup call for every narcissistic executive who believes that their Midas touch will last forever.

This is a good book for any manager or executive who truly has an investment in their companies financial outcome. It could provide a blueprint for an ongoing coaching plan and could also be a useful tool for company boards to use in selecting CEOs.

At the end of each chapter, Ted asks the reader to reflect upon insights gained and actually commit in writing to taking some action. This device is very useful in getting the reader to integrate what they have learned and to establish some momentum toward change.

Finally there has been research done to accurately predict something in the financial world. And what better field to be accurate in than human behavior. It is obvious we make the most errors, and our money is always in the hands of someone else, who is relying on someone else, who is relying on the CEO. I must say that this book has opened my eyes greatly into a path I never knew existed.

As a leadership researcher and consultant, I keep an eye out for fresh approaches to effective leadership. Most "new" offerings are nothing more than old wine in new bottles; but this book is a genuine contribution. What excites me the most is that the focus is on organizational outcomes - how leaders affect the financial fate of the firms they lead. Psychological and sociological approaches to leadership have waffled on the question of financial performance; this book starts, unashamedly, with shareholder value and traces its roots to the psychological make-up of leaders. The author, former CEO and board member E. Ted Prince, argues persuasively that leaders have a "financial signature," a characteristic pattern of managing costs and adding value that is intimately tied to underlying beliefs, habits, fears, and hopes about money. Prince then shows how this plays out using lots of visible case examples like how Steve Case's high spending and pursuit of high margins doomed AOL and how Sandy Weil's skin-flint cost control and shrewd eye for profitability grew Citigroup to the titan it is today.

This well-written book is a joy to read and will appeal to executives. It does not present a complex psychological theory; rather it is street-smart, practical, and based on real-world experience. The book shows you how to identify your financial signature and understand the financial performance and valuation outcomes you achieve - or don't. With plenty of self-directed exercises, it is a powerful guide to understanding and developing the kind of leadership that creates strong, enduring business organizations.

"The Three Financial Styles of Very Successful Leaders" represents a new way of thinking. It points to new avenues in research and practice concerning executive selection, development, and training. Amidst all of the recent news about corrupt leaders who destroyed companies, this book shows us how leaders can contribute to the financial success of companies. It fills a gap in leadership thinking that needed to be filled.

Have you ever been around corporate `leaders' who provide the illusion of mastery over the process of improving the company's Economic Value Add, the true economic profit of an enterprise, a measure directly linked to the creation of shareholder wealth over time? Yet the result is lacking. Ted Prince offers an interesting elucidation to the mystery by reverting back to individualism versus collectivism when examining the corporation's financial health and predicting its future. This book is truly a fascinating read. As Karl Weick, a social psychologist suggests "I'll see it when I believe it" rather than "I'll believe it when I see it", leaders need to be evaluated by their values, one of which their financial signatures rather than past experienced reflected in their professional biography in order to project the success or the failure of the company they are leading. People will see and act based on what they believe; the same belief that originally formed their financial signature. Mr. Prince captured this very well and offers a fresh innovative way of evaluating corporations. After reading his book, I can now see beyond the financial numbers and make a more educated assessment of the companies I am planning to invest in. Thank you, Ted.

Ted Prince may have discovered the holy grail for successfully picking the right CEO's for financially successful outcomes. Thought provoking and revolutionary in its approach to determining successful leaders before they are hired and how to create a successful team. Anyone with an interest in leadership should read this book. Fascinating, well written.

Ted Prince has written a very exciting book about financial success of corporations. He focuses on management rather than processes, gross margins and profitability. In a sense, he has put HR on steroids.

Ted Prince's book reminds me of Money Ball by Michael Lewis. Just like Billy Beane found unique predictors of how baseball players win games, Ted has found unique predictors of how managers will contribute to the financial success of the firm.

Good read

Socrates said "know thyself." This book gives you the power to do it. Mr. Prince's financial signatures are the keys to understanding how your personality directly affects your financial behavior. And this applies not just to the financial ramblings of major corporations, but how you handle finances in your personal life as well. Well written and easily relatable. A fascinating read!