Thriving in the New Economy: Lessons from Today's Top Business Minds [Hardcover]

Lori Ann LaRocco (Author), Rudy Giuliani (Afterword), H. Wayne Huizenga (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2009

Survive and thrive in today's economy

These are make-or-break times for business leaders. In today's defining moment, the "New Economy," CEOs and other leaders in a wide variety of industries must face unprecedented conditions.

Thriving in the New Economy gives you a unique look into some of today's best economic and business minds. A series of close profiles, the book offers inspirational personal stories, useful advice, and actionable strategies you can use immediately to skirt financial peril, seize opportunities, and flourish in the New Economy.

    • Profiles include financial publisher Steve Forbes, The Vanguard Group founder Jack Bogle, Former National Economic Council Director and Former Special Assistant to the President on Economic Policy Lawrence Lindsey, former FDIC chair Donald Powell, Saks CEO Steve Sadove, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President Jim Lentz, legendary vulture investor Wilbur Ross and more
    • Looks at how leaders in economics, banking, automobiles, real estate, and retail are not just avoiding the unraveling economy, but actively evolving and growing their businesses
    • Foreword by H. Wayne Huizenga; Afterword by Rudy Giuliani

If you're looking for the way forward through today's business wilderness, Thriving in the New Economy lets you in on how some leaders use challenges not just to survive but thrive.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The world's top business leaders help you survive and thrive in today's economy

These are make-or-break times for business leaders and their organizations. Economic contraction and plummeting consumer confidence have made this a defining moment in the new economy. Whether you're a business owner, a manager, or a team leader—in any industry—you face unprecedented conditions and tough challenges daily.

Thriving in the New Economy gives you a unique look at what some of today's best economic and business minds are doing to stay ahead of the pack. Filled with profiles of top industry leaders, the book offers inspirational personal stories, useful advice, and actionable strategies you can use immediately to skirt financial peril, seize opportunities, and flourish in today's economy.

Take a tour inside the heads of some of the biggest names in business, including:

• Financial publisher Steve Forbes

• Vanguard Group founder Jack Bogle

• Former director of the National Economic Council Larry Lindsey

• Saks CEO Steve Sadove

• Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President Jim Lentz

• Renowned economist David Malpass

• Real estate industry leaders Don Peebles, Richard LeFrak, and Ron Peltier

• And many more!

With a Foreword by H. Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management, Inc., Blockbuster Video, and AutoNation and owner of the Miami Dolphins and with an Afterword by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Thriving in the New Economy offers the kind of business and leadership wisdom you'll find nowhere else. If you're struggling to stay afloat in these rough economic waters, this book offers safe passage—and a competitive advantage.

From the Back Cover

"Thriving in the New Economy is a must-read for anyone who wants to think big. Leaders are people who can look at a crisis and act accordingly. This book has strategies from business leaders who do just that. Lori Ann LaRocco sits down with some of the biggest and brightest minds on Wall Street and has them open up and tell their stories in a compelling, page-turning book."
—DONALD TRUMP, Chairman and President, The Trump Organization

"Lori Ann's book is a fast read and gives some interesting perspectives on the disaster that we're currently coming out of and some predictions for the calamity that we are now facing."
—BERNIE MARCUS, cofounder of Home Depot and Chairman, Marcus Foundation

"A fascinating analysis of the recent American financial markets directly from the mouths of major participants, all of whom are unusually articulate and able to convert complex issues into easily understood concepts. A must-read for both the novice and the professional, yet in a style that makes for easy and enjoyable reading."
—LEONARD STERN, Chairman and CEO, Hartz Group

"Lori Ann LaRocco has edited and written a compendium from a group of successful innovators and investors . . . it is a very worthwhile read. Our thanks to her for doing this."
—John Gutfreund, former CEO, Salomon Brothers and President, Gutfreund & Company

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470557311
• ISBN-13: 978-0470557310
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Excellent Salon, January 8, 2010

By 

James G. Rickards "Writer and economist" (Darien, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thriving in the New Economy: Lessons from Today's Top Business Minds (Hardcover)

Imagine you're friends with some of the most intellectually stimulating and financially successful people in the world and you invited them all to dinner one night. Imagine they came and took turns sharing their greatest insights into the sources of the financial crisis, where we are today and what the best opportunities are going forward. And finally imagine someone could write it all down and get this salon published as a guide for the rest of us. That's pretty much what you've got in Lori Ann LaRocco's new book, "Thriving in the New Economy." The guests in this salon are definitely the "A List" including Larry Lindsey, Wilbur Ross, Rudy Giuliani, Wayne Huizenga, Bob Doll and many others. And the conversation is lively thanks to LaRocco's guest selection, personal relationships and conversational prompts. Larry Lindey tell us that IQ points and academic achievements are not enough to provide good economic stewardship; you need real world market experience and a feel for what markets are actually telling you. He warns against the dangers of cognitive bias and gives us tips for maintaining an objective, analytic approach free of ideological baggage. The contribution of Wilbur Ross is fascinating. We all know the chronology of the meltdown too well from Bear to Lehman to AIG. Ross goes over this ground not just as a simple chronology but by retracing his mental processes as he first minimized dangers in his own portfolio and then maximized opportunities in seeking gems amid the financial wreckage. We each remember what we thought when we heard about AIG but actually getting inside Ross's head for a play-by-play account of how he alerted the CEO's in his existing portfolio companies to cuts costs, cut investments and lower projections and then pivoted to look at the most beaten down sectors - mortgages, monoline insurance and banks - and systematically pulled diamonds out of the dirt is fascinating. It shows how the smart money got that way and how it stays that way. Paul McCulley of PIMCO takes us inside the "new normal". We've all heard about it but McCulley outlines the dynamic tension between capitalism (which he calls efficient but non-democratic) and democracy (which he says is fair but messy) and shows how government is swinging the pendulum toward the latter in ways that have huge implications for investors. The book does not just focus on finance but moves through real estate, retail and manufacturing with the same panache and insight so that we get an overview of the new economy emerging from the crisis of 2007-2009. And Rudy Giuliani reminds us how beaten down New York was by the late 1980's and how leadership and vision can turn around even a seemingly hopeless situation; something to bear in mind as we face hard times ahead. Bravo to Lori Ann LaRocco for using her vision, contacts and savvy to put together this top notch salon in book form which we can all enjoy and learn from. It's as if we're at the table with the smartest and most seasoned operators, but better, because we can turn to this book as a valuable guide time and time again.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This review is from: Thriving in the New Economy: Lessons from Today's Top Business Minds (Hardcover), December 3, 2010

By 

jerry meyer (valley stream, ny, US) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Thriving in the New Economy: Lessons from Today's Top Business Minds (Hardcover)

As a Ph.D. in mathematics, a computer scientist and an investor in equities and currencies,I admit, my economist daughter is likely right--I am a bigger nerd than she. But Lori Ann LaRocco's book is not just for the quant guys, nor the algo gals, but for the everyday Jane or Joe who wants to pick the brains of the greatest business minds of the last four decades. Number crunching is something I am very good at; but, how to look at the big picture, seize the moment, and capitalize on what was potentially the collapse of the world's economies is a lesson that I learned from the 23 great minds that Lori Ann features in her book. Without giving away too much, I was mesmerized by Pimco's Paul McCulley, who not only talks about how to thrive in the new economy but defines the "new normal". Peter Cohen's frank assessment of the Lehman Brother's collapse hints at what I suspect may have happened. Larry Lindsey talks about the challenge to investors as more power is shifted to Washington--the hazards of greater government involvement in business. Vanguard founder Jack Bogel invests one hundred percent of his money in his own funds and shares how it is allocated. Bob Doll admits that we may be in the middle of another "16 year flat period" for equities; while he views inflation not deflation as the greater threat. Not surprising is the accuracy of the predictions that nearly all of these men and women make as to the course of the markets and the economy over the short term and their nearly unanimous optimism over the long term. It was a pleasure to learn from them and the likes of Steve Forbes, Abby Joseph Cohen and Richard LeFrak to name a few. I find myself picking up the book from time to time and rereading some of my favorite passages when I need inspiration.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read, July 6, 2010

By 

Vissa Rammohan "xnareshx" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thriving in the New Economy: Lessons from Today's Top Business Minds (Hardcover)

As a producer of a fast-growing radio show, I've read through many, many books of potential guests looking to get airtime. A majority of the works I receive are fluff and unoriginal. Lori Ann's new book is quite the opposite, however. Clearly, her time at CNBC has served as a valuable tool in expressing her thoughts and information in a clear and coherent manner. "Thriving in the New Economy" gives readers an insight from top experts and leaders who have talked the talk and walked the walk. A must-read masterpieces this is. Enjoyable and loving, insightful and captivating.