Customer Reviews

Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I honestly had no idea, not the beginning of a notion, of all that has to go on to bring off an Olympic games. Somehow, it seemed to me that these kinds of events have been put on for almost a century. I assumed that the bugs had been worked out and that everyone knew what they were doing, that the funding was well assured, and that there was more or less a well-known road map. In reality, it turns out, that each of Olympics is pretty much a one of a kind; build it all over again kind of thing.

And talk about bureaucracy! There is the International Olympic Committee, each nations Olympic Committee (in our case the USOC), and the hosting site's committee (for the 2002 Winter Games it was the Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC). These all work to cooperate, of course, but they all also have competing interests that make for some very difficult negotiations.

Add to that the unfortunate scandal that broke out over how the games were awarded to Salt Lake (and other previous hosting sites) and you have a situation few would want to take on. However, Mitt Romney was at a perfect stage in his life with an ethos of service long held in his family, and was just ignorant enough of what he was taking on to accept the plea for his help. He also had the management and financial credentials, political skills (and connections), as well as a superb understanding of turning around troubled organizations.

For those of us who love to read about business and how various situations are analyzed and managed, this is a superb read. If you are interested in learning about how an Olympics game is put together, funded, made safe, and ready for sport, this is also a wonderfully done book. However, don't expect to read about the games themselves here. Mr. Romney does have a few stories about the athletes that he feels represent the best spirit of the games and I think he has chosen well.

There is one chapter on the Mormon Church and the games. Rumor and speculation has made it much more than it really was and I am glad that Mr. Romney took the space and time to set the record straight. I was also impressed with all the people, banks, and corporations who stepped up and funded the games to get them done right. And I was also happy that Mr. Romney and his team performed so brilliantly that they were actually able to return millions of dollars to the Federal Government.

A good read for a number of reasons. Pulling off the 2002 Winter Games was a tremendous feat and deserves to be documented. I only saw them on TV and even there it was spectacularly done.

I was living in the SLC area during the entire Olympic Saga. I watched with great interest as the SLC Olympic tides turned from
crazy chaos and drama to a great swelling of community pride and
enthusiasm toward the Olympics, which ended in a grand culmination of a job done with great excellence and excitement. This tide change began and kept growing stronger and stronger upon the arrival on the scene of one man: Mitt Romnmey!

I've wondered many times, "How did Mitt do the wonderful things he did for the SLOC games to make them end with such success? The book "Turnaround" gives us all the answers to that question and more. From marketing and promotions to generating sponsors and procuring funding, to creating a new, proactive culture for the entire organization, Mitt was focused, determined and exhibited other astounding abilities as he faced the Olympic challenges with creativity, enthusiasm and insight. All of this comes through the pages of this book to the reader.

In fact,there are plenty of references in the book to the steps that were taken to solve the many challenges within the big challenge of the Olympics. Because of this, I think one of the names that would work for this book could be, "The Nuts and Bolts of Ordering Chaos into Resounding Success".(Hey, maybe they should sell it at Home Depot also!) Of course, we'd also need to combine the above book with a book on how to achieve the energy,intelligence and insight Mitt used as he carefully applied all the other steps toward creating Olympic success.
However,we don't in fact need two books because by reading both the written words and "between the lines" of "Turnaround", all aspects of the success of the Olympics become perfectly clear, and it also becomes obvious that Mitt was the lightening rod for it all to happen like it did.

This book is a fascinating read for anyone who is facing a huge,
seemily overwhelming challenge in their life, and I highly recommend it!

My perspective on this book comes from over 20 years in the sports marketing business, including having been tutored and educated by perhaps the best in the business, Commissioner David Stern of the NBA. My view also comes from having been a member of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games staff (SLOC) beginning in 1997. I was hired by Tom Welch. I worked with Dave Johnson. I lived through Tom's departure in 1997. I lived through the eruption of the bid scandal in 1998 and the ensuing departures of Frank Joklik and Dave Johnson, as well as the hire of Mitt Romney. All the while, it was my job, along with teammates such as Mark Lewis (OPUS/SLOC) and Chris Sullivan (USOC) to sell Games and US Team sponsorships. Not an easy task in 1999.

With regards to the Games and the impact Mitt had, as well as his account of that experience in his book, Turnaround, and having now read the book, my perspective has taught me this: Mitt is the real deal.

It would be hard to describe the seige mentality, the state of mind and the fragile psyche of the SLOC staff upon his arrival. The only reason people came to work was that it was like a bad accident--you just had to see what would happen next. All that changed, albeit not overnight, with Mitt's arrival and his leadership, management philosophy (much of which is noted in Turnaround), vision, integrity, enthusiasm, and relentless energy to raise everyone's game. What you got in Mitt was a guy that knew the quickest way to success was to make everyone around him successful. He did not need the job...the job came after him. It was not about the money, it was not about the fame, it was not about trying to become an IOC member someday. With certain personal ties to Salt Lake City, with a sense that what Utah and United States did not need was failed games, and with a sense of mission, he felt it was what he was supposed to do.

The book takes you inside the Rings and tells the story of a guy who said, "Climb on my back and I will take you to the promised land." And did.

If you have an interest in the Olympic Games and the Salt Lake Games in particular, or, if you want to learn some key lessons about turning a company or effort around, Turnaround is a good read. Or, any maybe of more interest, if you want to learn about and get a sense for a guy who really knows what he is doing, and who does it in a way that lifts everyone around him, Turnaround is worth your time.

Don Stirling

Mitt Romney's book gives a great insider account of the Olympic games. I would never have known how much work went into making the event safe! I heard some friends talking about it and thought it would just be another political type book and I wouldnt like it, but I tried it out and was happily suprised that it was written with so much heart and learned alot about the games. I will now be recommending this book to my friends too.

Mitt Romney has seemed to always have success when put in difficult situations where others would fail. This book is a detailed example of how he is able to turnaround a whole organization. Everyone would enjoy and apply the information learned from this book. I highly recommend it!

Having worked for SLOC, I can honestly state that the Games would not have achieved their success without Mitt Romney. He is a man of true vision and leadership.

Good book with an interesting perspective on what really happened in making the Games.

There was more than one paragraph where I had to put the book down and just kind of smile and sob a little bit - where the emotions of centuries of history and exceptional human performance were brought out in the clarity of a single, short sentence -

Some excellent business school case studies could be written about the many mini-turnarounds within the big turn-around, and if turnarounds were an Olympic sport, Mitt and his team just pulled a Mark Spitz. A true testament to the results that can be produced when a large and diverse group of people come together under a charismatic leader with a focused objective.

There aren't a whole lot of examples in today's world that I can point out to my kids and say - "Now there's a righteous dude who's doing amazing things in the world." With the success of such a monumental turnaround, I'm left wondering what can we accomplish if we all work together under an inspired leader?

Now - Mitt isn't perfect. Yet, anyway. There were a few minor typos in the book that I'm sure have him a little hot under the collar, but probably weren't picked up because a proofreader wasn't part of the initial budget! :-)

Highly recommended to anyone interested in bettering their business, their community, their family, and themselves -

Amazing what Mitt Romney can do with numbers. If in doubt, do without. He pulled the 2002 winter games off on a no frills budget and turned a scandal into a triumph.

It seems he gets so much grief just because he is a Mormon, but I'm amazed at what he can do and mostly impressed by his get up and go, can do attitude. His wife says he loves emergencies and crisis situations of any kind. He turns the financing of the games from a huge millions of dollars deficit into a millions of dollars profit. Throughout the whole crisis leading up to the games, he made it the mission of the whole team to be honest and forthright with each other and the public. It's blatantly apparent that he always makes an honest million and demands integrity of his team whoever they be. This book was truly inspirational in many ways. If you don't want to read the book or even hate Mitt Romney, at least read the "Prologue" and the first chapter. I love the story of the American flag from the World Trade Center bombing being brought into the Olympic stadium during opening ceremonies. It's really awesome!

There have been other budget inversions in our nation's history. The most remarkable one happened on the eve of this country's founding and was repaired by Alexander Hamilton, our nation's first Treasury Secretary. That tale is best told by Forrest McDonald in his biography of Hamilton.

These are great stories and must reads for government financiers!

I found the book engaging and informative. Moreover, we are using it as the core of the current leadership study for our department's management staff for North America and Japan.

Romney's turnaround methods are hightly applicable to any organization needing wholesale change or incremental improvement.

I was energized and inspired by Mitt Romney's book "Turnaround" to be more of a "doer" instead of just a "talker" in my personal life concerning the things that are important to me. I think any reader of this book would have to admit that this guy has shown incredible energy, intelligence, focus and discipline as he's accomplished the goals he sets for himself.I mean,how many people do any of us know who would be willing to step into a huge scandal on a worldwide scale and transform it into an event that everyone has reason to be proud of in the end? Hey, whatever else you might say about Mitt, you have to admit that he "walks his talk"!