Turning Lead into Gold: The Demystification of Outsourcing (Hardcover)

by Peter Bendor-Samuel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Delves into the depths of this broad business practice. Vital primer for prospective buyers to know outsourcing intricacies, practices, and pitfalls. Fascinating, vivid case examples like Waterford, General Dynamics, and Microsoft. -- Stephen T. McClellan, CFA, Merrill Lynch Corporate Strategy & Research

Peter provides a clear view of outsourcing and projects a path to the new business environment of the future. -- —Mitsuyo Hanada, Ph.D., Chairman, Strategic Outsourcing Council, Japan

Peter provides a clear view of outsourcing and projects a path to the new business environment of the future. I strongly recommend you read this book and practice his ideas. -- Mitsuyo Hanada, PH.D., Chairman, Strategic Outsourcing Council, Japan

Thank you Peter Bendor-Samuel for our perceptive work, which makes outsourcing a realistic option for organizations. -- —Rita Terdiman, VP and Research Director, The Gartner Group

Product Description
Outsourcing has unparalleled power to generate value and wealth for those who learn to apply its principles effectively. Yet, the pitfalls are many and deep for those who outsource without first taking the time to understand its underlying principles. Shrouded in mystery, outsourcing has been a source of confusion and frustration for many executives. Now for the first time, the principles of outsourcing have been clearly explained and illustrated in Turning Lead into Gold. Peter Bendor-Samuel, a world-renowned outsourcing authority, shares his insights on how and why outsourcing works, and how it can work for your organization. He presents documented evidence of success with examples from the real-life experience of major corporations, including EDS, IBM, AT&T, British Petroleum, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, J.P. Morgan & Co., Andersen Consulting, and JCPenney, among others.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 249 pages
• Publisher: Executive Excellence Publishing; 1 edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890009873
• ISBN-13: 978-1890009878
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,124,641 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Pre-marital Manual for Would-be Outsourcing Allies!, December 6, 2000

By	Joe Santana (Henderson,, NV United States) - See all my reviews

Turning Lead into Gold is a valuable piece of work for buyers as well as sellers of outsourcing. It clearly presents how this modern form of business alchemy turns operations that drain resources from companies into generators of value.

The hard statistics are accompanied by easy to understand case studies and explanations. I highly recommend it as a `must read" for both parties to an outsourcing relationship as "pre-marital" counseling manual that will promote more successful and profitable alliances.

Thank you Peter Bendor-Samuel.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening, educational and entertaining, December 8, 2000

By	beth ellyn rosenthal (Dallas TX) - See all my reviews

As the founder of probably the smallest corporation in America, (Meltdown International Inc.), I don't have the resources, time or knowledge to do everything well. The only way companies of any size can survive and thrive in today's changing business world is to outsource acitivities that don't pay the light bill or distinguish themselves in the global marketplace.

But how do you do this? Giving away important processes like finance and accounting to an outsourcing provider is scary. This book gave me the courage and the confidence to outsource. It told me what to do, what NOT to do, and what to watch out for. It gave me clear guidelines on pricing going into a relationship and how to police performance during the life of the contract. It also gave me a blueprint for handling disputes because they do come up.

I now outsource my finance and accounting to a provider 10 minutes from my office. (I want face to face chats about my money!)I also outsource my Web development and hosting to a company in the Philippines that does terrific work at a remarkably reasonable rate. I would never have even considered an offshore supplier if I hadn't read this book. It helped me understand the whole planet is now a source of suppliers.

The author's premise is that companies today have no option but to outsource. I have found in my own experience that is certainly true. I had no idea of how to go about it. If in doubt, read! This book was the perfect primer for a newcomer like me.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Turning Lead Into Gold: The Demystification of Outsourcing, November 12, 2000

By A Customer

Throughout all business media, everyone is talking about usingoutsourcing to enable companies to be competitive in today'smarketplace. But this is the only book that really explains exactlyhow to do it successfully. Whether your company is large or smalllike ours, you will benefit greatly by reading this book by PeterBendor-Samuel. He makes something with underlying complexities becomesimple to understand. He includes case studies and charts toillustrate his points. I have heard Mr. Bendor-Samuel speak atconferences, and I regularly visit his .... web site for informationabout outsourcing. But this book is the ultimate guide. He starts withinformation about whether or not outsourcing is the right strategy fora company, then he explains how to structure the relationship, thecontractual documents, how to know whether the price is right. Fromreading this book, I now know the hazardous areas to avoid and alsohow to successfully maintain an ongoing relationship with asupplier. This book will help me make very important businessdecisions, and I probably would have made the wrong decisions if I hadnot read it. END