Monday 2011-11-07

In Their Time by Anthony Mayo and Nitin Nohria

The Greatest Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century are apparently all Americans in this Harvard Business School-blessed listmania.

aircraft companies in the United States built almost 300,000 planes during the war years. By comparison, the leading American postwar producer of airliners, Boeing, manufactured about 6,000 passenger jets during the entire 30-year period from 1960 to 1990.
-- 1940-1949
Admiral William Halsey, a commander of the South Pacific Allied Fleet, declared that the bulldozer was a primary contributor to winning the war in the Pacific. Bulldozers and tractors were especially crucial to the development of makeshift landing strips throughout the Pacific isles and were used extensively to build military roads...
-- 1940-1949
Unlike many other conglomerates, Teledyne sought mostly privately owned companies that could benefit from an infusion of cash and professional management. Singleton was not satisfied with steady improvement; he sought geometric growth. Despite a very lean corporate staff office, Singleton maintained tight financial controls. As long as company presidents achieved the set financial hurdles, they were allowed to function autonomously. If not, they were summarily removed.
-- 1960-1969