In the popular imagination, the business media, and the schools of business and management that train new generations of entrepreneurs and executives, achieving extraordinary success in business is attributed to far-sighted individuals who have taken bold risks, provided innovative leadership, and introduced new products, services, or ideas superior to those of the competition. Amid the growing skepticism about the means by which vast amounts of wealth are accumulated and its consequences, however, this belief is long overdue for reevaluation. In From Predators to Icons, Michel Villette, a sociologist, and Catherine Vuillermot, a business historian, examine the careers of thirty-two of today's wealthiest global executives--including Warren Buffett, Ingvar Kamprad, Bernard Arnault, Jim Clark, and Richard Branson--in order to challenge the conventional explanations for their extreme success and come to a better understanding of modern business practices. In contrast to the familiar image of the entrepreneur as a visionary with a plan, Villette and Vuillermot instead discover a far less dramatic process of improvised adaptations gradually assembled into a coherent course of conduct. And rather than being risk-takers, those who are most successful in business are risk-minimizers. Huge gains, these case studies reveal, are most reliably obtained in circumstances where the entrepreneur has established careful provisions for risk reduction. As for the view that innovation makes success possible, the authors find that because innovation is an expensive process that takes a long time to produce profits, innovators first of all require capital; success makes innovation possible. The necessary resources, they show, are most often derived from what they provocatively term "predation" ruthlessly taking advantage of imperfections, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities within the market or among competitors. Finally, From Predator to Icon considers the "practical ethics" implemented during the phase in which capital is most rapidly accumulated, as well as the social consequences of these activities. Drawing on interviews with some of their subjects and, crucially, close readings of the authorized biographies and other hagiographic accounts of these figures, which eliminates the bias of malicious interpretations, Villette and Vuillermot provide revelatory insights about the creation and maintenance of business wealth that will be profitably read by both the captains and the critics of contemporary capitalism.

When Captain Christopher Newport and his crew landed on the muddy banks of the James River in 1607, after four months at sea, they aimed to establish a new colony not for God, or the greater good of humanity—but for the sake of profit. The Pilgrims who settled in Cape Cod in 1620 as agents of Plymouth Company found evidence of divine election in the fortunes they accumulated from a lucrative system of town-founding in the New World. The innovative and often ruthless entrepreneurs who followed these colonists carved out the immense North American frontier wilderness from the Atlantic Ocean to the golden sands of the California coast, and they forged industrial and technological revolutions that shook the world. New Seeds of Profit examines the role of business leaders, from George Washington to Donald Trump, in shaping the United States into a business nation unlike any other in world history. By tracing the influence of industry and commerce on American society through portraits of successful entrepreneurs, this book sheds light on the esteemed place Americans reserve for their wealthiest business leaders—and it measures the true cost of that adulation by demonstrating how enterprise driven solely by the bottom line imperils people and the environment. In a story teeming with the heroes and villains of enterprise, New Seeds of Profit offers an innovative business model that provides meaningful work to employees and socially responsible returns to investors, while encouraging sustainable stewardship of the earth and advancing the common good.

Cities are always changing: streets, infrastructure, public spaces, and buildings are constantly being built, improved, demolished, and replaced. But even when a new project is designed to improve a community, neighborhood residents often find themselves at odds with the real estate developer who proposes it. Savvy developers are willing to work with residents to allay their concerns and gain public support, but at the same time, a real estate development is a business venture financed by private investors who take significant risks. In How Real Estate Developers Think, Peter Hendee Brown explains the interests, motives, and actions of real estate developers, using case studies to show how the basic principles of development remain the same everywhere even as practices vary based on climate, local culture, and geography. An understanding of what developers do and why they do it will help community members, elected officials, and others participate more productively in the development process in their own communities. Based on interviews with over a hundred people involved in the real estate development business in Chicago, Miami, Portland (Oregon), and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, How Real Estate Developers Think considers developers from three different perspectives. Brown profiles the careers of individual developers to illustrate the character of the entrepreneur, considers the roles played by innovation, design, marketing, and sales in the production of real estate, and examines the risks and rewards that motivate developers as people. Ultimately, How Real Estate Developers Think portrays developers as creative visionaries who are able to imagine future possibilities for our cities and communities and shows that understanding them will lead to better outcomes for neighbors, communities, and cities.

Imagine what Atari might have achieved if Steve Jobs had stayed there to develop the first massmarket personal computer. Or what Steve Case might have done for PepsiCo if he hadn’t left for a gaming start-up that eventually became AOL. What if Salomon Brothers had kept Michael Bloomberg, or Bear Stearns had exploited the inventive ideas of Stephen Ross? Scores of top-tier entrepreneurs worked for established corporations before they struck out on their own and became self-made billionaires. People like Mark Cuban, John Paul DeJoria, Sara Blakely, and T. Boone Pickens all built businesses—in some cases, multiple businesses—that are among today’s most iconic brands. This fact raises two profound questions: Why couldn’t their former employers hang on to to these extraordinarily talented people? And why are most big companies unable to create as much new value as the world’s roughly 800 self-made billionaires? John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen decided to look more closely at self-made billionaires because creating $1 billion or more in value is an incredible feat. Drawing on extensive research and interviews, the authors concluded that many of the myths perpetuated about billionaires are simply not true. These billionaires aren’t necessarily smarter, harder working, or luckier than their peers. They aren’t all prodigies, crossing the billionaire finish line in their twenties. Nor, most of the time, do they create something brand-new: More than 80 percent of the billionaires in the research sample earned their billions in highly competitive industries. The key difference is what the authors call the “Producer” mind-set, in contrast with the far more pervasive “Performer” mind-set. Performers strive to excel in well-defined areas, and are important. But Producers are critical to any company looking to create massive value because they redefine what’s possible, rather than simply meeting preexisting goals and standards. Combining sound judgment with imaginative vision, Producers think up entirely new products, services, strategies, and business models. Big companies tend to reward Performers and discourage the unconventional ways of Producers. But it’s the latter who integrate multiple ideas, perspectives, and actions, and who trust their insights enough to make game-changing bets. This book breaks down the five critical habits of mind of massive value-creators, so you can learn how to identify, encourage, and retain such individuals—and maybe even become one yourself. The Self-made Billionaire Effect will forever change the way you think about talent and business value. In honor of The Self-Made Billionaire Effect purchases, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is making a significant contribution to DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that connects public school teachers in need of classroom materials and experiences with individual donors who want to help. PwC's gift will support financial literacy projects around the country.

The Deluxe Edition of The Self-made Billionaire Effect includes seven videos of authors John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen expanding on the book’s themes and their findings, along with behind-the-scenes insights into what makes self-made billionaires unique.A study of self-made billionaires reveals the key distinction between “producers” and “performers” There are about 800 self-made billionaires in the world today. What enables this elite group to create truly massive value, and what can the rest of us learn from them? John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen set out to answer this question with the first systematic study of 120 self-made billionaires, including extensive interviews with icons like Steve Case, Mark Cuban, and T. Boone Pickens, Jr. The authors conclude that self-made billionaires aren't necessarily smarter, harder working, or luckier than their peers. The key difference is what they call the “producer” mindset, in contrast to the far more common “performer” mindset. Performers strive to excel in well-defined areas, and they are essential to any company. But producers are even more valuable because they redefine what's possible, rather than simply meeting pre-existing goals and standards. Producers think up entirely new products, services, strategies, and business models, with dramatic results. This book offers fresh stories and insights into producers' habits of mind. It also provides corporate leaders with a new approach to selecting and managing breakthrough talent, and advice about innovation and value creation for aspiring leaders or entrepreneurs.

Rational leadership inspires confidence by capably using appropriate rational means, as described in the first edition of Rational Leadership. Now a second, updated edition has added eight new chapters and has looked at redevelopment as well as development. The book highlights these two important versions of rational leadership, where a rational leader is either developing or redeveloping a business corporation. Part One presents eight cases of rational leaders who have developed iconic corporations. These best-practice leaders include Sam Walton of Walmart, Meg Whitman of eBay, and Jeff Bezos of Amazon. In all eight cases, the leaders used appropriate adaptive, calculative, and deliberative methods to develop their corporations. In Part Two the authors shift the focus from development to redevelopment. Part Two presents five classic cases of rational leaders redeveloping - remedially renewing - problematic corporations. The leaders include Lou Gerstner of IBM and Steve Jobs of Apple. In all five cases the leaders used appropriate organizational tools, which transformed, reoriented, or hybridized the corporation. Both Part Two and Part One also present supplementary cases of other rational leaders developing or redeveloping a corporation. These leaders include Sheryl Sandberg, Marcel Dassault, Giorgio Armani, Anita Roddick, Satya Nadella, Carly Fiorina, Marissa Mayer, and Jack Welch. In total the authors present more than twenty supplementary or main cases of rational leadership. Most of these case studies are based on a leader's memoir and leader's-eye view, validated by additional biographical and historical sources.

This book presents a wide range of tools and techniques used in entrepreneurial finance in emerging markets. Among them, venture capital is perhaps the best known, understood, and researched mode of entrepreneurial finance. However, a significant focus of the book is dedicated to other modes of entrepreneurial finance such as ‘bootstrapping,’ angel financing, bank financing, and other alternative means of financing, which could include government assistance programs, business incubation, technology parks, or family financing. In addition, the book highlights how new and innovative financial technologies (comprised of software, business processes, and other modern technologies), known under the term of FinTech, may support, enable, and enhance the provision of different modes of entrepreneurial finance in emerging markets. The book also discusses entrepreneurial finance in emerging markets in the context of women entrepreneurs. A comprehensive analysis of entrepreneurial finance in emerging market countries, this book will appeal to academics, researchers, and students of entrepreneurial finance, venture capital and private equity, entrepreneurship, and international business.