The Ten Commandments for Business Failure - Donald R. Keough

The Ten Commandments for Business Failure - Donald R. Keough

Learn to recognize pitfalls that lead to bankruptcy and manage them effectively through 10 behaviors that a business leader should avoid.

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There is a very effective way to make your company fail: just follow the "10 Commandments for Business Failure", described by author Donald R. Keough.

In a good-humored and coherent way, he narrates historical business cases that went bankrupt, in order to make his readers learn from these mistakes and avoid repeating them.

Believe me, the teachings for you to fail will be more beneficial than many books that claim to unlock success.

Want to know more? So continue reading this PocketBook and learn to recognize and escape the pitfalls of the business world!

About the book "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure"

In the book "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure" (2010), the author, Donald Keough, presents us with a set of 10 guidelines on the most common mistakes a business leader should avoid.

The book shows how to recognize the pitfalls and what to do to effectively circumvent them.

The author promises not to be like books that reveal secrets to success, as he presents content based on historical facts, with his ideas and experiences, presenting all this in an amazing and humorous way.

About the author Donald R. Keough

Donald R. Keough was born in 1926 and he got a degree from Creighton University and Clark University. He was an Irish-American businessman and served on the board of directors of large organizations such as McDonald's, Washington Post Company and Home Depot.

Keough retired in 1993 in the Coca-Cola Company, where he was chief operating officer and chairman. Shortly after he retired, he became chairman of the investment bank Allen & Company.

To whom is this book indicated?

The content of the book is ideal for organizations and their leaders who already have a level of success. So if you are making good sales and profiting a lot, be careful, after all you have to be stand to fall, and the higher the bigger the fall.

In addition, the book can serve both for you who are about to grow up and for you that want to take action to avoid failure. However, the book is for you who are in ruins and want to avoid what is destroying your company.

Main ideas of the book "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure"

  • Who has great caution, gets little accomplishment;
  • Unsatisfied people tend to "win" the world;
  • Risk is not to take risks;
  • Have a good network;
  • Success has nothing to do with speed, but failure has.
  • Play in the middle of the field;
  • Eliminate tasks and processes that do not add value and are time consuming;
  • An optimist in a sea of pessimists can make all the difference.

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[Book Summary] The Ten Commandments for Business Failure - Donald R. Keough

Overview: Stop Taking Risks

According to Donald Keough, every cautious person in excess, does few things. The ideal is that we must prudent risk the assets of the company so it stays sustainability in the future.

In this way, we have to leave our comfortable position and be willing to change, to see dissatisfaction and questioning in order to adapt to changes in the market, and the changes of the customer, the economy and technology.

Overview: Be Inflexible

People are so sure of themselves and believe they already have the formula for success that they do not listen to anything else and can not see and do things differently.

Donald sees enormous importance in wanting to change the strategy or process when it is no longer working and/or failed. And for survival it is crucial to adapt quickly to change, and this is only achieved by a flexibilization with a continuous and thoughtful process.

Overview: Insulate yourself

According to the book "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure", if you remain confident, but at the same time, you are usually isolated and do not like to communicate, this probably reflects the ignorance of your own business and your life.

Great leaders understand everything about the market, their competitors, their customers, and they have an incredible ability to meet and relate to their employees at all levels. They go in search of the truth and questions of what they do and do not know.

That way, create your executive bubble of good relationships. Currently, networking is one of the most valuable things and we can get great results.

Overview: Believe You Are Foolproof

To fail you just need to ignore your problems and put the blame on outside forces. If you want to make things worst, you just have to strongly believe that you are always perfect in your judgment and ignoring the fact of people know things you don't.

For the author, a successful leader is one who identifies the need to recognize and propose solutions to mistakes, this is the best way to move forward, recognize reality and win opportunities.

Overview: Play near the penalty line

All business is about trust. Everyone involved in the supply chain trusts everyone.

If you play near the penalty line will not inspire confidence on the part of your clients and/or employees and you will fail. Worry about doing the right things.

Overview: Do not Stop Thinking

Many corporate failures that happen could have been avoided if you had thought through the consequences of your decisions.

We must act rightly, but in some cases in the excitement of a particular venture when the game is going on we are totally hostage to the emotion.

The great teaching that Donald R. Keough conveys is:

"If you want to fail, do not waste time thinking. If you want to succeed, take plenty of time to think. Thought is the best investment you will make in your company, in your career, in your life."

Overview: Love the bureaucracy

Rules and routines are essential to the organization's progress, but in some cases they become more important than the purpose for which the company was designed.

They are meetings to plan meetings, piles of emails being accumulated and failure being guaranteed, after all many activities are inserted in the process that do not add value and demand time.

According to the author, the leaner your team, the better. Also, every change in your business has to answer the question: does it help you create and serve customers? Well, we should focus on factors that matter.

Overview: Be Afraid of the Future

Being cautious is not a crime, but when it becomes frequent and desired in a business, it can precipitate failure. Also, by focusing on failures often, your attitudes will change and you will become paralyzing.

If you want to succeed, approach the future with lots of passion and rational optimism, that will make all the difference.

Overview: Lose a Passion for Work and Life

Keough says he never met a successful person who did not reveal his love for what he accomplished. In addition, he reported a lot about wanting to find out every day what your customer expects from your business.

So the author's tip is for you to find out what you like to do and then the way you do it. But you need to focus your heart and mind on your customers, dreams, employees and brands.

What do other authors say about it?

In the book of the Brazilian businessman Flávio Augusto, "Value Generation", he shows how rather than just working for capital how important it is to generate value for customers. By generating value in other people's lives, in return they will generate value for you.

In the book "Sonho Grande", the author Cristiane Correa reports that the risks are essential to obtain extraordinary results. In addition, it counts on the quote of Jorge Paulo Lemann that says "the greater risk is not to risk".

Finally, in the book "Winning", Jack Welch addresses that we should always seek quality in our professional life. If you are not satisfied with your job, find a job that provides enthusiasm in your career. It is very important that you do not settle and leave the comfort zone.

But when looking for a job, analyze the company as a whole: team, tasks, salary, career plan and more. When starting a new job, try to surpass all expectations and always give your best.

Okay, but how can I apply this to my life?

Now you already know about the commandments that result in a business failure, this can help your businesses not to fail.

That way, you have to be alert if some of the commandments appear in your business and try to extinguish it quickly, eliminating the loss of capital.

Remember that intelligent people, that is, true leaders, may even make big mistakes, but they never get stuck in failure. Although they fall, they always find a way to get up and walk.

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Book 'The Ten Commandments for Business Failure'.