Hardball

In this summary you will learn

• Why a winner-take-all attitude is essential in business
• How you can influence the competition’s strategy
• How to emerge victorious while maintaining your integrity and morality

getAbstract rating

Why you should read Hardball

Being a winner in business means acting like a winner. That requires having an aggressive mindset, not settling for second best and recognizing opportunity. Not every company or executive has the stomach to play hardball. Kicking an opponent when he’s down, reneging on a compromise or having to make decisions that your managers will hate is never easy. But the business landscape is littered with the skeletons of companies that settled for "good, not great," only to be blindsided by competitors who played for keeps. Authors George Stalk and Rob Lachenauer clearly believe that "nice guy" and "business leader" live in different worlds and although some of their "hardball" tactics aren’t all that tough or fresh, some clearly are. They say you have two basic choices: be the predator or the prey. getAbstract recommends this book to those who want to be the boss beast in that jungle out there.

About the Authors

George Stalk, co-author of Competing Against Time, is the senior vice president of a strategy consulting group. Rob Lachenauer is the CEO of a technology consultancy.