Includes index.

INTRODUCTION:
"Every Day, There Is a New Question"

1
UNDERNEATH IT ALL
1 MISSION AND VALUES
So Much Hot Air About Something So Real 13
2 CANDOR
The Biggest Dirty Little Secret in Business 25
3 DIFFERENTIATION
Cruel and Darwinian? Try Fair and Effective 37
4 VOICE AND DIGNITY
Every Brain in the Game

53
YOUR COMPANY
5 LEADERSHIP
It's Not Just About You 61
6 HIRING
What Winners Are Made Of 81
7 PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
You've Got the Right Players, Now What? 97
8 PARTING WAYS
Letting Go Is Hard to Do 119
9 CHANGE
Mountains Do Move 133
10 CRISIS MANAGEMENT
From Oh-God-No to Yes-We're-Fine

147
YOUR COMPETITION
11 STRATEGY
It's All in the Sauce 165
12 BUDGETING
Reinventing the Ritual 189
13 ORGANIC GROWTH
So You Want to Start Something New 205
14 MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Deal Heat and Other Deadly Sins 217
15 SIX SIGMA
Better Than a Trip to the Dentist

245
YOUR CAREER
16 THE RIGHT JOB
Find It and You'll Never Really Work Again 255
17 GETTING PROMOTED
Sorry, No Shortcuts 277
18 HARD SPOTS
That Damn Boss 299
19 WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Having It All (But Were Afraid to Hear)

313
TYING UP LOOSE ENDS
20 HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE
The Questions That Almost Got Away

339
Acknowledgments 360
Index 363

True to his style, Welch gets right to the point in the first chapter. He talks about how words like “mission” and “values” are overrated and misunderstood in business. An effectual mission statement will primarily answer one question – How do you plan to win in this business? This question alone can help companies figure out how to prevent pitfalls and understand their weaknesses and strengths to strive forward effortlessly. It’s about balancing the possible and the impossible. Most companies forget their mission statements and deviate from their plans only to encounter disaster in the future. Therefore, defining a real purpose or mission must be of prime importance for the company, and even if it takes time, the result will be worth it.