CONTENTS: Charters and Chartered Corporations -- The Hanseatic League -- Regulated and Joint Stock Companies The Merchants of the Staple The Fraternity (Brotherhood) of St. Thomas B Becket, Later Called the Company of the Merchant Adventurers of England The Russia Company The Eastland Company The Turkey (Levant) Company The East India Company (1600-1858) The Hudson Bay Company The Virginia and New England Companies and Provincial Charters Summary Account of the Guinea (Royal African) and Minor Chartered Companies

For an extraordinary fifty-seven-year period, the chief executives of the International Business Machines Corporation were Thomas J. Watson and Thomas J. Watson, father and son. IBM bears the imprint of both men -- their ambitions and their strengths -- but it also bears the consequences of a family that was in near-constant conflict.

Eminent historian Richard S. Tedlow explores the interplay between the personalities of these two extraordinary men and the firm they created. Both Watsons had deeply held beliefs about what a corporation is and should be. These ideas helped make "Big Blue" the bluest of blue-chip stocks during their tenure. These very ideals, however, also sowed the seeds for IBM's disasters in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the company had lost sight of the original meaning behind many of the practices each man put into place.

This book on the legal and regulatory framework for UK businesses came to be written as a compilation in a single volume of several legal topics that businesses need to be aware of. "Legal and Regulatory Framework: For Business in the UK" brings together in a single place the legal requirements for business and is intended to serve as an introduction to the subject. It is hoped that business people will find it flavourful and readable.

This reprint of a classic work, originally published in 1878, documents the experience of a number of attempts to set up utopian "communistic" communities in America. It includes Shakers, the Amana community, Oneida, Ephrat, Harmonists, Robert Owen, the Perfectionists, and many others.

""They're still trying to hide the weenie," thought Sherron Watkins as she read a newspaper clipping about Enron two weeks before Christmas, 2001. . . It quoted CFO] Jeff McMahon addressing the company's creditors and cautioning them against a rash judgment. "Don't assume that there is a smoking gun."
Sherron knew Enron well enough to know that the company was in extreme spin mode...
Power Failure" is the electrifying behind-the-scenes story of the collapse of Enron, the high-flying gas and energy company touted as the poster child of the New Economy that, in its hubris, had aspired to be "The World's Leading Company," and had briefly been the seventh largest corporation in America.
Written by prizewinning journalist Mimi Swartz, and substantially based on the never-before-published revelations of former Enron vice-president Sherron Watkins, as well as hundreds of other interviews, "Power Failure" shows the human face beyond the greed, arrogance, and raw ambition that fueled the company's meteoric rise in the late 1990s. At the dawn of the new century, Ken Lay's and Jeff Skilling's faces graced the covers of business magazines, and Enron's money oiled the political machinery behind George W. Bush's election campaign. But as Wall Street analysts sang Enron's praises, and its stock spiraled dizzyingly into the stratosphere, the company's leaders were madly scrambling to manufacture illusory profits, hide its ballooning debt, and bully Wall Street into buying its fictional accounting and off-balance-sheet investment vehicles. The story of Enron's fall is a morality tale writ large, performed on a stage with an unforgettable array of props and side plots, from parking lots overflowing with Boxsters and BMWs to hot-house office affairs and executive tantrums.
Among the cast of characters Mimi Swartz and Sherron Watkins observe with shrewd Texas eyes and an insider's perspective are: CEO Ken Lay, Enron's "outside face," who was more interested in playing diplomat and paving the road to a political career than in managing Enron's high-testosterone, anything-goes culture; Jeff Skilling, the mastermind behind Enron's mercenary trading culture, who transformed himself from a nerdy executive into the personification of millennial cool; Rebecca Mark, the savvy and seductive head of Enron's international division, who was Skilling's sole rival to take over the company; and Andy Fastow, whose childish pranks early in his career gave way to something far more destructive. Desperate to be a player in Enron's deal-making, trader-oriented culture, Fastow transformed Enron's finance department into a "profit center," creating a honeycomb of financial entities to bolster Enron's "profits," while diverting tens of millions of dollars into his own pockets
An unprecedented chronicle of Enron's shocking collapse, "Power Failure" should take its place alongside the classics of previous decades - "Barbarians at the Gate" and "Liar's Poker" - as one of the cautionary tales of our times.

"From the Hardcover edition."

"Over the last few decades, advances by African-Americans in the business world have been both impressive and well-documented. But even a cursory glance at the statistics -- not to mention a look around most corporations -- reveals that, despite much progress, minority executives are still relatively few and far between.

Whether in the form of insensitivity, change-averse corporate cultures, socio-economic factors, or outright racism, African-Americans still face very real obstacles along the path to professional success. To many, these obstacles have seemed insurmountable, and their careers have foundered. But to thousands of others, these challenges have been an invitation to excel, and their accomplishments have been worthy of both praise and emulation.

Cracking the Corporate Code delves deeply into the lives and careers of 32 such notable professionals. These are not the men and women usually cited: the high-profile government officials, the legendary civil rights pioneers, or the megastar athletes who have leveraged their on-field success into positions of leadership. The authors have chosen instead to profile individuals who have risen through the ranks of America's most noteworthy businesses, to the highest echelons of corporate power and influence.

In exclusive, eye-opening interviews, these men and women recount their impressive and widely differing career trajectories, revealing what motivated and discouraged them, their sources of support and conflict, and the strategies they developed to excel in organizations like PepsiCo, GE, Merrill Lynch, Kraft, Prudential, Chrysler, and dozens more.

Rather than offer these inspiring stories as individual biographies, the authors have identified their common threads, analyzing what they reveal to the reader about:

* Reconciling the ambiguities inherent for black professionals in corporate culture

* Trusting your own abilities and potential while managing the ever-present issue of race

* Overcoming isolation to establish not only your place in the organization but also a voice that will be heard and respected

* Reading the unwritten rules and developing the ""sixth sense"" necessary to play the game

*Cultivating and managing the relationships that will be crucial to securing more meaningful and influential positions

* Understanding what true power is, how to compete for and acquire it, and how to translate it into substantial leadership

Opportunities for success abound for African-Americans. For the last 40 years, the best of the best have been stepping up to seize -- and often create -- those opportunities. The next generation of black professionals will travel the paths blazed by the pioneers profiled in this landmark book, and will be poised to achieve even greater results--while continuing the legacy of diversity for the generations yet to come.

Price M. Cobbs, M.D., is co-author of Black Rage and The Jesus Bag, considered classics in the literature of African-American experience. Dr. Cobbs is also an internationally recognized expert on executive leadership, management development, and corporate diversity. He lives in San Francisco.

Judith L. Turnock is an attorney, coach, and talent development expert. A lifelong advocate of racial, gender, and economic equality, she is committed to closing the communication gap between blacks and whites, both in the workplace and in the community at large. She lives in New York City.

HARDCOVER JACKET COPY--BACK COVER

General Business

Cracking the Corporate Code

The Revealing Success Stories of 32 African-American Executives

Price M. Cobbs and Judith L. Turnock

"The subtext of black executives' experiences from 1965 to today is the enormous progress corporate America has already made. At the same time, it is obvious how much work remains to be done. Cracking the Corporate Code will speed up the forward momentum, because the message is so clear and the logic so compelling. We are on a journey to a very good place, and all America will reap the rewards."

--Steve Reinemund, CEO, PepsiCo, from the Foreword

Corporate America holds more opportunities for minority executives than ever before. And yet, many companies whose stated missions include workforce diversity have proven less than ideal for people of color. As these institutions struggle to apply what is preached to what is practiced, it is incumbent upon black professionals to assert their skills and place themselves in a position to succeed.

Cracking the Corporate Code presents the stories of 32 executives whose stories define African-American business success. Thriving in spite of multiple obstacles, they have enjoyed extraordinary careers at (and helped build the fortunes of) organizations including Sears Roebuck, General Mills, Coors Brewing Company, Coca-Cola, Revlon, Citibank, AON, Corning, Paine Webber, and many more.

In remarkably candid interviews, these exemplary professionals reveal not only the secrets of their successes, but the sources of their fears, their most difficult challenges, and their hopes for the future. Their experiences are presented according to what they reveal about the black experience in the white-centric workplace, from uncertainty to confidence, from struggle to strength, and from enjoying success to giving back in the name of those whose fortunes have yet to turn."

In Thomas A. Stewart’s bestselling first book, Intellectual Capital, he redefined the priorities of businesses around the world, demonstrating that the most important assets companies own today are often not tangible goods, equipment, financial capital, or market share, but the intangibles: patents, the knowledge of workers, and the information about customers and channels and past experience that a company has in its institutional memory. Now in his new book, The Wealth of Knowledge, Stewart--widely acknowledged as the world’s leading expert on working with intellectual capital in today’s knowledge economy--reveals how today’s companies are applying the concept of intellectual capital into day-to-day operations to dramatically increase their success in the marketplace.

Arguing that companies can make untold millions of dollars by managing knowledge more effectively--and save millions more--Stewart offers executives and managers compelling accounts of how leading companies around the world are successfully tackling the practical issues involved in today’s knowledge economy. The heart of the book is a revolutionary 4-step preocess that shows how to put intellectual capital to work to improve performance and profitablity, as well as manage knowledge processes. He goes on to discuss how companies can better utilize their current assets and enhance their knowledge resources for the future. Questioning many of the assumptions that have ruled business in the twentieth century, he addresses such critical and fundamental issues as why companies exist, how they should be organized and how people should be compensated. With his customary fearlessness and foresight, he plunges into the thick of the controversial arena of measuring and accounting, as well-an increasingly difficult task when a corporation’s assets are intangible.

The Wealth of Knowledge not only sets out the latest thinking in creating and managing knowledge assets, but provides a detailed course of action for corporations trying to navigate their way in the world of knowledge economy.


From the Hardcover edition.

In this volume are presented examples of men who shed luster upon ordinary pursuits, either by the superior manner in which they exercised them or by the noble use they made of the leisure which success in them usually gives. Such men are the nobility of republics. The American people were fortunate in having at an early period an ideal man of this kind in Benjamin Franklin, who, at the age of forty-two, just mid-way in his life, deliberately relinquished the most profitable business of its kind in the colonies for the sole purpose of developing electrical science.

This first comprehensive story of logging, lumbering, and forest conservation in Texas records the industry's history from the earliest days of the Republic, when a few isolated operations provided for local needs, through the first four decades of the twentieth century. Supplemented by over one hundred photographs, many never before published, the text re-creates Texas' heyday as one of the nation's leading timber producers. At that time, the forested area equaled the state of Indiana. In the words of one visitor, the forest was "like a vast wave that has rolled in upon a level beach . . . creeping forward, thinning out, and finally disappearing, except where, along a river course, it pushes far inland." The industry's most significant growth occurred between the end of Reconstruction and the beginnings of World War II, when entrepreneurs from the North, the South, and the East ventured into the vast stands of virgin timber in the Texas Piney Woods. These pioneers, attracted by the great potential fortunes to be made, provided the capital, expertise, and energy that introduced large mills and railroads to Texas lumbering and developed markets for their products--not only in Houston, Dallas, and other Texas cities but also across the United States and throughout the world. Various lumber companies, logging and mill operations, company towns, and the genesis of forest conservation are all featured in the text and illustrations. This account will appeal to historians, conservationists, and general readers interested in the Texas lumber industry and in Texas economic history.

Gary Rivlin tells the story of Ron Conway, the man who has placed more bets on Internet start-ups than anyone eise in Silicon Valley. Conway is a reader-friendly way into the realm of angel financing, where independently wealthy investors link up with companies just as they are being born. The Godfather of Silicon Valley takes you into this fascinating world on the edges of the financial universe, where the pace is frantic, the story lines are rich, and every moment is perilous.

Drawing upon forty years of experience from his own sports and celebrity management practice, Mark H. McCormack is back with common-sense advice aimed at business owners and would-be CEOs. McCormack's tips include:

The updated edition is the story of Mitchell and his company told in narrative form and in a series of interviews of the people who nurtured the company through the years. It is Horatio Alger, Texana, human conflict, tales of the oil patch, and a study of the shaky start of what is now one of the most innovative and successful new communities anywhere, all rolled into one. Its author is Joseph W. Kutchin, an experienced journalist who served many years as the corporation's vice president in charge of public relations.

Named one of the best business books of the year (by Fortune and Newsweek), SONY is the "intimate biography of one of the world's leading electronics giants" (San Francisco Chronicle) as well as one of the most fascinating and complex of all corporate stories. Drawing on his unmatched expertise in Japanese culture and on unique, unlimited access to Sony's inner sanctum, John Nathan traces Sony's evolution from its inauspicious beginnings amid Tokyo's bomb-scarred ruins to its current worldwide success. "Richly detailed and revealing" (Wall Street Journal), the book examines both the outward successes and, as never before, the mysterious inner workings that have always characterized this company's top ranks. The result is "a different kind of business book, showing how personal relationships shaped one of the century's great global corporations" (Fortune).

The Step-by-Step Guidebook to Benchmarking Today's Best Value-Based Management Approaches

"Finally, a 'how to' book that is not mired in impractical theory. Morin and Jarrell offer a forceful work, using empirical evidence, to demonstrate that strategy does create value--debunking some of the widely-held value destroying myths along the way. This is a groundbreaking book that is reflective of today's dynamic business environment. Anyone wanting to drive shareholder value, public or private, can find practical advice. I will recommend it to all of my clients."

--Rick Wimmer, Partner, Ernst & Young

"This complete description of Value Based Management from strategic analysis through its 'recipe for success' for effective implementation provides essential knowledge for corporate management, and clearly demonstrates why the 'M' in VBM stands for 'Management' rather than simply 'Metrics'."

--Mark C. Ubelhart, VBM Practice Leader, Hewitt Associates LLC

"Using both established and new techniques of analysis, "Driving Shareholder Value "describes how companies can increase stockholder value. Case studies and examples add to the readability and clarity. Morin and Jarrell's VBM framework ties it all together: corporate strategy, financial structure, and performance measurement/incentive compensation to explain in clear, understandable language how to create stockholder value."

--John B. McKinnon, Corporate Director and Former President, Sara Lee Corporation

"Value-Based Management is key to developing successful organizations at all levels--from seed-stage companies to mature businesses--and entrepreneurs, managers, and investors must understand how to create value to survive."Driving Shareholder Value "is a practical enterprise-wide approach for creating, measuring, and maintaining value across all levels of an organization. Morin and Jarrell have presented managers and directors with the specific game plan for creating value within a company. Their VBM framework should become the guiding principle for employees and managers at all levels. The real options perspective in particular holds enormous potential for evaluating venture capital transactions."

--John Ciannamea, Senior Managing Director, Longleaf Venture Fund

"Thanks to an unprecedented wave of takeovers, shareholder activism, and global competition, corporate America has become acutely aware of the importance of creating value for shareholders."

From the very first sentence in "Driving Shareholder Value," authors Roger Morin and Sherry Jarrell make their positions crystal clear: If you don't fully exploit the wealth creation possibilities of your corporation, someone else will--and their tactics could leave you on the outside looking in.

Far from being abstract and inaccessible, "Driving Shareholder Value "translates today's most prevalent and proven Value-based management theories into practical, concrete tools and approaches for implementing a shareholder value orientation throughout any organization. The only book that guides corporate strategy with valuation techniques, it incorporates the best features of strategic, financial, and institutional approaches into an integrative, coherent framework for determining how companies are governed, executives are paid, and business strategies are implemented and evaluated.

"There is no magic bullet for corporate success. VBM is more a single"framework "for targeting those business decisions that consistently add economic value--both immediate and long-term--to your company."

It only makes sense that, in order to become a successful VBM company, you must first benchmark your efforts against the VBM leaders. "Driving Shareholder Value "looks inside the strategic files of General Electric, PepsiCo, Abbott Labs, and other long-term value creators for guidance on: How to remove emotion from the equation--and look at your company from the perspective of the corporate raider Using the right tool for every type of business challenge, from compensation and capital budgeting to operations and strategy Implementation of proven, state-of-the-art-valuation methods, including cash flows to equity, adjusted present value, and real options strategic analysis

Value-based management will continue to drive company profits and productivity well into the twenty-first century, and executives at every level will be increasingly judged by their ability to make consistent, value-maximizing decisions. Let "Driving Shareholder Value "show you how today's leaders are successfully integrating VBM into their company structures--leading to better productivity, better quality and, ultimately, superior financial performance for their companies.

Reads like a novel, yet serves as a how-to guide for creating a customer culture and marketing strategies that wow Wall Street...I recommend this book as priority reading for all retail executives. Kurt Barnard, President, Barnard Retail Trend Report and Barnard's Retail Consulting Group.

Admirers, competitors, industry and Wall Street analysts alike are intrigued with the question of what makes Home Depot so special. What, exactly, does this giant do that so clearly distinguishes it from the competition? How does Home Depot culture and customer service work? And, most importantly, what lessons can every business learn from the Home Depot example? INSIDE HOME DEPOT takes you behind the scenes to discover the secrets of success of this retail giant how, in just twenty years, Home Depot has not only changed the way hardware is sold, Home Depot has also elevated the superstore concept to a new level of success, inspiring both admiration and fear in the retail community. Relying on inside access to Home Depot's training programs, interviews with key employees both past and present, and meticulous investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist Chris Roush presents the first uncensored book about how this company has become so successful, and isolates the practical lessons that readers can apply to any industry.

Named one of the Best Business Books of 1997 by Business Week, "Inside Intel" is the gripping business saga of a company that rose to dominance through technological innovation, and maintained its leadership against competitors through aggressive marketing, tough business tactics, and liberal use of legal firepower.

In his in-depth portrait of Intel, the first history/expose of the company, Financial Times columnist Tim Jackson reveals that:
-- Intel's corporate culture is determinedly secretive and authoritarian.
-- The company retains its own force of private investigators to prevent its employees from going astray.
-- Intel routinely uses the threat of lawsuits against workers and rivals.

At the center of this story is Andy Grove, Intel's high-profile CEO and chairman, once a penniless immigrant who waited tables to put himself through college. It is Grove who has made the unpopular decisions which have kept Intel at the top of the chip market.

Exhaustively researched from court records, unpublished documents, and interviews with Intel's competitors, partners, and past and present employees, Jackson traces the company's spectacular failures and successes, as well as the powerful human struggles that have made Intel one of the most competitive players in a high-stakes game.

Not just a business, but an opportunity for personal success and achievement, Amway has spread the old-fashioned American dream across the globe -- from South America to the Pacific Rim. This definitive history of Amway delves deep into the heart and soul of the organization. It is an inspirational, motivational chronicle of the company as a whole -- its ideology, goals, beliefs, ethics, and sense of values -- filled with uplifting stories of people around the world whose lives have been totally transformed by the Amway philosophy.