Clicks and Mortar: Passion-Driven Growth in an Internet-Driven World - Hardcover

Pottruck, David S.; Pearce, Terry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787952737 ISBN 13: 9780787952730

Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc., 2000

Synopsis

In a world where companies are rushing to add an "e-" to everything they do--e-commerce, e-tailing--the real key to success still lies off-line. In this fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the electronic revolution, an inspirational leader and operator and a talented and thoughtful coach and consultant, both engaged in the meteoric rise of The Charles Schwab Corporation, articulate and demonstrate the elements of long-range success. Their take on culture, personal leadership and the transformation of business practices will help leaders, employees, investors, and customers all come out on top in this high-stakes, opportunity rich economy.
For excerpts, Andorsements, detailed author biographies, and more, visit the special Clicks and Mortar website.

About this title

About the Author

DAVID S. POTTRUCK is president and co-CEO (with Charles Schwab) of The Charles Schwab Corporation. TERRY PEARCE is president of Leadership Communication, a teacher at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and an executive communications officer at Schwab.

From the Back Cover

The phenomenal rise of the Internet may seem to have transformed everything about business. But according to two men who have been at the forefront of the Internet's impact, some important things haven't changed: The future still belongs to passionate companies made up of passionate people. In this book, Schwab co-CEO David Pottruck teams up with leadership master and best-selling author Terry Pearce to show what it takes to build a high-growth organization in today's electronic environment.
Passionate companies have cultures that are created and sustained on purpose, and that support individual contribution, team play and risk-taking. Passionate leaders are driven by their own personal values, and a desire for the health and success of their organizations and people, not merely the promise of an IPO payoff. Passionate business practices are dynamic, and are anchored by the principles that made the company a success in the first place.
In Clicks and Mortar Pottruck and Pearce translate their experience working together at one of the world's fastest growing financial services companies into practical advice that will help other organizations adapt to the changes brought about by the technology-driven revolution. Through many stories and examples from Schwab, start-ups, and Fortune 500 companies, the authors show how organizations can marry technology and the best qualities of people to create the perfect environment for profitable success.

Reviews

The more things change, the more you must concentrate on the basics of running your business, according to Pottruck, president and co-CEO of the Charles Schwab investment firm, and consultant Pierce, author of Leading Out Loud. In their view, the basics include creating a corporate vision that drives the firm and the company culture forward, having a leader who models that vision and keeps the company on course and implementing management practices designed to realize the vision. It is hard to disagree with these tenets, and there is nothing wrong with reviewing the basics, but the authors don't probe very deeply into the ways that the Internet--the "clicks" in their title--affects their basic principles. They might have achieved it by exploring the insights in the final chapter--which features a "dialogue on the future" with such figures as Steve Ballmer, president of Microsoft; Lew Platt of Hewlett-Packard (who also wrote the foreword); and venture capitalist Ann Winblad in a roundtable discussion--or through a more detailed look at Charles Schwab's integration of the Internet into its existing "retail outlets." Instead, we get a rehash of what most leaders already know, aridly wrought in workmanlike prose. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc.
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0787952737
• ISBN 13: 9780787952730
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256