Business Chameleon: A Practical Guide to Success for Managers - Softcover

Károlyi, László

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1491753412 ISBN 13: 9781491753415

Publisher: iUniverse, 2015

Synopsis

A successful business executive helps you propel your business forward by sharing the successes and mistakes that he's learned over a thirty-year career. Divided into four sections that coincide with the changing seasons, the lessons allow you to excel when times are good and bad. The fifteenth and final story in each chapter is by a guest writer who provides a different point of view on an important business topic. There are lessons for autumn, when the world is changing; for winter, when new solutions should be sought out; for spring, when it's difficult to implement new ideas; and for summer, when it's time to reap the rewards of hard work. Get tools and strategies you need to: adjust to change so your business can thrive; keep calm under pressure and manage crises; combine tradition and innovation to achieve better results; strike a healthy balance between work and private life. By being creative, you can keep business surging in the right direction. All it takes is the determination to learn, plan, and adapt to change by being a Business Chameleon.

About this title

About the Author

László Károlyi has an impressive track record of strategic planning, business unit development, marketing, project and product management, manufacturing, and change management. He has worked with the Legrand Group and has been the CEO of Legrand Hungary since 2004. He has a master's degree in electrical engineering, a MBA, and numerous other degrees.

Review

 Clarion review"Business Chameleon is refreshingly different. László Károlyi presents sixty brief stories and organizes them around the four seasons, as the author explains: "for autumn, when the world is changing; for winter, when new solutions should be sought out instead of the old ones to start the engine of the economy anew; for spring,when you struggle with the difficulties of implementing new conceptions; and for summer, toharvest the results and strike a healthy balance between work and private life."The stories themselves have a parallel structure: Each starts with a salient quote,followed by a story that may relate to a book the author read, a movie he saw, an experience he had in a business setting, or a particular observation. Each ends with a sentence or two thatpoints to the author's reason for sharing the episode. While most of the stories are the author'sown, the final story in each chapter is written by a guest writer who offers a differentperspective.One such vignette, "The Message of The Polar Express," is a good example of Károlyi'screativity as well as his storytelling ability. The author briefly discusses the film, The PolarExpress, and directly relates it to a business setting. At an end-of-year management meeting,Károlyi decides to do something unconventional: he uses the film as a metaphor for thecompany's challenges in the coming year. Before showing a clip of the train from the film at the meeting, he explains: "Our enterprise is an express train--it is not compulsory that someone boards it and stays on it, but it is worth doing so. Whoever shares a ride with us should be a worthy member of the team. He or she should fight for the team's mutual success and appreciate the achieved results."The book's format is engaging. The unusual title was chosen because managers need "toadapt our colors depending on the changing environment." Interior pages are nicely designed so each story is identifiable on its own, making it easy to thumb through the book and select stories at random. Károlyi's writing style is direct and conversational yet professional.The overall effect of this collection of stories is to serve up a multitude of managementlessons in a very palatable format. Every story has contemporary relevance and makes a discrete point. Károlyi does an excellent job of tying the quote from a renowned individual at the start of the story to his statement at the story's conclusion. Business Chameleon is indeed a welcome change from the standard book of management advice."Barry Silverstein

Edition details

• Publisher: iUniverse
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1491753412
• ISBN 13: 9781491753415
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 228