Speed is Life: Street Smart Lessons From the Front Lines of Business

Bob Davis, the founder and former CEO of Lycos, is one of the most successful businessmen of recent times. In five short and exhilarating years, he turned a $2-million investment into a $5.4-billion company, built an audience of 91 million people, and established the Internet's largest global network with a presence in an industry-leading 41 countries.

Speed Is Life is his story from the front lines of business—and his lessons can be applied to every company. He discusses how quickly companies must act in order to seize new opportunities; explains why size is important in a global economy; and highlights the critical importance of creating and extending a company's brand. The lessons he reveals are not narrowly drawn from or intended for Internet managers alone. The fact is, business—whatever business you are in—is first and foremost about making a profit, something he was able to accomplish even in his earliest days at Lycos. The way to do that, from Davis's perspective, is to be great at what you do, to make every moment with a customer a moment of truth, and to build a leading organization by attracting and hiring a world-class team.

But Speed Is Life is much more than a handbook on how to win. Davis also understands the limits of the much-hyped New Economy. And he understands that the future lies in the synergy between traditional companies and their Web counterparts. It is a fascinating first-hand look at the big picture by a man who helped paint it and is this year's must-read business book. Told in the no-nonsense, straight-from-the-hip approach that helped Davis make Lycos an industry dynamo, and illustrated with stories of Lycos's and other companies' successes—and failures—Davis offers an invaluable insider's perspective on how business works and how to stay one step ahead in today's ever more competitive world.

Speed Is Life will grip you, guide you, and inspire you.

Bob Davis was the founder and CEO of Lycos from its inception in June of 1995, when he completed the fastest IPO in NASDAQ history, through its merger into Terra Lycos in 2001 for over $5.4 billion. He continues to serve as the company's vice chairman while now working as a partner at the venture capital firm of Highland Capital Partners. He appears regularly on CNN, CNBC, BBC, and Bloomberg and has been prominently featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, and other major publications.