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Sebastian Ritscher
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THE SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRE EFFECT

Mitch Cohen John J. Sviokla

How Extreme Producers Create Massive Value

A study of self-made billionaires reveals the key distinction between “producers” and “performers”:
Do you know what John Paul DeJoria did after he was fired from Redken? What Michael Bloomberg did after Salomon Brothers cut him loose? What Steve Jobs did after Atari? And what Steve Case did after PepsiCo?
They became billionaires.

There are about 800 self-made billionaires in the world today. What enables this elite group to create truly massive value, and what can the rest of us learn from them?

John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen set out to answer this question with the first systematic study of 120 self-made billionaires, including extensive interviews with icons like Steve Case, Mark Cuban, and T. Boone Pickens, Jr. The authors conclude that self-made billionaires aren't necessarily smarter, harder working, or luckier than their peers. The key difference is what they call the “producer” mindset, in contrast to the far more common “performer” mindset.

Performers strive to excel in well-defined areas, and they are essential to any company. But producers are even more valuable because they redefine what's possible, rather than simply meeting pre-existing goals and standards. Producers think up entirely new products, services, strategies, and business models, with dramatic results.

This book offers fresh stories and insights into producers' habits of mind. It also provides corporate leaders with a new approach to selecting and managing breakthrough talent, and advice about innovation and value creation for aspiring leaders or entrepreneurs.

JOHN SVIOKLA is the Leader of Global Thought Leadership with PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and a former professor at Harvard Business School. He also serves on the firm's Advisory Leadership Group and Global Thought Leadership Council.

MITCH COHEN is PwC’s Vice Chairman responsible for Strategy as well as the New York Metro Region. This is their first book.
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Published 2014-12-30 by Portfolio

Book

Published 2014-12-30 by Portfolio

Comments

This ambitious book deserves a few hours' worth of attention from equally ambitious readers. Read more...

The first billion is the hardest. I know from experience. If you are interested in giving it a shot, The Self-made Billionaire Effect is a good starting point. Great research. Great stories. Great opportunity.

A fabulous profile of value creation that all organizations need to ponder as they build talent for the future.

Fresh, provocative and insightful, The Self-made Billionaire Effect will challenge your thinking about how entrepreneurs succeed in creating mega-hit businesses. This is a racy read, where storytelling and personalities carry some important lessons to be considered and applied even for those working in stable and slower-growth businesses.

One of the insights from an excellent new book by John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen is that the vast majority of today’s wealthiest persons made their billions by ignoring this notion. Read more...

Massive success does require luck. But it also requires unusual ways of approaching problems. This is one of the most thoughtful books I’ve seen on what the outliers do to make it more likely their attempts will change the world.

This well-researched, fun-to-read book provides top management with a set of insights vital for finding and keeping the talent needed to design and deliver breakthrough value.

UK rights to Portfolio, Japanese rights to Diamond, Inc., Romanian rights to Act Si Politon, Chinese (Complex) rights to Commonwealth Publishing Co. Lt, Chinese (Simplified) rights to Cheers Publishing Company, Korean rights to Sam & Parkers, Co. Ltd.

John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen have mined a rich vein—self–made billionaires—in an attempt to find common patterns. What I particularly admire is their nuanced insights: these men and women are not solitary, risk seeking, creative, overnight successes. They work in teams; they manage risks and rewards; they are as good at execution as they are at ideation; and they have been on roller coasters, not rocket ships. Their wisdom is invaluable for entrepreneurs and managers. I recommend it highly.