Synopses & Reviews
Advance Praise for Simple Solutions"Arguably, from Lord Nelson to Napoleon to U. S. Grant, the great 'secret' of supremely successful leaders has been determined simplicity. Simple Solutions is a brilliant and much-needed addition to a woefully thin collection on business issue number one: getting things done!"
—Tom Peters, coauthor of In Search of Excellence
"Schmitt and Perl's book begins and ends with simplicity, but in between lies a set of truly powerful ideas. This isn't a new theory on management; it's a guide to management practice that any practicing manager would benefit greatly from."
—Dave Godes, Associate Professor, Harvard Business School
"Schmitt and Perl have crafted a must-have book for all managers who want to have an impact. The clear, simple advice contained in Simple Solutions is invaluable to anyone interested in improving his or her management skills. These ideas work."
—Mark A. Emkes, Chairman and CEO, Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. and Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC
"Simple Solutions is a good road map for leaders of all organizations because it provides concise and straightforward guidelines for leadership. It's not theoretical or long-winded, but gives real-world behavioral instruction to make leaders more effective."
—Richard H. Anderson, Executive Vice President, UnitedHealth Group
"The premise of Schmitt and Perl's book is the need to reduce complex problems to their simplest components, an approach I've seen produce powerful results. Managers at all levels would benefit from applying the principles outlined in this book."
—Pitt Hyde, Chairman, AutoZone
"In a complex world, we often complicate things more than necessary and forget that the goal is to do the right things as well as possible. This book is a terrific primer on identifying the right things and getting on with them."
—John Durrett, Managing Director, McKinsey and Co., Inc., West Coast
"A powerful and thought-provoking book filled with sound advice that would help the young or the experienced executive understand the importance of management and leadership skills. I wish that I had a book like Simple Solutions to guide me through the transition from athlete to executive."
—Jerry West, President of Basketball Operations, Memphis Grizzlies
Review
"I strongly recommend this book to educators who are interested in helping all of their students become successful learners."
—Steven W. Evans, Ph.D., Director, Alvin V. Baird Attention & Learning Disabilities Center, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
"[T]his book sets the standard in delivering a comprehensive, state-of-the-art approach for understanding, treating and preventing classroom behavior difficulties. It should be on the bookshelves of all professionals who work in school settings. I will certainly recommend this text to my colleagues and students."
—George J. DuPaul, Ph.D., Professor of School Psychology, Associate Chair, Education and Human Services, Lehigh University
Review
FedEx executive Tom Schmitt and management attorney Arnold Perl demonstrate how to break down complex problems into simple parts and solve them. They emphasize using the right tools in conjunction with providing forthright, enthusiastic leadership. The of leadership advocated by Schmitt and Perl combines old-school proven strategies and tactics with innovative new leadership metrics geared to today's business environment. Their brand of leadership is a blend of practicality and inspiration. Schmitt and Perl reinforce their advice with real case studies in effective leadership. (
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas) on January 8, 2007)
With the conciseness of thought you expect from busy people, FedEx Corp. exec Tom Schmitt and longtime Memphis labor attorney Arnold Perl have distilled years of managing people and projects into a book the diligent can digest in a night.
"Simple Solutions: Harness the Power of Passion and Simplicity to Get Results" is the only book in the world with a forward written by Frederick W. Smith.
And if the history of books endorsed by business management guru Tom Peters means anything, it's got a good chance of being a best seller.... The thesis, underlined in short chapters and bolstered with breakouts, is that the gentle melding of left- and right-brain tendencies, coupled with transparency, optimism and goal-oriented thinking, transforms people and situations.
Though their experiences were honed in different arenas, Perl and Schmitt suggest that any problem can be broken into small components and worked out, from ferrying kids in rush-hour traffic to planning a land swap at Memphis International Airport that allows both the Tennessee Air National Guard and FedEx to expand.-- The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News, January 10, 2007 Wednesday)
Synopsis
Simple Solutions provides a unique, “ here’ s how we do it” perspective on leadership. The book presents a left-brain, right-brain approach to leadership that is easy to read and understand with advice that readers can immediately put to use. The impact of the message in Simple Solutions stands out, even in a high-powered, high-performance benchmark environment such as FedEx, because it challenges many popular leadership wisdoms head-on and suggests that some of the old tried-and-true leadership guideposts may not be the right ones.
The book presents the following components that are necessary for success: business savvy people skills collaboration with peers time management ability to execute ambition leadership vision focus determination
Synopsis
An inside look at a uniquely effective brand of corporate leadership
Despite the seemingly endless challenges and pressures in today s workplace, many people are firm in their resolve to assume leadership roles and make a difference. The problem? There simply isn t a clear-cut path to follow. Written by FedEx executive Tom Schmitt and management attorney and community leader Arnold Perl, Simple Solutions offers amazingly astute yet astoundingly simple insights into charting a course for becoming a highly effective leader.
Combining the rational, logical instincts of the left brain with the passionate and artful skills of the right brain, Schmitt and Perl s leadership approach is both highly effective and deeply inspirational. Moreover, true to its title, the book delivers its neatly parceled bits of wisdom in simple solutions a combination of tried-and-true tactics that really work and new, exceptionally effective leadership metrics essential in today s high-powered, high-performance environment. Inside, readers will find expert leadership guidance on:
- Achieving effective collaboration
- Pursuing breakthrough goals
- Tailoring leadership styles to fit team needs
- Assembling great teams
- Inspiring people to higher levels of success
- And much more!
Tom Schmitt (Memphis, TN) is President and CEO of FedEx Global Supply Chain Services and Senior Vice President of FedEx Solutions. Arnold Perl (Memphis, TN) is a partner in the national law firm of Ford & Harrison, which represents management exclusively in labor and employment matters.
Synopsis
Combining the rational, logical instincts of the left brain with the passionate and artful skills of the right brain, this book offers a leadership approach that is both highly effective and deeply inspirational. Perfect for anyone assuming a leadership position, it presents simple solutions on such topics as effective collaboration, achieving goals, leadership styles, team-building, inspiring people to success, and more.
Synopsis
FedEx's success is well known; but less well known is the company's unique and uniquely effective brand of leadership and how it has helped them get to the top of the business world.
Simple Solutions offers an inside look at FedEx's special brand of cutting-edge leadership through the eyes of one of its top executives.
Written by Tom Schmitt, a longtime FedEx executive, and internationally renowned management attorney and community leader Arnold Perl, Simple Solutions explains how their style of leadership combines tried-and-true tactics that really work with new leadership metrics that are highly effective in today's high-performance benchmark company. Underlying the FedEx style is the concept of simplicity. The fast-changing and competitive world of business can look exceedingly complex. But Simple Solutions reveals how even the most complex problem can be broken down into simple components and solved using the right tools and the right amount of leadership passion.
Great leadership, as revealed here, is both highly practical and deeply inspirational because it mixes logical leadership skills with creativity and personality. Schmitt and Perl include real advice from effective leaders and real case studies that reveal the ins and outs of truly effective corporate leadership. You'll find expert guidance and real-world insight on making collaboration work, pursuing breakthrough goals, tailoring leadership styles to fit team needs, assembling great teams, and inspiring your people to ever higher levels of success.
But this is much more than a guide to leadership theory; not only does Simple Solutions reveal that the art of great leadership can be learned, it also teaches you that art. You'll learn how to take complex business ideas and turn them into simple solutions and how to apply those solutions to your own organization. You'll see how the heart of quality leadership is the ability to boil things down to their essence, see issues in their simplest forms, and find the simplest answers to problems.
When it comes to leadership, simple is better. If you're searching for answers in the maze of big business, try these Simple Solutions.
About the Author
Tom Schmitt is President and CEO of FedEx Global Supply Chain Services and Senior Vice President of FedEx Solutions.
Arnold Perl is a Partner at the national labor and employment law firm of Ford & Harrison LLP.
Table of Contents
Foreword (
Frederick W. Smith).
About the Authors.
Introduction.
Chapter 1 Simplicity: The Foundation of Leadership.
Chapter 2 Management Savvy: Work Smarter, Not Harder.
Chapter 3 Ambition: Be Ambitious for Your People and the Cause.
Chapter 4 People Skills: Making People the Top Priority.
Chapter 5 Leadership: Leave a Place Better than You Found It.
Chapter 6 Collaboration: Think "One Big Team".
Chapter 7 Vision: Imagine the Possibilities.
Chapter 8 Time Management: Align Your Time with the Right Goals.
Chapter 9 Focus: Use a Laser, Not a Floodlight.
Chapter 10 Execution: Do It! Don’t Sacrifice Good for Better.
Chapter 11 Determination: Stick to It.
Chapter 12 Keep It Simple!
Index.