How to Be a Fierce Competitor What Winning Companies and Great Managers Do in Tough Times

Economic downturns separate the winning companies from the struggling. And as best-selling author Jeffrey J. Fox shows, tough times also give solid companies, strong managers, and potential rainmakers the opportunity to seize market share. In this eminently readable, practical resource for business leaders and managers, Fox explains exactly how the savvy few who rise to the top stay focused and alert, get new market share, hire good recently fired talent, increase investments into customer service, speed innovation, train all customer facing people, make acquisitions, get rid of underperformers, build brand names, pay for measurable performance, and lots more.

Potential rainmakers, CEOS, marketing superstars, and great bosses have long turned to Jeffrey J. Fox for advice. Now he shows exactly what to do to weather any climate.

Jeffrey Fox (Chester, CT) is an accomplished consultant, popular speaker and the acclaimed author of a series of the?international business best-sellers, How to Become CEO, How to Become a Raimaker, and Secrets of Great Rainmakers, among others. Fox is the founder and president of Fox & Company, Inc., a marketing consulting firm that specializes in marketing strategy development, innovation enhancement, selling skills training, branding, and various applications of a proprietary value-selling methodology called dollarization. Prior to starting Fox & Co. Jeffrey was Vice-President, Marketing and a Corporate Vice President of Loctite Corporation. He was also Director of Marketing for the wine division of The Pillsbury Co., and held various senior level marketing jobs at Heublein, Inc. including Director of New Products. Jeffrey is the winner of "Sales & Marketing Management" magazine's Outstanding Marketer Award; winner of the American Marketing Association's Outstanding Marketer in CT; and the National Industrial Distributors award as the Nation's Best Industrial Marketer. He is the subject of a Harvard Business School case study that is rated one of the top 100 case studies, and is thought to be the most widely taught marketing case in the world. Jeffrey graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He served as Trustee of Trinity College, and has won several alumni awards including Person of the Year. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Saint Francis Hospital, one of the nation's top 100 hospitals.
For more information, please visit Fox & Company's website: www.foxandcompany.com

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

1 The Fierce Competitor Company 1

2 Bad Times Are Good Times 4

3 Hustle. Hustle. Hustle. 6

4 Leadership Is Not ‘‘Pushership’’ 9

5 The Difference Between Leaders and Managers 11

6 Know Your Company’s Raison d’Etre 13

7 Manage As You Would Invest 15

8 ‘‘I Visit Customers in Stores’’ 18

9 Always Answer the Phone 20

10 Pile Up Cash 24

11 Be Ever Fearful 27

12 Show Fearlessness 29

13 Play ‘‘What If?’’ Games 31

14 Leadership Is Full Disclosure 33

15 Get a Kitchen Cabinet 35

16 Always Have a Plan 37

17 Stay Off Magazine Covers 39

18 ‘‘I Never Made a Dime Talking’’ 41

19 Never Take Your Hand Off the Tiller 43

20 Control or Roll 46

21 Get Out of the Office 48

22 Walk Around the Company 51

23 Never Forget the Third Shift 53

24 Be Obsessive About Execution 56

25 Get Rid of Executive Parking Spaces 60

26 Fight Unionization 63

27 People Are Not the Most Important Asset 67

28 Nurture Those You Hire and Acquire 69

29 Prune All Deadwood 71

30 Bulldoze All Silos 73

31 Broom Out All Bureaucracy 75

32 Scoop Up Newly Available Talent 78

33 Forget About Pedigrees 80

34 Pay for Performance, Not for Activities 82

35 Continuously Rip Out, Tear Out Bad Costs 85

36 The Do and Don’t Cut List 89

37 Forget Monthly Reports 91

38 No Money, No Meeting 93

39 Be Fanatical About Selling 96

40 Don’t Fire Sales People 100

41 Hire Fiercely Competitive Sales People 103

42 Banish All Selling Thieves 106

43 Always Conduct Daily Sales Meetings 109

44 The Big Opportunity 111

45 Never Cancel Batting Practice 115

46 Double the Training Budget 118

47 Love That Cranky, Fickle, Demanding Customer 120

48 Fire the ‘‘Strategic Customer’’ 122

49 Customer Service Is a Survival Strategy 125

50 Worship at the Altar of Quality 129

51 Get Rid of ‘‘Mr. Ought-to-Be’’ 132

52 Always Leave Flowers, Floor Mats, and Footprints 134

53 Don’t Cut Prices 137

54 You Are Never on Vacation 140

55 Lock, Load, and Launch 142

56 Sue the Blankety-Blanks 144

57 Welcome Serendipity 147

58 Go Green! 149

59 Be a Master Gardener 151

60 Summary: Characteristics of the Fierce

Competitor Companies 154

About the author 159

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