From Those Who Don’t by Ram Charan with Geri Willigan (©2007 Ram Charan/Crown Business).
Review by Rolf Crocker

If you’ve read this column for any length of time you, the astute reader, will notice that there are a few authors I will come back to again and again.  That’s because there are certain authors who, in my opinion, consistently ‘bring it’ when it comes to teaching solid business principles and wisdom.  This will be the third book I’ve reviewed by this author (the previous two being ‘What the CEO Wants You to Know’ and ‘Execution’, whose book reviews can be found in the Book Report Archive @ www.adamen-inc.com).  What makes Ram Charan’s worldview so unique is not his degree from Harvard Business School, his doctorate, nor his work with some of the highest profile businesses in the world (GE, DuPont, Home Depot among them).  What makes him unique is his journey to these places through A) growing up in his family’s Shoe Shop in India where, if you didn’t have business acumen, you didn’t eat and B) his mentoring in business while an Engineer in Australia.  You see, you can have all the degrees and theories you want, but if you cannot apply it in a practical way to where you live, it’s just knowledge.  I would categorize Charan’s writings as Business Wisdom – knowledge practically applied to everyday business life.  So, with that setup, let’s go!

Know-How – The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform From Those Who Don’t by Ram Charan with Geri Willigan (©2007 Ram Charan/Crown Business).  While Charan’s earlier books are great (particularly ‘What The CEO Wants You to Know’ – you need this book on your shelf!), “Know-How” distills down what Charan sees as the 8 key traits of emerging business leaders.  These traits are covered in great detail and are chocked-full of real-life stories from Fortune 500 businesses seeking to develop and apply these traits to their business operation.  On first read, some of these traits will appear too technical and not very practical – however, the detail and accompanying illustrations break it down to where you and I live.  A few of the key traits (taken directly from the book) are:

Positioning and Repositioning – finding a central idea for business that meets customer demands and that makes money

Pinpointing External Change – detecting patterns in a complex world to put business on the offensive

Leading the Social System – getting the right people together with the right behaviors and the right information to make better, faster decisions and achieve business results

In addition to covering the 8 key traits, Charan also deals with personal traits that can either help or interfere with the “Know-Hows” – Ambition, Psychological Openness, Self-confidence among them.  This holistic approach helps the reader to recognize  strengths and weaknesses in their business acumen and take you to the Holy Grail of business – successful EXECUTION and, as a result, business success.

“I’m just a manager,” you say.  Nonsense!  You can choose to be ‘just a manager’ if you want.  However, if you want to take your personal and professional life to the next level, you need to invest in it.  This kind of knowledge will not only increase your value to your client or company, but can increase your personal bottom-line as well.  As I’ve said before, some of this type of material is heavy slogging – it’s no “Chicken Soup for the Manager’s Soul” (although there’s nothing wrong with that).  You increase strength by increasing weight – this book is a great way to do that. 4 Stars