The moment you pick up the book, it is surely going to capture your interest. Lee Iacocca very vividly charts out his story right from his birth, to schooling, getting a job in Ford, being fired from Ford, joining Chrysler and rest as they say is history. He comes across as a straight-shooting businessman with a persona and attitude of competitiveness that helped him to have a sharp rising curve in his career.
Iacocca was the son of Italian immigrants who rose through the ranks of Ford Motor Company at a staggering pace to become its president. What followed later was something completely unexpected! He was ousted from the position and fired by Henry Ford. The book talks in great detail about the personal agony and hardship that Iacocca went through following his ousting and the public humiliation that he and his family were subjugated to during those times. He talks of his feeling for Henry Ford and the deep scar which it left behind on him. Owing to get even, Iacocca in his characteristic style describes the heroic effort taken by a group of highly motivated individuals to turn Chrysler which he had joined. The company is brought back from near bankruptcy and the loan of 1.2 billion dollars is paid back to the government with interest! The book is sprinkled with lots of advices and lessons which are very important for anyone to make a successful career. It talks about how to maintain one’s composure in times of adversity. How people change with times and on how we should sometimes break the convention of business, and for that matter anything in life, when we have one leg in grave. Ultimately his zeal and passion for work is what will surely leave an indelible imprint in the mind of the reader.
