Holiday reading: Mavericks at Work
Some time off - always an excellent occasion for fresh ideas - is a good moment for some fine reading. My list included amongst others the book Mavericks at Work. It tells the story of quite a many business leaders that set out to do things differently and ended up gaining big time. Examples include Southwest Airlines, Pixar, HBO and many others.
For starters: What does maverick mean? The word "maverick" derives from a Texan rancher and politician called Sam Maverick. He actually allowed his unbranded cattle to roam semi-wild instead of branding them and penning them in fenced-in ranges. That sort of independent spirit describes the companies and business leaders profiled in this book.
The book continues to outline a convincing case that in today’s hypercompetitive world of sensory overflow just doing the same as everybody else is not enough. You need to go beyond, invent your own value system and goals. Executed wisely the companies described are enjoying strong competitive positions. An energizing book!