Frank Pacetta - Stop Whining--and Start Winning: Recharging People, Re-Igniting Passion, and PUMPING UP Profits

Tune-ups, Turnarounds, Transformations, and Take offs

I ve been accused in print of having the attention span of an infant. Im not quite that bad, but I have absolutely no patience with introductions to books that are more than a few pages long, and even when theyre relatively brief I tend to skip through them. Im definitely in a hurry. I want the information thats on the page, and I want it now!

Assuming that youre in a hurry too, Im going to keep this short. Stop Whining and Start Winning is filled with leadership and management techniques accumulated in the course of twenty-five yearsand still countingin sales, fifteen of which were spent in general manager assignments running operations with roughly $100 million in annual gross revenues.

This book contains no theory. Zero. Its a road-test report on what works and what doesnt. Id describe myself as a fanatic for leadership and process except that fanaticism isnt a strong enough word to describe my passion for the two subjects. And yes, leadership and process are entirely compatible. In fact, without a disciplined business process, leaders doom themselves to failure.

If you quickly thumb through the pages, youll see boxes, bulleted lists, and other displays that highlight information to make it as accessible as possible. Be my guest, grab a handful of ideas to help run your business, make deals, close sales, or move your career up to the next level. Ive also included some slices of real life that dont normally show up in business books because most books tend to avoid a theme Im about to pound onemotion.

Youve heard of E-commerce? When I use the term the E stands for emotion, and the Internet cant even come close to the profit potential. My mission is to emotionalize your business, your career, and your life. Theres too much complacency and mediocrity poisoning what could be exhilarating, rewarding, and satisfying professional experiences. And dont sit there and tell me that some jobs are boring and grubbythats baloney. Thats an excuse for lousy leadership. Im sick of hearing it.

Im looking for a fight, actually. Im willing to go toe-to-toe with anyone who believes that people are just another disposable commodity instead of the number one business asset. The stories I share in his book arent the usual corporate case histories, but rather close up profiles of people who wont take it anymore people who are determined to make a differenceand you know what?they have.

One of my specialties is turnarounds. I help losing operations win again. I love my work. If youre ready for a tune-up, a turnaround, a transformation, or a takeoff youre reading the right book.

Enough introduction, already. Lets get busy.

W hat are you doing?

I know thats not the customary way to begin a book, but play along with me.

Ill start again.

What are you doing?

Im reading a book.

No, youre not.

Im not?

It only seems like a book.

What is it then?

A chain saw.

Chain saw? Couldve fooled me.

In a moment, were going to crank this sucker up and rip through the barriers that make going to work, doing your best, and being your best such a royal pain in the butt.

This chain saw is the perfect tool for all those who believe life is too precious to waste on a job thats boring, frustrating, or pure torture. Its for all those who are fed up with the same old excuses and dumb ideas, fed up with no shows, no guts, and no for an answer. And its for all of those who are tired of hearing:

Thats the way we do things.

If you dont like it

Just shut up and follow the rules.

Hunker down and nobody will bother you.

Phrases like that make my skin crawl, and should make yours crawl too. Thats because we dont have to take it anymore; dont have to listen to it or live it anymore. Are you wondering why? Why we dont have to take what for so long has been standard operating procedure in many companies and organizations, large and small?

Because together we can be a part of a business leadership revolution. Not the usual, rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic kind of revolution. But one thats driven by bringing out the best in ourselves and others powered with passion, performance, and process.

The best? Youve got it.

I love the smell of sawdust in the morning! There are whole forests of deadwood and deadheads waiting to fall. Theres no reason to settle for second-best, second place, and second thoughts. It doesnt matter whether you take orders or give them, your job is to make your job second to none.

Ill show you how to do it.

And if you own or manage a business, supervise a staff of one or one thousand, or are a team leader or team member isnt it time for that enterprisethe one that claims so much of your time and energyto live up to its promise and keep its promises?

Ill show you how to make that happen.

Its going to be fun too. Businesses of any size in any industry, and the jobs they create, can be lots of fun, hugely rewarding, and personally satisfying. Mine have been. First as a sales manager and then as a district manager for Xerox, I led three $100 million a year operations that racked up high profits and performance records year after year and were also warm, friendly, exciting work environments. We had double-digit sales growth and nearly triple-digit customer and employee satisfaction ratings. I couldnt wait to get to the office in the morning. I was afraid Id miss some of the action, was the way one former colleague described the atmosphere. We were family, another said. Many of them are now CEOs, senior managers for top corporations, or owners of their own successful businesses. Along the way, the customers we worked with also prospered and grew from struggling start-ups to regional and national market leaders.