Turnaround - How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan

By: David Magee .

Not since the days of Lee Iacocca at Chrysler has an auto executive captured the imagination of his industry and the broader business world as Carlos Ghosn of Nissan.

Ghosn is responsible for one of the most breathtaking business turnarounds of all time—taking the near-fatally wounded Japanese automaker Nissan from the brink of ruin back to profitability in just two years. His achievement is all the more astonishing because he did it as a Westerner operating in Japan's closed, tradition-bound business environment.

In Turnaround, business journalist David Magee presents the first behind-the-scenes look at Ghosn, his management methods, and his role as the leader of a new generation of global business managers.
A Brazilian of Lebanese descent, Ghosn has led companies to success in the United States, South America, France, and now in Japan.

Turnaround reveals how he remade Nissan by defying the business and cultural taboos that in the past have stifled the economy in Japan; how he cut costs, smashed Nissan's Keiretsu relationships, and revived the company's design innovation, quality standards, and product.

Readers in and out of the auto industry will learn the essential management techniques that have helped Ghosn achieve spectacular business results on four continents:

• The importance of transparency in all business dealings
• Planning via a cross-functional team approach
• Cost containment through benchmarking
• Breaking cross-cultural barriers among employees
• Sparking innovation through empowerment

Combining the dramatic story of the remarkable Nissan turnaround with new lessons for success in a global economy, Turnaround belongs on the desk of every manager everywhere.

DAVID MAGEE is a freelance journalist and former news editor and newspaper columnist. l le has written for the Associated Press, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, and the Oxford Eagle. He lives with his wife and three children in Oxford, Mississippi.

Other Details