Good to Great to Gone: The 60 Year Rise and Fall of Circuit City

by Alan Wurtzel

In this new and updated edition, Alan Wurtzel chronicles 13 years as CEO of Circuit City during the height of its success and shares his insightful analysis of its downfall. A must-read for anyone interested in business.

“ Good to Great to Gone illustrates the vital importance of listening to your customers. Without them your company has nothing.” ―Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com, Inc.

How did Circuit City go from a Mom and Pop store with a mere $13,000 investment, to the best performing Fortune 500 Company for any 15-year period between 1965 and 1995, to bankruptcy and liquidation in 2009? What must leaders do not only to take a business from good to great, but to avoid plummeting from great to gone in a constantly evolving marketplace?

The answer lies in history. For almost 50 years, Circuit City was able to successfully navigate the constant changes in the consumer electronics marketplace and meet consumer demand and taste preferences. Following the company’s decline and ultimate demise in 2009 after his departure, former CEO Alan Wurtzel shares the rare perspective of a company insider in the role of an outsider looking in.

Believing that there is no singular formula for strategy, Wurtzel emphasizes the “Habits of Mind” that influence critical management decisions. With key takeaways at the end of each chapter, Wurtzel offers advice and guidance to ensure any business stays on track, even in the wake of disruption, a changing consumer landscape, and new competitors.

Part social history, part cautionary tale, and part business strategy guide, Good to Great to The 60 Year Rise and Fall of Circuit City features a memorable story with critical leadership lessons.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, History, Leadership

370 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 2012

Reviews

[J. Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up enjoying this book much more than I anticipated.

I thought Mr. Wurtzel provided a refreshingly open and honest recounting of Circuit City's rise and fall, and he did a great job of relating key leadership lessons along the way. I also enjoyed the tie-ins to Jim Collins' "Good to Great," and found the Habits of Mind sections valuable, although a little repetitive at sometimes.

I recommend this book to any business leader or student of business.

[Straker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book gets off to a rocky start as the author jumps back and forth in time from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s to the early 1960s. Eventually he settles down to more linear narrative but the book retains an amateurish feel throughout, more like a business school case study than a popular history. I came away feeling that the company was never particularly well run and that most of its success in the 80s and 90s was due to simply being first with the electronics superstore format. As soon as the competition started heating up, CC began losing market share. The story is interesting enough if you like the subject and worth a quick read if you can get it cheap.

[Krd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. It clearly captures the rise and fall of a retailer. It shows how various subtle factors can lead to destruction of a business. It throws light on due diligence with which investors need to analyse companies continuously to achieve superior returns. Finally it summarizes Warren Buffett statement of retailer should be efficient every day.

Good book. It clearly captures the rise and fall of a retailer. It shows how various subtle factors can lead to destruction of a business. It throws light on due diligence with which investors need to analyse companies continuously to achieve superior returns. Finally it summarizes Warren Buffett statement of retailer should be efficient every day.

[Pam Cates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Data heavy, interesting perspective

Amazing amount of data, but fairly superficial in the narrative component. Narrative and data at times felt disconnected and left me wanting to know more-much of what was included is available via public documents. The author’s unique perspective on the human side is what makes for the most interesting reads; my only regret is that there wasn’t more of it.

[Mike Calabrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Written, an Accurate Account

Mr Wurtzel did a nice job describing the rise & fall of CC. It was refreshing to see footnotes in a book for a change. Step up selling, bad investments and big egos of upper management contributed to bringing CC down.

I worked for CC in the 1980's in both sales and store management. The step up or bait & switch method of selling was in force then. I did not like it but had a family to feed so I did it. Middle management was fanatical about making our numbers. If one didn't, he wasn't worth a darn. In 1988 I left CC voluntarily. No more stepping off of the ADV, pushing the accessories or beating people up for warranties. Best Buy advertised no pressure sales. That's why they won.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Listened to Audiobook*
I read this book because I work for an electronic retailer, and I found the content very interesting. The narrator was woeful though, so I had to listen on 2x speed just to make it through.
The details of the board seeming to go through the seven stages of grief through their strategy documents was very insightful, and interesting.

[David Eversole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had wanted to read this book for several months, since hearing about it. The title and the subject intrigued me. I have always been interested in electronics and even wrote a paper/project in college on opening a retail electronics store. Reading how Circuit City was established and grew was fascinating to me and then how it all went away was terribly unfortunate. This was an interesting read and the author made a good attempt to draw several lessons from these experiences.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A business history about an interesting company. I was surprised with the many number of poor decisions and mistakes in it's last few years that resulted in the failure of Circut City.

There are lessons in this book for any organization. On how to be successful, and some warning on how to avoid costly mistakes.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tale of a business run into the ground by those responsible for managing it.

A fascinating tale of how a business goes from good to great to gone. An apt description for the path that this business followed. What's truly amazing, and communicated very well in the book, is the litany of mistakes by senior management that essentially and needlessly wrecked this business.

[Adam Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a firsthand account of the intensity and heartbreak of a captain going down with his ship. Instead, the author chronicles his very successful run as CEO of Circuit City in the 1980s, and then provides an outsider account of the decline and eventual failure of the business in the 90s and 2000s.

But interesting reading nonetheless.

[Brad Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I have gotten to know Alan Wurtzel through his volunteer service on the Oberlin College Board of Trustees. This book only reinforces my respect for him. It is an insightful analysis and well written. Many good lessons contained therein.

[Jonathan M Fox]

Good, not great.

I was really excited to read this book because of my retail background. there was some good info but I found I had a hard time getting .motivated to read this book.

[Alexandre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anal Wurtzel did a great favor to humanity in telling the true history inside Circuit City. Any one who enjoy Jim Collins must read this book.

[Vineeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on circuit city.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story of the growth of a small business and mistakes made a long the way.