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Wear Clean Underwear: Business Wisdom from Mom; Timeless Advice from the Ultimate CEO
Find out how successful companies like Disney, Nordstrom, and Kinko's have triumphed by heeding Mom's timeless advice.
Mom. She's the quintessential leader. She not only manages, but she teaches, nurtures, sustains, and guides. She patiently taught us right from wrong as well as how to think, to care, and to be decent human beings. In this eye-opening guide, a leading business writer and consultant shows us how great companies have excelled by embracing timeless values--and how, in an age of increasing cynicism, the time is right for thinking like Mom. Filled with sage advice from top business leaders and based on in-depth research and personal interviews, Wear Clean Underwear illustrates how successful businesses--including Disney, Kinko's, and 3M--have triumphed by heeding Mom's
Southwest Airlines bucked industry trends and succeeded--by listening to Mom's If All Your Friends Jumped off a Bridge, Would You Jump off One Too?
When outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia began to outgrow its own values, character, and style, its CEO made an extraordinary decision, taking a lesson from Don't Get Too Big for Your Britches.
Nordstrom is virtually unmatched in its reputation for customer service. How do they do it? In part from following Mom's great I Don't Care Who Made This Mess, Just Clean It Up!
"If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump off one too?" Southwest Airlines bucked the industry trend of keeping wages and benefits low while competing on the basis of price--and is now one of the ten most admired companies in the country and one of the few consistently profitable airlines.
"Don't judge a book by its cover." A severely dyslexic man realized he'd never get a good job, so he opened his own business, which was built on mutual trust and communication with his employees--a company called Kinko's, now with more than 900 locations nationwide.
Filled with sage advice from top business leaders based on in-depth research and personal interviews, WEAR CLEAN UNDERWEAR illustrates how successful businesses, including Disney, Nordstrom, and 3M, have triumphed by heeding Mom's advice. -->
Mom. She's the quintessential leader. She not only manages, but she teaches, nurtures, sustains, and guides. She patiently taught us right from wrong as well as how to think, to care, and to be decent human beings. In this eye-opening guide, a leading business writer and consultant shows us how great companies have excelled by embracing timeless values--and how, in an age of increasing cynicism, the time is right for thinking like Mom. Filled with sage advice from top business leaders and based on in-depth research and personal interviews, Wear Clean Underwear illustrates how successful businesses--including Disney, Kinko's, and 3M--have triumphed by heeding Mom's
Southwest Airlines bucked industry trends and succeeded--by listening to Mom's If All Your Friends Jumped off a Bridge, Would You Jump off One Too?
When outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia began to outgrow its own values, character, and style, its CEO made an extraordinary decision, taking a lesson from Don't Get Too Big for Your Britches.
Nordstrom is virtually unmatched in its reputation for customer service. How do they do it? In part from following Mom's great I Don't Care Who Made This Mess, Just Clean It Up!
"If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump off one too?" Southwest Airlines bucked the industry trend of keeping wages and benefits low while competing on the basis of price--and is now one of the ten most admired companies in the country and one of the few consistently profitable airlines.
"Don't judge a book by its cover." A severely dyslexic man realized he'd never get a good job, so he opened his own business, which was built on mutual trust and communication with his employees--a company called Kinko's, now with more than 900 locations nationwide.
Filled with sage advice from top business leaders based on in-depth research and personal interviews, WEAR CLEAN UNDERWEAR illustrates how successful businesses, including Disney, Nordstrom, and 3M, have triumphed by heeding Mom's advice. -->
- GenresBusiness
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 1999
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18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 26, 2025
Not as relevant in today's business world. She had some decent advice.
August 11, 2009
This is a great business book but the lessons can be applied to home, church, or any organization one might be involved with. Abrams takes many of the old bromides that our mothers used on us and applies them to business/management.
Some of the chapters are: How Do You Know You Don't Like It When You've Never Tried It?; I Don't Care Who Made This Mess, Just Clean It Up; Say You're Sorry; Share; It's Not the End of the World; and more.
Some might think that she is into just touchy-feely things but Abrams is a successful management consultant. She explains this a little bit on page 133 - "I believe in capitalism. But capitalism that is based on greed, not profit, destroys the whole system. That's not capitalism. That's just greed. And it's bad for everyone."
A great book and like I said, it can be applied to many different areas.
Some of the chapters are: How Do You Know You Don't Like It When You've Never Tried It?; I Don't Care Who Made This Mess, Just Clean It Up; Say You're Sorry; Share; It's Not the End of the World; and more.
Some might think that she is into just touchy-feely things but Abrams is a successful management consultant. She explains this a little bit on page 133 - "I believe in capitalism. But capitalism that is based on greed, not profit, destroys the whole system. That's not capitalism. That's just greed. And it's bad for everyone."
A great book and like I said, it can be applied to many different areas.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews