Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matters

Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery and Mark Thompson

Wharton School Publishing,  September 2006

Imagine discovering what successful people have in common, distilling it into a set of simple practices, and using them to transform your company, your career, and your life.

Authored by three thought leaders in organizational development and self-improvement -- including Built to Last coauthor Jerry Porras -- it challenges conventional wisdom at every step.

Success Built to Last draws on face-to-face, unscripted conversations with hundreds of remarkable human beings from around the world. Meet billionaires, CEOs, presidents of nations, Nobel laureates, and celebrities. Meet unsung heroes who've achieved lasting impact without obvious power or charisma. Famous or not, almost all started out ordinary.

Above all, discover why successful people stay successful and how you can too.

  • Why it's so damn hard to do what matters -- and what you can do about it
  • See what you have in common with people who have impacted the world we live in, such as Nelson Mandela, Charles Schwab, and Maya Angelou
  • Learn how these enduringly successful people harvested their victories and failures and found the courage to follow their passions

hardcover | ISBN: 9780132287517 | Publication Date: September 2006

Reviews:
"There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions -- in a way that serves the world and you. In this book you will learn from unknown and famous people -- inspiring leaders like Nelson Mandela and entrepreneur Michael Dell, along with schoolteachers, scientists, community workers, athletes, artists, and the presidents of nations.

"Everyone wants success, but you can do better than that. This is an extraordinary book that finally reveals a meaningful 'secret formula' for success based on the lives of remarkable people." 
--Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Brands

"If you're crazy enough to do what you love for a living, then you're bound to create a life that matters. Success Built to Last wisely counsels you to go nuts about something meaningful. That's what you're here to do, for heaven's sake."
--Herb Kelleher, Chairman and Cofounder, Southwest Airlines

"At last, a powerful new resource for leaders struggling to create a life that matters, a guide book for the journey to greater significance for leaders across the sectors and around the world." 
--Frances Hesselbein, Chairman and Founding President, Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation)

"You can make a difference if you put your passions to work in a way that builds a better life for you, your business, and your community. Success Built to Last shows you how."
--Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief, Forbes Magazine

"Anything worth doing in life takes a team. If you want to create a life that matters -- as you will see in this book -- you've got to recruit a team to your dream." 
--David Stern, Commissioner, National Basketball Association

"If we are to live in a world that works for everyone, we must create lives that matter. This book presents a path to the kind of lasting success that transcends fear and endows healthy self-esteem. This is a book for all of us who care about the future of all of us." 
--Jack Canfield, Bestselling Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul® series and The Success Principles

"The best coaching you will ever get on creating a life that matters is in this book!" 
--Marshall Goldsmith, Executive Coach and Author/Coeditor of 22 books, including The Leader of the Future and What Got You Here Won't Get You There

"An incredible book and a must read for anyone interested in achieving enduring success for themselves, their family, their stakeholders, and their community."
--Jason Jennings, Bestselling Author of It's Not The Big That Eat The Small -- It's The Fast That Eat The Slow, Less Is More, and Think BIG -- Act Small

"In Success Built to Last, the authors show readers how to pursue their passions and achieve success beyond their wildest dreams, while staying true to who they are . . . The book is a 'must read!'"
--Bill George, former Chairman and CEO, Medtronic, and Bestselling Author of Authentic Leadership

"In business and in life, lasting success takes teamwork, integrity, and the courage to stick with what really matters. It's the best five players that win the game, not the five best players. That's what this book is all about."
--Richard Kovacevich, Chairman, President, and CEO of Wells Fargo

"There is nothing more important you can do than create a life that matters for you and your family. As a leader and a parent, you've got to read this book and then give it to the teens in your family!"
--Greg Foster, President of IMAX Films

"John Deere himself said, 'I will not put my name on a product that does not have the best in it that is in me.' Imagine using that same standard in your personal life and career. When you commit yourself to excellence that would make you proud to put your name on everything you do, then you will have Success Built to Last."
--Robert Lane, Chairman and CEO of John Deere & Co., Inc.

"You will find rich insights about how to make a life -- not just a living."
--Barry Z. Posner, Dean and Professor of Leadership, Santa Clara University, and Bestselling Coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and A Leader's Legacy

"Want to pick the brains of successful, influential people? For your career's (and life's) sake, I hope you read Success Built to Last this weekend. For the world's sake, let's hope this is the most-read business book of the year."
--Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight and Bestselling Author of Never Eat Alone

"This book is a great read and provides excellent 'real world' examples for the reader to use immediately!"
--Rob Reeg, Chief Technology Officer of MasterCard International

"The book is both moving and practical. It also reflects the personal experiences of the authors -- three leaders whom I admire and respect. As far as I'm aware, this is the most thoroughly researched work on enduring success and leadership available. The ideas are amazingly accessible."
--Spencer Clark III, Chief Learning Officer of Cadence Design Systems

"In the end, whether or not your business prospers or fails is all a matter of how you behave and the decisions that you take. It is up to you. Let this exceptional book be your servant and guide."
--Lord Alistair McAlpine, Treasurer of the British Conservative Party, 1975-1990