Running With Purpose
About This Book
Jim Weber knew by seventh grade that he wanted to build a company people cared about deeply. In 2001 he got his chance when he took over Brooks Running Company, a struggling brand that had already gone through three chief executives in the previous two years. Running with Purpose is his account of what followed, a leadership memoir that traces how Brooks climbed from the back of the pack to a billion-dollar business in one of the most crowded corners of the sporting goods world. Weber, a lifelong competitor, started with a one-page strategy meant to rescue the company and set it up as a leading name in athletic, fitness and outdoor products. The harder task was persuading his own team that the plan could work, then holding them to it long enough to beat much larger rivals. He credits conviction, fortitude and a steady sense of purpose for the turnaround. In 2012 Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made Brooks a standalone subsidiary, which Weber presents as a sign that the strategy had paid off. The book lays out how Brooks positioned itself and why it chose to build a brand around customer obsession, trust, competing with heart and enjoying the work. Weber shares the six leadership lessons he has picked up over his career and uses at Brooks to grow employees into authentic leaders, and he describes how Berkshire Hathaway's backing helped the brand gain momentum. Weber also looks candidly at the highs and lows of his own life, which led him to believe that life is too short not to enjoy what you do and the people beside you. Leaders, entrepreneurs and aspiring managers will find practical takeaways here, and so will runners and others who keep investing in themselves.
ISBN: 9781400239771
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