Business Audiobooks | Biography & Memoir

Flamin' Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man's Rise from Janitor to Top Executive

Read the story everyone is talking about: how a janitor struggling to put food on the table invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos in a secret test kitchen, breaking barriers and becoming the first Latino frontline worker promoted to executive at Frito-Lay. Richard Montañez is a man who made a science out of walking through closed doors, and his success story is an empowerment manual for anyone stuck in a dead-end job or facing a system stacked against them. Having taken a job mopping floors at Frito-Lay's California factory to support his family, Montañez took his future into his own hands and created the world's hottest snack food: Flamin' Hot Cheetos. This bold move not only disrupted the food industry with some much-needed spice, but also shook up a corporate culture in which everyone stayed in their lane. When a top food scientist at Frito-Lay sent out a memo telling sales and marketing to kill the new product before it made it to the store shelves-jealous that someone with no formal education beyond the sixth grade could do his job-Montañez was forced to go rogue once again to save his idea. Through creative thinking, community building, and a few powerful mindset shifts, he outsmarted the naysayers who tried to get in his way. Flamin' Hot proves that you can break out of your career rut and that your present circumstances don't have to dictate your future.

Richard Montanez (Author), Richard Montanez, Steven Montañez (Narrator)

Audiobook

Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire

In Japan it's called the 'Ghosn Shock'-the stunning arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the jet-setting CEO who saved Nissan and made it part of a global automotive empire. Even more shocking was his daring escape from Japan, packed into a box and put on a private jet to Lebanon after months spent in a Japanese detention center, subsisting on rice gruel. How did it come to this, and why? This is the sprawling story of what led to the Ghosn Shock and what was left in its wake. The book chronicles Ghosn's two decades building a colossal partnership between Nissan and Renault. To the world it looked like a new model for a global business, but the alliance's shiny image fronted an unsteady, tense operation. Culture clashes, infighting among executives and engineers, dueling corporate traditions, and government maneuvering constantly threatened the venture. Expertly reported, Collision Course explores the complex suspicions around what and who was really responsible for Ghosn's ouster. It explains how economics, history, national interests, legal traditions, and hubris converged on arguably the most important foreign businessman ever to set foot in Japan.

Hans Greimel, William Sposato (Author), Joel Richards (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Vijay Mallya Story

K. Giriprakash's book, titled The Vijay Mallya Story is an intriguing story of the life of Vijay Mallya, an Indian industrialist with a history of ground-breaking success. He was given numerous titles, like the King of Good Times, The Liquor King of India, King of Good Thrones, and many more. The making of this industrial tycoon, his success story, the story of his decline with the downfall of Kingfisher, and a lot of important events from his life are presented in the book. Vijay Mallya is a name that has been heard with relation to a lot of important and prime events, be it through his presence in Indian parliament, being an owner of IPL team Royal Challengers, Bangalore, or being an industrialist. Giriprakash has included lesser-known facts and stories from the professional events of Mallya's life in this book. Mallya had three decades of success with numerous businesses. The book not merely includes the professional life of Mallya, but also of his childhood events, the business acumen he was born with, and how he shared his relationship with his father. The book explains how his skills and the business-dealing abilities got him a long period of unmatched success, while the fall of Kingfisher has been a break in his reign. The author has done in-depth research on Mallya's life, and the major and minor events of his business life with some interesting details of his young days are all included in a compact and captivating manner in this book. Penguin Books Limited published this book in 2014 in paperback.

K. Giriprakash (Author), Anuj Datta (Narrator)

Audiobook

Henry Ford and the Building of Modern Capitalism

Explore the compelling and complex legacy of the man Forbes Magazine named “The Businessman of the 20th Century. Your guide for this audio course is celebrated history professor Jeff Webb, voted Teacher of the Year at Huntington University. Each captivating lecture guides you through a different facet of Henry Ford’s life and accomplishments. Few industrial leaders rival Ford in their contributions to America’s global economic leadership, yet his life and views remain deeply controversial. Follow Ford’s path from his modest upbringing on a rural Michigan farm to his role as a titan of industry who revolutionized American automobile manufacturing. You’ll begin with Ford on his family farm, showing an early talent for tinkering with machines that eventually landed him a job as an engineer working for his hero, Thomas Edison. Later, through The Ford Motor Company, Ford pioneered industrial techniques that enabled the company to dominate the field of automobile manufacturing in its earliest stages of development. The Ford Model T, the low-cost automobile that put car ownership within reach of millions of middle and working-class Americans, likewise profoundly changed American culture. Known for nuanced biographies that depict the human being behind the flashpoint moments, Prof. Webb also tackles the controversies that followed Ford throughout his adult life, particularly his anti-Semitic commentary and dalliance with German fascism. As Webb deftly shows, these associations complicate the traditional picture of Ford as an American business icon, inviting questions about how best to remember the complicated people who have entered the pantheon of great figures in American history.

Jeff Webb (Author), Jeff Webb (Narrator)

Audiobook

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

Blasting clichéd career advice, the contrarian pundit and creator of Dilbert recounts the humorous ups and downs of his career, revealing the outsized role of luck in our lives and how best to play the system. Scott Adams has likely failed at more things than anyone you've ever met or anyone you've even heard of. So how did he go from hapless office worker and serial failure to the creator of Dilbert, one of the world's most famous syndicated comic strips, in just a few years? In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Adams shares the game plan he's followed since he was a teen: invite failure in, embrace it, then pick its pocket. No career guide can offer advice that works for everyone. As Adams explains, your best bet is to study the ways of others who made it big and try to glean some tricks and strategies that make sense for you. Adams pulls back the covers on his own unusual life and shares how he turned one failure after another-including his corporate career, his inventions, his investments, and his two restaurants-into something good and lasting. There's a lot to learn from his personal story, and a lot of entertainment along the way. Adams discovered some unlikely truths that helped to propel him forward. For instance: • Goals are for losers. Systems are for winners. • "Passion" is bull. What you need is personal energy. • A combination of mediocre skills can make you surprisingly valuable. • You can manage your odds in a way that makes you look lucky to others. Adams hopes you can laugh at his failures while discovering some unique and helpful ideas on your own path to personal victory. As he writes: "This is a story of one person's unlikely success within the context of scores of embarrassing failures. Was my eventual success primarily a result of talent, luck, hard work, or an accidental just-right balance of each? All I know for sure is that I pursued a conscious strategy of managing my opportunities in a way that would make it easier for luck to find me."

Scott Adams (Author), Scott Adams (Narrator)

Audiobook

Test Gods: Tragedy and Triumph in the New Space Race

Brought to you by Penguin. Meet the astronauts leading the way to a new world of space travel. 'An instant classic.' SCOTT KELLY, astronaut and author of Endurance 'Adventure in its purest form - rich with risk, courage and friendships.' BEAR GRYLLS 'So exciting. A new generation with The Right Stuff.' DAN SNOW When Richard Branson founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, his goal was simple: to offer paying customers a trip to space by the end of the decade. Seventeen years, countless delays, and one catastrophic crash later, his space tourism dream may finally be on the verge of becoming a reality. New Yorker journalist Nicholas Schmidle knows that story intimately. He spent nearly four years embedded with Virgin Galactic at its California hangar, meeting the individuals working to make commercial space travel possible. Now, Schmidle offers the definitive account of life inside the new space race. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with Virgin's lead test pilot, Mark Stucky, Test Gods describes the making of a modern astronaut. Schmidle recounts Stucky's life - from starry-eyed youth to NASA, the Air Force, and Virgin Galactic; and through dozens of gruelling test flights to his first successful trip beyond the earth's atmosphere. Along the way, we meet the colourful cast of engineers, executives and mechanics battling to take Virgin to space. There's Branson, who emerges as an excitable if overoptimistic evangelist for commercial space travel. There's Mike Moses, Virgin Galactic's grounded, unflappable president. And there's Mike Alsbury, the pilot whose momentary miscalculation sends his aircraft crashing into the Mojave Desert - making him one of the first casualties of the new space race. The result is a compelling examination of the inner lives of a new generation of astronauts. Theirs is a world where the line between lunacy and genius is blurred, and where no sacrifice is too great in pursuit of the dream of space travel. 'If you want to know what being a test pilot truly looks and feels and even smells like, read this riveting book. Schmidle has done something remarkable, capturing all the visceral grit we experience inside the cockpit, in addition to all the tragedies and triumphs that we encounter along the way. This is the book about the new space race you've been waiting to read.' SCOTT KELLY, astronaut and author of Endurance 'A hurtling narrative about the test pilots of the Virgin Galactic space program, Test Gods is a hugely ambitious feat of reporting and storytelling and a fitting twenty-first-century sequel to The Right Stuff. Schmidle captures not just the technical wizardry of the spaceships and the envelope-pushing prowess of the pilots, but also the very real costs, for the pilots and their families, of reaching for something beyond this world.' PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE, author of Say Nothing © Nicholas Schmidle 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Nicholas Schmidle (Author), Nicholas Schmidle (Narrator)

Audiobook

From the Bench to the Boardroom: My Journey from Underdog Athlete to Turnaround CEO

Michael C. Macdonald (Author), Rich Miller (Narrator)

Audiobook

Innovative Entrepreneurs from North Dakota: 125 Years of Impact!

Biographies of successful innovative entrepreneurs from North Dakota who have influenced not only the United States but also the world Bruce Gjovig, CEO Emeritus of the University of North Dakota Center for Innovation Foundation, has written a second book of profiles of more North Dakota innovators and entrepreneurs. This second edition features forty-six chapters of inspiring stories about individuals who were born in North Dakota and went on to make their mark in business across the nation and the world.

Bruce Gjovig (Author), Wayne Evans (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sukcesy samouków: Królowie wielkiego biznesu

Każdy z nas jest niepowtarzalny i wyjątkowy. Wszyscy rodzimy się z naturalną ciekawością świata, pragnieniem odkrywania, poznawania i tworzenia. Jak to się dzieje, że ta wyjątkowość, kreatywność, radość i swoboda ekspresji zatracają się gdzieś podczas dorastania i przypadającej na ten czas edukacji szkolnej? Czy powszechne systemy edukacji oparte na oświeceniowym przekonaniu, że wszyscy przychodzimy na świat jako „czysta tablica”, którą można dowolnie zapisać, wspierają nasz rozwój i rozwijają nasze zdolności, czy jest wręcz przeciwnie? Czy szkoła, próbująca nas ukształtować według na-rzuconego przez system modelu i starająca się nas wpasować w ramy społecznych oczekiwań, na pewno jest warunkiem odniesienia sukcesu i spełnionego życia? Nie potwierdzają tego przykłady ludzi, którzy zdołali się wyłamać z tego systemu i pójść własną drogą. To samoucy – ci, którzy mimo braku formalnego, systemowego wykształcenia odnoszą sukcesy w przeróżnych dziedzinach i branżach, tworząc, wynajdując, unowocześniając, a często wręcz rewolucjonizując życie swoje i współczesnych im ludzi, czyniąc je lepszym i łatwiejszym. Audiobook, Sukcesy samouków - Królowie wielkiego biznesu, zawiera pięćdziesiąt biogramów nieprzeciętnych ludzi – przedsiębiorców samouków, którzy często wbrew ciężkim warunkom, biedzie i brakowi szkolnej edukacji odnieśli w życiu wielkie sukcesy, w sposób zasadniczy wpływając na świat, jaki znamy. Niech będą one dla Ciebie dowodem na to, że spełnione życie i sukces zależą przede wszystkim od pracy i samodzielnego rozwoju, a nie od formalnego wykształcenia.

Andrzej Moszczyński (Author), Aleksander Bromberek (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Man in the Arena: Vanguard Founder John C. Bogle and His Lifelong Battle to Serve Investors Firs

The importance of the life's work of mutual fund pioneer and investing legend John C. Bogle The Man in the Arena offers the essence of John C. Bogle's thinking and the meaning of his life's work, which transformed individual investing to benefit tens of millions of investors. Through Bogle's own words - as well as the voices of others whose hearts and minds he touched - the book touches on topics he cares about most deeply: Vanguard, indexing, corporate governance, and a fiduciary society. From Vanguard shareholders to true giants in finance, one cannot hear their words without being struck by their sheer intensity. Bogle's parade of admirers is passionate. It is led by, arguably, the two most acclaimed leaders of our day - in the world of investing and the public life of the world - Warren Buffett and President Bill Clinton. The book is a first take at putting Bogle's life work into a broader context. It includes some of Bogle's classic essays and leads to an agenda of reform Bogle feels is essential to preserve our democratic republic. It features insight on the man from such commentators as Arthur Levitt, Burton Malkiel, Paul Volcker, and many more. -Features wisdom and commentary on the career and life of legendary investor John C. Bogle -Presents a summary of Bogle's prominent and successful career, as well as his investing strategies -Includes commentary from a Who's Who of top investors

Knut A. Rostad (Author), Basil Sands (Narrator)

Audiobook

7 Billionaires Who Were Not Born Rich

Life is not easy. We are tested at each milestone in life, they either make us or break us. However, there are only few individuals who were not just able to hold on to their nerves at difficult times, their determination and commitment level were extremely high and they were able to achieve great things that were deemed impossible at one point. This book focuses on seven self-made billionaires who started from nothing.

Syed Bokhari (Author), M. D. Merline (Narrator)

Audiobook

Pic: Adventures in Sailing, Business and Love

An engaging and very funny autobiography of a New Zealand baby boomer, “Pic” tells the story of a privileged teenager unimpressed by the blandishments of a convention life. He taught himself leatherwork and handmade sandals and bags supported a nomadic, barefoot lifestyle that spanned small town New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, the hippy trail across Noth America and a winter sharing a derelict tenement with the homeless of London. His arrival back in New Zealand earned him a fortnight in a psychiatric ward and encounter group marathons at the newly formed Centrepoint, before joining an isolated Coromandel commune. A chance meeting with an English woodworker saw him become a fine furniture maker, before financial exigencies turned him into a tawdry giftware manufacturer. His “Panic Packs”, glass-fronted emergency boxes filled with cigarettes or condoms, tea bags or vibrators, and his Cannabis Fertiliser found their way into many New Zealander’s Christmas stockings before he chucked it in, built a yacht and sailed off into the Pacific. A second divorce, a restaurant, a charter boat directory and a sailing school filled his forties when deteriorating eyesight pushed him towards retirement. At fifty five, disgusted by the arrival of sugared peanut butter in NZ, he made a few jars of his own in a converted concrete mixer. Pic’s Peanut Butter developed a cult following that forced him to continually grow production, commissioning four new factories in ten years. The last, Pic’s Peanut Butter World, becoming a significant tourist destination, employing 55 people and producing 25000 jars a day. This is a refreshingly different kind of business book. One man’s life story, told with generousity and humour. His business success appears to surprise no one more than himself, but Pic’s stories and observations provide a genuine insight into the meaning and practice of entrepreneurship.

Pic Picot (Author), Mark Hadlow (Narrator)

Audiobook

Business Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir