If you want to read a sharp, insightful, bitingly funny, crystal-clear, quick-read book that could help you avoid making fatal mistakes with your business, pick up Dead Companies Walking.” —CFO Magazine
“An excellent investing book” —Barbarian Capital
“Sharp insights into human fallibility as a potential source of moneymaking opportunity.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[A] surprisingly entertaining mix of business guide and memoir. The final takeaway of this spirited book is that “learning to love failure all over again” can help America recover the adventurous spirit that Fearon believes our economy needs.” —Publishers Weekly
“Scott Fearon’s Dead Companies Walking is chock full of wisdom—not just about investing but about the way to read between the lines about just about anything in life. Fearon’s book reads like a rollicking adventure—it’s vivid, entertaining and informative—and it offers enduring lessons about Wall Street and beyond.” —Professor Alec Klein, bestselling author of Stealing Time: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner
“Beginning with his drive from Illinois to Texas, Mr. Fearon weaves a fascinating odyssey captaining his hedge fund. Funny. True. Plain English. Anyone who has ever bought a stock or managed a business, big or small, will devour this book.” —J. Carlo Cannell, managing partner, Cannell Capital LLC
“[Scott Fearon's] insights on the common ways that mature companies often doom themselves apply equally well to startups. Every business, young or old, needs to avoid the ... mistakes that he outlines.” —Martin Zwilling, Forbes
“If you run a business, read this book. It contains great management lessons and why we should all embrace failure. If you manage your own money, read this book. Picking winners is a loser’s game and Scott spells out why short selling—and understanding why most companies fail—can help protect your portfolio.” —Lee Munson, President and CIO, Portfolio Wealth Advisors and author of Rigged Money: Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game
2014-10-23
Hedge fund owner/manager Fearon contrasts the methods of Wall Street experts and gurus, and the self-deception and illusions of many business managers, with his own ability to profit from such vulnerabilities.The author has ridden the roller coaster of finance and investment since the collapse of the Texas oil patch in the 1980s. Along the way, he became a successful investor by shorting the stock of companies destined to fail, and he founded his own hedge fund in 1991 and continues to run it. Fearon passed through a succession of investing styles as he worked to understand how self-delusions, obsessions and manias obstruct business success. Insights assimilated from his own failures—like the gumbo restaurant he located amid a non-Southern, spicy food-eating demographic, among others—were fuel for his subsequent successes. Number-crunching analysis, writes the author, doesn't function on its own, and he includes stories and incidents derived from thousands of interviews conducted with the leaders of companies to illustrate the methods that have worked for him. The author uses Ron Johnson, who was put in charge of J.C. Penney, as an example. He lost $1 billion eliminating popular coupon programs, replacing discount products with upscale goods and dropping the use of Spanish in states like Texas. Johnson wanted to build a company where he and his friends could shop, but J.C. Penney's customer base refused to go along. During his research, site visits and interviews helped Fearon probe beneath the rationalizations for failure. When managers blame external factors and refuse to consider the possibility of internal problems, it's another sure sign of trouble. Thus, when earnings are falling or nonexistent and liabilities are increasing, bankruptcy is at hand. The author also discusses successful investments, like International Game Technology which can make more money more quickly than the best shorts. Sharp insights into human fallibility as a potential source of moneymaking opportunity.
