Lessons from the Titans audiobook cover - What Companies in the New Economy Can Learn from the Great Industrial Giants to Drive Sustainable Success

Lessons from the Titans

What Companies in the New Economy Can Learn from the Great Industrial Giants to Drive Sustainable Success

Scott Davis

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Management & LeadershipEntrepreneurship

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Lessons from the Titans
General Electric (Rise & Fall)+
Boeing (Risk & Hubris)+
Honeywell (The Turnaround)+
United Rentals (Systemic Integration)+
Core Principles for Success+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9
According to the book, what is the most common culprit behind the failure of giant industrial companies?
  • A. Rapid disruption by new technology companies like Uber and Airbnb
  • B. An arrogant management culture that develops over many years
  • C. Sudden economic downturns that dry up consumer demand
  • D. Over-regulation by government agencies like the SEC
Question 2 of 9
How did Jack Welch effectively acquire the TV network NBC for General Electric 'for free'?
  • A. By trading GE's struggling consumer electronics branch directly for NBC
  • B. By leveraging GE Capital's AAA bond rating to absorb NBC's debt
  • C. By purchasing RCA, then selling off RCA's other assets and GE's electronics branches for more than the deal's cost
  • D. By lobbying the US government to break up RCA's monopoly and grant GE the network
Question 3 of 9
What hidden role did GE Capital play in General Electric's financial reporting during the 1980s and 1990s?
  • A. It was used to fund secret lobbying efforts to prevent SEC oversight
  • B. It provided a legal tax haven to offshore GE's manufacturing profits
  • C. It was used to artificially boost or smooth out GE's total earnings through creative accounting
  • D. It systematically bought out GE's failing competitors to create a monopoly
Question 4 of 9
What was a defining characteristic of General Electric's corporate culture under Jeffrey Immelt that contributed to its decline?
  • A. An intimidating environment that prioritized image and deterred criticism
  • B. A hyper-focus on lean manufacturing that slowed down production
  • C. A decentralized structure where branch managers had too much autonomy
  • D. An over-reliance on external suppliers for core manufacturing components
Question 5 of 9
What underlying management decision contributed to the disastrous rollout of Boeing's 737 MAX?
  • A. Outsourcing the entire production process to unvetted international suppliers to cut costs
  • B. Aggressively expediting manufacturing to compete with Airbus, while using creative bookkeeping to justify insourcing parts
  • C. Abandoning the commercial airline market to focus entirely on military defense contracts
  • D. Investing heavily in unproven hydrogen fuel cell technology instead of traditional engines
Question 6 of 9
When Dave Cote took over Honeywell, how did he approach cost-cutting and manufacturing?
  • A. He immediately outsourced all US manufacturing to China to reduce labor costs
  • B. He shut down all underperforming factories and reduced total headcount by 25 percent
  • C. He localized production so products were made in the same regions they were sold, and hired strategically in growth areas
  • D. He transitioned the company away from manufacturing entirely to focus on software and services
Question 7 of 9
How did Mike Kneeland encourage regional cooperation and stop branch managers from hoarding equipment at United Rentals?
  • A. By tying 70 percent of managers' compensation to district results rather than individual branch profits
  • B. By implementing a strict quota system that limited how much equipment each branch could purchase
  • C. By firing the bottom 15 percent of branch managers who refused to share resources
  • D. By replacing human managers with an automated, centralized AI distribution system
Question 8 of 9
What Japanese business philosophy did United Rentals extensively use to establish a culture of continuous improvement?
  • A. Kanban
  • B. Keiretsu
  • C. Kaizen
  • D. Poka-yoke
Question 9 of 9
According to the book's final advice on employee performance, where does the most impactful long-term success come from?
  • A. Focusing all resources on retaining the top 5 percent of star employees
  • B. Helping the middle 80 percent of average employees improve their performance by just 10 percent
  • C. Aggressively weeding out the bottom 50 percent of the workforce every year
  • D. Hiring external consultants to manage the top-performing departments

Lessons from the Titans — Full Chapter Overview

Lessons from the Titans Summary & Overview

Lessons from the Titans (2020) tells the stories of ten industrial companies in the United States. From General Electric to Boeing, Honeywell to United Rentals, it looks at which strategic decisions led to success and which disastrous missteps created new obstacles. By analyzing the past performance of such legendary businesses, it offers greater insight into which companies today will stick around – and which won’t. 

Who Should Listen to Lessons from the Titans?

  • Business gurus fascinated by economic shifts
  • Entrepreneurs looking to future-proof their companies
  • Economists curious about market shifts

About the Author: Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a former Wall Street analyst with over 25 years of experience. He spent 16 years as Managing Director and Head of the Global Industrials Research Group at Morgan Stanley. Currently, Davis is the Chairman, CEO, and lead research analyst of Melius Research. Written with Carter Copeland and Rob Wertheimer, also from Melius Research, this is Davis’s first book.

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