Ex Tesco boss Leahy publishes 10 words management book

Retail guru Sir Terry Leahy, former ceo Tesco, has published a 10 words management handbook based on his years at the helm of the UK’s biggest supermarket.

His book, Management in 10 words, highlights the 10 vital attributes that make successful managers and underpin great organisations.

Leahy details: why initial failure often leads to ultimate success; why profits stem from a company’s values, not its day-to-day business and why competition should always be welcomed?

After joining Tesco at the age of  23, he became the company’s first marketing director. He was credited with introducing the successful Tesco Clubcard.

Services to food retailing

Leahy was knighted in 2002 for his services to food retailing. He controversially told the Oxford Farming Conference that Tesco made little or no money from red meat sales.

Stepping down as ceo of Tesco in February 2011, Leahy is a director of the Liverpool Enterprise Partnership.

Since Leahy passed the ceo role to Phil Clarke in March 2011, Tesco shares have lost about one quarter of their value.

Leahy’s book Management in 10 Words is by Random House Business Books priced at £20.

Leahy’s 10 management words

  1. Truth
  2. Loyalty
  3. Courage
  4. Values
  5. Act
  6. Balance
  7. Simple
  8. Lean
  9. Compete
  10. Trust

Meanwhile, what 10 words would you use to describe the manager of a successful food and drink business – or Leahy himself?

Use the comment function below to share your suggestions with our online audience.

Within minutes of FoodManufacture.co.uk posting a similar invitation on Twitter, MattChiltonUK replied: "Very clever at screwing suppliers’ prices as much as possible ..."

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