Built from Scratch
by Mernie Marcus and Arthus Blank
This is one of those books that serves multiple purposes. It talks about Home Depot’s history, starting from when the two were running another hardware chain that was acquired and in which, they eventually got ousted. It talks about the ethics and culture of Home Depot and where it stems from. In fact, it becomes the perfect handbook for employees to understand the type of organization they’re joining. And finally, it introduces Arthur Blank (the successor to Bernie Marcus) to the world and signals a peaceful transition of power.
Home Depot is now worth $420 billion, compared to $30 billion when the book was first published in 1999; something must have gone right.
8/10
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