Inside Home Depot

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Chris Roush nails down Home Depot in this unauthorized portrayal of the retailing titan. Inside Home Depot shows how cofounders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank over the past 20 years built their business from two stores in Atlanta into 650 outlets--the world's largest home-improvement retail chain. Roush, a veteran business reporter, finds that much of Home Depot's astonishing financial success comes from its strong "bleeding orange" culture. Home Depot fosters loyalty among workers with the best pay in the industry, generous stock-purchase plans, and first-rate training in home improvement and customer service. Incredibly enough, Blank, the company's chief executive, still spends a third of his time personally training employees--unthinkable for any other CEO of a multibillion-dollar company. Roush also examines plenty of defects. Home Depot was so macho that it could be a house of horrors early on for its women employees: the company paid $104.5 million to settle sexual-discrimination lawsuits.

The author points out that the company's hegemony is threatened by competitors like Lowe's and community activists who fear that Home Depot means suburban sprawl and schlock. Nevertheless, Roush predicts that Big Orange, which is experimenting with new home-design and rural stores, will become even more ubiquitous in the future:

Home Depot has only just begun to build itself into a retail power. With each customer that enters its orange-colored doors and walks its vast aisles, buying do-it-yourself items to repair roofs and fix leaky faucets, Home Depot hammers away.

Business managers, investors and customers of Home Depot will enjoy reading this inside story about one of America's top-10 retailers. --Dan Ring

Book Description

"Reads like a novel, yet serves as a how-to guide for creating a customer culture and marketing strategies that wow Wall Street...I recommend this book as priority reading for all retail executives." Kurt Barnard, President, Barnard Retail Trend Report and Barnard's Retail Consulting Group.

Admirers, competitors, industry and Wall Street analysts alike are intrigued with the question of what makes Home Depot so special. What, exactly, does this giant do that so clearly distinguishes it from the competition? How does Home Depot culture and customer service work? And, most importantly, what lessons can every business learn from the Home Depot example? INSIDE HOME DEPOT takes you behind the scenes to discover the secrets of success of this retail giant how, in just twenty years, Home Depot has not only changed the way hardware is sold, Home Depot has also elevated the superstore concept to a new level of success, inspiring both admiration and fear in the retail community. Relying on inside access to Home Depot's training programs, interviews with key employees both past and present, and meticulous investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist Chris Roush presents the first uncensored book about how this company has become so successful, and isolates the practical lessons that readers can apply to any industry.

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A prize-winning journalist uncovers how Home Depot's rapid rise and revolutionary strategies dominate an entire industry.

Customer Reviews:

Has Chris Roush Ever Worked There?.......2007-05-30

I dought it! If he had, I don't think he would have written what seems to be a glowing book about Home Deephole. I worked there for about a month and quit because of all of the damn lies and jerking me around they did.

They promised me a certain pay...screwed me, certain days off...screwed me, to work in the department said...screwed me again, to have someone train me by THEIR own rules...NOPE, and so on! They re-nigged on almost everything they promised! The turn-around there was a testament to their bad management, at least in that store in the area. My FIRST DAY they left me by myself at a busy time and had not trained me on their computer invetory or phone system, didn't leave me any keys or codes to anything so I could get customers merchandise they wanted and on and on. They have more rules than Carter has liver pills but don't follow them themselves but BLAST you if YOU don't follow them! I'm getting pissed again thinking about their BS.

They DO NOT pay well and that's a fact! Don't believe me...go apply. Do they pay better than anyone else in the industry...maybe, I don't know, I quit trying Retail as most of them don't pay worth a damn anyway! You are expendable...especially in retail. Get a good education (college degree) or good training in some field and stay away from retail if possible.

I take back what I said about pay...sort of. If your the CEO of the Deephole, then I guess you would get paid VERY WELL by possibly cooking the books and taking outrageous salaries while paying your help below poverty wages! Ahhh...what a world.

Disappointment.......2006-12-26

This book is a disappointment. The author tends to drag out his writing, which makes you want to skim parts of the book. The book needs to be peppier. It's not near as interesting as Built From Stratch by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank (1999) wrote about founding and running Home Depot. If you want to read an entertaining and more insightful book and spend your leisure hours more enjoyably read Built From Stratch.

Does not tell the real story.......2005-02-25

Home Depot is a place now where desperate employees come after being laid off from good jobs, are paid poverty-level wages, poorly trained and thrown out onto the sales floor to bear the brunt of customer heat. It is a company of metrics where if the employee does not measure up to the metrics,even if providing tremendous service to its customers, that employee is penalized.

It is a company where employees are charged $9.25 for a copy of their W-2 and where the smallest deviations from the work schedule result in a demerit system which can end in termination of the employee.

It is an environment where if an employee is given too much work in the time allotted they are blamed and when trying to defend themselves asked "what is the maximum effective range of an excuse?"

it is no longer a company encouraging employee free-thinking or innovation and does not appear to share original values of the founders of the business who retired wealth yand without worry.

what a joke.......2003-10-03

This is obviously just the work of a home depot corporate hack. Home despot has a reputation for one thing: lousy, rude, and insulting service. While contractors can deal with this, the home consumer always leaves Home despot frustrated and unhappy.

I'm sure Enron executives could write books on how ethical, enlightened and customer friendly Enron is, too. That doesn't mean anyone should waste a nickel or a minute reading them.

A good behind-the-scenes objective take on HD.......1999-10-24

Although I'm not an HD fanatic or investor, I found this book a good account of what makes this company tick. Given that it was done without the founders' cooperation, that is an even more amazing feat. I disagree that the book reads poorly; on the contrary, I found it an quick read, well organized and on point. Highly recommended.

Inside the Home Depot Pro: new warehouse store targets professional customers.: An article from: Do-It-Yourself Retailing

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Inside the Home Depot Pro: new warehouse store targets professional customers.: An article from: Do-It-Yourself Retailing
Walter E. Johnson
Manufacturer: National Retail Hardware Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098K954
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Do-It-Yourself Retailing, published by National Retail Hardware Association on June 1, 1998. The length of the article is 590 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Home Depot Pro is Home Depot's newest store concept which is focused at professional customers such as small contractors, remodelers, plumbers and apartment managers. The store, which is an experiment is located in Colma, CA, and has an area of 89,000 sq ft. Its main strategy is to provide job-lot quantities. In this strategy, the stores do not provide a wider selection of products but instead carry a greater number of certain items such as bathtubs of insulation products.

Citation Details
Title: Inside the Home Depot Pro: new warehouse store targets professional customers.
Author: Walter E. Johnson
Publication: Do-It-Yourself Retailing (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 1998
Publisher: National Retail Hardware Association
Volume: 174 Issue: 6 Page: 70(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Inside Home Depot
Chris Roush
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFMAAE

Book Description

Risk management is no longer confined solely to risk management specialists. Stakeholders ranging from employees to investors must understand how to quantify the tradeoffs of risk against the potential return. The failure to understand the essential nature of risk can have devastating consequences.

Globally renowned risk and corporate governance experts Michel Crouhy, Dan Galai, and Robert Mark have updated and streamlined their bestselling professional reference Risk Management to introduce you to the world of risk management without requiring you to know the intricate formulas and mathematical details.

The Essentials of Risk Management is the first book to make even the most sophisticated risk management approaches simultaneously accessible to both risk and non risk professionals. It will help you to:

Increase the transparency of your risk management program to satisfy shareholders, employees, regulators, and other important constituencies
Keep on top of the continuing evolution of best-practice risk policies and methodologies and associated risk infrastructures
Implement and efficiently communicate an organization-wide Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) approach that encompasses market, credit, liquidity, operational, legal and regulatory, business, strategic and reputation risks
Navigate thorny areas including risk policies, risk methodologies, economic capital, regulatory capital, performance measurement, asset-liability management, and more
Efficiently allocate limited corporate resources to comply with the new generation of risk regulation and corporate governance regulation

As a non-risk professional or board member, you are being called on more than ever before to make sophisticated assessments of your organization's risk exposures as well as play a critical role in its formal risk management process. The Essentials of Risk Management tells you what you need to know to succeed in this challenging new environment.

Customer Reviews:

Good Introduction.......2007-08-01

I would highly recommend this book to the begginer/budding Risk Manager

For the experienced risk professional, this is a bit too fundamental.

An excellent introduction.......2006-07-11

This book provides an introduction to the field of risk management for readers who do not yet want to get deeply involved in the mathematical formalism that is typically used. The authors wrote the book so that it is "accessible to everyone", and they have done a fine job. Those readers who need a more quantitative treatment will have to consult another book or the vast research literature on the subject. Risk management, as they see it, is an attempt to estimate both the `expected' losses and the `unexpected' losses, and being able to differentiate between these two concepts goes to the core of the subject. Thus the book emphasizes the "intuition" behind risk management, and not the formalism. However, one must not conclude from this that "intuition" and "formalism" are distinct, and the belief that they are has resulted in a lot of confusion (and financial losses) in recent years. The authors clearly do not believe that they are, but have merely emphasized "intuition" from a pedagogical point of view.

The authors classify risk into eight categories, namely market, credit, liquidity, operational, legal and regulatory, business, strategic, and reputation risk. Financial risk, as they see it, is composed of two of these, namely market and credit risk. Their discussion of corporate risk management is very interesting, in that it begins with the observation first made almost forty years ago that the value of a firm is not altered solely by financial transactions. This is due to their assumption of the perfect market hypothesis, which effectively suppresses the ability of the firm to gain significant advantages over an individual investor. Therefore with this assumption a firm should not concern itself with risks outside of the ones that all other firms face. This is an interesting conclusion, particularly in the context of using hedging via derivatives, as it implies that it cannot compete with ordinary self-insurance, due to the presence of transaction costs. The authors discuss in fair detail why the perfect market assumption is faulty, and therefore why managing risk with hedging is a viable strategy.

The regulatory environment, particularly in the banking industry, has enormous ramifications for risk management, as the authors discuss in the book. This is due in part to the Basel Accords of 1988 and 1996, and Basel II which is due to be in place at the end of 2007. The Basel accords are essentially a standardization for capital reserves, defining a `assets-to-capital' multiple and a `risk-based capital' ratio. The authors review the 1988 Accord and discuss the elementary relationships involved, including the `Cooke ratio' and how to obtain the credit equivalent for the off-balance-sheet exposures. They also discuss the reasons for the 1996 amendment, which essentially were the result of the new trading activities that banks were indulging themselves in. It would have been interesting if the authors had included a (historical) discussion on the efficacy of the Basel Accords in suppressing banking failures. They do mention the fiasco with Barings Bank, claiming that its demise would have been adverted if it were prohibited from racking up huge exchange-traded futures positions. This is certainly true, but any regulation needs to be validated by historical data, to the extent that this is possible, and this requires of course tracking of the financial institutions that are under the umbrella of the regulation. In this regard though, the authors do view bank regulation as a `research lab' for risk management, implying that they are aware of the need for validation of any regulations that are actually put in place. It will be fascinating therefore to see the impact of the new Basel II accords when they become active, and indeed observe, if possible, any `regulatory arbitrage' that occurs. This also brings up the question of how to assess the quality of the risk management strategies of a particular financial institution. The authors spend a little time discussing this, with one of them referring to a method analogous to credit scoring.

No book on risk management could be complete without discussion of academic research on the topic, for the reason that much of this research has found practical application and has greatly influenced portfolio management and risk valuation. The authors review four theoretical models, namely modern portfolio theory, the capital asset pricing model, the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, and the Modigliani-Miller theory of corporate finance. Even though the discussions are very short, one has to admire the authors' ability to avoid complicated mathematics in discussing all of these theories without sacrificing clarity. The more mathematically-mature reader may perhaps be annoyed with the omission of mathematical formalism, but a natural question that might arise for such a reader is whether or not risk can indeed be put in a general axiomatic framework that will encompass all of its different manifestations, such as credit risk, operational risk, etc. Such a framework would allow a complete mathematical characterization of risk, and would allow various general and quantitative statements to be made about it.

Due to the extent of mortgage portfolios in the United States at the present time, and due to the sensitive dependence of their values on interest rates, the authors spend a fair amount of time discussing interest-rate risk and how to hedge it with derivatives. Thus they speak of the `sensitivity' of financial instruments to certain risk factors, and study the case of fixed-income products via the `DV01' risk measure, which is the change in value of a security after a change in interest rate of 1 basis point. This measure gives a `first-order' approximation to the change in yield, but the authors show how to obtain a `second-order' approximation using the `convexity' adjustment.

For complex portfolios, the most popular method for risk management has been the value-at-risk or VAR, and so it is not surprising that the authors devote an entire chapter to it in the book. The authors view it as a more sophisticated method because of its ability to deal with volatilities and correlations. However, they point out that its efficacy is restricted to relatively short time scales and under `normal' market conditions. The fiasco at LTCM (Long Term Capital Management) is discussed as an example of the failure of VAR to measure risk over long time scales and under abnormal market conditions. They do not however give any detailed evidence for this claim, but a perusal of the research literature (surprisingly rather slim) reveals that LTCM made "major" errors in terms of their risk management, if viewed from the standpoint of VAR. This still leaves open the question as to whether it made "major" errors from the standpoint of some other method for measuring and evaluating risk that is possibly radically different from VAR.

A Non-Mathematical Approach.......2006-04-19

The essense of investing is that increased risk should be compensated for by increased return. The problem lies in measuring and thus managing risk. Measuring risk is in the same category as predicting the future. The future is uncertain, the best guesses fail as bad weather, oil embargoes, or any of a whole list of other incidents change the situation.

Risk management isn't simply a matter of avoiding risk. It is instead a matter of identifying it, measuring it, appreciating its consequences and then taking actions accordingly. Insurance is perhaps the best example.

If a hundred sailing ships go out and 90 return, spreading the risk among all hundred ships compensates for the loss of the ten. And Lloyds is born.

During recent years several techniques have been developed to measure risk. This book discusses them in a non-mathematical way that can be used by both risk and non-risk professionals. In essence it brings sophisticated techniques to be accessible to a wide audience.

Essentials of Financial Risk Management (Essentials Series)

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Essentials of Financial Risk Management (Essentials Series)
Karen A. Horcher
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471706167

Book Description

A concise introduction to financial risk management strategies, policies, and techniques
This ideal guide for business professionals focuses on strategic and management issues associated with financial risk. Essentials of Financial Risk Management identifies risk-mitigation policies and strategies; suggestions for determining an organization's risk tolerance; and sources of risk associated with currency exchange rates, interest rates, credit exposure, commodity prices, and other related events. Examples illustrate risk scenarios and offer tips on an array of management alternatives, including changes in the way business is conducted and hedging strategies involving derivatives.

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A concise introduction to financial risk management strategies, policies, and techniques This ideal guide for business professionals focuses on strategic and management issues associated with financial risk. Essentials of Financial Risk Management identifies risk-mitigation policies and strategies; suggestions for determining an organization's risk tolerance; and sources of risk associated with currency exchange rates, interest rates, credit exposure, commodity prices, and other related events. Examples illustrate risk scenarios and offer tips on an array of management alternatives, including changes in the way business is conducted and hedging strategies involving derivatives.

Professional Liability And Risk Management: An Essential Guide for Obstetrician-Gynecologists

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Professional Liability And Risk Management: An Essential Guide for Obstetrician-Gynecologists

Manufacturer: American College of Obstetricians & Gynecolog
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1932328157

Essentials of Insurance: A Risk Management Perspective

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Essentials of Insurance: A Risk Management Perspective
Emmett J. Vaughan , and Therese M. Vaughan
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0471107581

Book Description

A condensed version of the classic Fundamentals of Risk and Insurance, this accessible text contains the latest forms, statutes and court decisions and examines specific contracts in detail to emphasize insurance principles. Addresses such timely issues as the high cost of medical care and automobile insurance. detail to emphasize insurance principles. The helpful study aids and the critical essentials of risk management and insurance remain intact. A special section on buying insurance prepares the reader for future purchases.

Project Risk Management: A Proactive Approach (Project Management Essential Library)

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Project Risk Management:A Proactive Approach
too generic - no insight

Project Risk Management: A Proactive Approach (Project Management Essential Library)
Paul S. Royer
Manufacturer: Management Concepts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1567261396

Book Description

You don't need sophisticated statistical analysis or software to improve the probability of project success. This book offers a proactive project management process for managing project risk from project initiation through planning, execution, control and closure. In addition, you'll apply a new technique for program risk auditing that lets you explore risk in multiple related projects. You'll learn how to uncover hidden risk during the planning phase and how to track and manage it throughout the project. You'll also learn to enhance project value by building a risk management repository to support ongoing knowledge transfer.

Customer Reviews:

Project Risk Management:A Proactive Approach.......2007-01-27

The book order was in excellent condition and came on time.

too generic - no insight.......2004-06-21

Royer describes about 10 generic project risks, but no real elucidation of where to go from there. I found no particular
insight. I think you should save yourself the $25.

Essentials of Hospital Risk Management (Health Care Administration Series)

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Essentials of Hospital Risk Management (Health Care Administration Series)

Manufacturer: Aspen Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Essentials of Risk Control, Vol. 1: Third Edition

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Definitive Text
Essential!

Essentials of Risk Control, Vol. 1: Third Edition

Manufacturer: Insurance Inst of Amer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0894620851

Customer Reviews:

Definitive Text.......2000-04-23

This series is the definitive text on the Risk Management process! The texts cover all the essentials in a way that is easy to understand from a beginner's perspective, yet sophisticated enough for the expert. The examples peppered throughout really bring the concepts to life. I would recommend this 3 part series to everyone interested in Risk Management from beginner to seasoned veteran. A text you will refer to again and again.

Essential!.......2000-04-23

This series is the definitive text on the Risk Managementprocess! The texts cover all the essentials in a way that is easy tounderstand from a beginner's perspective, yet sophisticated enough for the expert. The examples peppered throughout really bring the concepts to life. I would recommend this 3 part series to everyone interested in Risk Management from beginner to seasoned veteran. A text you will refer to again and again.

CISO Leadership: Essential Principles for Success

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CISO Leadership: Essential Principles for Success
Todd Fitzgerald , and CISSP Micki Krause
Manufacturer: AUERBACH
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0849379431

Book Description

CISO Leadership: Essential Principles for Success provides the guidance needed to become a successful executive-level computer security manager within a corporation. Individuals already possessing technical skills and experience often lack the managerial skills needed by CISOs, such as leadership, team-building, communication, risk assessment, and corporate business savvy. Written by experienced computer security professionals, and including interviews with successful CISOs, it describes the practical, applicable, real-world management skills needed by aspiring senior security executives. This unique text will be a valuable reference for IT professionals wanting to learn managerial skills, practicing CISOs, CIOs, CSOs, and students of IT security and management.

Essentials of Insurance - a Risk Management Perspective / Policies Supplement

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Essentials of Insurance - a Risk Management Perspective / Policies Supplement
Vaughan
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Essentials of Risk Management and Insurance

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Essentials of Risk Management and Insurance
John J. Hampton
Manufacturer: Amacom Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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