Infos zum Buch »Jürgen Schrempp and the Making of an
Auto Dynasty« (Englischsprachige Ausgabe)
Zur Übersicht Jürgen E. Schrempp
Jürgen E. Schrempp - Englischsprachige
Ausgabe
»Jürgen Schrempp and the
Making of an Auto Dynasty«
The Story of the Man behind DaimlerChrysler«
(englischsprachige Hardcover-Ausgabe), McGraw-Hill,
New York 2000, ISBN 0-07-135132
Publishers information (McGraw-Hill)
»Jürgen
Schrempp and the Making of an Auto Dynasty.
The Story of the Man behind DaimlerChrysler«
»A world
champion in advertising – particularly for himself.«
Jürgen Grässlin
»I,
Jürgen Schrempp, believe in Jürgen Schrempp.«
Jürgen Schrempp
Jürgen Schrempp and the Making of an Auto Dynasty examines the man behind what The
Wall Street Journal calls
»the biggest industrial merger of all time.«
A bestseller in Europe, this is the first biography of the man Business Week
named one of the top 25 executives of 1999, one of »a new breed of CEOs who will manage
truly global enterprises in the next century.« Biographer Grässlin presents a man who
thrives on risk: whether tackling a sheer rock face in the Italian Alps or facing down the
unions, Schrempp never backs down from a challenge, and usually wins.
Grässlin weaves his story from primary sources: confidential documents obtained from
Daimler-Benz, interviews with Schrempp’s colleagues and associates, and material from
five interviews with Schrempp, himself. While this biography is unauthorized, Schrempp has
approved the quotes he provided. This inside look at how Schrempp rose from an auto
mechanic to one of the most powerful men in the world provides key insights into how he
might lead DaimlerChrysler in the twenty-first century.
Readers will learn about the two faces of Jürgen Schrempp: he’s one of the most
responsible and assertive corporate leaders in the world, but also one of the most
ruthless and power hungry - earning the nickname »Rambo in Pinstripes.« He is a master
at withstanding and deflecting even the harshest criticism: he is as arrogant in admitting
his mistakes as in celebrating his triumphs.
Grässlin covers Schrempp’s success as head of Daimler-Benz in Germany - within three
years achieving profits the likes of which had never been seen before, and unleashing a
new entrepreneurial spirit. But Grässlin also digs deeper, covering both less well-known
and more controversial periods in Schrempp’s career, especially his time in South
Africa and the United States between 1974 and 1987. In Pretoria, Schrempp rose from a
customer service manager to chairman of Mercedes-Benz of South Africa, deciding to stay in
business in South Africa at the height of apartheid, when many companies left.
Today Schrempp maintains that the changes in South Africa were possible only because some
western companies shared his attitude. Whether or not Schrempp’s analysis is
justified, it shows one of his great skills: presenting potentially weak arguments so
persuasively that he wins people over. He has a unique ability to give adversaries the
feeling that they too are important, therefore gaining allies as he wins every negotiating
point. His handling of adversaries while he was president of Euclid, an American Daimler
subsidiary, sheds light on negotiations he will certainly face at DaimlerChrysler.
What can we expect from Schrempp as the head of DaimlerChrysler? He is am man who enjoys
testing his own physical and mental limits, and he demands nothing less from his
colleagues and employees. He has no reservations about defeating those who stands in his
way. In today’s global business community, Schrempp cannot be ignored.
About the Author: Jürgen Grässlin is the Speaker of KAD
(Organization of Critical Shareholders of Daimler-Benz) and has been one of
Schrempp’s most outspoken critics. Schrempp nonetheless agreed to grant five
interviews with the author for this book. Grässlin lives in Freiburg, Germany.
211 pages, Hardcover, McGraw-Hill, New York 2000, ISBN
0-07-135132-9, $24.95 U.S.A.
Informations about the German Edition
»Jürgen E. Schrempp. Der Herr der Sterne«
»Rambo in
Pinstripes«
Who is the man
who decides the fate of the largest company in Germany? False judgements and scandals
shape the image of the president of the Daimler-Benz AG in public. No one has ever written
so directly and genuinely about the true Schrempp.
Jürgen E.
Schrempp is known as the power-conscious Rambo among German managers. Since he overtook
the presidency of the biggest German concern as Edzard Reuter’s successor in 1995, he
has been accompanied by scandals and headlines. Nevertheless the Daimler-Benz AG is
indisputably on the path of success again under his direction.
Jürgen
Grässlin, of all people, one of his sharpest critics, was granted an extensive view of
his career and of his economic and political opinions. Before the background of numerous
conversations with friends and opponents of Schrempp, a profile of an unusual man arises -
awkward, critical, pointed.
The book
focuses upon Schrempp’s career and his positions on the key questions of our time:
° Keyword
Career: Which strategy did Schrempp use to become president?
° Keyword
Responsibility: Are managers and politicians fulfilling their duty to promote
° Keyword
Globalisation: How can the economic site Germany prove itself in the
Pugnacious and
uncomfortable: This first portrait of Jürgen E. Schrempp shows astounding news ides of
the most successful and likewise controversial manager of the republic.
Jürgen
Grässlin, born in 1957, is the spokesman of the Critical Shareholders of Daimler-Benz
(KAD). He has carried on an intense dialogue with Jürgen Schrempp for many years.
Grässlin is the author of several books, among them »Daimler-Benz: The Company and her
Republic« (Knaur Pocketbooks).
He lives in Freiburg.
384 Pages with 8 pages of photographs,
Droemer-Verlag München 1998, ISBN 3-426-27075-7, Hardcover 39.90 DM / 291,-- öS / 37.--
sFr.
Reviews and Commentaries
»Jürgen E. Schrempp. Der Herr der Sterne«
»Certainly a
liaison apart.«
Die Zeit
»The book was
an elk test for Jürgen Grässlin: In spite of all prophesies of doom - Grässlin did not
turn over.«
Landesschau aktuell Südwest 3 (Television)
»The author
draws a surprisingly differentiated picture of the Daimler boss as a very tough manager
with quite appealing traits.«
Landesschau Journal Südwest 3 (Television)
»... the
Daimler boss will not always see himself presented in such a favourable light.«
Süddeutsche Zeitung
»The head of
the concern can live well with the result. Just the fact that he faced a critic will help
his image.«
Der Spiegel
»Many corpses
lie upon Schrempp’s way to the top of the concern. The book should not be called
»The Lord of the Stars«, but rather »Among Vultures«.«
Südwest Presse
»Grässlin
has caused quite a sensation with his book about the Daimler-Benz boss Jürgen Schrempp.«
Stuttgarter Nachrichten
»The
Schrempp biographer Grässlin has kept his portrait free of ideological black-white
colouring.«
Stuttgarter Nachrichten
»Grässlins
absolutely readable, fact-filled work illuminates the concern in a more realistic way than
the recently published memoirs of the fallen, narcessistic Edzard Reuter.«
Frankfurter Rundschau
»The book is
recommendable and exciting to read.«
Mittagsmagazin Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
(Television)