Corporate Comeback

When solid-state physicist Amelio became National Semiconductor's chairman and CEO in 1991, the company was in a ""death spiral,"" with declining profits and three days of cash reserves. With Miles as his chief consultant, Amelio, who had led Rockwell International through a comeback, pulled off a dramatic turnaround at National Semiconductor. Their strategy, set forth here in an invaluable casebook for companies seeking fundamental change, involved replacing National's entrepreneurial, shoot-from-the-hip style with careful asset management, total quality control and ""benchmarking"" by executives and employees who constantly measured themselves against competitors and customer expectations. This thoroughgoing, intensive, no-nonsense guide gives point and substance to familiar managerial bywords such as ""developing empowered employees"" and ""matching core competencies to market needs."" Included are internal documents, mission statements, executive workshop presentations and managers' guidelines from National. (Nov.) FYI: Amelio resigned from National Semiconductor last February to become chairman and CEO of Apple Computer, where he is attempting a similar resuscitation, again with Miles as his transformation consultant. Miles helped found the Yale School of Organization and Management, and was most recently dean of Emory's business school.