Plain Talk

F. KENNETH IVERSON was raised in Downers Grove, Illinois. After earning a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Cornell and a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Purdue, Iverson started his career as a research physicist and held several technical and management positions in the metals industry.He joined Nuclear Corporation of America as a vice president in 1962. When Nuclear Corporation faced bankruptcy in 1965, the board elevated Iverson, then thirty-nine years old, to President and placed the company’s future in his hands. He focused the failing company on two businesses—fabricating joists from steel (to be used in nonresidential construction) and making steel itself from recycled metal scrap. In 1972, Nuclear Corporation changed its name to Nucor Corporation. Today, Nucor is America’s third-largest steel maker.Iverson has served on the boards of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Wachovia Corporation. President Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology, America’s highest award for technological achievement.TOM VARIAN is a principal of Strategic Communications Services in Mooresville, North Carolina. His clients include Johnson & Johnson, 3M, and the Special Projects Group at FORTUNE magazine.

"Ken Iverson is a leader whose vision shaped an industry and the future, a leader whose character, values, and ethics merge seamlessly with the mission and values of a successful, innovative business." -Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO, The Peter F. Drucker Foundation Ken Iverson taught us that America could compete in a tough global economy. He did it in an industry where being a maverick was the only way. His accounting of Nucor's story should serve as a blue print or us all. -David Glass, President and CEO, WalMart Stores, Inc. No theory; just important, practical ideas proven by Ken Iverson in the furnace at Nucor.-Peter Larson, Chairman and CEO, Brunswick Corporation It is a masterpiece! Plain Talk provides a penetrating analysis of why Nucor has performed so well for so long, full of insights and solid conclusions. The book is easy to follow, very well written, and a 'must' read for every executive...a major contribution to business. -Vijay Govindarajan, Earl C. Dum 1924 Professor of International Business, Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, DartmouthCollege This is a story about Ken Iverson, a man who built a major steel company from ground zero, much of it during a period when the U.S. steel industry was losing 25% of its capacity. But most of all, it's about motivating people to a level of remarkable accomplishment. You will enjoy reading this book as much as the people who work for Nucor enjoy being there.-James F. Collins, President, Steel Manufacturers Association

• A Higher Cause. Trust Your Instincts. Destroy the Hierarchy. The Engines of Progress. A Simple Stake in the Business. The Virtues of Smallness. Risks and Adventures. Ethics over Politics. The Bottom Line. The Cure for the Common MBA. Notes. Index.