The Go-Getter

The classic motivational parable that shows how to make your own opportunities in life, updated by bestselling business author Alan Axelrod.

Ever since its first printing by William Randolph Hearst in 1921, The Go-Getter has inspired employees and entrepreneurs to take initiative, increase their productivity, and excel against the odds. Now, more than half a million copies later, Alan Axelrod, bestselling author of Patton on Leadership and Elizabeth I, CEO, updates the tale to address today's most pressing work issues.


In The Go-Getter, Bill Peck, a war veteran, persuades Cappy Ricks, the influential founder of the Ricks Logging & Lumbering Company, to let him prove himself by selling skunk wood in odd lengths—a job that everyone knows can only lead to failure. When Peck goes on to beat his quota, Ricks hands Peck the ultimate opportunity and the ultimate test: the quest for an elusive blue vase. Drawing on such classic values as honesty, determination, passion, and responsibility, Peck overcomes nearly insurmountable obstacles to find the vase and launch his career as a successful manager.


In a time when managers are too busy for mentoring, how can you maintain positive energy, take control of your career, and prepare yourself to ace the tests that come your way? By applying the timeless lessons in this compulsively readable parable, employees at all levels can learn to rekindle the go-getter in themselves.


"Although Kyne's tale of business smarts has been around for some time, it doesn't feel dated. . . . the afterword is especially helpful in pinpointing Kyne's main ideas." —Publishers Weekly