Prophets in the Dark: How Xerox Reinvented Itself and Beat Back the Japanese.

In 1982, when David Kearns became CEO of Xerox - the company that pioneered the most successful commercial product in history - he learned that if Xerox didn't quickly react to the increasing Japanese competition, the seemingly solid company would soon disappear. The Japanese companies were selling products for what it cost Xerox to make them and their quality was better. In searching for the solution to catapult Xerox back to the top, Kearns assembled a core group of prophets in the dark who mapped out a strategy to remake the culture of Xerox. The results were staggering - manufacturing costs were slashed by nearly half, production doubled and the product development cycle was cut by a full year. By 1990, Xerox was again the producer of the highest-quality office products in the world, and had gained back market share from the Japanese - the first American company ever to do so.