The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time 

reposted from Forbes Contributor Kevin Kruse

Business leaders make thousands of decisions each year, and sometimes, a single decision can have a powerful far reaching impact. In the book, The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, Verne Harnish explores those “black swan” decisions that brought great success at companies like Zappos, Intel, Tata, Toyota and many others. Below is Harnish’s personal list of the greatest business decisions of all time.

#5 Greatest Decision—General Electric. Jack Welch’s decision to fully fund a first-in-class training center at Crotonville, led to the development of hundreds of great leaders who practiced the “GE Way”.

#4 Greatest Decision—Samsung. Their decision to launch a sabbatical program that sends top talent all around the world continues to be the secret behind Samsung’s success as a global brand.

#3 Greatest Decision—Wal-Mart. Sam Walton’s decision to hold Saturday morning, all-employee meetings led to a culture of rapid information and decision making, which in turn created one of the biggest companies in the world.

#2 Greatest Decision—Apple. The board’s decision to bring back Steve Jobs, after firing him a decade earlier, led to amazing product innovation and to the creation of one of the most valuable companies in the world.

#1 Greatest Decision—Ford. Henry Ford’s decision to double the wages of his workers enabled him to attract the talent he needed, and helped insure a class of worker who could afford the very products they were building.

To see all 18 “greatest business decisions of all time” check out the book here.

What do you think are the greatest business decisions in history?