Value proposition

Tough Things First is the management opus of Ray Zinn, the longest serving CEO and most consistently profitable businessman in Silicon Valley.

In Tough Things First, Zinn maps corporations as an organism and explains the interaction of the mind, heart, eyes and the entire body. This metaphor drives Zinn’s analysis of his nearly 40 years at the helm of Micrel, a Silicon Valley institution.

In the second half of the book, Zinn exposes the critical factors that entrepreneurs and seasoned executives alike need to know, including the intricacies of nurturing corporate culture, how to make every employee (and every human) feel important, the impact and limitations of policies and procedures, and how to manage growth.