| Business
Book Reviews With Attitude
Reviewed
by Paul Johnson, Principal, Panache and Systems LLC
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|
| Christensen,
Clayton M., Michael E. Raynor. The
Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Growth.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003.
A:
A worthy guide to new revenue growth and
profits. |
| Hargadon,
Andrew. How
Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies
Innovate. Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003.
B:
This book will help you see all the innovation
opportunities already around you. The risk: you'll have
to step outside your comfortable and familiar silo to make it
happen. |
| Keller,
Ed, Jon Berry. The
Influentials. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2003
C:
Interesting report on consumer "bell cows,"
but try to apply it and you'll be chasing shadows. |
Uldrich,
Jack, Deb Newberry. The
Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change
the Future of Your Business. Random House, 2003.
B: A primer
on the big changes that the tiny world of nanotechnology will
wreak on your business and your life. |
| Dychtwald,
Maddy. Cycles:
How We Will Live, Work, and Buy. Simon & Schuster,
Inc., 2003.
B:
A good reminder that your future does not have
to equal the past. This gets you thinking about how you
want to live your next 50 years. |
| Tanaka,
Graham. Digital
Deflation: The Productivity Revolution and How It Will Ignite
the Economy. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2oo4.
C:
An economics lesson on how computers affect productivity.
A few insights buried in the numbers. |
| Glickman,
Ph.D., Rosalene. Optimal
Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self. John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 2002.
C:
You can skip this book if you already have a great
goal setting and management program. Novel approach by an Australian.
|
| Meyer,
Christopher, Stan Davis. It's
Alive: The Coming Convergence of Information, Biology, and Business.
Random House, 2003.
A:
Fascinating! Exciting examples of how people
are creating our future, and insights into how you can adapt
and create your own future. |
| Klein,
Gary. Intuition
at Work: Why Developing Your Gut Instincts Will Make You Better
At What You Do. Doubleday & Company, Inc.,
2002.
B:
Want intuition? Use your experience to recognize
patterns; lots of helpful diagrams and lists make it doable.
Helpful processes, too. |
| Herman,
Roger, Thomas Olivo, Joyce Gioia. Impending
Crisis: Too Many Jobs, Too Few People. Oakhill
Press, 2002.
C:
Lots of “shoulds” and “oughts”. The drumbeating
successfully raises awareness about a real problem, but the
platitudes offered as solutions fall short of “insightful”.
|
| Nohria,
Nitin, William F. Joyce, Bruce Roberson. What
Really Works: The 4 + 2 Formula for Sustained Business Success.
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2003.
A:
The organization of the content and simplicity
of its prescriptions make this book invaluable. Lots
of relevant examples demonstrate how to make this work for your
company. |
| Krames,
Jeffrey A. What
the Best CEOs Know: 7 Exceptional Leaders and Their Lessons
for Transforming and Business. The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. 2003.
B:
You'll likely pick your own favorite CEO (I like
Herb.) Perhaps we have the most to learn from the other
six. |
| Davenport,
Thomas H., Laurence Prusak, H. James Wilson. What's
the Big Idea?: Creating and Capitalizing on the Best Management
Thinking. Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003.
C:
The focus is on selecting and selling the next
big idea within your company. This deals little with
execution, which is the bigger problem for most companies. |
| Zaltman,
Gerald. How
Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Marke.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003.
B:
Many valuable insights mired in the technical details.
You should do the "metaphor elicitation" described.
|
| Eckblad,
Ph.D., John, David Kiel, D.P.H. If
Your Life Were a Business, Would You Invest In It?: The 13-Step
Program for Managing Your Life Like the Best CEOs Manage Their
Companies. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003.
B:
A detailed approach for living your life with
purpose and on purpose. A practical guide to the
business of you. |
| Sample,
Steven B. The
Contrarian's Guide to Leadership. John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 2002.
C:
No examples or case studies. I don't believe
it's possible to put these ideas into practice. |
| Ditlich,
David L., Peter C. Cairo. Unnatural
Leadership: Going Against Intuition and Experience to Develop
Ten New Leadership Instincts. John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 2002.
B:
Lots of clearly-defined ideas to choose from.
Unfortunately, not much proof is offered to justify the contrarian
viewpoints. |
| Miniter,
Richard. The
Myth of Market Share: Why Market Share Is the Fool's Gold of
Business. Random House, 2003.
A:
A great case for why and how to focus your company;
how to put your horse in front of your cart. |
| LaSalle,
Diana, Terry A. Britton. Priceless:
Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003.
A:
Wow! A powerful approach for turning your commodity
into something your customers will stand in line for. |
| Cairncross,
Frances. The
Company of the Future. Harvard Business School
Publishing, 2002.
C:
The message: We have to learn to integrate technology
into the management of our companies. |
| Stein,
Dave. How
Winners Sell: 21 Proven Strategies to Outsell Your Competition
and Win the Big Sale. Bard Press, 2002.
A:
A THOROUGH program for the big sales dogs who hunt
really large game. Unfortunately, most salespeople don't handle
deal sizes large enough to warrant really using this book. |
| Shapiro,
Stephen M. 24/7
Innovation: A Blueprint for Surviving and Thriving in an Age
of Change. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002.
C:
A preachy publication written to jump on the innovation
bandwagon. |
| Trout,
Jack. Big
Brands, Big Trouble: Lessons Learned the Hard Way.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001.
B:
Jack Trout deserves to play the armchair quarterback
here. Get past his chest-thumping, and you'll learn lots
from this book about marketing your company and beating the
competition. |
| Freedman,
Mike, Benjamin B. Tregoe. The
Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership. The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003.
B:
Links great ideas and vision to the project management
discipline that enables paper plans to become reality. |
| McCarthy,
May Pat, Jeff Stein with Rob Brownstein. Agile
Business for Fragile Times: Strategies for Enhancing Competitive
Resiliency and Stakeholder Trust. The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc., 2003.
C:
Trite. Stuff I've heard over and over again. A
good read if you like to be reminded of things you already learned
long ago. |
| Ricci,
Ron, John Volkmann. Momentum:
How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003.
A:
A treasure-trove of principles for building your
brand. While tailored to digital offerings, it has wider
application. |
| Drucker,
Peter F. Managing
in the Next Society. St. Martins Press, 2002.
C:
Drucker's opinions about the future - love ‘em
or hate ‘em. Not much insight or value. |
| Bossidy,
Larry, Ram Charan. Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done. Random House,
2002.
A:
Solid linkage to strategy. Weak discussion
of processes. |
| Harris,
Jim. Blindsided:
How to Spot the Next Breakthrough That Will Change Your Business
Forever. Johns Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
A:
Powerful insights. Stunning statistics. All relevant.
A well-researched tome that will let you create your future.
|
| O'Neil,
William J. How
to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times or Bad,
Third Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., 2002.
B:
No silver bullet but a reasonable, doable approach.
Packed full of valuable charts. |
| Hill,
Sam. 60
Trends in 60 Minutes. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 2002.
B:
This makes it easy to stick your head out of your
gopher hole for a quick look around. And you'll likely be inspired
to do something when you go back down. |
| Ulrich,
Dave, Steve Kerr, Ron Ashkenas with Debbie Burke and Patrice
Murphy. The
GE Work-Out: How to Implement GE's Revolutionary Method for
Busting Bureaucracy and Attacking Organizational Problems -
Fast! The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002.
B:
Specific and valuable instructions on how to use
the work-out tool. |
| Horibe,
Frances. Creating
the Innovation Culture: Leveraging Visionaries, Dissenters and
Other Useful Troublemakers in Your Organization.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001.
B:
An eye-opener on how to constructively manage dissent
and keep your company out of the ruts. |
| Ettenberg,
Elliott. The
Next Economy: Will You Know Where your Customers Are?
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002.
B:
Lightweight. Some useful observations on the customer
experience. |
| Bergeron,
Bryan, Jeffrey Blander. Business
Expectation: Are You Using Technology to Its Fullest?
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
C:
Subject = Technology product launches. Useful models
and checklists, but do authors really understand technology
and marketing? They use "digitalized” instead of
“digitized” , and they associate the “decline” phase of a life
cycle with very uncharacteristic marketing activities. |
| Pate,
Carter, Harlan Platt. The
Phoenix Effect: 9 Revitalizing Strategies No Business Can Do
Without. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
C:
Masters of statements of the obvious. “A
company has 3 choices; grow, shrink, or stay in the same business.
Pick one.” “Don't let untrained people manage
your working capital.” Duh. |
| Sheth,
Jagdish, Rajendra Sisodia. The
Rule of Three: Surviving and Thriving in Competitive Markets.
Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2002.
A:
Useful strategies to assist the development of
niche businesses. |
| Dru,
Jean-Marie. Beyond
Disruption: Changing the Rules in the Marketplace.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
B:
Great examples of building competitive value. |
| Goleman,
Daniel, Richard Boyatzis, Annie McKee. Primal
Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2002.
B:
Highly subjective, touchy-feely. It might
make work more fun if you can make their concepts work for you.
|
| Palus,
Charles J., David M. Horth. The
Leader's Edge: Six Creative Competencies for Navigating Complex
Challenges. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
B:
Lots of reasonable, doable tips. |
| Collins,
Jim. Good
to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't.
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2001.
A:
Strong supporting material in hedgehog concept,
discipline/control, and when to apply technology (answer: to
accelerate growth.) |
| Hammer,
Michael. The
Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade.
Random House, 2001.
B:
Supports “whole product” and measurement.
Most concepts depend on altruism. |
|
Brown,
Stanley A., ed and contributor. Customer
Relationship Management: A Strategic Imperative in the World
of e-Business. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
B:
A few useful tidbits to help get new customers.
Statistics. |
| Walther,
George R. Upside-Down
Marketing: Turning Your Ex-Customers into Your Best Customers.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1994.
C:
Misnamed; this is all about customer service,
not marketing. |
| Von
Ghyczy, Tiha, Bolko van Oetinger, Christopher Bassford, eds.,
Clausewitz
on Strategy: Inspiration and Insight from a Master Strategist.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001.
B:
Insight on causes, strategy, and games you can
win. |
| Roth,
Charles B., Roy Alexander. Secrets
of Closing Sales. Prentice Hall, 1997.
C:
One-dimensional. Nothing worth reviewing.
|
| Sutton,
Robert I., Weird
Ideas That Work: 11 ½ Practices for Promoting,
Managing, and Sustaining Innovation. Simon &
Schuster, Inc., 2001.
C:
No proof that they work. Doubtful people will put
up with them. |
| Enriquez,
Juan. As
the Future Catches You: How Genomics and Other Forces Are Changing
Your Life, Work, Health and Wealth. Crown Publishing
Group, 2001.
B:
Interesting comparisons. Past/present, rich/poor,
etc. |
| Thakor,
Anjan V. Becoming
a Better Value Creator: How to Improve the Company's Bottom
Line - and Your Own. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
2000.
C:
I could never find where he explains what “value”
is; I'm not sure he knows. More focus on shareholders than customers.
|
| Tellis,
Gerard J., Peter N. Golder. Will
and Vision: How Latecomers Grow to Dominate Markets.
The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., 2002.
A:
Yes, it's better to be good than first.
Good stats. |
| Courtney,
Hugh. 20/20
Foresight: Crafting Strategy in an Uncertain World.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001.
A:
Good explanation of the limitations of strategy
development. |
| Crawford,
Fred, Ryan Mathews. The
Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the
Best at Everything. Crown Business Publishing,
2001.
A:
Brilliant model. I question whether they applied
it appropriately in their customer examples. A lot to learn
here. |
| Rasiel,
Ethan M., Paul N. Friga. The
McKinsey Mind: Understanding and Implementing the Problem-Solving
Tools and Management Techniques of the World's Top Strategic
Consulting Firm. The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.,
2002.
C:
Mostly “What's” not “Hows”. You won't have much
luck trying to implement these techniques. |
| Kelly,
Tom, Jonathan Littman. The
Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's
Leading Design Firm. Doubleday & Company,
Inc., 2001.
B:
Useful tips for when creativity is at issue. |
| D'Alessandro,
David F., Michele Owens. Brand
Warfare: 10 Rules for Building the Killer Brand.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2001.
B:
Lots of good sound bites, but not sure if they
know what a brand is. Detailed advice on sponsorships.
|
| Swift,
Ronald S. Accelerating
Customer Relationships: Using CRM and Relationship Technologies.
Pearson Education, 2000.
C:
Lots of lofty “must do's” skim over the inherent
complexity. Swift talks a good game, but I'm not convinced
he knows how to make it happen. |
| Foster,
Richard, Sarah Kaplan. Creative
Destruction: Why Companies That Are Built to Last Underperform
the Market: and How to Successfully Transform Them.
Doubleday & Company, Inc., 2001.
C:
Good company stories. The academic analysis
and theory are impractical; too many “shoulds”. |
|
Seybold,
Patricia B. The
Customer Revolution: How to Thrive When Customers Are in Control.
Crown Publishing Group, 2001.
C:
Full of Cliché Abuse. |
| Thomas,
Dan. Business
Sense: Exercising Management's Five Freedoms.
Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1993.
C:
Analytics for established businesses. Lots of labels,
charts, and data-gathering. |
| McGrath,
James, Fritz Kroeger, Michael Traem, Joerg Rockenhaeuser.
The
Value Growers: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Long-Term
growth and Profits. The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., 2001.
B:
Makes a good case for growth, but weak on practical
advice on how to develop it. |
| Peoples,
David A. Selling
to the Top: David Peoples' Executive Selling Skills.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1993.
B:
Nothing new. Solid reference material on core selling
strategies. |
| Mark,
Margaret, Carol S. Pearson. The
Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the
Power of Archetypes. The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., 2001.
A:
Wow! Really an A+ - this approach to branding really
resonates with me. Get the book! |
| Kanter,
Rosabeth Moss. Evolve!:
Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001.
B:
Useful tips on creating a culture for e-business.
|
| Earle,
Nick, Peter Keen. From
.com to .profit: Inventing Business Models that Deliver Value
and Profit. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.
C:
Doesn't get past superfluous academic metaphors.
|
| Zook,
Chris, James Allen. Profit
from the Core: Growth Strategy in an Era of Turbulence.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001.
B:
Some useful statistics and diagrams. Advocates
creating a core, rather than finding it as your essence. |
| DeMarco,
Tom. Slack:
Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency.
Broadway Books, 2002.
A:
Outstanding! Makes the quest for “balance”
possible. |
| Leifer,
Richard, Christopher M. McDermott, Gina Colarelli O'Connor,
Lois S. Peters, Mark P. Rice, Robert W. Veryzer. Radical
Innovation: How Mature Companies Can Outsmart Upstarts.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000.
C:
Lots of good advice, clear steps. No “wow” ideas.
No examples. |
| Jennings,
Jason, Laurence Haughton. It's
Not the Big That Eat the Small... It's the Fast That Eat the
Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business.
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2000.
C:
A few useful ideas on guiding principles, causes,
and story telling. |
| Waldroop,
Ph.D., James, Timothy Butler, Ph.D. Maximum
Success: Changing the 12 Behavior Patterns That Keep You from
Getting Ahead. Doubleday & Company, Inc.,
2000.
A:
Authors of “Job Sculpting”. Good fodder for straightening
out your career path. |
| Moore,
Geoffrey A. Living
on the Fault Line: Managing for Shareholder Value in the Age
of the Internet. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.,
2000.
A:
Many tactics for managing a company to provide
what the market values.
|
| Rosen,
Emanuel. The
Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing.
Doubleday & Company, Inc., 2000.
C:
Not much new here. |
| McGrath,
Rita Gunther, Ian MacMillan. The
Entrepreneurial Mindset: Strategies for Continuously Creating
Opportunity in an Age of Uncertainty. Harvard
Business School Publishing, 2000.
B:
Some supporting ideas, but otherwise a highly academic
and tediously verbose explanation of product positioning and
launching. |
| Daniels,
Aubrey C. Other
People's Habits: How to Use Positive Reinforcement to
Bring Out the Best in People around You. The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2001.
B:
Some useful tips on how to give and accept compliments
(positive reinforcements). |
| Kaplan,
Robert S., David P. Norton. The
Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies
Thrive in the New Business Environment.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2001
B:
Some good concepts, but quickly gets lost in complexity.
|
| Gilder,
George. Telecosm:
How Infinite Bandwidth Will Revolutionize Our World.
Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2000.
A:
Excellent framework for future technology changes.
|
| O'Malley,
Michael N. Creating
Commitment: How to Attract and Retain Talented Employees by
Building Relationships That Last. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 2000.
B:
Practical information regarding job satisfaction.
|
| Nolan,
John. Confidential:
Uncover Your Competitors' Top Business Secrets Legally and Quickly
- and Protect Your Own. HarperCollins Publishers,
Inc., 2000.
B:
Great information, but I don't know what I'd do
with it. |
| Gladwell,
Malcolm. The
Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
Little, Brown & Company, 2000.
B:
Good concept. Not a lot of meat.
|
| Pottruck,
David S., Terry Pearce. Clicks
and Mortar: Passion-Driven Growth in an Internet-Driven World.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.
C:
Misleading title. Just typical vision and
culture fluff. Pottruck's 10 rules of advertising is
useful. |
| Hamel,
Gary. Leading
the Revolution. Harvard Business School Publishing,
2000.
A:
Great steps supporting structure and strategy,
core competencies. |
| Tapscott,
Don, David Ticoll, Alex Lowy. Digital
Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000.
C:
A lot of academic analysis no one ever asked for.
|
| Ries,
Al, Laura Ries. The
11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding. HarperCollins
Publishers, Inc., 2000.
B:
Good tips on branding and naming. Good discussion
against convergence. |
| Brown,
John Seely, Paul Duguid. The
Social Life of Information. Harvard Business
School Publishing, 2000.
B:
Intriguing information, but highly theoretical.
Examples are sparse and weak. |
| Ryans,
Adrian, Roger More, Donald Barclay, Terry Deutscher.
Winning
Market Leadership: Strategic Market Planning for Technology-Driven
Businesses. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.
C:
Remedial. Lots of charts of questionable
value. |
| Evans,
Philip, Thomas S. Wurster. Blown
to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000.
B:
Powerful theory on competitive strategies. A little
weak on “how to...” and examples. |
| Pfeffer,
Jeffrey, Robert I. Sutton. The
Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action.
Harvard Business School Publishing 2000.
A:
Encourages business simplicity. Supports
need for positive decisions. |
| Trout,
Jack, Steve Rivkin. Differentiate
or Die: Survival in Our Age of Killer Competition.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.
A:
Outstanding. Closely tied to the Panache
approach. |
| Garvin,
David A. Learning
in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000.
C:
Way more than I ever wanted to know about
learning theory. |
| Schrage,
Michael. Serious
Play: How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000.
B:
Useful prototyping concepts, but mainly for products.
|
| Oliver,
Richard W. The
Coming Biotech Age: The Business of Bio-Materials.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000.
C:
General predictions useful. Most claims
ungrounded and inconsistent. |
| Doyle,
James S. The
Business Coach: A Game Plan for the New Work Environment.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
C:
Difficult to apply general business coaching concepts.
|
| Siegel,
David. Futurize
Your Enterprise: Business Strategy in the Age of the E-Customer.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
B:
Good feature matrix discussion. I can't argue with
his philosophy, but not a lot of “how to...”.
|
| Smith,
Douglas K. Make
Success Measurable: A Mindbook-Workbook for Setting Goals and
Taking Action. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
A:
Well laid-out approach to ensuring the execution
of key strategies. Packed with tools you can use. |
| Leonard,
Dorothy, Walter Swap. When
Sparks Fly: Igniting Creativity in Groups. Harvard
Business School Publishing, 1999.
B:
Good tools for facilitating creativity sessions.
|
| Zyman,
Sergio. The
End of Marketing As We Know It. HarperCollins
Publishers, Inc., 1999.
A:
Insightful marketing instruction, good examples.
|
| Schwartz,
Peter, Peter Leyden, Joel Hyatt. The
Long Boom: A Vision for the Coming Age of Prosperity.
Perseus Publishing, 1999.
C:
Superfluous tripe based on ungrounded opinion.
|
| Ciampa,
Dan, Michael Watkins. Right
from the Start: Taking Charge in a New Leadership Role.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999.
A:
Written for presidents and CEOs. Good tips on visioning.
|
| Markides,
Constantinos C. All
the Right Moves: A Guide to Crafting Breakthrough Strategy.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999.
A:
An A+ - many useful models and examples. |
| Underhill,
Paco. Why
We Buy: The Science of Shopping. Simon &
Schuster, Inc., 1999.
A:
Lots of useful, specific tactics for breaking through
to retail buyers. |
| Kotler,
Philip. Kotler
on Marketing: How to Create, Win, and Dominate Markets.
Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1999.
B:
Likes low cost provider position! I don't, but
there's still plenty to learn here. |
| Kawasaki,
Guy, Michele Moreno. Rules
for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and
Marketing New Products and Services. HarperCollins
Publishers, Inc., 1999.
B:
Useful product marketing tips. |
| Schwartz,
Evan I. Digital
Darwinism: Seven Breakthrough Business Strategies for Surviving
in the Cutthroat Web Economy. Random House, 1999.
B:
Clear instructions for Web Branding. |
| Senge,
Peter, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard Ross, George
Roth, Bryan Smith. The
Dance of Change. Random House, 1999.
C:
Interesting metaphor about biological limits.
Fluffy team building techniques. |
| Drucker,
Peter F. Management
Challenges for the 21 st Century. HarperCollins
Publishers, Inc., 1999.
B:
Statistics on collapsing birth rate. Fabulous
section on cultivating strengths. |
| Koch,
Richard. The
80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less.
Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1998.
C:
If you think you know what this book is about,
you do. Thoughtful treatise on how complexity is undesirably
expensive. |
| Mendelson,
Haim, Johannes Ziegler. Survival
of the Smartest: Managing information for Rapid Action and World-Class
Performance. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
B:
Good points on Decision Architecture. |
| Heenan,
David A., Warren Bennis. Co-Leaders:
The Power of Great Partnerships. John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 1999.
B:
Good examples, case studies, tips. |
| Goleman,
Daniel. Working
with Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Doubleday
Dell Publishing Group. Inc, 1998.
C:
Soft stuff. Lots of “shoulds and woulds”.
|
| Pine
II, B. Joseph and James H. Gilmore. The
Experience Economy: Work is Theatre and Every Business a Stage.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999.
A:
Tremendously useful. People don't
buy products, they buy the experiences discussed in this book.
|
| Smart,
Ph.D., Bradford D., Topgrading:
How Leading Companied Win by Hiring, Coaching and Keeping the
Best People. Prentice Hall, 1999.
C:
Close to worthless. |
| Alessandra,
Ph.D., Tony, Michael J. O'Connor, Ph.D. The
Platinum Rule: Discover the Four Basic Business Personalities
- and How They Can Lead You to Success. Harvest
Book Company, 1996.
C:
I first heard this in 1984, and it wasn't new then.
|
| Thielen,
David. The
12 Simple Secrets of Microsoft Management. The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1999.
C:
Thin Management Platitudes. |
| Goffee,
Rob, Gareth Jones. The
Character of a Corporation: How Your Company's Culture Can Make
Or Break Your Business. HarperCollins Publishers,
Inc., 1998.
A:
Very useful culture assessment tools. |
| Greaver
II, Maurice F. Strategic
Outsourcing: Risk Management, Methods and Benefits.
Amacom, 1998.
C:
Written from a buyer's (not seller's) perspective.
Good discussion of core competencies. Very mechanical;
useful justification tools. |
| Marks,
Mitchell Lee, Phillip H. Mirvis. Joining
Forces: Making One Plus One Equal Three in Mergers, Acquisitions,
and Alliances. Macmillan Library Reference, 1997.
B:
How to beat the odds and make a merger work. |
| Slater,
Robert. Jack
Welch and the GE Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets
of the Legendary CEO. The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., 1999.
B:
Limited management reference material. |
| Trout,
Jack, Steve Rivkin. The
Power of Simplicity: A Management Guide to Cutting Through the
Nonsense and Doing Things Right. The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc., 1999.
B:
A bit “simple” but good models.
|
| Hammond,
John S., Ralph L. Keeney and Howard Raiffa. Smart
Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions.
Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999.
A:
Great decision-making tools, i.e. Desirability
Curve. |
| Dembo,
Ron S., Andrew Freeman. Seeing
Tomorrow: Rewriting the Rules of Risk. John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 1998.
C:
Dry; numbers analysis. Some good risk management
concepts. |
| Capodagli,
Bill, Lynn Jackson. The
Disney Way: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your
Company. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1999.
C:
Some decent project management ideas.
|
| Schaffer,
Robert H. High-Impact
Consulting. Jossey-Bass Inc., 1997.
C:
Limited ideas; more about how to hire a consultant
than how to deliver high impact through consulting. |
| Bardwick,
Ph.D., Judith M. In
Praise of Good Business. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1998.
B:
Excellent guide to leading in high-risk
environments. |
| O'Shaughnessy,
James. How
to Retire Rich: Time-Tested Strategies to Beat the Market and
Retire in Style. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing
Group, Inc., 1998.
A:
5 good strategies that are reasonable to apply.
|
| McLaughlin,
Peter, Peter McLaughlin, Jr. CatchFire:
A 7-Step Program to Ignite Energy, Defuse Stress and Power Boost
Your Career. Random House, 1998.
C:
A stress reduction program that I can't get excited
about. |
| Downes,
Larry, Chunka Mui. Unleashing
the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance.
Harvard B |
