First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 10, 2012

Posner Jossey-Bass (2010) What Kouzes and Posner learned about what leadership is and does after three decades of rigorous study I have read and reviewed most of the books on which Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner have [.]. The Truth About Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know James M. Kouzes and Barry Z.

Review 70

Review Books Leadership Blog 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 24, 2014

The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers Bill Conaty and Ram Charan Crown Business (2010) How to develop “robust talent pipelines and same-day succession plans” I agree with Bill Conaty and Ram Charan that Steve Jobs is the archetypical “talent master.”

Charan 95

Charan Review Books System 95

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 7, 2011

Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals Heidi Grant Halvorson Hudson Street Press/Penguin Group (2010) How and why almost anyone can achieve the goals they set IF…. Others have their own reasons for praising this book. Here are five of mine. The book is very well written. Heidi Grant Halvorson has accumulated, organized, and [.].

Books 100

Books Review Goal Organization 100

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 12, 2013

Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance Boris Groysberg Princeton University Press (2010) Why the productivity of some people “massively outstrips that of their colleagues” I cannot recall a prior time in U.S.

Review 80

Review Books Productivity Products 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 19, 2011

Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences Nancy Duarte John Wiley & Sons (2010) How and why to create significant, sincere, and enlightening moments during presentations that “drive the big idea home” Don’t be deterred by the shape of this book (I was) and incorrectly assume that it is heavy on packaging and light on [.].

Books 89

Books Review Audience Cialdini 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Gregermnan Sourcebooks (2010) How and why winning in today’s competitive markets requires unlocking genius within us and in the world around us I deeply appreciated all that I learned in Alan Gregerman’s most recent book, The Necessity of Strangers: The […].

Constraint 75

Constraint Books Review Creativity 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 21, 2012

2010) How and why a leader needs to be both “a fox to discern snares, and a lion to drive off wolves” Those who have read one or more of the volumes that comprise Tom Butler-Bowdon’s 50 Classics series [.]. The Prince: The Original Classic Niccolò Machiavelli, with an Introduction by Tom Butler-Bowdon Capstone Publishing Ltd.

Review 75

Review Books Ethics Blog 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

JULY 24, 2012

Baker RockBench Publisging Corporation (2010) All the management basics, well-presented There are no head-snapping revelations in this book, nor does David Baker make any such claim. Managing Right for the First Time: A Field Guide for Doing It Well David C.

Books 93

Books Management Review Cost 93

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

Levick with Charles Slack Watershed Press (2010) Effective leadership as demonstrated by mindset-guided and values-driven behavior Written by Richard Levick with Charles Slack, this is definitely not an “easy read” but, that said, it generously rewards those who read it with appropriate care and especially, [.].

Review 80

Review Crisis Books Definition 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 11, 2012

The Art of War: The Ancient Classic Sun Tzu, with an Introduction by Tom Butler-Bowdon Capstone Publishing (2010) “Every battle is won or lost before it is fought.” – Sun Tzu Those who have read one or more of the volumes that comprise Tom Butler-Bowdon’s “50 Classics” series already know that he possesses superior reasoning [.].

Review 80

Review Books Blog 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 27, 2012

The Winner’s Brain: 8 Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske with Liz Neporent DeCapo Press/Perseus Books Group (2011) How and why your brain can help you to become the best person you can be Note: I recently re-read this book, first published in 2010, and value what it offers [.].

Books 75

Books Review Strategy Succession 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 25, 2012

The New HR Analytics: Predicting the Economic Value of Your Company’s Human Capital Investments Jac Fitz-enz AMACOM (2010) A brilliant explanation of “the first holistic, predictive management model and operating system for the HR function” Those who have read one or more of Jac Fitz-enz’s previously published books know that (..)

Human Capital 85

Human Capital Books Review Operations 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 16, 2012

Hallinan Broadway Books, Reprint edition (2010) And why we often make mistakes when trying to understand mistakes Frankly, until reading this book, I assumed that I understood why people make [.]. Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average Joseph T.

Books 80

Books Review Blog 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 14, 2012

How Women Mean Business: A Step by Step Guide to Profiting from Gender Balanced Business Avivah Wittenberg-Cox John Wiley & Sons (2010) How and why appropriate gender balance is an immensely promising business opportunity This is one of two books written by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox that I have recently read, the other being Why Women Mean Business (..)

Books 80

Books Review Blog 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

MAY 2, 2011

Turner John Wiley & Sons (2010) How to “break through all that noise and visual stimulation to get to the core of the customer” What we have here is another business fable, a very popular sub-genre for business book authors [.]. Get Heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle Kevin Daum with Daniel A.

Books 75

Books Review Marketing How To 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 9, 2012

Costa Vanguard Press (2010) How and why we must accept “the title of realists-in-search of-a-solution, not doomsayers….” The Watchman’s Rattle: Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction Rebecca D.

Books 75

Books Review System Operations 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

OCTOBER 19, 2011

Meister and Karie Willyerd Harper Business/An im print of HaroerCollins (2010) How and why the HR function has become so much more important than many (most?) The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies, Attract, Develop, and Keep Tomorrow’s Employees Today Jeanne C.

Review 80

Review Reference Books Innovation 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 12, 2011

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work Shawn Achor Crown Business/Random House (2010) The power of positive psychology in all dimensions of human experience Having already read Tal Ben-Shahar’s The Pursuit of Perfect, Happier, and Even Happier as well as Jessica Pryce-Jones’ (..)

Review 75

Review Books Positioning Power 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 27, 2011

Faster Cheaper Better: The 9 Levers for Transforming How Work Gets Done Michael Hammer and Lisa Hershman Crown Business (2010) How to create a more logical and more efficient network of processes for getting work done Michael Hammer’s death two years ago at age 60 was a tragic loss to his family members, friends, and [.].

Hammer 85

Hammer Review Books Efficiency 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

JULY 4, 2012

Maxwell Thomas Nelson (2010) Without mutual respect and trust, “communication” is BLAH BLAH BLAH Two of the greatest (of many) benefits of the World Wide Web originally envisioned by Tim Berners-Lee are that those who are connected with it can then connect [.].

Review 75

Review Books Succession Blog 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

JULY 7, 2011

Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary Joel Kurtzman Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons (2010) “Organizations themselves are mindless, so if people don’t repair them, no one will.”

Review 75

Review Books Crisis Organization 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 26, 2011

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity Richard Florida Harper (2010) With each reconfiguration of the economic landscape, there’s “good news&# and “bad news In the first chapter, Richard Florida explains that peaks and valleys are part of the lifecycle of any society as “obsolete and (..)

Review 80

Review Books System Engineering 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

Lead with Purpose: Giving Your Organization a Reason to Believe in Itself John Baldoni AMACOM (2012) The multi-dimensional “why” of initiative and fulfillment for organizations as well as for individuals I selected my review’s title because, in his latest book, John Baldoni focuses on how and why having (or not having) a sense of purpose [.]. (..)

Review 75

Review Books Organization Ulrich 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 26, 2011

Newly Revised and Updated) Jeff Thull John Wiley & Sons (2004/2010) Complex sales are those which involve a lengthy process of cultivation and solicitation, a “circle of influence&# within which the purchase or pass decision is made, a product or service [.].

Review 85

Review Books Influence Process 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

MAY 17, 2011

The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith with Carlye Adler Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint (2010) In this book written with Carlye Adler, Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith explain how to “leverage the power of the new social media to do something that [.].

Aaker 80

Aaker Books Review Media 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Gentile Yale University Press; First Edition (August 24, 2010) How to express your values more eloquently and act upon them more effectively As I began to read this brilliant book, I was reminded of James O’Toole’s contribution to a [.]. Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What’s Right Mary C.

Books 80

Books Review Tools How To 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 31, 2011

Wallace Packt Publishing (2010) This book has prepared me well to work with technical and graphics specialists whom I have retained to transform my website into ”fully-functional, dynamic” WordPress website. WordPress 3 Site Blueprints: Ready-Made Plans for 9 Different Professional WordPress Sites Heather R.

Books 89

Books Review Planning Directory 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 24, 2011

One Page Talent Management: Eliminating Complexity, Adding Value Marc Effron and Miriam Ort Harvard Business Press (2010) A comprehensive analysis of “the most powerful, repeatable processes that create successful talent&# The claim by Marc Effron and Miriam Ort that they offer “the most powerful&# processes that create successful talent (..)

Talent Management 85

Talent Management Management Review Analysis 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 6, 2011

jQuery: Enhance Your Website with the Captivating Effects of jQuery Tessa Blakeley Silver Packt Publishing (2010) This book has prepared me well to work with technical and graphics specialists whom I have retained to transform my website into fully-functional, dynamic WordPress website. WordPress 3.0

Books 80

Books Review 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

The Wisdom of Bees: What the Hive Can Teach Business About Leadership, Efficiency, and Growth Michael O’Malley Portfolio/Penguin (2010) “What they have done has worked for them”…and can work for us as well. I read this book when it was first published more than a year ago and have since purchased several dozen copies to [.].

Books 75

Books Review Efficiency Leadership 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

Here is a brief excerpt from an article written by Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfss for the Harvard Business Review. Artwork: Tamar Cohen, Happy Motoring, 2010, silk screen on vintage [.]. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here.

Management 93

Management Review Article Resources 93

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 22, 2011

Chan John Wiley & Sons (2010) A chorus of eloquent voices that suggest “a sense of what life is, can be, or should be” Prior to reading this book, I had already read two biographies of Warren Buffett, Roger Lowenstein’s Buffett: [.]. Behind the Berkshire Hathaway Curtain: Lessons from Warren Buffett’s Top Business Leaders Ronald W.

Rogers 80

Rogers Books Review Company 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JULY 31, 2011

2010) Risk unmanaged is risk exacerbated I am among those who find a wealth of excellent advice every time I pick up my copy of The Art of War and re-read a passage or two [.]. Surviving and Thriving in Uncertainty: Creating the Risk Intelligent Enterprise Frederick Funston and Stephen Wagner John Wilkey & Sons, Inc.

Uncertainty 75

Uncertainty Review Books Advice 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Here is an excerpt from a brilliant article co-authored by Tim Brown and Jocelyn Wyatt for Stanford Social Innovation Review (Winter 2010).

Innovation 97

Innovation Newsletter Review Article 97

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 1, 2011

Bistritz McGraw-Hill (2010) Although Nicholas A.C. Selling to the C-Suite: What Every Executive Wants You to Know About Successfully Selling to the Top Nicholas A.C. Read and Stephen J. Read and Stephen J. Bistritz claim that the approaches they recommend are “simple,” that is certainly not the word I would use to describe [.]

Review 75

Review Books Execution Succession 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 26, 2011

Rogers Yale University Press (2010) Here’s the challenge: our future networks can “make us not only more connected but, let us hope, more human.” The Network Is Your Customer: 5 Strategies Tto Thrive in a Digital Age David L. I am grateful to Thomas Kuhn and then to Joel Barker for filling one of my [.].

Meyer 75

Meyer Rogers Review Books 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 12, 2011

Here is an excerpt from an article written by David Rock for the Harvard Business Review blog (April 28, 2010). To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here. * * * (Editor’s note: This post is part of [.].

Leadership 80

Leadership Review Blog Article 80