First Friday Book Synopsis

MAY 12, 2011

The Best Business Books Ever: The Most Influential Management Books You’ll Never Have Time to Read Basic Books (2011) Note: This review is of a book published earlier this year. What we have here is a series of brief discussions “the most influential management books you’ll [.].

Books 85

Books Review Management Ansoff 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

Here is the New York Times Hardcover Business Bestsellers list for September, 2011. And, personal and finance books seem to be in need. There are a lot of “still on the list” books: [.]. A couple of observations: we clearly still want to know just what caused the financial meltdown, and we keep looking for explanations.

Finance 89

Finance Books Blog 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Here’s the New York Times Hardcover Business Best Sellers, published: February 4, 2011. Two books that we presented quite a while back at the First Friday Book Synopsis (Outliers, presented two years ago, January, 2009 & The 4-Hour Workweek, presented nearly three years ago, March 2008) are still #s 2 & 3 (actually, tied for [.].

Books 93

Books Blog 93

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 4, 2011

Here is the list of Hardcover Business Best Sellers from the New York Times for June, 2011. Except for finance Books, and a few others, we present most of these business best sellers at the First Friday Book Synopsis in Dallas. (Our Our next session is on July 8 – the 2nd Friday of July, because [.].

Finance 103

Finance Books Blog 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 3, 2011

Redesigning Leadership: Design, Technology, Business, Life John Maeda with Becky Bermont The MIT Press (2011) “Ue ni wa ue ga aru” is a Japanese aphorism that epitomizes the nature of excellence: “Above up, there is something even higher above up.&# Those who [.].

Review 180

Review Books Leadership Technology 180

First Friday Book Synopsis

MAY 8, 2012

Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life Steven Johnson Scribner/Simon & Schuster (2004) How and why the brain sciences can help to “open wide the mind’s caged door” I read this book before Steven Johnson’s later works, The Ghost Map (2006) and Where Good Ideas Come From (2011) and then re-read [.].

Open-book 80

Open-book Simon Books Review 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 18, 2013

50 Philosophy Classics: THINKING, BEING, ACTING, SEEING – Profound Insights and Powerful Thinking from Fifty Key Books Tom Butler-Bowdon Nicholas Brealey Publishing (2013) The study of philosophy has as its purpose to know…the truth about the ways things are.”

Kahneman 75

Kahneman Books Review Ethics 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

OCTOBER 19, 2011

18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done Peter Bregman Business Plus/Hatchette Book Group (2011) Do you need a FIND ME button for your life? Look no further. I have been following Peter Bregman’s HBR blog posts for several years and consider him one of the most thoughtful and most [.].

Books 89

Books Review Blog Organization 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

JULY 3, 2011

Here’s the July 1, 2011 New York Times Hardcover Business Best Sellers – with the financial meltdown back in the top spot. At the First Friday Book Synopsis, our [.]. Each month, I post this list. The new #1 is another look at the players and the disastrous mistakes that led to the massive financial meltdown.

Books 113

Books Blog 113

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

MARCH 31, 2012

Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2011) Why I think this is one of the most important books published during the past decade Given the number and quality of the reviews of this book that have already appeared, there really is not much (if anything) I can contribute…except to explain what [.].

Kahneman 80

Kahneman Review Books Quality 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

DECEMBER 10, 2011

Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril Margaret Heffernan Walker Books (2011) How and why all of us should develop “fierce determination to see” whatever we need to understand Margaret Heffernan’s background in business is wide as well as deep.

Books 75

Books Review Development Simon 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 16, 2011

Reinventing the Wheel: The Science of Creating Lifetime Customers Chris Zane Ben Bella Books (2011) How to establish and then sustain long-term (if not lifetime) customer relationships What we have in this book is a personal account by the founder and CEO of Zane’s Cycles.

Books 85

Books Long-term Review CEO 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

JULY 8, 2012

Banerjee and Esther Duflo PublicAffairs/The Perseus Group (2011) How and why ideology, ignorance, and inertia have so effectively undermined efforts to reduce/eliminate global poverty I read this book when it was first published and recently re-read it because I was curious [.].

Books 80

Books Review Globalization Education 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

FEBRUARY 25, 2011

Here is some more ammunition for Kindle-bashers, coming from the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal on February 12-13, 2011. In the weekly Books section, Eric Ormsby writes that “books beget books – and sometimes writers are moved to pay tribute to the ones that formed them&# (p.

Books 116

Books Article 116

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 25, 2011

In a stunning reversal against the digital book market, the Wall Street Journal reports that a successful author has turned to phyiscal paperbacks through a contract with a traditional publisher. Trachtenberg, is entitled “E-Book Author Tries New Format: Real Paperbacks&# (August 23, 2011, p.

Books 75

Books Report Article Marketing 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep It, and Why It Matters Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint (2011) This is a book I have eagerly awaited. Year after year, Fortune posts its annual list of the “1oo Best Companies to Work For.” I have never questioned the selections nor [.].

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Books Review Company How To 97

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

If you are in the DFW area tomorrow, come join us for the September 2, 2011 First Friday Book Synopsis. Karl Krayer will present his synopsis of: Those guys have all the fun: Inside the world of ESPN by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales and Randy Mayeux will present his synopsis of: Knowing Your [.].

Books 80

Books Blog 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 4, 2012

One on One: Behind the Scenes with the Greats in the Game John Feinstein Little, Brown & Company (2011) Memorable moments and unforgettable people during a ten-book journey…thus far…featured in an eleventh book Others have their reasons for holding this book in high regard. Here are three of mine.

Books 70

Books Review Company Collins 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 25, 2011

Fully Charged: How Great Leaders Boost Their Organization’s Energy and Ignite High Performance Heike Bruch and Bernd Vogel Harvard Business Review Press (2011) The power and impact of “organizational energy” As I began to read this brilliant book, I was reminded of how much of value that Tony Schwartz has to say (in The Way [.].

Review 70

Review Books Energy Power 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

OCTOBER 26, 2011

The Velocity Manifesto: Harnessing Technology, Vision, and Culture to Future-Proof Your Organization Scott Klososky Greenlead Book Group (2011) Digital plumbing + high-beam strategy + high-velocity culture = business success (however defined) Almost immediately, Scott Klososky establishes and then sustains a direct, personal, and at times almost confrontational (..)

Books 80

Books Review Technology Strategy 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 24, 2011

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business Gino Wickman Virtual CEO (2011) Without traction, no individual or organization accomplishes anything. As I began to read this book, I was reminded of a book co-authored by Chip and Dan Heath in which they explain why a few ideas “stick&# but most don’t. It can also be [.].

Books 80

Books Review CEO Organization 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Spira John Wiley & Sons (2011) How and why more information usually means less information has impact Chip and Dan Heath are the co-authors of two brilliant books, Made to Stick and Switch. How Too Much Information Is Hazardous to Your Organization Jonathan B. In the first, they explain (as its subtitle suggests) “why [.].

Books 80

Books Review Information Organization 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

NOVEMBER 5, 2011

We had a terrific session yesterday at the November, 2011 First Friday Book Synopsis. Karl Krayer presented his synopsis of The Shallows, and I presented my synopsis of the new book by Jim Collins, Great by Choice. Both books were terrific, and I view Great by Choice as an important [.]. It was a valuable session.

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Collins Books Slywotzky Blog 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 29, 2011

Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence Tim Sanders Tyndale House Publishers (2011) A grandmother for all seasons In this his latest book, Tim Sanders creates a context, a frame-of-reference, for several concepts introduced in earlier works, notably in Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to Go [.].

Books 103

Books Review Reference Power 103

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 30, 2012

Creative Thinkering: Putting Your Imagination to Work Michael Michalko New World Library (2011) How and why conceptual blending of dissimilar subjects, ideas, and concepts is the most important factor in creative thinking Those who have read any of Michael Michalko’s previously published books, notably Cracking Creativity and Thinkertoys, already (..)

Creativity 75

Creativity Library Books Review 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Thursday September 15th, 2011: The Financial Times and Goldman Sachs today announced the shortlist for the seventh annual Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award (www.ft.com/bookaward), which aims to identify the book providing the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues.

Books 89

Books Levitt Energy Finance 89

First Friday Book Synopsis

OCTOBER 17, 2011

Frank Princeton University Press (2011) How and why “departures from rational choice” (with and without regret) have occurred and what to do about them Frankly, I expected this book to be about (for me, at least) incomprehensible economics and dull. The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good Robert H.

Books 85

Books Review Human Needs Maslow 85

First Friday Book Synopsis

APRIL 23, 2011

The New How: Creating Business Solutions through Collaborative Strategy Nilofer Merchant O’Reilly Media (2011) Why do so many strategies fail? In this book Nilofer Merchant offers what she characterizes as “a different approach that gets everyone to [.].

Books 93

Books Review Media Strategy 93

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 9, 2011

To read the complete article, check out other articles and resources, and/or sign up for a free subscription to Harvard Business Review’s Daily Alerts, please click here. * * * Like Satan in the book of Job, [.].

Consultative 80

Consultative Strategy Review Article 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 24, 2012

The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure Grant Cardone John Wiley & Sons (2011) How to increase sustainable fulfillment of human potentialities, one’s own as well as those of others Many years ago, I read a book written by David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big, that helped me to widen [.].

Books 80

Books Review Succession How To 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

2011) How and why to think differently about learning to be creative This is a “New Edition, Fully Updated” of a book first published in 2001. Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative Ken Robinson Capstone Publishing Ltd. Why a second edition? As Ken Robinson explains in his Preface, “…the first reason is that [.].

Books 75

Books Review Creativity Blog 75

First Friday Book Synopsis

MARCH 8, 2011

Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions Guy Kawasaki Portfolio/Penguin Group (2011) How to create a context within which there is authentic magic to be shared I have read and reviewed all of Guy Kawasaki’s previous books. This book’s title caught my eye because it suggests – and as it turned out, correctly [.].

Review 95

Review Books How To Greenleaf 95

First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 15, 2012

The Optimization Edge: Reinventing Decision Making to Maximize All Your Company’s Assets Steve Sashihara McGraw-Hill (2011) How to make complex decisions and recommendations about the best way to deploy assets In a book I very much admire, Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls, Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis assert that what really matters “is (..)

Books 80

Books Review How To Cialdini 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

JUNE 7, 2012

Off Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction Matthew Kelly Hudson Street Press/The Penguin Group (2011) A paradox for our times: One’s career and personal life are separate…and inseparable The work-life balance is an issue that has fascinated me for decades.

Books 70

Books Review Career Covey 70

First Friday Book Synopsis

SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

On October 4, 2011, Demand: Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want It, will be published by Crown Business. In my opinion, it is one of the most valuable and will, over time, become one of the most I influential business books ever written. Written by Adrian Slywotzky with Karl Weber. It takes [.].

Slywotzky 80

Slywotzky Books CFO Banking 80

First Friday Book Synopsis

AUGUST 22, 2014

I’m just the book reader – the book guy.

Politics 102

Politics Books Blog 102