This is a superb book when it comes to the subject matter and content, but I’m afraid I had a hard time getting by the lecturing “tone of voice” that Friedman so often has in his speaking and writing. Despite the fact that there is a great deal of information in this timely book that will help clarify the trends …
Book Review: The Ultimate Competitive Advantage by Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles
Of all the books I’ve read on change management this is the most precise in its statement about how corporations need to manage the continuous innovation of their business model in order to survive and thrive in our global, competitive marketplace. Replete with real world examples of successful business model innovation, traps, and pitfalls, this clearly written book provides definitions, …
Book Review: Final Accounting by Barbara Ley Toffler
More on the corporate ethics scandals! There is much to be learned about the slippery slope of situational ethics in this book. What is compelling is that Ms. Toffler tells all, including her own shortcomings, after her realization that she had started the slide down that slope! Ms. Toffler writes in a straightforward, no holds barred, manner that keeps one’s …
Book Review: Winning in Fast Time by John Warden and Leland Russell
I had the pleasure of meeting Leland Russell and discussing his theory of change management in person. This insightful book is compelling reading for those who are interested in or engaged in change management in their own lives or their organizational lives. The authors use the first Gulf War as both a model and a metaphor in explaining their concept …
Book Review: Cookin’ the Book$ by Don Silver
One of the areas of business on which I spend a great deal of time is that of Ethics. It is my belief that ethics is a process and that businesses do well when they treat that process the same as any other business process; that is, they consciously build into the policies, procedures and culture, the process whereby their …
Book Review: The Heart of Change by John P. Kotter
In this book Kotter explains how people change less because they are given analysis and facts about why change is needed and more because we show them a truth that influences their feelings. This concept is not adopted by all those writing on change management. Yet it is a concept that does fit with my experience. Unless the facts, figures, …
Book Review: Intellectual Capital by Thomas Stewart
Intellectual Capital by Thomas A. Stewart. It is popular wisdom that Information is the capital of this new era. But what does that mean to the management of people? How does the rise of the Knowledge Worker change our company cultures? What challenges does this age of Intellectual Capital mean for our clients. This book, long on my “to read …
Book Review: Hesselbein on Leadership by Frances Hesselbein
It seems that from time to time, I come across a book that is mentioned to me several times, making it impossible NOT to get it and read it. Such is the case with Hesselbein on Leadership. From the dust jacket: “Frances Hesselbein, once a volunteer troop leader, became CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, mobilizing around a …
Book Review: Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Execution is recommended by my CEO Roundtable, so we’re in to it now! According to the dust jacket: “Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into …
Book Review: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime …