Book Reviews
The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention William Rosen Random House (2010) Note: In an article written for the Wall Street Journal (January 26, 2013), Bill Gates explains why he thinks this book…
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Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes Maria Konnikova Viking/The Penguin Group (2013) How the Science of Deduction and Analysis can make sense of “a pink elephant world” Frankly, I have never read another book quite like the one Maria…
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The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World Iain McGilchrist Yale University Press (2009) “How do we understand the world, if there are different versions of it to reconcile?” Note: The terms “master” and “emissary” as well as their correlations…
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The Fourth Great Awakening & the Future of Egalitarianism Robert William Fogel University of Chicago Press (August 1, 2000) Note: I read this book when it was first published more than a decade ago and recently re-read it while preparing interview questions. For those such…
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Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business Danny Meyer HarperCollins (2006) Note: Perhaps 30-35 years ago, probably in an article for Harvard Business Review, Peter Drucker said something to the effect, “If you don’t think you’re in…
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The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers Bill Conaty and Ram Charan Crown Business (2010) I agree with Conaty and Charan that Steve Jobs is the archetypical “talent master.” Few others possess his combination of intelligence, temperament,…
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The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton Harvard Business Review Press (1996) How do you know of your organization is improving, deteriorating, or stagnant? Note: Do not be deterred by the publication date…
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A Technique for Producing Ideas: The Simple, Five-Step Formula Anyone Can Use to Be More Creative in Business and in Life! James Webb Young Waking Lion Press (2009) More, much more than a technique This booklet (28 pages) was originally…
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HBR Guide to Better Business Writing Bryan A. Garner Harvard Business Review Pfress (2012) “I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” Steven Wright This is one of the first volumes in a new series of anthologies of…
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Know What You Don’t Know: How Great Leaders Prevent Problems Before They Happen Michael Roberto Pearson Prentice Hall (2009) “It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It’s that they can’t see the problem.” Michael Roberto cites this especially relevant…
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