Book Reviews
The Boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organization Structure, Revised and Updated Ron Ashkenas, Dave Ulrich, Todd Jick, and Steve Kerr Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons (2002) Yes and No The title is a misnomer: Although the authors do indeed suggest…
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HBR on Thriving in Emerging Markets Various Contributors Harvard Business Review Press (2011) “The early bird may get the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.” Steven Wright This is one of the volumes in a series of anthologies…
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni Jossey-Bass (2002) In this “leadership fable,” Lencioni focuses on “the rarity” of effective teamwork, noting that “teams, because they are made up of imperfect human beings, are inherently dysfunctional.” Is teamwork therefore…
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Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors Patrick Lencioni Jossey-Bass (2006) Here’s the situation. Jude Cousins is a talented, energetic, and ambitious young marketing executive at Hatch Technology who, with…
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The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success Carmine Gallo McGraw-Hill (2011) Actually, what Carmine Gallo examines with both rigor and eloquence are no longer “secrets,” nor are they insights of proprietary significance to Steve Jobs.…
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Inside Larry and Sergey’s Brain Richard L. Brandt Portfolio/The Penguin Group (2009) When discussing Google’s supernetwork and its significance (and potential vulnerability) as a competitive advantage, Brandt observes, “Anyone who uses an application from Google is tapping into this incredible…
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Borrowing Brilliance: The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others David Kord Murray Gotham Books/The Penguin Group (2009) A rigorous and comprehensive analysis of the evolution of a creative idea Others have their own reasons…
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Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged Michael A. Stelzner WhitePaperSource Publishing (2006) How to provide valuable information, not just another obvious “infomercial” For those who are interested in understanding the potential value of white papers…
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Surviving the Serengeti: 7 Skills To Master Business and Life Stefan Swanepoel John Wiley & Sons (2011) A parable for success that sometimes requires a perilous journey of self-discovery Fables may well be among the earliest forms of storytelling and…
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Workforce of One: Revolutionizing Talent Management Through Customization Susan M. Cantrell and David Smith Harvard Business Press (2010) According to Susan M. Cantrell and David Smith, the single most important factor contributing to superior business results is how supported employees…
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