Book Reviews
In Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation, Keith Sawyer suggests that there are eight stages to the creative process. He is convinced by extensive research (including his) that when most organizations conduct a brainstorming session, it isn’t very effective.…
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Hitler: Downfall: 1939-1945 Volker Ullrich and translated by Jefferson Chase Knopf (September 2020) “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” Adolph Hitler This is the second of two volumes within which…
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Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars That Upended an Auto Empire Hans Greimel and William Sposato Harvard Business Review Press (June 2021) Here is what many view as “a tale of two Ghosns, both found in one man”…
Read MoreTen Steps Ahead: What Separates Successful Business Visionaries from the Rest of Us Erik Calonius Portfolio/Penguin Group (2011) Dreamers think about it…visionaries see it and then make it happen, at whatever cost Note: I recently re-read this book and think…
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The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta PublicAffairs (July 2021) A major challenge for all organizations: Build and then retain the trust of stakeholders Note: Although Sandra J.…
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Next Job, Best Job: A Headhunter’s 11 Strategies to Get Hired Now Rob Barnett Citadel Press/Kensington Publishing Corp (June 2021) How to learn what you need to know to get the best job for you According to Rob Barnett, “If…
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AN UGLY TRUTH: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang Harper (July 2021) A brilliant analysis of efforts to grow Facebook’s size and profitability, no matter what Here is a brief excerpt from Sarah Frier‘s review of…
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The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right Gorick Ng Harvard Business Review Press (2021) Here is invaluable career advice that would otherwise take years to obtain from your own experience I prefer “unofficial” to “unspoken” and view…
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Useful Delusions: The Power & Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain Shankar Vedantam & Bill Mesler W.W. Norton & Company (March 2021) When context determines appropriateness As I began to read the first three chapters of this book, I was again…
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Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire Brad Stone Simon & Schuster (May 2021) What would Aeschylus think? If Amazon and its founder were viewed as bound volumes, Brad Stone would probably be the best person…
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