Category: Book Summaries

The Gumbo Coalition, 10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, Unite, and Achieve by Marc Morial Recommendation Former New Orleans’ mayor, Marc Morial created coalitions – symbolized by gumbo, his city’s signature stew – in every leadership position he held. From turning around New Orlean’s corruption and crime as mayor to unifying the National Urban League, where he is now CEO, Morial relates stories of…

Lost in Work, Escaping Capitalism by Amelia Horgan Recommendation Work is transforming under the pressure of automation, generational shifts and the lasting marks of the COVID-19 pandemic. To inform conversations about what work is and what it should be, academic Amelia Horgan offers an impassioned and well-researched account of the exploitative nature of large-scale capitalism. Horgan focuses…

Scaling Up Compensation, 5 Design Principles for Turning Your Largest Expense into a Strategic Advantage by Verne Harnish and Sebastian Ross Recommendation Ideally, you would reward people according to the value they bring to your company. But pay, benefits and incentives trigger emotions, making their design complex. Employees will think disproportionately about it unless they believe their pay…

Future Focused, Shape Your Culture. Shape Your Future by Rose Gailey and Ian Johnston Recommendation Culture helps determine performance, so maintaining a robust corporate culture is vital – a huge challenge in this volatile era with many employees still working from home. Leaders must make sure remote employees are still “living, breathing and experiencing” their company’s culture. Authors Rose Gailey and Ian…

Grow the Pie, How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit by Alex Edmans Recommendation Economics professor Alex Edmans recasts the concepts of corporate social responsibility and shareholder value into what he terms “Pieconomics.” He posits that increasing the economic pie for everyone is better – and more profitable – than just reallocating its slices…

Divergent Mind, Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You by Jenara Nerenberg Recommendation Jenara Nerenberg uses personal narratives, scientific data and expert testimony to examine the discrimination that women with ADHD, autism and extreme sensitivities face daily. She dissects how the world favors so-called “normal” individuals with their “neurotypical” brain functions. Nerenberg makes the…

The Culture Puzzle, Harnessing the Forces That Drive Your Organization’s Success by Mario Moussa, Derek Newberry and Greg Urban Recommendation Mario Moussa, Derek Newberry and Greg Urban offer an entertaining and instructive look at the importance of organizational culture. They explain that people live in an ocean of inspiring, resonating stories. These tales provide collective insights that…

Work Without Jobs, How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System by Ravin Jesuthasan and John W. Boudreau Recommendation Forces such as new technologies rapidly disrupt the workplace, say Ravin Jesuthasan and John W. Boudreau, and the future of work no longer centers around jobs or employees. Organizations that want to get ahead of the curve must “deconstruct” work…

The Cactus and Snowflake at Work, How the Logical and Sensitive Can Thrive Side by Side by Devora Zack Recommendation Devora Zack claims everyone falls along a personality continuum that reveals how they think, behave, speak and make decisions. Knowing where you, your colleagues, friends, and family fall on the Snowflake-Cactus spectrum can help you temper…

Mismatch, How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes Recommendation Kat Holmes takes an underserved component of the diversity and inclusion genre and does it great justice in this slim volume. Though often overlooked, inclusive design has the potential to change the world. As Holmes points out, it already has through inventions such as touchscreens and email – originally…

Built on Values, Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition by Ann Rhoades Recommendation This essential, step-by-step guide to creating a values-based corporate culture remains as relevant and valuable today as when it first appeared in 2011. Ann Rhoades – a respected HR leader – provides insights from her experience in the executive suites and boardrooms…