Category: Book Summaries

The Ministry of Common Sense, How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate BS by Martin Lindstrom Recommendation Global consultant Martin Lindstrom knows corporate foibles from the inside. Here, he recounts the business world’s most ludicrous bureaucratic rules. His entertaining jaunt through inanity may lead you to consider what your company does and why. His five-step program shows leaders…

Sustainability to Social Change, Lead Your Company from Managing Risks to Creating Social Value by Bradley Googins and Philipp Mirvis Recommendation Psychologist Phil Mirvis and strategy professor Brad Googins exhort business leaders to step up their social and environmental activism, while making their firms better places to work. Using eye-opening statistical data, survey results, and…

Remote, Inc. How to Thrive at Work…Wherever You Are by Robert C. Pozen and Alexandra Samuel Recommendation Remote work can present new challenges in managing your time, optimizing technology, conducting meetings, communicating and being productive. In this easy-to-read, efficiently organized guide, former president of Fidelity Investments Robert Pozen and digital workplace expert Alexandra Samuel suggest ways to reorganize your office…

Gamed, Why targets and incentives fail and how to fix them by Bernie Smith Recommendation Bernie Smith shares a goal and incentive design system he calls ROKET-DS. He offers at least a dozen examples of targets and incentives gone horribly wrong to make his point that proper goal-setting and incentive/reward design demand careful thought, process and…

Reimagining Design, Unlocking Strategic Innovation by Kevin Bethune and John Maeda Recommendation Designer and thinker Kevin Bethune mixes autobiography with career guidance and management wisdom in this unique take on the burgeoning design profession. Bethune’s advice on how firms should organize design teams and how designers should approach their work – based on decades of his own experience and success – applies to…

The Passion Paradox by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness is a powerful guide about seeking and embracing passion and learning how to avoid burnout while discovering the benefits of an unbalanced life. The book outlines the core principles of mastery and gives you the blueprint for going all-in and achieving ultimate success with what you’re passionate…

Navy SEAL. Army Ranger. Ultra-marathon runner. Ultra-distance cyclist. Triathlete. Motivational speaker. Guinness World Record holder for having completed 4,030 pull-ups within a 17-hour period of time… Each of these accomplishments are part of one man’s life-journey. His name is David Goggins, and he’s the author of Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds.…

The Feedback Fix, Dump the Past, Embrace the Future, and Lead the Way to Change by Joe Hirsch Recommendation Anyone who has suffered through excruciating performance evaluations knows that giving and receiving feedback can be a fruitless experience, if not downright counterproductive. As an alternative, leadership and communication consultant Joe Hirsch introduces “feedforward,” a future-oriented approach. He explores six…

The Profit Paradox, How Thriving Firms Threaten the Future of Work by Jan Eeckhout Recommendation Equity investors prefer firms as protected from their rivals as medieval castles with deep moats. Recent decades have seen powerful companies boom that are all but impregnable to competition. This is good for their investors but bad for customers, workers, other…

The FBI Way, Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence by Frank Figliuzzi Recommendation What can leaders learn from the FBI’s approach to performance under stress? Plenty, says former FBI assistant director Frank Figliuzzi. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation subjects employees to strict scrutiny and high standards. As a result of selecting the right people and immediately inculcating…

Recommendation Human resources professionals will find Michael Armstrong’s book practical, helpful and relevant. It discusses all facets of current practice, including such relatively new developments as e-learning, and it discusses how you can help your organization implement change. The book would make an excellent college text, since it covers HRM’s evolution, principles, theories, practice, research,…

Remote Work Revolution, Succeeding from Anywhere by Tsedal Neeley Recommendation In early 2020, hundreds of millions of workers worldwide suddenly found themselves working remotely. Leaders scrambled to provide employees and teams with the tools and support they needed to stay connected and succeed. As firms emerged from the pandemic, author Tsedal Neeley reports, executives and workers…