Team of Rivals. The political genius of Abraham Lincoln. Doris Kearns Goodwin. 2005. ISBN 9780743270755.  754 pp 9 point type of absolute wonderful insights into the man, the times and the context.  It follows Lincoln from being the very outside choice of the brand new Republican party through to his assignation as the Civil War is being won.  He built his Cabinet of the very people who most strongly ran against him for the job! As you are drawn back to those times you see how ‘messy’ democracy is.  I  was most interested in the roots of the Democratic Party in the South as the pro-slavery party. Not til Clinton were the democrats truly brought to the Liberal centre.   The Republicans started out as the Liberal, pro reform party.  How things have changed.  what has not changed is the awarding of lucrative posts,  contracts, political rewards, personal lobbying and so on. It is quite amusing to hear the liberal “goody goodies” complaining about corruption on a grand scale in Asia and the Middle East, when the Union itself was as full of the same things.  This is a book for leaders, politicians, history buffs and those interested in why Americans do what they do.  Thanks to David Moulton for lending it to me.

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Get Unstuck and Get Going… on the stuff that matters.  Michael Bungay Stanier. 2009. ISBN 9780978440718. This is a very inventive book, from its intriguing three flip panel design to its content. It is creative and though provoking and causes you to challenge your assumptions to do your great thing.  I also found it to be playful, very suitable for execs who want a restart to their thinking. Today’s busy execs will appreciate the concise and pocket style format. I would suggest this is a good cottage book when you have some thinking time.

Accelerating Out of the Great Recession. How to win in a slow-growth economy. David Rhodes & Daniel Stelter. 2010 ISBN 9780071718141. This is a very important book. The two authors are from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). I am a fan of BCGs research and this book does not disappoint. They look at the Great Depression, Japans lost decades and the 70s NA bust, to take lessons from companies that grew despite the slow growth economies.  Since at Rocket Builders we hope the best, but plan for the worst these lessons are gold.   They make a good argument that we are in for many years of slow growth and they had not factored in the recent sovereign debt problems as well as Canadians extremely high levels of indebtedness.   Just a few of the dozens of notes I made from this book:

• Companies will faced increased market competition as their markets shrink
• Governments will become more extreme in their interventions and protectionism (As well as increase role in  business ownership)
• Consumption patterns will change (retrenching, payment of debt takes priority over consumption
• Massive triggering of the deleveraging process in the business and private sector
• Increased private savings with reduced consumer consumption drops interest rates, reducing  exports and imports
• Resource inventories will rise, prices will stay low for long periods
• Attention will be paid to building internal markets vs export markets if possible (this will not help China enough).
• Industry restructuring will accelerate, as the weak business models fail more quickly,  M&A will increase for the strong.
• Governments will be forced into massive debt levels to finance infrastructure ala FDRs New Deal
• Deflation is a real threat to those in heavy debt as their asset values drop
• Taxes must rise, but govt services will come under attack ( reduced public pensions, wages, employment rolls)
• Health care and energy costs will be scrutinized and attacked relentlessly
• Countries reliant on exports to drive their  economic/employment growth will suffer from increased internal strife as job losses mount
• Anti immigration feelings in First World will rise internally as job losses stay high, impacting the Third World even more.
• Todays teenagers could become more conservative,  better savers, but suffer longer terms of unemployment than their parents, this may reduce their interest in entrepreneurship.

The book goes on to show areas where the authors believes there are opportunities for growth, as well as ways that companies who did well in previous downturns did well. But I will leave them for you when you read this book.

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Rework. Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson. 2010 ISBN 9780307463746. These are the two  chaps of 37 signals who started  Basecamp and a host of other tools.  They were also early advocates of Ruby on Rails.  A breathless book that runs through the gamut of pragmatic business advice. You will find your self agreeing with them much more than disagreeing. Their comments on software design ( It should be simple, practical, easy to use but often is not) resonated today as I was running through Microsoft Office 2010. sigh, I can see why Open Office is attractive – Microsoft changed the paradigm yet again, breaking all of Don Norman’s rules.  37Signals say marketing is not a department which is bang on since it is something every one in your company is doing 24/7. For example:

• Every time you answer the phone its marketing
• Every time you send an email its marketing
• Every time someone uses your product, its marketing
• Every word you write on your website is marketing
• If you build software, every error message is marketing
• If you are in the restaurant business. the after-dinner mint is marketing
• If you are in the retail business, the checkout counter is marketing
• If you are in the service business, your invoice is marketing

Marketing is the sum total of everything you do.

Buy it read it and pass it on to someone you like. Its short but right on. Website www.37signals.com/rework

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The Secret Life of France. Lucy Wadham. 2009. ISBN 9780571236114. This book was a delight.  The author has a wry self deprecating way with words that captivate you.  If you have ever wondered about what, to us Anglo Saxon Protestant work ethic driven planet dwellers, is going on in the minds of the French   (And so some extant French Canadians, this is the book that will give you a lot of answers.  Any summary will not do justice to how she argues:

The French (Chattering classes ) love the idea, but not often the implementation There is liberty – except if you transgress the unwritten codes:

• All French are created equal – except if you are an immigrant who is unfortunate enough to love in a ghetto
• We are all equal , but I will fight to the death my particular perks that I enjoy that you do not have.
• Working for the State is the highest form of service – but that means I am better than you and I can be rude
• Team play takes a distant second seat to me winning
• France remains a patriarchal society- feminism did not take root, men run the country and women wait for men to make their move.
• To be seen is to be better than to do.
• You can divorce, but why not have affairs- changing husbands is just moving t e furniture in ten years.
• All are allowed their secret garden and the press will not inquire into your private lives – at least not until Sarkozy made it a celebrity life.
• The press is free , but the government really interferes, and most French people do not read it anyway
• The Republic is not a democracy – it starts as a Socialist state and then pushes left
• Only the govt can get in debt – it is frowned upon with regular folks, just try to get a loan.
• All are equal but a sub current of racism means Sarkozy talks about his Hungarian fathers roots, but not his mothers Jewish roots.
• Parisian views are diametrically opposite to the views of the country people (who  eschew capitalism)
• You  have Liberty but Muslim women can not wear the head covering etc, because displays of ethnic, religious difference are not allowed.  You are all free to look the same – perfect French, perfect French people.

A good coast to coast airplane read- Very useful if you ever have to deal with The French. You will understand your lack of success better.

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managing IT as a business. A survival guide for CEOs. Mark D. Lutchen. 2004. ISBN 0471471046. A colleague ( Vicki Price Wright) gifted me this excellent book. It is a PWC publication and reflects the high  standards of PWC consulting.  Chuck full of short pithy case studies this provides a very fertile ground where a business leader can learn how to grow his skills. It is not for the faint of heart, nor the casual reader since this book requires a time commitment to really reap the benefits,  it is that thorough.   IT also provides a good insight into the IT environments/challenges of very large companies. The stories and graphics are illustrative and are essential to your learning.  I was pleased that PWC did not use the text to proselytize one little bit.   Thank you Vicki.

Seizing The White Space. Business model innovation for growth and renewal. Mark W. Johnson.2010 ISBN 9781422124819.  The author is co-founder with Clay Christensen of Innosight.   This book is distilled from many years of applying the Innovators Dilemma.  For that alone it is an important book. However the author has stepped even further down the path of applicability  by forcing you the reader to consider your business as solving the question, ” what job does the customer want done?”  From there one can see applying the ideas of Blue Ocean Strategy (Johnson alls it “white space” . But the growth in your learning continues as you realize just how powerful these ideas are for reinventing your company business model.   The author could have stopped then and it would have been a fine book. But he is thorough and so he proceeds to show you all the things that interfere with new business model innovation, how  many different approaches worked (or failed)  for different companies and the structural thinking behind it.   This is not a huge book , nor a heavy read .  It is theory into practice with a heavy emphasis on practical.  This is a must read, must own book if you are or aspire to be a business leader.

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Leadership The Barack Obama Way. Make Change Happen.Lessons on team building and creating a winning culture in challenging timesShel Leanne. 2010. ISBN 9780071664028. This is a thoroughly researched book. If you, like me, wondered how Obama seemed to sweep his way to the top so quickly, you will want to read this book. Dr. Leanne has looked at Obama’s history, background and the systems he put in place over the years. What we learn is fascinating.  Obama is likely a singular leader for our time who  truly understands how to release the talents of those around him. If you aspire to lead or have it thrust upon you, this is a very useful book.  A great coast to coast read, it flows very well.  You just may become a fan.

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Switch. How to change things when change is hard. Chip & Dan Heath.2010. ISBN 9780307357274.  The best selling authors of Made to Stick have another winning book. I am going through several books on change at the moment and this one is so far the best.  A couple of early insights set the tone:

• Change requires the exertion of self control
• Self control is an exhaustible resource
• Change is hard because people wear themselves out.

The book then goes on to very simple lay out the critical steps in making change easier, and what one needs to look for.  Also by imbedding case studies that encourage you to use their ideas before reading their suggested answer,  your learning grows.  (The design of the book follows their own findings! ) Lots of great information at www.switchthebook.com/resources.  The ideas that we are driven at the same time by a logical driver ( The Rider) and an emotional one (The Elephant) is a very useful metaphor. Its an easy read but as very valuable one.  C-suite required reading for sure.

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SWAT. Systems working all together. Timothy L. Johnson. 2010 ISBN 9781934417027.  A very good book on using systems thinking. This is a great application of many of the most useful parts of lean and six sigma thinking. I enjoyed how the author has boiled this to a simple to digest and apply process. By using the business fable format, he draws you in as the reader. I read this at one sitting, I could not put it down.  If you run  a business, conduct meetings and want to accomplish things in your life with groups, this is a very useful book!

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