Who Gets Promoted Who Doesn’t and Why. 12 things you better  do if you want to get ahead. Donald Asher. 2007, 2014. ISBN 9781607746003.  A book filled with very sage career advice from an author who really knows this stuff. As I read the book I kept saying to myself, I wish I knew this when I was …on and on. He has a great sensitivity to all aspects of being in the workforce. I appreciated all the advice he directed to women and those who supervised them.  I enjoy the use of real life examples, to bring the points home. A book for anyone who wants a career to “moves” and gives them challenges and fulfillment.  If you think you are  a fast tracker – get this book to read, reread and keep forever. There is not a wasted word.

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The Myths of Innovation. Scott Berkun. 2009. O”Reilly ebook.  The author was a Microsoft  IE coder and has written a few books for O’Reilly.  This one really blows the door off on common myths wrto innovation. I liked the book, it does a great job, is easy to read and well referenced. If you are in the Innovation “game” this is a must read book. No quick answers but lots of insights.

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House of Lies. How management consultants steal your watch and then tell you the time. Martin Kihn. 2005. ISBN 0446576565. Quite a hilarious book that was the inspiration for  House of Lies the TV series.  Yet the TV series is funnier than this book.  I appreciated the dictionary of consultants words and tongue in cheek  quick summaries of the Worlds Best business books. The portrayals are so gritty and  honest that you wonder how the industry of consulting could sustain itself.  Yet it did for many years.   Its an easy book to read and good for a cross country flight.  But get it out of the library – not a keeper.

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Lawrence In Arabia. War Deceit, Imperial Folly and the making of the Modern Middle East. Scott Anderson. 2013. ISBN. 9780385532938.  A well researched, thorough book that will give the student of history, politics  and events a good grounding into why the Middle East will continue to be a problem.  For me it reiterates that the US will continue to be foolish in its “help” to the Middle East – as it tends never to learn from history and experience. It was tragicomic to read about the boundless incompetence of the British military in WW I which cause untold millions to die unnecessarily.  Our trip last year through Turkey taught us much about that country , but their “version” of this time has been rewritten to put Ataturk in the best light with a glossing over of the dreadful effect the Young Turks had on the whole thing.   Lawrence does not come away as an inveterate truth teller in his own writings.  The reader will learn about the machinations of the French and Germans , Arabs and  Zionists in all this as well.   Well worth the read.

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A Bigger Prize. How we can do better than the competition. Margaret Heffernan. 2014. ISBN 9780385679831.  The author, after some very thoughtful , thorough research, has put together a well written, concise book that shows how competition is not the be all and end all of moving forward. All to quickly much of society is moving toward a belief that in  order fo an individual to get ahead someone else has to lose – the zero sum game.She pretty well slams the  counterproductive effects of competition  on :

• education
• sports
• academia
• research
• financial services
• software
• music
• movies
• drug discovery
• subprime debt
• and more

What makes her arguments so compelling is that we have all seen exactly what she is pointing out and that if we allow this win at all cost approach to continue we will all be worse off. Not so say reading this will cause you to become a card carrying Occupy Wallstreet member, but unfettered capitalism /competition (in order for me to get ahead, you have to lose)  is taking us down the wrong road. What hit me the hardest is my current research on human development and innovation is pointing to similar conclusions as this author.   If you are any kind of leader, coach, educator this is one book you must read.

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Made in America. An informal history of the english language in the United States. Bill Bryson. 1994/2001. ISBN 0380713810.  A funny yet very insightful book as only Bryson can  write it. Well researched with copious annotations this is book for historians, writers,  political scientists and students of all ages.  I learned so much from this book such as

• The Pilgims were incredibly stupid  and unprepared for their settling of America
• American angst over public sex, visual and written owes much to the Puritan influence
• Current ideas about political correctness are seriously flawed.
• Many Americanisms came from England – but the Brits could no longer recognize them.
• America is an incredibly funny and diverse place.

Have ago if you can find this book (Its on Amazon) , it is well worth the read.

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