Salesman on Fire. Carson V.Heady. 2020.  The fable of Vincent Scott.  It follows his fictional career in selling up to present day. Through a biographical approach the content is laid out in a day long visit with Scott.  Scott’s life as a sales phenomena is laid out in three previous books and this one continues the saga.   This contains some very useful sales assistance content as well as how “the Man’ can get you in larger organizations.  Very easy read and well worth it for the young and experienced salesperson.  There be dangers afoot youngster!

The Ultimate Differentiator. The sales manager’s guide to talent development. Matthew McDarby.  2020. ISBN 9781947486157.  A short book  for new and experienced sales managers.  Quite a few case study examples of where you can go wrong and how to set it right.  I found his hiring suggestions and ongoing training ideas very useful.  This books sits alone in the sales book category and does a very good job of presenting concise and simple arguments on improvement. Very apt for today’s world.  Good for sales manager and early CEOs.

Agency. William Gibson. 2020. ISBN 9780451490988.  A vision of a future where players can go back in time and create a “stub” a new future that plays out differently from what was reality. A cast of very original characters who can look back in time and interact with people who are living a different future from the original. Gibson weaves a surreal and personality rich tale that draws you into something that just might happen.  I could not put it down and finished it wanting more from this author, Just what will he do with the pandemic?

The Good Neighbor. The life and work of Fred Rogers. Maxwell King. 2018. ISBN 9780419727726.   The author became quite a friend of Rogers and helped many of his initiatives carry on after Mr Rogers died.  This is a very kind and detailed view of quite a complex and driven man. You find out about the wealth in the Rogers family and how it did not shape how Fred Rogers viewed life yet the family connections and resources certainly contributed to how Fred became so good at what he did. Its an insightful , albeit long book and you will enjoy the many anecdotes around Fred Rogers. He was certainly well ahead of his time in his approach to early childhood education. When we were raising our boys, we  restricted day time TV so did not allow them to watch programs like Mr Rogers etc. Perhaps that was an error, but we did not trust TV to be good for children. We did not know the story behind Mr Rogers.  I enjoyed the read and it is worth it.