Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts

Broadbandits: Inside the $750 Billion Telecom Heist Review

Broadbandits: Inside the $750 Billion Telecom Heist
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Broadbandits: Inside the $750 Billion Telecom Heist ReviewIt was the best of times (money flowed like water), it was the worst of times (in retrospect, for those who didn't cash out at or near the top). It was a great human drama, and unlike Dickens, it was all 100% nonfiction - it really did happen. For anyone in the telecom industry who lived through the bubble, and now the depression, for anyone who invested in the telecom bubble, or for anyone curious about one of the greatest financial manias in human history, I recommend Broadbandits.
Broadbandits profiles most of the key individuals and companies who helped inflate (and in many cases profit from) the telecom bubble, at a steady one company per chapter pace. Being in the telecom industry myself (still), I can state that Malik accurately captured the major stories I already knew, so I assume the rest of the book is generally factual. Although Malik focuses most of his anger on company bigwigs, he also admits that a bubble the size of this one could not have been created without active, willing participation from all sectors of the community: greedy disconnected CEOs, conflicted Wall Street and industry analysts, small investors who wanted to double their money overnight, and a unique confluence of regulatory and technological changes and advances.
Broadbandits could have been better. Malik's principle sources are business press articles, and he has a fascination with documenting dollar figures, so he doesn't probe as deeply as he could into the reasons behind the actions he reports. The book was written hurriedly (to keep it topical), and there are more than a few data errors. Malik correctly cites Ravi Suria's seminal report on the debt and finances of telecom firms, which proved how the emperor of telecom stocks had no clothes (I remember almost crying for joy when I originally read Suria's report), but he missed Jeremy Siegel's equally important bubble bursting op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal proving that Cisco and other high P/E stocks were way overvalued and that we were experiencing another "Nifty Fifty" tech mania episode. Finally, to return to my Dickens reference, the book would be even more dramatic if it recounted more anecdotal stories and statistics of the small investors and employees who lost their money, retirement savings and jobs, to provide contrast to the well-documented stories of folks who cleared many millions during the boom. However, I do admit that with the title of Broadbandits, the focus is on the bigwigs who inflated and profited from the bubble.
One more minor quibble: two of the people who praise Broadbandits on the back cover are thanked by Malik in his Acknowledgements. Conflicts of interest are everywhere! And just what did Malik do during his brief stint as a venture capitalist?Broadbandits: Inside the $750 Billion Telecom Heist Overview

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Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing Review

Waiting for Your Cat to Bark: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing
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Waiting for Your Cat to Bark: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing ReviewThis book basically brings forth two strong notions. The first one is, Become your own customer and go through your own company's buy process. Pretend that you're a prospect just at the beginning of a purchase, searching for information and solutions. You don't enough know enough to fully articulate the problem; you know only that you have a need. What search terms would you use? What stores would you visit? What questions would you ask the salesperson? Then, how does your business line up to this?
Next, the most innovative portion of the book, the authors demonstrate how to attract the customers you want by creating personas. Essentially, this breaks down customer types into classes, such as the ever popular soccer moms. Then, it asks, what do you need to do to attract this persona? What questions are they asking? Why are they interested in making this purchase at all? How would they use your companies website?
So, all-in-all, it's solid and actionable advice on how to really focus on your customers and figure out what needs to be done to make your business inviting to them.
Why I take off one star: While this is a great book, its strength doesn't translate into other categories. The sweat spot for this book are businesses engaged in mass consumer marketing, with both a strong online and physical presence. Also, the target purchase has some emotional component, such as a BMW making the driver feel successful and powerful. However, if you're in the business-to-business space, then the book's lessons are harder to apply. For instance, if an engineer is searching to purchase a resistor, and is only concerned about performance characteristics, then the book's philosophy starts to become a stretch.
Also, it's not as clear how the lessons of the book are applied to smaller and service oriented firms. Say, if you're a Certified Public Accountant trying to recruit three new customers over the next three months in your town, again, the book doesn't offer as much of a lesson.
So, I would still recommend this book. You just need to read it aware of how its appropriate to your particular marketing challenges.Waiting for Your Cat to Bark: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing Overview

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Encyclopedia of Business in Today's World (4 Volume Set) Review

Encyclopedia of Business in Today's World (4 Volume Set)
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Encyclopedia of Business in Today's World (4 Volume Set) ReviewWankel of St. John's University, New York offers readers this four-volume set as a way to introduce them to definitions and discussions of key business topics as they relate to the global business environment. I counted about 1,014 entries by almost 500 different contributors -- about 60% affiliated with American universities and the other 40% being mostly faculty affiliated mostly with universities throughout the world.
Entries are categorized under twenty-two major themes, typically run one to three pages, and often suggest additional "See Also" references and a brief list of additional sources for readers to consult. The volumes themselves are attractively designed, nicely bound and the content is presented in an easily read font and attractive layout. While I would have preferred seeing more photographs, illustrations, tables and graphs of broad economic terms, these concerns are offset somewhat by the lengthy glossary and statistical appendix that precedes the cumulative index at the end of the fourth volume.
In this age of complexity in every aspect of today's business world one cannot help but wonder if a mere four-volume encyclopedia can really cover the fields that make up "Business" as a discipline. Think about it, there's Management, Marketing, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business Law, never mind the associated fields such as Management Information Systems, Operations Research, Industrial Psychology, etc. Then there's the need for information on "How to Do Business in [name the country]," biographical sketches of prominent CEO's, description of significant economic and business events, and so forth. Because each business discipline could easily fill a four-volume set alone, and these other areas that need to be covered are just as vitally important -- the reality is that a comparison of the content of this product with the title -- indicates that the publisher has, to some extent, "over-promised and under-delivered." That may sound harsh, and is not intended to belittle the efforts of the editor and publisher -- that is, it's not to say that this set is not a worthy effort -- it is. Indeed, in comparison to the other products out there, while it will not replace the six-volume International Encyclopedia of Business and Management, 2nd. (Thomson Learning, 2001, $1,499), it is more comprehensive and a better purchase decision than buying the two-volume Encyclopedia of Business and Finance 2nd (MacMillan Reference USA, 2006. $385).
My hat is off to Dr. Wankel for taking on a project like this -- coordinating the progress and editing the content to make sure contributions are uniform and arrive in a timely manner for 500 contributors -- is, more often than not, a thankless, difficult ordeal for the editor. He is to be commended. But, it is time for one of the top business publishers to come up with the "Encyclopedia of Business" that the marketplace needs. Such a product would: combine the content of the best textbooks by the most noted authors of each discipline; add content on doing business in specific countries in a manner seen in the "Doing Business in [Country]" guides published by many of the "Big-10" accounting firms along with content from Europa Yearbook and the CIA Factbook; and, would offer historical, biographical and economic articles in the quality and style seen in the Wall Street Journal and other principal business periodicals such as Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, etc. all written by business faculty from the top business schools in America and the world.
In the meantime, librarians for both public and academic library collections will find this set helpful for general business questions.
R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University
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Agility: Competing and Winning in a Tech-Savvy Marketplace (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) Review

Agility: Competing and Winning in a Tech-Savvy Marketplace (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series)
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Agility: Competing and Winning in a Tech-Savvy Marketplace (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) ReviewAgility describes the dynamics of technology adoption by some of the largest, most successful companies and how they benefited from improved IT productivity. In his analysis, Mueller-Eberstein highlights best practices from internationally renowned firms such as BMW, and Del Monte among other. These are large firms that dedicate themselves to continuous innovation and productivity improvement using technology as a means to achieve this.
As Mr Mueller-Ebstein points out purchasing the most advanced technology is in itself insufficient, other factors such as the organization, firm's culture i.e. the people, are part and parcel of making a firm agile. The lessons learned from this book are invaluable, it is really a must read for firms looking to remain leaders in their industry, forever, on the cutting edge of innovation. As firms continue to invest in technology, they will benefit from the guidance offered in Agility. They will learn how other industry leaders have done it and benefits from the cummalative wisdom and know-how that this book offersAgility: Competing and Winning in a Tech-Savvy Marketplace (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) Overview

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Straight Through Processing for Financial Services: The Complete Guide (Complete Technology Guides for Financial Services) Review

Straight Through Processing for Financial Services: The Complete Guide (Complete Technology Guides for Financial Services)
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Straight Through Processing for Financial Services: The Complete Guide (Complete Technology Guides for Financial Services) ReviewI wanted a book that I could use as a quick reference. I'm in the industry and wanted something I could reference and lend to team members. The book is pretty light on detail. On the technology side it doesn't offer much more than a quick google would uncover. It has some good sections but for the money I wouldn't recommend to others.Straight Through Processing for Financial Services: The Complete Guide (Complete Technology Guides for Financial Services) Overview

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The 30 Day MBA: Your Fast Track Guide to Business Success Review

The 30 Day MBA: Your Fast Track Guide to Business Success
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The 30 Day MBA: Your Fast Track Guide to Business Success ReviewIf your want to find out what goes on in Business Schools beyond Harvard and Wharton, then this is the book for you, though they are covered too. IMD, in Lausanne, CEIBS (China Europe International Business School), INSEAD in France, IESE in Spain, LBS (London Business School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Antai College of Economics & Management (ACEM)are amongst the world's best B Schools whose syllabi are tapped into to compile this book. Case examples are drawn from global businesses such as Unilver, Societé Générale, and Tata Motors as well as established US firms including Facebook, Google and Dell.
For anyone who wants to know a bit more about what goes on in business schools that lie beyond the US coastline, as well as a what goes on within, this is an excellent primer.The 30 Day MBA: Your Fast Track Guide to Business Success Overview

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Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics Review

Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics
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Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics ReviewIt is impossible to understand the race for the presidency and the phenomenal rise of Barack Obama without understanding the new generation of voters which has been drawn to him in numbers and in ways scarcely anyone had anticipated, and some, especially those in the Clinton campaign, still can not believe. In their remarkable new book, Millenial Makeover, Winograd and Hais tell us more about what this new generation thinks and what it expects than anyone has done before or is likely to do again. Conservative or liberal, Democrat or Republican, if you have an interest in politics or public affairs this is a book you cannot afford not to read. I am giving it five stars, but only because I cannot give it six.Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics Overview

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The New Pioneers: Sustainable business success through social innovation and social entrepreneurship Review

The New Pioneers: Sustainable business success through social innovation and social entrepreneurship
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The New Pioneers: Sustainable business success through social innovation and social entrepreneurship ReviewThe subtitle for The New Pioneers is `Sustainable business success through innovation and social entrepreneurship'. So when I picked up the book, I thought it would focus away from the concepts of corporate responsibility and more on the social entrepreneurs who are demonstrating a new way to do business. This did not turn out to be completely true.
Tania Ellis has divided her book into two parts. `New ways, new needs' sets the framework for sustainable business by talking about the existing paradigms and how they are driving a new force for change. The second part - `New needs, new solutions' focuses on the paths to sustainable business, telling the reader about the new approaches that have been adapted and providing a range of example from which to learn.
In part one, Ellis takes the reader through a whole range of material, covering the whole of the current thinking in the sustainable business field. This part of the book is also full of examples of successful big and small businesses and their approach to their work. Ellis talks about corporate responsibility as well, but provides a clear understanding of what social entrepreneurship is, including the different approaches to defining this relatively new concept.
In part two, the author focuses on the changing world and what this means for the traditional CSR community. She outlines the arguments that have been made for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, rather than Social Responsibility as well as for Corporate Social Innovation. She also outlines the four Cs of sustainable innovation - clear purpose, corporate engagement, collaborative co-creation and clear communication.
Perhaps the one negative point of the book is that it is rooted in the present. If a reader picks it up in 3-4 years, he or she may be hard pressed to set the context and remember the details of the financial crisis and other current events to which the author often refers.
All in all, The New Pioneers is an excellent first book to read if you're relatively new to the idea of sustainable business and social entrepreneurship. It's also great to read as a repository for real-world examples of innovative business practices. You can also get a taste of what the book holds by looking at the author's website and blog - [...]
Reviewed by: Nazareth Seferian, CSR International
This review was originally published at [...]The New Pioneers: Sustainable business success through social innovation and social entrepreneurship Overview

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Wrestling with Starbucks: Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino Review

Wrestling with Starbucks: Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino
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Wrestling with Starbucks: Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino ReviewThis is a great book. It is about so much more than Starbucks. It is about work life and the labor movement, globalization, culture, international trade, corporate branding, community activism, social justice, gentrification, and of course coffee. Fellner is a talented writer, with a sense of humor and a way with words that make this read like a novel. Yet the book is packed with information that goes down like a cool cup of coffee on a summer day. She has done her homework, including first-hand on-the-ground research in Costa Rica and Guatamala, and Seattle -- with the people who run Starbucks, the corporation, and Starbucks,the neighborhood coffee shop, and with those who protest against it.
There is much food for thought here, about how we treat farmers in the global south and how to organize workers in the global north, and what really matters to workers in the 21st Century. Fellner avoids cliches and this book will likely infuriate those who see the world in black and white, (bad corporations and good workers, good unions and nasty bosses, etc.) But that is what makes this book so important. Anyone concerned about globalization, the labor movement, work-life in America, and environmental protection needs to read this book. Wrestling with Starbucks is an apt title because Fellner wrestles with the reality and complexity of Starbucks -- and how it shows up in the world. This is a must read for organizers, activists and anyone concerned about our world today and where it is headed.Wrestling with Starbucks: Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino Overview

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The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence Review

The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence
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The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence ReviewTrainers for intercultural competence are a dime-a-dozen in the business world, sometimes offering little more than personal experience and a rehash of Geert Hofstede's work on culture and organization in an upbeat but overpriced two-day seminar. They would do well to take note of this wide-ranging and thorough work. Divided into three parts (concepts, applications, and research and assessment), the handbook offers teachers, educators and others in the field a valuable reference for what's happening among major university researchers, up-and-coming practitioners, and established organizations dedicated to the study of intercultural competence. With over fifty contributors, the handbook collects a variety of perspectives that are themselves admirably multicutural.
The handbook undoubtedly has an academic tilt; it's worth the cost for the bibliographies alone. Almost half of the book is devoted to a detailed and wide-ranging discussion of how intercultural competence is being defined in the academy and in the world. Identity, cognition, morality, citizenship receive careful attention. What's striking, though, is how this dense material is leavened with excellent diagrams, case studies, and illustrations. Where else could you find reflections on the intercultural competency of Ernest Shackleton?
What's most important to note is the book's common sense and immediate utility for professionals across any industry who work in a global context (which, of course, is practically everyone). An example: a list of forty external assessment tools that are available to assess intercultural competence, or aspects of it.
Still, the handbook's greatest contribution is to prompt critical analysis and informed conversation about how we are ever going to manage getting along together in the world. It's a complex subject, and those who ignore it--or treat with cavalier simplicity-- do so at their peril. I know that in my business (international education administration) we stand to learn a great deal from this typically-excellent SAGE publication.
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Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets it Right Review

Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets it Right
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Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets it Right ReviewThis book is a total delight - funny, entertaining and, at the same time, provocative and inspirational. It will provide you with a new definition of the American spirit - irrepressible capitalism with an innovative social conscience. Plus it's just a great read!Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets it Right Overview

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Leading the Revolution: How to Thrive in Turbulent Times by Making Innovation a Way of Life Review

Leading the Revolution: How to Thrive in Turbulent Times by Making Innovation a Way of Life
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Leading the Revolution: How to Thrive in Turbulent Times by Making Innovation a Way of Life ReviewWhile this book is worth reading I have to say I was a little disappointed. For one thing, I had to keep looking at the book jacket to make sure the book was written by Gary Hamel and not Tom Peters. Gary has gone to the mountain top to preach a message that is probably worth repeating but certainly not new. Innovate or die. Revolt or fail. Rebel. Be an activist. Change before it's too late. Like most "mountain-top" books, this one makes a great case for change. It's compelling. It gets you convinced to lead a revolution. In this case toward what Hamel refers to as "business concept innovation" - "the capacity to reconceive existing business models in ways that create new value for customers, rude surprises for competitors and new wealth for investors". Business concept innovation means that wealth-creating champions have unique capabilities, unique assets, unique value propositions, and unique market positioning. Simple product or marketing innovation will not do in the "age of the revolution" according to Hamel. It's a neat concept but this is where the book begins to break down for me. While Hamel claims that radical invention and radical differentiation of the business model is the answer, many of the examples cited in the rest of the book seem to be discrepant with the claim. Hamel cites IBM's Internet undertaking and Sony's PlayStation success as examples. But how could they be considered as examples of creating new business models? Aren't they really just examples of IBM and Sony adapting to clearly established trends? Another example cites (department store) Target's inviting shopping environment but isnt that simply an example of good old-fashioned store merchandising (a.k.a. marketing)? Hamel claims or implies that most companies know how to execute but not how to develop strategy but is this completely true? Sure, GREAT strategy is rare (and difficult to develop for sure) but aren't there also lots of companies that DON'T know how to serve their customers, that don't know how to turn a profit regularly and that can't implement basic systems well? WalMart is another example cited often in the book but isn't their advantage the fact that they are great implementors as well as strategists? And what about the companies over the years that simply create wealth by being great copy-cats and not "revolutionary innovators"? Office Depot, Microsoft, Burger King, ATG, Papa Johns Pizza, Excite, AOL, AMD, Bath and Body Works, E-Trade, etc. etc. etc. etc! Were/are these companies successful because of radical new business models or because of great fundamental execution? Aren't their accomplishments equally commendible if not as admirable? Do we really know? Yea, I get disturbed by all of the "hype-notic" management writing that takes place these days but in the end I'm grateful to read a book and get stimulated. Hamel's book IS STIMULATING and provides much food for thought. A bit overpackaged/overproduced but a worthwhile read anyway. So I give it 4 stars.Leading the Revolution: How to Thrive in Turbulent Times by Making Innovation a Way of Life Overview

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Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity (2nd Edition) Review

Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity (2nd Edition)
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Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity (2nd Edition) ReviewIs the business sector more then just a entity that creates products and jobs? The author of this book believes that the corporate sector can be the catalyst for a force of global development. The author argues that there is no conflict between making the world a better place and make a profit. He does believe that business leaders need to maintain a principled commitment to civic responsibility, for if nothing else then to keep your company out of the spot light of issues that could arise from actions that are less then ethical.
The author presents a book that gives the reader a scenario in which business can generate growth and satisfy social and environmental concerns. Given the 4 billion people that live in the third world, the author believes there is an unbelievably large and hungry market for all that business can bring. Business owners can reap incredible growth while sowing tremendous improvement in people's lives.
It does sound like a win win situation that is believable in its scope. Overall I enjoyed the book. It was well written and informative. The author might be called an optimist to the extreme, but it is the dreamer that makes big change happen. The book is a fast read that is well worth your time.Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity (2nd Edition) Overview

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Creative Organization Theory: A Resourcebook Review

Creative Organization Theory: A Resourcebook
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Creative Organization Theory: A Resourcebook ReviewI purchased this book for use as a text in a doctoral class in organization and management. It offers a wide mix of ideas that can be used in your own workplace and compliments Morgan's other works quite well.Creative Organization Theory: A Resourcebook Overview

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The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) Review

The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions)
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The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) ReviewAn excellent source for information and guidance. The book's three main parts cover: how to plan, lead and manage outsourcing initiatives; a guide to finding an outsourcing career; and a guide for outsourcing entrepreneurs. Some specific topics include: making decisions to outsource; what is needed to be known before starting; assessing cost, benefit, and risk; outsourcing options; selecting suppliers and vendors; and much more. Includes an annotated, extensive vendor directory. Offers a wealth of information and insights.The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (Wiley Desktop Editions) Overview

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Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success Review

Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success
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Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success ReviewI spent 30 years at Goldman Sachs as a senior risk arbitrage trader in the equities division. I retired in 1995.The information contained in the volume has been carefully and thoughtfully researched and the result is a wonderful historical analysis of Goldman Sachs. The book is eminantly readable and easily understandable, even for those uninitiated in the banking business.My only negative criticism refers to the excessive space given to the recent history of the firm. There was a clear change in the firms' culture after the greedy portion of the 1980's. The author is right on the mark when she tells how important the people (not only the partners) were to the creation of the special atmosphere that pervaded the firm and how very special it was to be a part of it. Although profitability was always a clear motive, it surely was not the sole purpose for which the firm existed. To profile a few bond traders and enumerate their spectacular successes (and failures) in the 1990s clearly indicates how things have changed from previous decades. I worked with Gus Levy for 10 years and Bob Rubin for 20 years and from a trader's point of view these were the spectacular people at least in the Equities Division. I doubt that the client interest is foremost in the culture of Goldman Sachs today as it was for the first 125 years. Although the importance of the client remains high today, it is profitability and risk taking that are the motivating forces.Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success Overview

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The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow Review

The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow
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The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow ReviewWe need Michael Maccoby's insights about leaders and our world today to follow or become The Leaders We Need. People don't want to be managed by autocratic father figures, though they will follow and better yet, collaborate with, the right kind of leader. This book is trenchant and practical.
Disclaimer: Michael Maccoby and I have worked together for 35 years. For some this might imply a lack of objectivity. For others, this qualifies a reviewer who knows his subject. You are free to make up your own mind.
Dr. Maccoby's insights are based on over 45 years of research (for example, with Erich Fromm in Mexico), teaching (Harvard, Chicago, Oxford, the Brookings Institution), consulting (IBM, AT&T, World Bank, ABB, etc.), and writing. He facilitated a national health care coalition, and directed a foundation-funded research project on exemplary health care systems. He advises diverse leaders and organizations, being trusted by both corporate and union leaders. He is a fellow of the American Psychological and Anthropological Associations, a psychologist, psychoanalyst, and anthropologist.
The Leaders We Need And What Makes Us Follow provides many examples of leaders and their organizations from this rich body of work. It is his most comprehensive book, giving readers the fruits of his productive lifetime in what might be called a grand integrated theory. His wisdom is useful for those who would lead in any way or at any level of an organization, or for understanding leaders we may choose to follow.
He raises the question why none of the existing authors on leadership give a convincing definition of leadership. Many describe leadership traits, others define their ideal leader. Maccoby's definition of a leader is deceptively simple: a leader is a person others follow.
Since both Hitler and Gandhi were people others followed, Maccoby asks: why and how do people follow a leader? Winston Churchill, a great wartime leader, was rejected by voters both before and after the war. Different contexts require different leaders.
Maccoby understands leaders in their historical context, relationship to followers, and results sought. Personality is also important. The most effective leaders will develop their Personality Intelligence, a combination of conceptual and emotional understanding, head and heart.
At the national level, we need leaders who can respond to a world aflame with fundamentalist ideologies, the global ecological crisis, and an increasing percentage of the world facing inadequate food, water, shelter, health. At the organizational level, we need leaders who can organize and inspire knowledge workers in healthcare organizations, schools, and innovative global companies. Traditional bureaucratic managers who built great corporations and government agencies of the industrial era lack the personality and understanding needed to engage a new social character, raised in dual career families rather than the paternalistic families of the past.
The new interactive social character is composed of free agents motivated by continual learning, teamwork, transparency, participation and above all, meaningful purpose. If led as collaborators they are a source of ideas, energy, and solutions. But they are turned off by rules and carrot and stick-based managers. Maccoby describes the changing attitudes of the interactives who don't idealize father figures; and the various kinds of intelligence needed to lead today.
Maccoby writes that leaders need foresight and systems thinking, and he models it. He describes leaders who are resolving today's challenges: transforming health care; creating schools that educate poor minority students who go on to college; an orphanage run on humanitarian principles where graduates lead the organization in eight countries. Maccoby shows that in the most effective knowledge creating organization, different leadership roles-- strategic, operational, and networking-- work together, and that these roles are best filled by different personality types. In "The President We Need" chapter we gain understanding to help us predict how candidates will act once elected. This book is a significant contribution, useful for would-be leaders and followers.The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow Overview

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The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it All Comes Together Review

The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it All Comes Together
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The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it All Comes Together Review"The boss came back from a seminar and said we need to be sustainable", "our green team needs to make the next step", "I need to provide better documentation to justify our sustainability efforts", are all statements that I hear routinely in presentations or as a part of general calls that come into the agency. This book provides a valuable resource as it serves admirably as a primer for the unintiated, a problem solver for the overwhelmed and a tool chest for the seasoned practitioner.
There are very few books that I will recommend when asked where to start, simply because organizations moving to the sustainability path are starting from such different places. This book provides a range of information to satisfy those diverse needs. It has all of the earmarks for being one of the books on your shelf with folded corners, highlights and tabs for the "go to" locations helping your organization explore, implement and share sustainable practices.The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it All Comes Together Overview

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The Education of an American Dreamer: How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Wall Street, and Beyond Review

The Education of an American Dreamer: How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Wall Street, and Beyond
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The Education of an American Dreamer: How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Wall Street, and Beyond ReviewPete Peterson's "The Education of an American Dreamer" is a summer reading book with extreme relevance to the worlds of business, finance, and public policy in the summer of 2009. One of the last true "lions of Wall Street," and one of America's most concerned public citizens, Peterson here tells his life story with serious introspection and often searing candor. From his origins in a Greek immigrant family in Nebraska, to becoming a billionaire with the success of The Blackstone Group, Peterson has never lost his ethical and moral bearings. For anyone thinking about the major issues faced by American business and by the Obama administration as we rebuild the American economy and the American dream, this is required reading. For any young person thinking about a career in finance or in government, this is a book that should be read before you go to your next interview.The Education of an American Dreamer: How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Wall Street, and Beyond Overview

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When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era Review

When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era
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When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era ReviewThe gist of this book is that the US is suffering from declining respect and financial and military strength, and that the world is beginning to suffer from overdue Malthusian shortages of critical resources. Because the US is in decline, the consequence will be international chaos as various actors (state and non-state, such as terrorists and international corporations) step into the void and inevitably begin to collide with the US and one another. The result of this will be global shortages of food, water and energy, increased protectionism, military conflagration, increased income disparity, and any other number of woes.
To support the inevitability of this dire future, Panzer cites Malthus, Paul Kennedy's book "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers," various fairly current news accounts, and less frequently, historic events. However, his rather strident argument of inevitable decline and collapse appears conclusory at best, and a critic might argue that the book itself represents a cynical attempt to capitalize upon the prevalent dour sentiments concerning the economy and America's position in the world.
Moreover, at times the tone of the book risks falling into condescending tongue clucking of the elite who, of course, saw this coming and are shocked, shocked, that we could ever allow this to happen. Take this quote from page 9, drawing parallels between the US and Rome as it was collapsing: "Instead of bread lines and circuses, we have NASCAR, video games and reality TV." 45 years ago, many Americans may have told you how the US was collapsing because of its softness in the face of communism, the Beatles, etc.
On the plus side, Panzner is well read, and he recounts a string of recent and several more remote historical events in great detail. My issue is not that he cites Malthus and Kennedy - it's that he comes up with quite specific predictions based upon a smattering of self-selected news and historical accounts. While the dire future he predicts may come into being, I'm not sure I agree that it WILL come to pass.
A second issue I take with this book is that it promises "cutting edge strategies and much needed direction that will allow you to achieve financial security and stability in an increasingly uncertain and dangerous world." I guess I missed this section other than some advice to invest in commodity producers. Moreover, given that the book essentially predicts a real-live "Road Warrior" world, I am skeptical whether any book could provide such "cutting edge" strategies, unless you consider building a bomb shelter and preparing for a survivalist future to be worthwhile.
On the plus side, the book is a fairly easy read, and the author has clearly spent much time combing the news media for information that appears to support his conclusions. Anyone wishing for a refresher about various international mishaps, primarily of the US, will find this book enjoyable.
Personally, I prefer Paul Kennedy's book "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers," which is truly a landmark book about the dangers of imperial over-reach. Another interesting, although not necessarily persuasive, read is Dent's "The Great Depression Ahead," which is distinguishable from "When Giants Fall" by its narrow focus upon demographics and provision of a bit more tangible financial planning advice.
In summary, I can't say that Panzner is wrong - his projections for the future might well be right. That being said, his book purports to predict the future with a certainty that does not appear supported by the data provided (keep in mind that the actual text of this book is slightly less than 190 pages, exclusive of the extensive bibliography). It is possible that Panzner sought to keep the book "readable," and hence cut down on the detail, but in this regard, I would have preferred to have more information supporting Panzner's conclusions, and some more hints about how to survive the collapse we are supposedly about to face.When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era Overview

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