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Not only have the following
books been thoroughly enjoyable, they have had a considerable impact on
my thinking. I am also a faithful and regular reader of The Economist,
Business Week, The New York Times, and Wired Magazine
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success,
One Relationship at a Time
by Keith Ferrazzi, with Tahl Raz
Doubleday, 2005
Every once in a
while I read a book that profoundly changes the way that I think and
act. Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi, is my current foundation
rocker. This is a highly recommended book for anyone who aspires to
be successful in business and in life.
Read my full review at
It Seems To Me.
The War for Talent
by Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, Beth Axelrod
Harvard Business School Press, 2001
A brilliant insight
into one of the last frontiers for competitive advantage for
American companies.
The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the
World Economy
by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw
Free Press, 2002
A delightful venture
through the development of the world economies. From the fall of the
central, planned economy in Russia, to the tiger economies of Asia,
Yergin writes with elegance and insight. An important book in
understanding the world economy.
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR
Nabisco
by Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
Harper and Row, 1990
An intense page turner
that reads as well as any Tom Clancy novel. This should be required
reading for business school students so they understand what can go
wrong if they finally make it to the top.
Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise
and Scandalous Fall of Enron
by Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind
Portfolio, 2003
Now that the dust has
settled on the Enron debacle, The Smartest Guys in the Room
provides an in-depth chronicle of the rise and fall of the once
promising company. Regardless of how they are portrayed in the press,
you will never see Andy Fastow, Jeffrey Skilling and the other cast of
characters, in the same light again. Like Barbarians at the Gate,
this book is important reading in order to learn what can go
wrong when smart, passionate people get off track.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make
a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell
Back Bay Books, Little, Brown and Company, 2002
Why were Ugg boots
suddenly the craze a few years ago? Why was Sesame Street so
popular? The Tipping Point will help you understand how ideas can
spread like a virus through a group . . . and then stick there. Learn
the secrets of Connectors, Mavens and Salesman and your ideas on
influencing change will be forever enlightened.
The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the
Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream
by Jeremy Rifkin
Polity Press, Cambridge, UK, 2004
From the Book: "The
American Dream puts an emphasis on economic growth, personal wealth, and
independence. The new European Dream focuses more on sustainable
development, quality of life, and interdependence. The American Dream
pays homage to the work ethic. The European Dream is more attuned to
leisure and deep play. The American Dream is inseparable from the
country's religious heritage and deep spiritual faith. The European
Dream is secular to the core. The American Dream is assimilationist. We
associate success with shedding our former cultural ties and becoming
free agents. The European Dream, by contrast, is based on preserving
one's cultural identity and living in a multicultural world."
This is a powerful book
that sheds tremendous light on the growing gap between America and Europe.
Throughout my life I have lived in three
countries on two continents. Now that I am in the UK I can see the
profound difference in world views that define the two dreams. I
resonate more with the European Dream.
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