Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin
This is a fascinating book covering a powerful businessman and a grand experiment in vertical integration.
Book Corner
The Book Corner offers reviews by Graziadio School faculty and others for a variety of books on business topics.
Buy-in by John P. Kotter and Lorne A. Whitehead
Each of the strategies discussed are valid; however, the authors should stick with academic articles and books and leave the writing of novels to other authors.
Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order by Peter Cappelli and Bill Novelli
The strength of the book is the series of provocative issues it raises. Practitioners can read it and decide if their businesses are positioned to better manage older workers and increase performance.
Ethics in Motion by Justin M. Paperny
Paperny’s objective in getting the message across regarding consequences for unethical/illegal actions is very effective. Readers will appreciate the visceral connection with each chapter.
Workforce of One: Revolutionizing Talent Management Through Customization by Susan M. Cantrell and David Smith
This book will be of special interest to HR professionals and provides valuable insights and options to all strategy-level managers in an organization.
The On-Demand Brand: 10 Rules for Digital Marketing Success in an Anytime, Everywhere World by Rick Mathieson
The book is replete with real-world examples—those that worked, those that didn’t work, and why.
Ignited: Managers! Light Up Your Company and Career for More Power, More Purpose and More Success by Vince Thompson
Thompson’s book is a must-read for those trapped in middle management who have not been as lucky as I have in finding a way out to smaller, yet much, much greener pastures.
What I Didn’t Learn in Business School: How Strategy Works in the Real World by Jay B. Barney and Trish Gorman Clifford
Although this book is a novel, it allows the reader to gain knowledge and to reflect on its application. I give this four stars and a big “thumbs up.”
Technical Analysis: The Complete Resource for Financial Market Technicians, Second Edition
In this manual, one will not find “trading secrets” nor “holy grails,” but an efficient portal to more study in areas of interest or need for the reader.
The Future of Finance: The LSE Report
The depth of analysis and the often provocative solutions offered in this report make it a must for those who need clarification on the financial crisis.
Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn even the Most Difficult Customer into your Biggest Fan by Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest
A review of “Who’s your Gladys” by Suttle and Vest, who say “customer service is about seeing the positive qualities in a client with negative behavior.”
Analytics at Work: Smarter Decisions, Better Results by Thomas H. Davenport, Jeanne G. Harris, and Robert Morison
Analytics at Work is about improving performance in key business domains using data and analysis. Five stars.
Living in More than One World, How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life by Bruce Rosenstein
Rosenstein unpacks the wisdom of Peter Drucker for the benefit of today’s business professionals, and, a prodigious amount of wisdom it is.
Leading Culture Change: What Every CEO Needs to Know by Christopher S. Dawson
Throughout the book Dawson provides a sophisticated set of frameworks to prepare senior managers for creating evocative change.
Leading in Turbulent Times by Kevin Kelly and Gary E. Hayes
I found the book to be short on new insights and somewhat trite in some aspects of leadership that it explored.