Ford Library

Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Leadership in turbulent times. Simon & Schuster, 2018.

In Leadership in Turbulent Times, Doris Kearns Goodwin sheds light on leadership by analyzing the lives and careers of four US presidents that she has written about previously: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. If a reader is unfamiliar with the histories of these men, Goodwin’s book provides a pithy introduction and enough information – as well as a solid bibliography – to pique an interest and provide for further study.

By comparing their formative years, their early adult experiences with hardship and failure that formed them as leaders, and their years in the presidency when their skills were put to the test, Goodwin presents detailed case studies in successful leadership. She emphasizes that their ultimate success did not come cheaply or easily. Creating case studies based on historical figures was a refreshing read in contrast to the contemporary focus of many leadership titles.

Goodwin not only writes engagingly about the life of each president, she also makes leadership a topic of interest. Each president is presented as an example of a leadership style that was needed in his moment of history. Goodwin then parses out the unique characteristics of each of these leadership styles and weaves them into the stories of these men. She presents each man as the best leader needed for that exact moment in history in which they lived. Mythologizing these men in this way was one of the few weaknesses of the book.

It was difficult to not make comparisons to current political figures in leadership roles while reading this book. However, one can presume that Goodwin is not offering an oblique critique of current times, but simply case studies on great leadership. Given Goodwin’s long and deep research and writing about these particular presidents and her career as a historian, she could be expected to have a longer perspective, aiming her work more broadly at readers in a future beyond our turbulent times.

Leadership in Turbulent Times is a highly readable collection of case studies on leadership with four presidents, their times, and their success as leaders as its focus. Highly recommended.

Also available on OverDrive as an ebook and audiobook.

© Julianna Harris & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Clear, James. Atomic habits : tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Penguin Random House, 2018.

Atomic Habits by James Clear starts predictably with the author sharing his qualifications – how he overcame adversity to become a success, how he built his business, how he’s spoken to Fortune 500 companies and major league teams about habit formation. Further, he follows what appears to be the new formula for personal productivity titles, extending his personal brand with liberal references to his website, creating that ubiquitous infomercial vibe.

However, within this off-putting framework, Clear writes an engaging book with content worth the time and effort. His four laws of good habit building, along with their inverses to break bad habits, do provide the “operating manual” that the author promises. While some of his techniques are what might be expected, such as tracking progress, others, such as focusing on the environment around a habit, answering the questions of where, when, and how in addition to what, and paring a habit down to a two-minute task are thought-provoking and valuable.

Further, Clear goes beyond behavior to address the relationship between habits and identity and the need for readers to think about what kind of person they want to be and how habits can shape that aspirational identity. He also explains the long-term/short-term payoff of habits, both good and bad, and how many people carry on with bad habits because the short-term payoff is pleasant, while ignoring the accumulating long-term bad consequences of those actions.

The book provides the added bonus of solid writing, making it an easy and enjoyable read, which may do a disservice to the sheer amount of helpful information and the number of useful techniques. To get the most out of the book, readers need to review and strategize which techniques will work best for the particular habits they want to build. While Clear provides links to worksheets, tables, and specialized chapters for businesses and parents, they are reserved for readers who can show proof of purchase.

Atomic Habits is overflowing with actionable ideas on both habit building and habit breaking, thoughtfully organized, and engagingly written – a good read to start a new year off right. Highly recommend.

Also available on OverDrive as an ebook and audiobook.

© Julianna Harris & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Yen, Anna. Sophia of Silicon Valley : a novel. HarperCollins Publishers, 2018.

Sophia of Silicon Valley by Anna Yen is a fictionalized account of the author’s experience working in investor relations for Steve Jobs during his Pixar years. This narrative is bookended by her character’s paralegal work for a law firm specializing in tech IPOs, and by a second stint in investor relations for Elon Musk at Tesla.

Sophia Young, the main character, is an unlikable, coddled 20-something either whining about her over-protective Taiwanese parents, lack of a husband, and less than Ivy League education; or bragging about designer clothes and luxury hotel suites as golden career opportunities fall effortlessly into her lap. While her diabetes could be a vehicle for a reader to develop an early sympathy for her, Yen glosses over the illness, and it is not until the final third of the book when Sophia experiences a crisis and encounters an adversary that she comes into her own as a character worth caring about.

Yen’s fictional depictions of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are as superheroes. Even when Sophia sees and experiences their self-absorption, she finds excuses for them, assuming that they have loftier and nobler goals that these actions serve. These portrayals prove frustrating because they provide little insight into the characters who are Sophia’s raison d’etre.

In an interview with Business Insider, Yen mentions that she also wrote the book to impart lessons to her readers. This goal is generally at odds with good storytelling, and Sophia of Silicon Valley is no exception. It struggles with both character development and plot.

If a reader is interested in the history of Pixar or Steve Jobs, other books such as Creativity, Inc by Ed Catmull or Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs might be better choices. Thankfully, Yen had the good sense not to cast Sophia’s experience as somehow prescriptive for women wanting to succeed in high-power careers.

With a strong final third and an interesting perspective on working for quirky, powerful men in Silicon Valley, the book ultimately redeems itself from its lackluster storytelling.

Also available on OverDrive as an audiobook and an eBook.

© Julianna Harris & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Rosenthal, Elisabeth. An American sickness : how healthcare became big business and how you can take it back. Penguin Press, 2017.

An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal is a sobering look at the history and current state of the American healthcare system. Rosenthal, a journalist and former physician, paints a bleak picture, but her accessible style and systematic organization make the book an engaging read.

Rosenthal pulls no punches, beginning with “Ten Economic Rules of the Dysfunctional Medical Market” which include “A lifetime of treatment is preferable to a cure,” and “As technologies age, prices can rise rather than fall.” She periodically refers back to these rules when logic and common sense fail.

Each chapter begins with a brief history of a part of the system such as insurance, hospitals, or pharmaceuticals, and then proceeds with an explanation of how each has changed in response to shifting values, to legislation, and to transformation in other parts – for example, how physician practices have affiliated themselves with hospital systems. Rosenthal pairs this overview with stories of patients, families, and doctors to help connect this complex system with personal healthcare decisions. While she presents a system that has moved from advancing patient well-being to delivering maximum profit, she generally absolves individuals; patients and caregivers are cast as victims of a predatory system. This portrayal may be an accurate reflection of the current system, but it is also the result of past decisions by many individuals who abdicated control of their healthcare decisions and dollars.

Rosenthal concludes with her solutions, which seem small and ineffectual against a vast and complicated system that hides true costs and deflects outside scrutiny. Her solutions are two-pronged: things to do immediately – such as asking for the cash cost of prescriptions or for an itemized hospital bill – and changes to advocate for on a systemic level over the long haul. In the appendices, she provides a number of useful tools to put these solutions into action. Rosenthal acknowledges that these solutions seem inconsequential, but encourages them nonetheless, emphasizing the power of numbers. If enough individuals take control of their healthcare and its costs, the system can be transformed into one that is both patient-centered and affordable. The book is a solid, if sometimes simplistic, introduction to a complicated topic.

Also available as an eBook and audiobook on OverDrive.

Voss, Christopher. Never split the difference : negotiating as if your life depended on it. HarperBusiness, 2016.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It (2016) by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz explores a wealth of negotiating techniques presented in a framework of topical chapters that are meant to build on and to inform one another.

Throughout the book, Voss shares stories about his work as an FBI negotiator, beginning each chapter with a dramatic kidnapping or hostage situation. These anecdotes make the book hard to put down. The reader’s attention is kidnapped as well until the situation is resolved – and each technique explained.

An over-arching theme of the book is that creating adversarial relationships, quid pro quo bargaining, and compromise – what could be considered aspects of traditional negotiation – aren’t the best techniques or outcomes. Voss instead advocates listening actively, creating empathy, becoming comfortable with “no,” and humanizing your counterpart as just some of the tools of successful negotiators.

Voss teases out each technique, explaining it, showing how it is used in the process and providing tips, tricks, and easily memorized phrases to use. He also points out that negotiation is not a 1-2-3 process but a fluid dynamic where the skilled negotiator uses these tools interchangeably, repeatedly, and with emotional insight to move toward resolution.

The book can be challenging as Voss pushes his reader to understand that negotiation will at times be an uncomfortable and self-conscious process. For example, mirroring – an active listening technique that involves repeating what your counterpart is saying – can seem transparently manipulative, but can also be an effective way to build empathy.

Voss’s success in engaging his reader does falter, especially when he moves away from the life and death FBI negotiations to more mundane negotiations where one party can simply walk away from a deal. Further, his writing is sometimes gratingly self-promoting, as he repeatedly reminds his reader of his prestigious titles and positions. The experiences he relates are already more than sufficient to cement his reputation.

If the reader chooses to set aside these weaknesses, they can enjoy Never Split the Difference, as it delivers the excitement of a thriller with its hostage negotiation stories and presents the practical techniques that made these negotiations successful.

Also available as an eBook or audiobook on OverDrive and on Notable Business Books Kindles.

Kim, W. Chan. Blue ocean shift : beyond competing : proven steps to inspire confidence and seize new growth. Hachette Books, 2017.

Blue Ocean Shift (2017) by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne is the follow-up volume to the bestselling Blue Ocean Strategy (2005), which presented the theory that businesses could successfully create both new markets and innovative products simultaneously in highly competitive spaces. In their new book, the authors provide a process for creating and executing the strategy. The first section of the book summarizes blue ocean strategy, emphasizing its distinctiveness and its value, while the second section presents five steps for making a blue ocean shift.

In the course of walking the reader through the five steps, Kim and Mauborgne fill the book with examples and tools to help the blue ocean team – assembled in Step 1 – think outside traditional, competitive business strategy. One of these tools is the Buyer Utility Map, which aids in seeing a product from an outsider perspective. Another is the Six Paths, which encourages the team to look at their product from different perspectives such as across alternative industries or across complementary products, as a way to discover new opportunities. A third is the Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid which helps to parse out how an organization might transform a product to provide both innovation and cost savings, opening up the proverbial blue ocean market. These tools are just a few examples of the templates, grids and diagrams that Kim and Mauborgne write about to inspire creative thinking about products and markets.

That said, the book does have some weaknesses. First, the authors state that any size organization can execute a blue ocean shift; however, the five steps are heavily focused on implementation in a large organization. Second, the endnotes don’t extend beyond the first section, and the majority of bibliography cites the authors’ previous work. This sparse scholarship appears to indicate that few beyond the authors have studied the strategy in any systematic way in the twelve years since Blue Ocean Strategy was published. Third, while the authors provide real life examples of organizations that have executed the strategy with success, the five steps are generally presented in an idealized way where all the team members play nice together, they have all the support and resources they need, and they have decided the success of the company and of the blue ocean strategy is their highest good.

In sum, the book’s value lies in challenging readers to think differently about their products, their strategy, and their markets while providing a clear process and a number of resources to encourage that thinking.

Blue Ocean Shift is also available on Notable Business Books Kindles and as an OverDrive audiobook.

Blankson, Amy. The future of happiness : five modern strategies for balancing productivity and well-being in the digital era. BenBella Books, 2017.

Amy Blankson’s The Future of Happiness: 5 Modern Strategies for Balancing Productivity and Well-Being in the Digital Era presents an interesting and timely topic for readers who may wonder if there are better ways to manage their digital lives. Her author biography touts some impressive bona fides such as an Ivy League education and presidential Point of Light awards. While the topic is engaging, the book is not. Readers interested in this book may enjoy Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, Braving the Wilderness, or How to Be Happy at Work.

The author chose to have her brother write the foreword, and his effusive praise immediately strikes the false note of over-selling. She relies on family as support for and evidence of the validity of her claims and assertions, which threads its way throughout the book and gives it an aura of an extended marketing campaign for her consulting firm and her brother’s books.

The book is divided into two parts: The Three Burning Questions and The Five Strategies. While the questions of where we are heading and what happiness might look like they are worth exploring, the question of whether we would be better off without technology seems dated and superfluous, especially given her central thesis of using technology wisely. This is a second pattern that repeats throughout; the good ideas are overshadowed by the tired and overused.

The Five Strategies section shares these weaknesses, and adds to them with a number of misstatements of fact. For example, in the Strategy #4 section, she states that the Cold War ended in 1963, that the Kennedy years were “pre-Vietnam,” and that Jimmy Carter founded Habitat for Humanity. These errors both distract from the main theme and undercut the author’s credibility. The strategies themselves aren’t particularly modern or innovative – stay grounded, know thyself, train your brain, create a habitat for happiness, and innovate consciously. Here again there are few worthwhile solutions, but many of her suggestions read more like the inevitable New Year’s resolutions article in the January issue of any number of lifestyle magazines.

Finally, the author points out another reason not to bother. She has a penchant for recommending specific apps that she likes. She even states, “I am keenly aware that by the time it [the book] is published, it will be somewhat outdated.” Interesting topic, poor execution.

Ariely, Dan, et al. Dollars and sense : how we misthink money and how to spend smarter. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017.

In Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter, Dan Ariely, bestselling author and James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, teams up with Jeff Kreisler, attorney, author and comedian, to examine our irrational thinking and behavior with respect to money. While written for a general audience, the book references numerous scholarly studies and provides complete notes to undergird the authors’ observations and analysis. It is divided into three sections: how we define money, how we (mis)-assess value, and how we can think more clearly about money.

Part One lays out some basic characteristics of money and a couple of complicating factors in thinking wisely about it. The authors define money as a common good that is general, divisible, fungible and storable, and they remind their readers of the principles of opportunity costs and relative value. While these characteristics and principles are straightforward, they probably aren’t the first things we think of when we consider our finances.

Part Two is the bulk of the book and here the authors lay out the myriad ways in which human beings think unwisely about money — everything from avoiding the pain of paying, to overvaluing what we already have, to looking only at price to determine value. They also point out how much of our modern financial system has responded by doubling down on our unwise thinking to divide us from our hard-earned money in the easiest and most painless ways. This section is sobering and could be downright depressing, since, by being human, every reader will have fallen into one of more of these unwise thought processes. However, the saving grace of the book here and throughout is its humor, much of it self-deprecating. This humor provides the reader with a sense of common ground and with the comfort that even the experts are not immune from a slick sales pitch.

Part Three explores what we can do to mitigate the effects of our magical thinking about money. While we can never be — nor want to be — completely rational about money, there are things we can do to think more wisely about it. The authors point out what should matter in our decisions — opportunity cost, true benefit, and real pleasure — and what should not — sale prices or ease of payment among others. They provide suggestions for how we as individuals can think correctly and exercise forethought and self-control, and for how we as a society could transform our financial systems and use new technology to help us act more wisely.

In sum, Ariely and Kreisler present the sober truth about our irrational ways with money in a humorous and engaging book that is thought-provoking and hopefully, behavior-changing.

Dollars and Sense is also available as an audiobook on OverDrive, as an eBook on OverDrive, and on Notable Business Books Kindles at the Ford Library.