Archive for January, 2018

WSJ: Best Business Books 2017

Monday, January 22nd, 2018

Every year, the Wall Street Journal asks writers, academics, business owners, athletes and assorted interesting people for their recommendations for the best books of the year. Here’s what the contributors said for 2017:
 
recommender image“It’s been a strong year for books on economics, business and technology, according to Mohamed A. El-Erian, author and chief economic advisor at Allianz. He recommends 7 books from 2017, including: Principles, “Ray Dalio’s illuminating discussions of what has driven his and Bridgewater’s success; Hit Refresh, Satya Nadella’s engaging discussion of both his personal journey and the opportunities facing tech as Microsoft successfully reboots; and The One Device, Brian Merchant’s detailed analysis of what has gone into the creation and proliferation of the iPhone.”
 

reviewer imageDuff McDonald, author of the HBS critique, The Golden Passport. “I generally can’t stand books about management. An exception: Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work. This is a book about life, about finding flow, the state of peak performance that no spreadsheet can model.”

 
reviewer imageDenise Morrison, CEO of the Campbell Soup company recommends two books: Thank You for Being Late and The Fourth Industrial Revolution. “Disruption is the new normal across business, politics and culture … These books explore how the supernova speed of changing technology is outpacing human evolution and our ability to manage through the change.”

 
reviewer imageCo-founder and President of Lyft Inc, John Zimmer reflects that “the happiest moments in life are those when we feel most connected to family, friends and the community around us. Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging does an excellent job highlighting how we need to reclaim our sense of true community.”
 

reviewer imageOf all the books she read in 2017, CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi felt that Radical Technologies stood out. “It describes some of the ways innovation is transforming our daily lives…It’s a fascinating glimpse at what we can achieve when we embrace the changes happening all around us and infuse our lives with the spirit of possibility.”
 
Duke users can read the Wall Street Journal article, “Books of the Year: 12 Months of Reading”, in ABI/Inform Complete. Duke username and password required.

© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

New Movies for January

Tuesday, January 16th, 2018

Here are the newest additions to our DVD collection:

American MadeDetroit DVD cover
Detroit
Dunkirk
Battle of the Sexes
Despicable Me 3
Home Again
The King’s Choice
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Mayhem
The Mountain Between Us
Stronger
Victoria & Abdul

You may browse the entire DVD collection via the library catalog.

New Research Resources From Bureau van Dijk

Monday, January 15th, 2018

Ford Library is pleased to announce the availability of five new business and finance research resources from Bureau van Dijk, an information provider with a truly global scope and focus.  These resources offer key business and financial data via standalone web sites (ORBIS and ZEPHYR), and via the Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) data portal.

Each resource is described briefly below with a link for access available to all Duke students, faculty, and staff.

AMADEUS via WRDS
Amadeus contains comprehensive information on around 21 million companies across Europe, with a focus on private companies. Data includes company financials, financial strength indicators, ownership data, detailed corporate structures, and stock prices.

ORBIS Bank Focus via WRDS
Information on public and private banks worldwide. This searchable database includes bank ratings reports, country risk ratings reports, news, and detailed ownership information and bank structures.

OSIRIS via WRDS
A comprehensive database of listed corporates, banks and insurance companies around the world. In addition to the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow and ratios it contains news, ownership, ratings, earnings estimates and stock data. Contains data on approximately 80,000 companies.

ORBIS
ORBIS covers over 200 million companies worldwide, with an emphasis on private company information, integrating information held across BvDEP’s company information product range. ORBIS provides global standard report formats as well as descriptive information and company financials, along with news, market research, ratings and country reports, scanned reports, ownership and M&A data.

Zephyr
Zephyr contains M&A, IPO and venture capital deal data with links to detailed company financial information. It has information on approximately 1.6 million transactions with over 100,000 being added annually.

Ford Library will offer two one-hour training classes on February 7th and February 8th for Fuqua students, faculty, and staff in support of these new resources.  Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for coming details on times and locations for the classes.

COMING SOON: For advanced users interested in directly querying and manipulating data in the statistical analysis software of their choice, or via other programming languages, we will provide access to a collection of ORBIS source data files in SQL and TXT formats. These source data files, “ORBIS Historical”, will focus on financial and historical ownership information from the ORBIS database.

Book Review: Two Books on Business Improv

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

Comedic actor Bob Kulhan, founder and CEO of Business Inprov, explains that if people know anything at all about improv, it is the basic technique – the use of two words: Yes, and… “Yes” shows that an idea has been heard; “and” builds on that idea. Yes, and there are two books about improvisation in business that employ those words: Yes, And by two Second City executives; and the book, Getting to “Yes And” by Kulhan himself.
 
book cover imageKulhan, Bob and Chuck Crisafulli. Getting to “Yes And”: The Art of Business Improv. Stanford Business Books, 2017.

Bob Kulhan is the instructor of Fuqua’s week-long MBA Workshop on Managerial Improvisation that begins at Fuqua on Jan. 8. He begins his book Getting to “Yes And” by demonstrating how the art of improvisation is used in business. When faced with rapidly changing circumstances, managers use their knowledge and experience to explore possibilities, synthesize information and create a quick response. While performing in the moment, these managers react rapidly yet deliberately, drawing on intellect, focus and training to make swift decisions about what actions to take.

Most of Kulhan’s book reveals what he teaches in his course, including fundamental communication skills: how to use improv to listen, influence and inspire others; how to develop a personal brand; how to improve business meetings. He also shows how to ramp up physical and mental energy; how to use improv to guide a team; and how to break down silos within a company. Near the end of his book, Kulhan thanks several Fuqua faculty members and congratulates the Fuqua School for being ahead of the curve in using improv for business.

Getting to “Yes And” is also available as an eBook.

book cover imageLeonard, Kelly and Tom Yorton. Yes, And: How Improvisation Reverses “No, But” Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration… HarperBusiness, 2015.

“Business is one big act of improvisation,” according to two executives of Second City, Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton. Their book describes how improv training increases innovation, creativity and confidence, while reducing judgment. Yes, And covers some of the same topics as Kulhan’s book, but the many stories from Second City make for lighter fare and more amusing reading. Descriptions of exercises used in improv theater, such as One-Word Story, Follow the Follower and Silent Organization, are included.

Leonard and Yorton admit, “We don’t believe that any one book holds the whole truth, and there are a variety of interesting and worthwhile paths one can take when reaching for goals.” Agreed. These two books are complementary and both are recommended for readers interested in business improv.

Yes, And is also available as an eBook on OverDrive and as an audiobook on OverDrive.

© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.