Ford Library

As the Fall Term 2 comes to a close, the Ford Library staff sends good luck wishes to all Fuqua students with final exams.  Have a happy holiday wherever your travels take you and we will see you again in 2014.

As you pass the time in airports, you may have time to read for pleasure.  Here are 5 new books, all available in the Ford Library.

Custom Nation : why customization is the future of business and how to profit from it
by Anthony Flynn and Emily Flynn Vencat

Thanks to efficiencies in manufacturing and marketing, it is now profitable to make many different products to appeal to many small niches. This practical guide explains how entrepreneurs use customization to make products stand out, to increase market share and to develop customer loyalty.

I am Malala : the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban
by Malala Yousafzai

Schoolgirl living in a remote Pakistani village fights for her right to an education and is shot in the head by the Taliban.  She recovers and becomes a global symbol of peaceful protest, nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.

The billionaire’s apprentice : the rise of the Indian-American elite and the fall of the Galleon hedge fund
by Anita Raghavan

After insider trading leads to the collapse of the Galleon Group, a multi-billion dollar South Asian hedge fund, the Indian managers are prosecuted by federal officials in a sensational case. Also available as a Kindle eBook.

Everything you need to know about the Duke Fuqua MMS
by Naresh Vissa

2012 MMS Alumnus describes the application process, student life and job seeking experiences while he was enrolled in the Fuqua MMS program.

Egghead : or, you can’t survive on ideas alone
by Bo Burnham.

Comedian and actor presents a book of poetry that is hilarious to some and offensive to many.

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

Today marks the final day of Fuqua’s Global Week, with events showcasing the global economy and international business.  Learning opportunities for students and faculty have included speakers William D. Eggers, the Global Director for Deloitte Research, and Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel.  The week also included lighter fare, such as opportunities to sample cuisines from around the world.  For those who have not had a chance to participate, there is still time to attend the Friday evening programs, which include the Global Week fashion show, the talent program and the Global Party.  In celebration of Fuqua’s international students and in appreciation of the global marketplace, three reviews showcase important new books about Asia in our changing world.

Charan, Ram et al. Global tilt : leading your business through the great economic power shift. Crown Business, 2013.   Drawing a line at the earth’s 31st parallel, strategy adviser Ram Charan argues that wealth and opportunities are moving from North to South.  Companies in Europe and North America are experiencing low growth but entrepreneurial firms in India, Brazil and China are seeing revenue growth in double digits.   In Global Tilt, Charan writes that the shift in business opportunities and economic power is inevitable.  The forces driving the change include the global financial system, changing demographics, digitization and communication.  He offers practical advice on how to succeed in this environment, including developing the mind-set and skills that leaders need to manage in the new environment.  He advises business leaders to stop concentrating on core competencies and to begin looking at business from the “outside in,” sensing forces in the environment that could interact and combine to create opportunities.  He also introduces the concept of “future back,” imagining the competitive landscape 20 years out and then considering the implications for the present.   CEO’s who position their companies to capitalize on the new power in the South will succeed in this complex, highly competitive world.  Clearly written, this insightful book is recommended for anyone interested in business strategy, global business operations or societal trends. Also available in audiobook format.

Studwell, Joe. How Asia Works.  Grove Press, 2013.  In How Asia Works, freelance journalist Joe Studwell analyzes the research on nine Asian economies and concludes that there are two Asias – one is the “Asian economic miracle,” economies with sustained growth over many decades.  The other Asia is marked by a period of fast growth followed by stagnation.  Studwell argues that successful countries (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and, most recently, China) consistently employ a key set of government policies.  When developing their economies, successful countries first restructure agriculture by redistributing land into small family farms.  In poor countries, most people live on farms, and intensive farming makes efficient use of available labor.  Household farming also delivers larger outputs per acre and the productive surplus primes demand for other goods and services.  After the returns from land reform tapers off, successful economies promote manufacturing and trade, subsidizing companies that export.  And lastly, successful governments take steps to focus capital on small-scale agriculture and on manufacturing.  Asian nations that follow these policies are successful and those that do not (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia) have languished.  This insightful and very readable book includes many examples from Asian countries and companies. Also available as a Kindle eBook.

Osburg, John. Anxious wealth : money and morality among China’s new rich. Stanford University Press, 2013. Newly rich managers and entrepreneurs are trendsetters in fashion, preferred marriage partners and prominent patrons of China’s urban restaurants, nightclubs and department stores.  Privileged Chinese men meet and make deals in male-oriented entertainment sites for businessmen, including restaurants, saunas, foot massage parlors and karaoke clubs.  Cultivating and maintaining relationships with clients and important people plays a key role in generating business and improving social status.  In Anxious Wealth, a Chinese speaking American professor socializes in Chengdu, China with a network of businessmen, playing cards in tea- or coffeehouses in the afternoons; and attending banquets or going out to karaoke clubs in the evenings.  Author John Osburg shows how these elite male networks of “old boys’ clubs” are formed and how they operate.  He also shows how the entertainment often involves young women as hostesses or mistresses, “gray women” who are between the white world of marriage and the black world of the sex trade.  He discusses the beauty economy, the marketplace where sexualized young women promote commercial products and services. Osburg is an anthropologist and his book is serious academic work.  While a sensationalized narrative would be easier to read, this slim volume is recommended for anyone doing business in China.

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

These three short and insightful books are for people with little time, frequent interruptions or short attention spans.

Comeback: American’s New Economic Boom by Charles R. Morris.
Best selling author’s engaging new book is about the emerging opportunity for American prosperity, fueled by an energy boom and a manufacturing renaissance.

I’m Sorry I Broke Your Company by Karen Phelan.
30 year management consultant uses the ups and downs in her personal story to explain that most management theories are wrong and that every business problem is about people reacting to circumstances.

Quiet influence  by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler
An executive coach advises introverts to stop acting like extroverts and to enhance their strengths, such as engaged listening and focused conversations.

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

Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor and Kenneth Cukier. Big data : a revolution that will transform how we live, work, and think. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. also available as a Kindle e-book.

Occasionally, a database provider restricts Duke users’ access to their database after a researcher downloads too much data.  Database vendors know that there is an emerging demand for large quantities of data and they do not want to supply it at the discounted price that the library is paying.  The mindsets of both researchers and commercial enterprises are shifting about the way data should be extracted and used.  In Big Data a professor at Oxford and a business journalist explain that the world of information is about to change.

Authors Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier explain that in traditional academic research, faculty members look for causation.  When researchers collect data, they are concerned with sample size, measurement error and bias.  But in the world of big data, none of this matters because the N=all.  Researchers trade their small sample size and rigorous accuracy for a comprehensive messy dataset that in the end is closer to reality.  Instead of searching for causation, researchers look for patterns and correlations that offer novel insights.  These correlations are also used to make predictions, without knowing the cause.  Big data fundamentally changes the way research is conducted.

Every three years the world’s stock of information doubles.  Processing power doubles in half that time. The volume of information available today combined with powerful data processing technologies means that researchers can process information in original ways to predict the stock market, health epidemics or societal trends.  Companies can harness information as an economic input, producing services or creating innovation.  With big data, things can be done at a large scale that cannot be done at a smaller one.   Coursera tracks the web interactions of 10,000 students in a class to change the pedagogy based on what students understand.  Experian sells data on peoples’ income levels estimated from 800 million credit histories.  A third of Amazon’s sales result from its computer-generated recommendations which are based on associations among products in billions of transactions.  These are far more successful than the personalized recommendations by human book critics formerly on Amazon’s staff.

Risks are abundant.   Google records how we browse and Amazon knows what we buy.  Verizon records who we talk to.  Twitter stores what we say.  Facebook logs who we like.  Privacy issues are significant.  In addition, computer algorithms predict the stock market with varying degrees of success but the power to pre-judge individual human behavior threatens our personal freedom.  Yet big data also offers solutions to problems, both vexing everyday problems and transformational societal issues.  Big Data is a clear look into how information is changing our world in surprising ways.  A remarkable and readable book, Big Data is highly recommended.

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

Brown, Brené. Daring greatly : how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. Gotham Books, 2012. Also available as a Kindle eBook.

Last week the NYT best seller Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn landed on my desk.  At the time, I was reviewing a complicated and challenging book, Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, for this week’s post.  The novel was a distraction and after a quick reading, I realized that both main characters in the book would have benefited from Brown’s serious work.  For example, the female protagonist Amy turns herself into Cool Girl to attract the man she loves.  But over time Cool Girl is unsustainable, and two years later Amy dissolves into her true self, a disappointment to her husband.   If only these characters had the courage to put their true selves out there, daring greatly, from the beginning.

In Daring Greatly, sociologist Brené Brown reports on data collected over 12 years, interviews with men and women about their meaningful life experiences.   Her research uncovers a shift in social climate, which Brown names a culture of scarcity, a pervasive sense that there is never enough – money, time, opportunities, rewards, sleep…  People never feel  good enough, thin enough, smart enough, successful enough.  Our culture obsesses on celebrities, and normal people feel unexceptional, too inferior to be noticed, to be loved, or to belong.  People feel unworthy, and judge their personal value in comparison with others.  They hide behind a mask of perfection and perform to please other people, instead of themselves.

Opposing our culture of scarcity is Brown’s concept of Wholehearted Living, cultivating an authentic life, defined by compassion, connection and courage.  Wholehearted people nurture a personal sense of worthiness, accepting themselves just as they are – flawed, but worthy of love and belonging.  They resist perfectionism and comparisons with others.  They let go of anxiety and self-doubt.  They resist the pressures of our culture and “dare greatly” to risk creating something new or to struggle with something difficult, like overcoming adversity or standing up for themselves.  To live a wholehearted life is to be vulnerable to hurt, fear and failure.  Much of Brown’s book is about vulnerability, which she calls the core of human experience.

Daring Greatly presents many compelling ideas but understanding this book requires concentration. Concepts like scarcity, vulnerability, shame and wholeheartedness are defined clearly but the connections between them are not intuitive.  The last chapter of the book, Wholehearted Parenting, is the most engaging, showing how to apply Brown’s concepts in daily life with children.   Brené Brown also explains her concepts in her TED talk, which is consistently among the most popular with viewers.  Both the book and the TED talk are recommended.

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

Welcome to Fall Break at Fuqua! These 5 easy reads are perfect for downtime.

The Wisdom and Teachings of Stephen R. Covey by Steven R. Covey

The man who recommended this book to me later apologized because the book has more white space than text.  Yet Stephen Covey fans on fall break may enjoy reading his pithy quotes on principles from Accountability to Win-win. Also available as an audiobook.

Smart Talk by Lisa B. Marshall
This warm and engaging book demonstrates how to introduce yourself, how to speak tactfully, how to have a difficult conversation and how to use language to influence coworkers, friends and family. Also available as an audiobook.

Finerman’s Rules by Karen Finerman
Hedge fund CEO and CNBC Fast Money contributor uses her life and career story to dispense advice on getting ahead at work, on managing money and emotions, on taking risks and making decisions.

The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin
Godin’s books are over 200 pages but they are fast reads.  The content gets thinner with every new publication.  This book explains how to follow your dream in the internet economy, about developing the attitude, courage and resilience of an artist. Also available as an audiobook.

Bloggers Boot Camp by Charlie White and John Biggs
This beautifully illustrated book shows how to design a blog for millions of followers, providing information on equipment and accessories, what to write about, and how to keep the audience engaged.

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

Fall term 1 ends next week! Congratulations, students.  You have almost made it through the pressure of the first fall term.  Soon you move beyond the lectures, textbooks, cases, readings, team meetings and exams.  Finally, you can relax.  Here are five new books that offer new ideas for anyone taking it easy.

All in by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton

Employees who believe in the company’s vision, values and goals and those who respect their leaders achieve outstanding results.  Companies that want to create a culture of belief will generate a sense of urgency; create a customer focus; foster agility to manage change; build trust though transparent communication; value high potential employees; and establish clear accountability. Also available as an audiobook.

The Athena doctrine by John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio

Wise, courageous, humane and cooperative are traits that produce success with broad benefits, including profits and lasting relationships with customers and communities. Women and men who lead their organizations with these skills and values in our super-connected world share their stories. Also available in online e-book, and Kindle format.

The challenger sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson

The classic sales technique of relationship building is no longer working, particularly in complex B2B situations.  This book describes a new collaborative sales technique that brings creativity and insight to customers, challenging their thinking and offering solutions to problems. Also available as an audiobook.

Icons and idiots by Bob Lutz

An icon of the auto industry reveals the complexities of 11 leaders, many from the automobile industry, whom he knows personally.  He chronicles their successes and charisma, while exposing their idiosyncrasies and weaknesses, ultimately concluding that just as much can be learned from stupid and corrupt leaders as from inspiring champions.

Worthless, impossible and stupid by Daniel Isenberg

Entrepreneurs worldwide have created and captured extraordinary value by seeing opportunity where it was unnoticed or disparaged by others.  Successful entrepreneurs share a contrarian mind-set that allows them to perceive potential where others do not or to create opportunity by solving problems under adversity.

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

Whitacre, Edward E. American turnaround : reinventing AT&T and GM and the way we do business in the USA. Business Plus, 2013. Also in audiobook format

Former Fuqua Dean, Rex Adams, is a bulldog of a man with a blunt communication style.  He grew up in modest circumstances in rural West Virginia and attended Duke on a football scholarship.  During his long  career at Mobil, he rose through the ranks to the executive suite.  After retirement, he returned to Duke as the Dean of the Fuqua School of Business where he cultivated a talented team of staff members to accomplish his goals.  I thought of Rex often when I read a new book, American Turnaround by Ed Whitacre, the former chairman/CEO of AT&T and later GM.

When this story begins, Ed Whitacre is living in Texas, retired CEO from AT&T, where he worked 44 years.  The year is 2009, soon after the Chapter 11 proceedings and the $50 billion bailout of General Motors.  Car czar Steve Rattner asks Whitacre to serve as chairman at GM and he agrees. When Whitacre gets to Detroit, he discovers a chaotic management structure, with no clear lines of authority or responsibility, and no sense of accountability.  Senior leadership seems unsure about their roles in the company.  There is no sense of urgency, no teamwork toward crafting a solution.  Whitacre holds senior management completely responsible for the bankruptcy and he immediately institutes changes.  After simplifying the organizational structure, he replaces top management, but because salary caps under TARP are uncompetitive in the industry, he taps talent from lower levels in the company. Then he fires the CEO and assumes that position himself.

Whitacre takes steps to change the culture at GM.  He goes on “walkarounds” to talk to employees throughout the company, and to union leadership as well.  He presses his management team to clarify and simplify their communications and presentations to the board.  He begins the process of building confidence in the company with a strong message and a plan for returning to profitability.  As CEO, his role is to articulate a higher vision and to communicate it to the entire organization to get all levels, entry-level to top managers, focused and moving in the same direction.

At the heart of the book is a flashback to Whitacre’s formative years in rural Texas.  While a senior at Texas Tech, he takes an internship at Southwestern Bell, where he rises through the ranks to chairman and CEO.  Under his leadership, the company is transformed into the telecommunications giant AT&T.  Whitacre discusses the people and strategy at the company, and uses this material to explain the development of his management model – to run a lean operation staffed by people with clearly defined jobs, accountability and authority.

American Turnaround is a heartfelt story and an entertaining and rewarding book.  The writing is both personal and blunt, replete with verbal tics, you know?   But like any conversation, the story is subjective.  Whitacre says much about his leadership philosophy but he includes few details about strategy at either AT&T or GM.  Whitacre writes about men by name, but women are invisible, “this lady in a white coat” (at the GM lab) or “this woman” (who managed the Corvette plant).” The only woman manager named at either company is GM’s head of marketing Susan Docherty, but after she conflicts with Whitacre’s heir apparent, she finds herself in Shanghai.  In addition, key details are missing.  Near the end of the book, President Obama meets with Whitacre, but the reader is not told what motivates the President to say, “I hope you will stay.”  And it is puzzling why, during the same meeting, Whitacre decides to resign his position.  He serves at GM for only 18 months.  Yet despite the flaws in American Turnaround, I highly recommend this lens into the mind, views and opinions of American corporate leadership.  Well worth reading.

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

Connaughton, Jeff. The payoff : why Wall Street always wins. Easton Studio Press, 2012. Also in audiobook format.

This insiders account of how Wall Street manipulates Washington explains why no financial firms or individuals have been prosecuted for causing the 2008 financial crisis, why our too-big-to-fail banks have grown even larger, and why our leaders in government fail to support financial reform.

In the beginning of The Payoff, Connaughton is in Washington in 2009 to seek justice against fraud and misconduct by Wall Street executives and directors.  But the Justice Department is unwilling to prosecute and the SEC is administering painless monetary fines.  As a “Professional Democrat,” one of thousands in the revolving door between the public sector and the private sector, Connaughton uses his own story to illustrate how government is staffed by a financial elite whose personal agenda differ from the national interest.   Ambitious staffers serve in government, then they earn millions on Wall Street while positioning themselves for better political posts in Washington.  Public servants in name only, they resist change for personal gain.

The Payoff describes the same political environment as Neil Barofsky’s Bailout, which was reviewed in this blog almost a year ago.  Both books are personal stories about the difficulty in dealing with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.  Both present candid portrayals of the Washington elite.  Connaughton’s rendering of Joe Biden is particularly honest and unflattering.  Both books detail how change does or does not happen in Washington.  Both books are engaging reads yet neither offers hope for the future.  At the end of The Payoff, Connaughton calls on voters to reclaim their government from the ruling elite, but does not say how.  Both are recommended.

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

Louv, Richard. The nature principle : human restoration and the end of nature-deficit disorder. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (NC), 2011.

Tercek, Mark R. Nature’s fortune : how business and society thrive by investing in nature. Basic Books, 2013.

Darlington, Susan M. The ordination of a tree : the Thai Buddhist environmental movement. SUNY Press, 2012.

At this moment, during the first week of term 1, the library is completely full with students seated at every chair and table.  Students may not fully realize it, but the natural light and views of nature draw them to the library space. That is by design.  The knowledge work in an MBA/MMS program depletes mental resources as focused attention on reading, studying and preparing for class leads to fatigue.  The remedy is exposure to nature, including the shared views of trees and sky in the Ford Library, which lift people’s moods and enhance their ability to mentally focus.

In The Nature Principle, author Richard Louv examines the mind/body/nature connection.  Years ago, he coined the term “nature deficit disorder,” and in his new book, Louv describes “the nature principle,” which holds that a reconnection to the natural world is essential to mental and physical health.  He explains that in the modern age, people have placed great faith in technology but the relationship with nature has declined.  Human costs of alienation from the natural world include stress, anxiety and depression, as well as problems with attention and focus.  Reconnecting with nature benefits both the human mind and spirit. Regarding business, some companies understand that nature offsets stress and they respond by installing on-site gardens or by creating everyday Edens with houseplants.  Businesses that want to draw the best performance from their employees connect them with nature.  This readable book is both well researched and thoughtfully presented with dozens of stories. Also available as an audiobook.

Making the business case for nature is one of the topics discussed in Nature’s Fortune.  Authors Tercek and Adams explain the idea of natural capital, putting a value on nature as an asset.  Dominating nature has long been the goal of human beings, destined to fail in the long run.  However, considering environmental effects in business decisions results in increased long term profitability, and in recent years, a more positive corporate image.  Protecting resources needed for production, such as clean water, is more than a business expense, it is an intelligent commercial investment.  Global corporations have a disproportionate effect on the environment and these companies are encouraged to form partnerships with environmentalists to help them improve their conservation practices.  The authors also encourage governments to create incentives for global businesses to invest in nature instead of degrading it.  Examples from many companies worldwide are models of sustainability. Also available as an online e-book.

The Ordination of a Tree is admittedly an odd book for a business library, but this title was rated “Essential” by an academic book review service, and not previously held in Duke’s collection.   In the book, the environment in Thailand is described as significantly degraded by a small group of powerful and wealthy people.  In recent decades, Buddhist monks are leading an ecological movement to conserve forests, preserve clean water, mitigate soil erosion and protect wildlife. Practices include traditional environmentalism, working with local people and NGOs, as well as sacred rituals, including ordaining trees.  This is an academic work, interesting but not an easy read. Also available as an online e-book.

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