Ford Library

The Dorothea F. Peterjohn Leadership Collection in the Ford Library is a key resource for faculty members, business practitioners and students who are interested in leadership development. The collection was created in 2005 with a generous donation in honor of Dorothea F. Peterjohn and contains print and online books covering the spectrum of leadership. These five books are the newest titles added to the collection.

Schultz, Howard. From the Ground Up. Random House, 2019.

Starbucks CEO and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Schultz uses his life and work to champion the responsibilities for fairness and community that leaders, businesses and citizens share in American society today.

Newport, Cal. Digital Minimalism. Penguin, 2019.

A faculty member in Computer Science at Georgetown University, Cal Newport demonstrates how to shake free from the endless workstream of email, social networks and smartphone apps and focus on what ultimately matters in life.

Herman, Todd. The Alter Ego Effect. Harperbusiness, 2019.

Performance adviser for athletes and entrepreneurs Todd Herman uses stories from sports, business and history to show how to activate one’s personal (and imaginary) Heroic Self using superhuman traits to overcome challenges in life.

Willink, Jocko. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. St. Martin’s Press, 2017.

In this updated edition of a bestselling book, two retired Navy Seal officers and veterans of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply leadership principles from the military to the business environment, showing how to build, train, and lead high-performance teams.

Also available for checkout on Notable Business Books Kindles.

Maxwell, John C. Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace. HarperCollins Leadership, 2019.

Leadership coach John Maxwell summarizes 11 shifts that he made over his long career that strengthened his leadership abilities and sustained him professionally during his years as a leadership expert.

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

Diamond, Rickey Gard. Screwnomics : how our economy works against women and real ways to make lasting change. She Writes Press, 2018.

Rickey Gard Diamond’s book, Screwnomics, provides a conversational-style book on economics with a focus on women: more specifically, the devaluation of traditional women’s work over time.

Weaving examples from her own life with economic evolution and turmoil from the early 20th century, Diamond shows the effect these events have had on women. These events include women’s entrance into the workforce during World Wars 1 and 2 and the development of a need for a two income family in most households.

Much of her focus is on the last 25 years, beginning with the dot.com boom and bust and followed by Enron’s implosion, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the mortgage-backed securities meltdown and the subsequent financial crisis. With each, she discusses how adjusting traditional male leadership to a more woman-focused culture–nurturing as opposed to combative–would have mitigated the economic turmoil experienced. True enough, I suppose, but a rather simplistic look at a world which includes class, race, sexuality and religion as equals to the debate.

While reading Screwnomics, I felt unsure of which generation of women she wanted to address. I’m not that much younger than the author, but her metaphors, which included sexual innuendo, fell flat. If you’ve ever listened to Rachel Feinstein’s monologues about her mother, Karen, you’ll be able to identify that well-meaning, earnest person who wants to be hip but misses the mark.

Where Diamond gets it right is when she writes about the women in her family–her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother–as well as herself. At this point, the reader can understand the way macroeconomic policies alter a family’s microeconomic life.

If you’re interested in a quick overview of economics, Screwnomics will do, but if you want a more nuanced look at the topic, there are many other blogs and podcasts which provide a more current and in-depth look at economics.

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.

Every year, the Wall Street Journal asks writers, academics, business owners, athletes, politicians and assorted interesting people for their recommendations for the best books of the year. Here’s what the contributors said for 2018:

George P. Shultz, cabinet member for four US presidents and Hoover Institute distinguished fellow, recommends Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership: In Turbulent Times. “Ms. Goodwin provides insights into the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson as she describes their early lives, career paths and presidencies. In the process, we learn how these leaders coped with daunting challenges. The role of adversity in shaping character is a recurring theme.” Common traits in these presidents reveal what it takes to become a leader.

Co-founder of Home Depot and author of I Love Capitalism! Ken Langone recommends the expose Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by WSJ reporter John Carreyrou. Bad Blood is “about the biotech company Theranos and its ambitious but flawed founder, Elizabeth Holmes, who almost pulled off the greatest scam in Silicon Valley history. Most fascinating is Mr. Carreyrou’s description of his own quest to expose the truth to the public, aided by brave whistleblowers who couldn’t abide the company’s deceptions.”

Patricia O’Toole, author of The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made, recommends two books about the radical right’s use of campaign funding to ultimately change public policy and concentrate power in the hands of a few wealthy families. “The acute inflammation of the American body politic prompted close readings of Jane Mayer’s Dark Money and Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains.”

Ohio congressman Tim Ryan regards the recent loss of 14,000 jobs in Ohio and Michigan as “the epitome of a broken economic and political system. Monica Sharma’s Radical Transformational Leadership offers a new perspective on how our country’s leaders can change the dynamic. Leaders, she instructs, need to lead with compassion, fairness, and a sense of dignity for all those involved. She explores how to become a catalyst for change in a world that is constantly fighting against itself.”

Wesley Yang, author of The Souls of Yellow Folk, appreciates Michael Lewis’s work, especially his latest book, The Fifth Risk. “Mr. Lewis sidesteps the cycle of hysteria and outrage that feeds the Trump reality show by focusing on the work of the enormous public entity – the U.S. federal government – that Donald Trump was elected to run. Mr. Lewis conveys how important the work of the government agencies is to the national stability we all take for granted. He shows what is at stake – the likelihood of a range of catastrophic risks coming to pass – and turns the least charismatic of all subjects into a gripping, funny and frightening human drama.”

Quotes from the Wall Street Journal column “Books of the Year,” Dec. 8-9, 2018.

© Meg Trauner & 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.

Fall term 2 is closing and the last post of the year is wisdom from Strategy professor Victor Bennett. His “reading” recommendations are multimedia: podcasts, television series and, yes, a traditional book title.

Here’s what Prof. Bennett recommends:

• It used to be said that reading The Washington Post every day cover-to-cover would prepare you for the foreign service exam. If you’re interested in the economic environment instead of international politics, the best way to get a handle on it is to listen to Planet Money and its daily spin-off, The Indicator. They’re bite-sized (20 min and 10 min), well-researched, and engaging.
• This is a throwback, but if you are interested in one of the best studies of organizational dysfunction, I recommend The Wire. If you’ve already seen it, thinking about it from an organizational perspective will give you a whole new show. Disclaimer: heavy subject matter, violence, and language.
• If you are interested in consulting, The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business by Duff McDonald (OverDrive audiobook | Amazon) is an interesting read. I don’t want to oversell it because I actually didn’t love the writing, but it gives you some insight into the origin of the consulting profession and it has some interesting facts, such as McKinsey was basically started by an accountant who didn’t like accounting.

Thank you, Professor Bennett. And 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 2019.

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

Qi Chen (Business Administration)
Recommends: Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker
Library catalog | Amazon

Qi Chen comments that he read a book recommended by 2nd year student Matias Barbero and it is fantastic. Enlightenment Now, written by Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker, presents the argument that there has never been a better time to be a human being. Analyzing historic trends, Pinker uses charts and data to make his argument that the world is healthier, freer, richer, safer and more peaceful than ever.
Prof Chen also recommends two other books: Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity (fascinating) and Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright (timely).

Ines Black (Strategy)
Recommends: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Library catalog | Amazon

Israeli history professor Yuval Noah Harari covers 100,000 years of human history, “from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural, and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology, and economics, Harari explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities.” Quote from Library catalog.
Professor Black is also reading The Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser and Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber.

David Robinson (Finance)
Recommends: My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Library catalog | Amazon

This six-volume autobiographical novel is a literary sensation, often called a masterpiece, and its Scandinavian author is compared to Proust. Beginning with his childhood in Book 1 (2013), Knausgaard writes candidly about the intimate details of his own life, including the tedious and squalid bits. Readers describe his uninhibited text as simultaneously riveting and frustrating, audacious and boring, a new way of writing for the “selfie” generation. Winner of numerous literary awards and a New York Times bestseller.

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

Barak Richman (Strategy)
Recommends: Evicted by Matthew Desmond
Library catalog | Amazon

Barak Richman writes, “Last year I read Matthew Desmond’s Evicted and decided to incorporate it into my Property course. In fact, the book could inform each of my classes – contracts, antitrust, health law and policy – because it vividly describes the daily challenges that confront a vulnerable population. If we want to design government policies, or construct markets, that enable the nation’s poor to benefit from the nation’s wealth, we need this kind of deep dive into understanding structural challenges of poverty.”

Paula Ecklund (Decision Sciences)
Recommends: The Lies that Bind by Kwame Anthony Appiah
Library catalog | Amazon

NYU philosophy professor and the Sunday Times “Ethicist” columnist explores the nature of the identities that define and divide us – Gender. Religion. Race. Nationality. Class. Culture. These identities shape our sense of who we are and they bring meaning to our lives by connecting us to larger causes. But collectively, these same identities also form our understanding of our world. And our generalized notions about race, culture, religion, et al. are full of contradictions and falsehoods.

Jeremy Petranka (Assistant Dean of MMS and MQM Programs)
Recommends: The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
Library catalog | Amazon

Singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer finds it difficult to ask for things as a musician and as a partner. Many people are reluctant to ask for help and it depletes their lives and relationships. In The Art of Asking, Palmer examines the barriers to asking and reveals the emotional and practical aspects of asking for help. Fuqua’s Jeremy Petranka comments, “a mentee I greatly respect told me it changed her view of the world. I’m kind of seeing her point, which is a good sign.”

 

© Meg Trauner & 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.

Thames, Elizabeth Willard. Meet the Frugalwoods : achieving financial independence through simple living. HarperBusiness, 2018.

There are any number of personal finance blogs, and several devoted to living a life of frugality. One of the best known is Frugalwoods.com written by Elizabeth Willard Thames, mother of two who is living her dream life on 66 acres of woodlands in Vermont. This year, she recycled her blog postings into a popular new book, Meet the Frugalwoods. In her blog and in her book, Thames explains how she restructured the way she lived — how she spent her money and her time to craft a meaningful and contented life.

The book begins in 2006 as Thames graduates from college and takes a fundraising job for a nonprofit in New York City that pays an AmeriCorps stipend of $10,000. She considers every dollar before spending it and ends the year with $2000 in the bank. In the ensuing years, she moves to Boston; to Washington DC; then back to Boston, continuing her career as a fundraiser. Finding her work increasingly meaningless, she spends money on small luxuries to compensate. When she and her husband begin hiking in the woods every weekend, exposure to nature changes her life. They embark on a program of extreme frugality to save enough money to make them financially independent by age 32 in order to move to rural Vermont and live a life that they are passionate about.

Thames is at her best when she is evaluating the work/spend cycles of American consumer culture. People work hard at frustrating jobs and then mitigate their discontent by buying expensive homes, furniture, cars, clothes, electronics. Thames explains that people accept roles that society, family and they themselves expect, instead of living life on their own terms. To craft the independent life that she wants, Thames examines her spending to determine when it made an improvement in her life and when it was superfluous. She eliminates makeup and haircuts, buys cheaper food, does her own home repairs. She estimates her family’s savings rate of 71%.

Offering abundant tips on how to live frugally, Thames is mum about one large expense for a family – healthcare. She also fails to disclose the source of the $400,000 needed to buy the spread in Vermont – after they kept their $460,000 house in Cambridge. Their secret: her husband still has his job as a software engineer. It is easier to be independent, frugal or not, if you have a high income. Nonetheless, Meet the Frugalwoods is recommended for its thoughtful message, detailed advice and approachable style.

Also available on OverDrive as an audiobook and eBook.

 

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