Ford Library

Carr, Nicholas G. The shallows : what the Internet is doing to our brains. Norton, 2010.

Technology writer Nicholas Carr’s new work is about the effect of the Internet on our brains. Carr argues that the calm, focused minds of book readers are being replaced by a new mind that takes in information in intense disjointed bursts. This new mind of the internet user is easily distracted, and finds it difficult to pay attention and to engage in learning.

For centuries, printed books have been the foundation of our culture. Soon after Gutenberg’s invention made books inexpensive, reading became the primary means of exchanging knowledge and experience. The act of reading a book required sustained attention to a static object. Engaging deeply with written words was not a natural state for human beings and our brains needed years of training to do it effectively. The practice of reading changed the physical structure of our brains, promoting our ability to think deeply and creatively.

Then came the Internet. Carr argues that reading on the internet is different from the reading of printed books. When people use the internet, they read in rapid bursts, sampling bits of information from many sources. Frequent use changes the brain’s neural pathways, compromising the ability to concentrate and to contemplate. (more…)

These two titles prove that technological innovation and insight can be “locally grown” in our market of ideas just down the road from Durham, in Research Triangle Park and Raleigh, NC.

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• Brilliant: Shuji Nakamura and the revolution in lighting technology. by Bob Johnstone. Prometheus Books, 2007..
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  Inspirational story of a young researcher from rural Japan, who invented the technology that underlies the solid-state lighting industry, energy-saving LED’s. After an impressive string of achievements in semiconductor research, he left his Japanese company, which then sued him for leaking trade secrets to Cree Research, based in Research Triangle Park, NC.
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• On the grid : a plot of land, an average neighborhood, and the systems that make our world work. by Scott Huler. Rodale / McMillan, 2010.
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  Beginning with the systems in his Raleigh, NC home, author Scott Huler investigates the infrastructure and the workers who make his existence livable. He discusses water, electricity, and the internet; sewage removal; street and highway construction, while providing insight into why this complicated structure doesn’t collapse, or why it works as well as it does.

© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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Weintraub, Arlene. Selling the fountain of youth : how the anti-aging industry made a disease out of getting old, and made billions. Basic Books, 2010.

If taking hormones were dangerous, then all 20 year olds would have cancer. So goes one of the arguments made by promoters of anti-aging clinics in a new book by Bloomberg BusinessWeek science journalist, Arlene Weintraub. To turn back the clock, consumers in this industry devote their whole paychecks to treatments, and follow medical advice dispensed by Hollywood star Suzanne Somers. When their family MD’s balked about prescribing hormones that cause cancer, patients took their business to the new anti-aging clinics instead.

From its humble beginnings in the 1990’s to today’s $88 billion industry, author Weintraub takes the reader through the gamut of hopeful treatments, including injections with HGH and Botox, and the more natural dietary supplements, such as elixirs made from acai berries and resveratrol pills, distilled from red wine. She also discusses the battles between big pharmaceutical companies and independent compounding pharmacists, highlighting the problems in non-regulated drug products. She covers the lies and scams.

Weintraub states that anti-aging doctors are acting in good faith to help their patients. But she cautions that sometimes doctors are wrong. Anti-aging treatments have not been scientifically tested in double-blind studies. They may be ineffective or worse, causing harm to the patient. And now for the truly bad news – the only proven route to maintaining a youthful body involves exercise. Frequent workouts, while maintaining a healthy weight, is the only regimen that actually works to keep us young.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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Three new titles focus on combining profit and higher purpose. Business and investing can have a soul, and make a positive difference.

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• The HIP investor : make bigger profits by building a better world. by R. Paul Herman. Wiley, 2010.
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  HIP stands for Human Impact + Profit, an investment approach that realizes the profits that capitalists seek while building a better world. The creator of the HIP methodology shows investors how to construct a portfolio of firms that meets five basic human needs and, in doing so, generates positive social impact, while simultaneously providing substantial financial returns. The book claims that the HIP approach outperforms the financial returns of the S&P in both up and down markets.
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• Zilch : the power of zero in business. by Nancy Lublin. Portfolio, 2010.
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  Nonprofit CEO Lublin describes how corporations can cut costs and improve results by emulating not-for-profit organizations. Nonprofits survive — and thrive — on a shoestring, by using innovation, creativity and passion. Drawing on the experiences of key not-for-profit organizations, both large and small, Lublin provides practical advice on topics such as how to motivate staff without high salaries and how to market products and services for free.
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• The art of giving : where the soul meets a business plan. by Charles Bronfman & Jeffrey Solomon. Jossey-Bass, 2010.
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  In the new philanthropy, donors seek to make a difference. They give purposefully, think strategically and monitor the results. Giving is a deeply personal process but it is also a business. This comprehensive guide to charitable giving shows nonprofits how to communicate with donors to help them make meaningful choices with their gifts. It also helps donors decide what types of gifts to give, how to structure their donations and how to manage tax issues.

© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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In his book, Drive, Daniel Pink names the following books as essential for anyone interested in living a life of autonomy, mastery and purpose.

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• Finite and infinite games: a vision of life as play and possibility . by James P Carse. New York : Free Press, 1986.
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  Infinite games with no winner and no end are more rewarding at work and in our relationships.
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• Talent Is Overrated : What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else. by Geoff Colvin. Penguin Press, 2010.
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  The secret to mastery is “deliberate practice,” repetitive, mentally demanding work.
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• Flow : the psychology of optimal experience. by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. HarperPerennial, 1991.
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  The best moments occur when the body or mind is stretched to the limit.
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• Mindset : the new psychology of success. by Carol Dweck. Random House, 2006.
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  Listen to inner voices that may block your resiliency and interpret challenges as opportunities for growth.
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Pink, Daniel H. Drive : the surprising truth about what motivates us. Riverhead Books, 2009.

Several years ago, in A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink argued that American professions have been dominated by analytical thinkers, but soon these left-brained MBA number crunchers would be replaced by a different kind of worker, the right-brained designer, storyteller and big picture thinker. These new workers would offer a new skill set to their employers — creativity, empathy, joyfulness and meaning.

In his new book, Drive, Pink picks up the related theme of motivation. He argues that the incentive plans used by most organizations do not work. Even worse, there is scientific evidence that money acts as a de-motivator. Pink advises managers to pay people fairly and adequately to take money off the table, but he shows that the most effective reward is intrinsic — performance of the task itself.

Pink describes successful people as hard working and persistent. They possess an internal desire to control their lives, to learn about their world and to accomplish something that endures. They work hard to grow and develop, and to connect to a larger purpose. These workers have higher self-esteem and better interpersonal relationships than those who are extrinsically motivated. Every organization needs to retain and cultivate these creative, problem-solving, big picture people.

This book presents interesting ideas but the treatment is rather surface. In the final pages is a chapter summary, a cocktail party summary, plus a Twitter summary, “Carrots & sticks are so last century”. Drive says for 21st century work, we need to upgrade to autonomy, mastery & purpose.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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A Nobel prize winner, university faculty, and industry insiders explore the whys and wherefores of the current “Great Recession” in these Top 5 new titles in Ford Library.

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• Freefall : America, free markets, and the sinking of the world economy. by Joseph E. Stiglitz. W.W. Norton & Co., 2010.

  Nobel Prize winning economist analyzes the global economic crisis and describes what should be done to promote growth and stability.

• Crisis economics : a crash course in the future of finance. by Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm. Penguin Press, 2010.

  NYU Economics professor Roubini (Dr. Doom), who forecasted the economic crisis in 2006, explains that financial systems are inherently prone to collapse and recommends change to bring transparency and stability to financial institutions.

• Paper fortune$ : modern Wall Street : where it’s been and where it’s going by Roy C. Smith. St. Martin’s Press, 2010.

  NYU faculty member and former Goldman Sachs banker tells the story of Wall Street and the people who shaped it from a boutique business to a global industry.

• How markets fail : the logic of economic calamities. by John Cassidy. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009.

  Traces the rise and fall of free market ideology, including how the rational pursuit of self interest created the economic crisis, and how it must be replaced by reality-based economics that recognizes human irrationality and interdependence.

• The crisis of capitalist democracy. by Richard A. Posner. Harvard University Press, 2010.

  Circuit Court Judge and Chicago School economist analyzes the economic collapse and questions the ability of government to respond effectively to the Great Recession.

© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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Datar, Srikant M. et al. Rethinking the MBA : business education at a crossroads. Harvard Business Press, 2010.

When I earned an MBA several decades ago, the degree was considered a passport for many jobs, particularly in consulting and finance. When leading firms wanted to adopt new business insights and analytical skills, they would hire MBAs from top schools. But today, according to a new book from Harvard Business Press, some employers are questioning the value of MBA degrees, and students are bypassing the traditional two-year daytime MBA in increasing numbers in favor of alternatives including executive, one-year, or part-time MBA programs, as well as in-house company programs.

In Rethinking the MBA, authors Datar, Garvin and Cullen analyzed the programs at top MBA granting institutions, and found that overall, the schools are strong in training students to perform analysis. Today’s changing world economy, however, reflects a growing need for more effective leaders and entrepreneurs. Business schools, the authors assert, need to teach students the values, attitudes and beliefs that form managers’ worldviews, and to develop key management skills, such as how to build group consensus, or to negotiate through the power politics of large organizations.

Looking across MBA programs, the authors identify eight needs that are poorly addressed by business schools today. Several of them are at the heart of teaching at the Fuqua School, including gaining a global perspective; developing leadership skills; and thinking critically and clearly. Calling for a re-balancing of the curriculum in favor of guided practice and self understanding, the authors recommend use of cases over lectures, and describe new pedagogies, such as reflective exercises and experiential learning.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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Poundstone, William. Priceless : the myth of fair value (and how to take advantage of it). Hill and Wang, 2010.

Years ago, a businessman asked me to recommend a good book on pricing, which is when I first realized that good books on pricing are hard to find. It turns out that more than just a number, price is dependent on context, and any given price can be viewed as a bargain or a rip-off depending upon how it is framed.

In Pricing, author Poundstone describes the psychology of pricing. In most of the book, he describes experiments by well-known a psychology researchers, including those of Fuqua faculty member Dan Ariely, whom he describes as a brilliant Israeli American. Poundstone describes a variety of pricing tricks, some of which are centuries old. He uses cases to illustrate the powerful effects of anchoring and adjustment. He also offers suggestions to use in price negotiations, for example, to threaten to walk away from the table rather than to agree to an unacceptable starting point.

A number of books on behavioral psychology have been reviewed in this blog including Nudge by Richard Thaler; How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer; Sway by Ori and Rom Brafman; and the Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely. All of these books, including Priceless, are informative and interesting reads. At the end of the day, however, it is probable that even those who have read these books will continue to find themselves manipulated by price. It turns out that even things that no one believes still influence our behavior.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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Godin, Seth. Linchpin : are you indispensible? Portfolio, 2010.

Best-selling author Seth Godin has written his latest book for employees in the new world of work. Employees have been trained to be a cog in the industrial machine, yet ultimately, the way to achieve success is to stand out and to become indispensable. Godin calls those people “linchpins,” and they cannot be replaced because their roles are just too valuable.

To become a linchpin, a worker must seek opportunities to do more than what is assigned. They must take the initiative to do what is necessary for the organization to succeed. Linchpins connect easily with other people and work collaboratively with coworkers and customers. They make positive things happen.

Godin encourages everyone to become an “artist” at work by being creative, making connections and finding joy in work. And he encourages everyone to put their heart and soul into all aspects of their lives.

Linchpin is Seth Godin’s twelfth book since 1999 and it reads as if it were written in a hurry. The style is choppy and terse. The ideas could have been presented in a much shorter and better organized format. I found this book a chore to read, but on Amazon.com, other readers rated it very highly, with the reviews averaging 4.5 stars, far better than most.

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