I finished When Genius Failed yesterday but I wanted to think about a few topics before I posted a quick review/summary.
Well, for the summary party, I'm going to rely on my old standby - a Wikipedia entry on Long Term Capital Management. This, at least, is worth checking out because many people don't even know about the LTCM debacle.
As for review, well, readers of this blog likely won't want to read this book for two reasons - they'll have little interest in LTCM and they'll have even less interest in complicated financial strategies. Did I think it was worth my time? Yes, but because I also have an interest in most things financial. It's great for even a casual investor to take the time to read about stories such as LTCM's because it's a wonderful opportunity to capitalize on other people's experiences. Of course, this can be said about most books that cover an event, so based solely on that point I can't (and don't) recommend the book to all the faithful CK Tutors Blog readers.
I'm in the middle of another book, though, that reads like a thriller - the old classic Barbarians at the Gate. This book would appeal to even the most casual readers and makes a sometimes dull topic (LBOs/boardroom drama) seem interesting. I'll have a longer book review on Barbarians but in the meantime take a look at it!
Oh and I'll have a follow up post on CK's July Book of the Month: Mavericks at Work sometime next week. Have a good weekend everyone!
Showing posts with label Book of the month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book of the month. Show all posts
Friday, July 6, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Book of the Month (July): Mavericks at Work
July's book of the month is titled Mavericks at Work. Here's a general snippet from their website, edited for length:
Organizations and entrepreneurs that were once dismissed as upstarts, as wildcards—as mavericks—are making waves and growing fast. There’s a reason: In an age of hyper-competition and nonstop innovation, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something truly original.
Mavericks at Work offers exciting new answers to the timeless challenges facing organizations of every size and leaders in every field: how you make strategy, how you unleash ideas, how you connect with customers, how your best people achieve great results. But this is more than just a how-to book. It is also a what-if book.
Business needs a breath of fresh air... Individually, these maverick companies are attracting millions of customers, creating thousands of jobs, generating tens of billions of dollars of wealth. As a group, they demonstrate that you can build successful organizations around high ideals and fierce competitive ambitions, that the most powerful way to create economic value is to embrace a set of values that go beyond just amassing power, and that business, at its best, is too exciting, too important, and too much fun to be left to the dead hand of business as usual.
In short, the book applies not just to business, but to life as well - that's why I've chosen it as July's book of the month. For example, at one point in the book the authors ask: Have you set out – clearly, crisply, in language that reflects the spirit of your organization – the most compelling reasons for great people to work on your team, in your division, at your company?" That also applies to life and school - you should set out the reasons why you're doing what you're doing, or taking a certain class, and so forth.
In about a week or two I'll provide further notes and ideas for those that want guidance or don't want to go out and buy the entire book, but for those that will read... happy readings!
Organizations and entrepreneurs that were once dismissed as upstarts, as wildcards—as mavericks—are making waves and growing fast. There’s a reason: In an age of hyper-competition and nonstop innovation, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something truly original.
Mavericks at Work offers exciting new answers to the timeless challenges facing organizations of every size and leaders in every field: how you make strategy, how you unleash ideas, how you connect with customers, how your best people achieve great results. But this is more than just a how-to book. It is also a what-if book.
Business needs a breath of fresh air... Individually, these maverick companies are attracting millions of customers, creating thousands of jobs, generating tens of billions of dollars of wealth. As a group, they demonstrate that you can build successful organizations around high ideals and fierce competitive ambitions, that the most powerful way to create economic value is to embrace a set of values that go beyond just amassing power, and that business, at its best, is too exciting, too important, and too much fun to be left to the dead hand of business as usual.
In short, the book applies not just to business, but to life as well - that's why I've chosen it as July's book of the month. For example, at one point in the book the authors ask: Have you set out – clearly, crisply, in language that reflects the spirit of your organization – the most compelling reasons for great people to work on your team, in your division, at your company?" That also applies to life and school - you should set out the reasons why you're doing what you're doing, or taking a certain class, and so forth.
In about a week or two I'll provide further notes and ideas for those that want guidance or don't want to go out and buy the entire book, but for those that will read... happy readings!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Raising the Bar synopsis (and how the book applies to you)
So I know June's book of the month is Raising the Bar, but I wanted to go ahead and give a good, brief synopsis of the book and how it can apply to you. I found this post from a reviewer (Graham Lawes) on Amazon.com and it's been edited for brevity:
He starts the history of Clif Bar with a personal story of going on a 100 mile bike ride that turned unexpectedly into a 175 mile ride. This was what he calls the first epiphany bike ride and was sustained by only 6 power bars and a banana. As the story goes, it was when he found that he couldn't force down the 6th bar that he decided to make his own. This was the epiphany. It's celebrated every year by a company-sponsored bike event that follows the same route.
Such epiphanies occur frequently, but we're not many of us built like Erickson, so we don't tend to turn our ideas into such a formidable reality as he has done...
There are many good reasons to read this book. It's full of great stories and metaphors. His management ideas are workable, and he's created one of the best mission statements I've seen. This is given in the form of five "aspirations:" Sustaining Our Brands; Sustaining Our Business; Sustaining Our People; Sustaining Our Community; Sustaining Our Planet...
Erickson clearly lived and promulgated these values for some years before formalizing them and writing them down on paper. He also works continuously to meet the company's aspirations. It seems obvious to measure and assess a company based on the achievement of its mission, but that's not what most companies do...
At the end of the book, Erickson sums up his achievements at Clif Bar by saying that Clif Bar's business model is like a jazz score, and that the people of Clif Bar are like jazz musicians. "The core is jazz: the freedom to improvise in the creation of beautiful things, products, and people." This is a nice idea and an appropriate metaphor for the whole book, a tale about the raising of Clif Bar improvised around the stories of his life.
The book is an entertaining -- and at some points dazzling -- composition, but it is also important as a model. Erickson does something valuable by giving us one more book that shows how to build a successful, socially responsible company...
Raising the Bar is a great read, but most of all it's important for its ideas and the example it provides. Erickson is an inspiring model for others. He doesn't believe that taking care of people is just a way to make them work harder. As Erickson puts it, "We believe that if we provide meaningful work as well as something beyond work, people will do their jobs well and lead healthier, more balanced lives."
Fortunately, Erickson's is not an isolated example, and more and more people are practicing the belief that stewardship and sustainability is more important than maximizing shareholder profit.
So if you haven't begun June's book of the month, or aren't still convinced to read it, I invite you to read a free excerpt of the book found here on the Clif Bar website. Happy readings!
He starts the history of Clif Bar with a personal story of going on a 100 mile bike ride that turned unexpectedly into a 175 mile ride. This was what he calls the first epiphany bike ride and was sustained by only 6 power bars and a banana. As the story goes, it was when he found that he couldn't force down the 6th bar that he decided to make his own. This was the epiphany. It's celebrated every year by a company-sponsored bike event that follows the same route.
Such epiphanies occur frequently, but we're not many of us built like Erickson, so we don't tend to turn our ideas into such a formidable reality as he has done...
There are many good reasons to read this book. It's full of great stories and metaphors. His management ideas are workable, and he's created one of the best mission statements I've seen. This is given in the form of five "aspirations:" Sustaining Our Brands; Sustaining Our Business; Sustaining Our People; Sustaining Our Community; Sustaining Our Planet...
Erickson clearly lived and promulgated these values for some years before formalizing them and writing them down on paper. He also works continuously to meet the company's aspirations. It seems obvious to measure and assess a company based on the achievement of its mission, but that's not what most companies do...
At the end of the book, Erickson sums up his achievements at Clif Bar by saying that Clif Bar's business model is like a jazz score, and that the people of Clif Bar are like jazz musicians. "The core is jazz: the freedom to improvise in the creation of beautiful things, products, and people." This is a nice idea and an appropriate metaphor for the whole book, a tale about the raising of Clif Bar improvised around the stories of his life.
The book is an entertaining -- and at some points dazzling -- composition, but it is also important as a model. Erickson does something valuable by giving us one more book that shows how to build a successful, socially responsible company...
Raising the Bar is a great read, but most of all it's important for its ideas and the example it provides. Erickson is an inspiring model for others. He doesn't believe that taking care of people is just a way to make them work harder. As Erickson puts it, "We believe that if we provide meaningful work as well as something beyond work, people will do their jobs well and lead healthier, more balanced lives."
Fortunately, Erickson's is not an isolated example, and more and more people are practicing the belief that stewardship and sustainability is more important than maximizing shareholder profit.
So if you haven't begun June's book of the month, or aren't still convinced to read it, I invite you to read a free excerpt of the book found here on the Clif Bar website. Happy readings!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)