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Jack Covert Selects - Panic
Posted Dec. 12, 2008 2:48 p.m. by 800-ceo-read
Michael Lewis is one of my favorite non-fiction writers. I always look forward to a new book of his, but when I first looked closely at the cover of Panic, I was a little upset. There, in sharp contrast to the large font advertising his name, are the words "edited by" in small italics. This isn't a compilation of Michael Lewis writings on the economy but a collection of other people's writings--albeit respected and talented writers like Paul Krugman, Lester C. Thurow, Robert J. Shiller, James Surowiecki and Roger Lowenstein--taken from The New York Times, The New Yorker and even Technology Review. There are a few Michael Lewis essays included, but they don't dominate the book.
As I read on, though, I quickly found that this book didn't make me feel slighted in the least. Instead, it was easy to enjoy this stellar collection of current, relevant and brilliantly written essays about five of the most recent traumas to our financial system, including the crash of 1987, the Asian currency crisis of 1999, the deflation of the Internet bubble and the bursting of the real-estate bubble. Lewis provides an overview to each section, and the essays run the gamut from serious analysis of serious times to a brilliantly funny Dave Barry piece on real estate and how to make money. Sometimes it's both serious and funny at once. You get the human side of the collapse of the Internet bubble with Jerry Useem's essay in Fortune, from 2000, where we meet Jim Cramer, pre-TV show. Discussing what's next for him after Thestreet.com, he says "Oh, this unbelievable project. It's called 'Coaching Fifth-Grade Soccer.'"
I believe Panic will set the standard for anthologies of financial writing. While there are many lists of books to read about the current financial situation, this is the book to read for an informed look at the past and current financial crises. To paraphrase a famous quotation: "those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it." It is clearly crucial for us all to get more educated about what has happened to our economy over the last two-plus decades. Panic provides that education.
Jack Covert Selects - The Knack
Posted Dec. 11, 2008 9:12 a.m. by 800-ceo-read
Most entrepreneurship books just don't deliver. The wide variability in fledging businesses makes it nearly impossible to write a universal prescription for success. Books about the entrepreneur who made it big are often filled with more celebrity and celebration than hard-won lessons and real life pain. I am happy to suggest a wonderful exception to this unfortunate rule.
The Knack opens with the story of Bobby and Helene Stone. Bobby has just lost his job and decides to join his wife's computer supply business that she runs out of the couple's home. Helene is not sure it is such a good idea, but Bobby is enthusiastic. And through the Stone's story, authors Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham tell the quintessential tale of every entrepreneur--the seed of a new enterprise, the quest for independence, and the fear of failure (and bankruptcy).
Brodsky, an eight-time start-up founder, counsels the couple and walks them through the creation of a simple business plan with them. He shows the dream is possible, but it will take hard work and a significant portion of their savings. The first several months are difficult as Bobby takes low margin orders to make the sales number. The authors' show just how corrosive those actions are to a fledging business as the couple is forced to dip further into their savings to keep the company afloat. The Stones reach a point of self-sustainability about a year later. The couple appears again in the final chapter detailing the challenges of hiring their son to expand the sales force, venturing onto the Internet and landing a large distribution deal.
Becoming the boss, dealing with investors, hiring the best (and firing those who don't work out) is just a sampling of the additional stories you'll find in The Knack. It is rich and relatable stories like these that have made Brodsky and Burlingham's "Street Smarts" column in Inc. Magazine so compelling over the last 14 years. Brodsky has an endless supply of stories from the start-ups he has launched and the countless entrepreneurs he has helped over the years. And Burlingham's role in this production should not be overlooked as he lends his editorial might to the effective telling of these real-life lessons. The pair delivers an outstanding book in The Knack, one that I am happy to recommend to any current or aspiring entrepreneur.
Jack Covert Selects - The Watercooler Effect
Posted Dec. 10, 2008 3:32 p.m. by 800-ceo-read
We have an open-plan office; the majority of the staff is situated in one main room, without cubical walls or even much distance to separate employees. This concept has worked well for us. It allows employees to communicate more, whether it's to find solutions to problems in real-time, discuss current events, or merely share their experiences both inside and outside of work. Despite the occasional, inevitable tiff that happens when space is shared, this ability to communicate freely strengthens the family bond central to this company's success. In other offices, this type of socializing is more limited, taking place around the proverbial watercooler, and is a large factor in what makes work life enjoyable and motivating. Yet, as we all know, putting a group of diverse people together in a workplace can also lead to social side effects.
In The Watercooler Effect, psychologist Nicholas DiFonzo examines the power of hearsay and rumors to develop and spread wherever people come together. He, like many theorists, philosophers, and psychologists before him, sees humans as social beings who are constantly engaged in sensemaking. He explains that we "possess an irrepressible instinct to make sense of the world. Put these ideas together and we get shared sensemaking: We make sense of life together." And one reason that rumors get so much traction, DiFonzo claims, is because "[r]umor is perhaps the quintessential shared sensemaking activity. It may indeed be the predominant means by which we make sense of the world together."
Surprisingly, DiFonzo explores the potential of rumors to cause good as well as harm. He seeks to understand what value they offer, because, as he suggests, "If they lead to important changes in what people do, say, or think, then it is essential to understand how they operate." The Watercooler Effect is filled with useful, often recognizable examples of rumors in action, happening at the watercooler, in community groups, on Wall Street. DiFonzo does an excellent job of distilling the complexities of rumors while also offering suggestions on ways to avoid or squelch harmful rumors. You'll come away from this book a little more curious and perhaps a little more cautious about the next unsubstantiated tidbit of information you pass along.
Jack Covert Selects - Tribes
Posted Nov. 13, 2008 1:06 p.m. by 800-ceo-read
"We Need You To Lead Us." The call to action is clear and powerful, exactly what you would expect from marketer Seth Godin. But when is the last time a book's subtitle expected so much from you? Most business books are created to sell you something, some way you'll be improved or bettered. Think about how that simple statement turns all of the reader's expectations around.
In Tribes, Seth expands on his previous mantra: now, not only are we all marketers, but we are also now leaders. He says there are existing guilds, legions and platoons of people just waiting for someone to step forward, though fear will deter many from the call. "Fear of change is built into most organisms, because change is the first sign of risk." The irony is that change is exactly what tribes wants, but they need fearless crusaders leading the way.
There are differences between tribes and groups. Tribes are about connections and the communication that runs sideways between those connections. The members of a tribe share a vision and tell a story about who they are. And they do something, whether trading baseball cards or protesting a war. If any of the three conditions are lacking, the tribe becomes merely a group.
"What Do You Have to Lose?" Seth asks in one of his final riffs. He refers to Brad Garlinghouse and his Peanut Butter Memo, a missive imploring his bosses at Yahoo to change the direction of the company. His memo got leaked and ended up on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (imagine Brad's next week in Sunnyvale). That risk led to the firing of a CEO and Brad to a bigger role at Yahoo. Many people may find that kind of move too risky. But was it really a risk? Silicon Valley is full of companies looking for heretics like Brad. What Brad saw a tribe that needed leading.
I have reviewed every book Seth has written since I started this column in 2000. In Tribes, Seth certainly delivers his most important book since Purple Cow and quite possibly his most important book yet. It is time to look at Seth as more than a marketer. He too is a leader of tribes.
Jack Covert Selects - Business Stripped Bare
Posted Nov. 12, 2008 3:44 p.m. by 800-ceo-read
Two autobiographies, 200 some companies, even a Simpsons parody, and there certainly seems enough Richard Branson to go around the world (hot-air balloon pun intended) these days. By any standards the Virgin CEO has little left to prove, and could rightly be focused on enjoying those looming golden years on his privately owned Caribbean island ($20,500 a night if you’re interested). But instead, he wrote book number three. Will his energy make you feel lazy? Sure. Just check the publisher--Virgin Books, of course.
The extensive scope of the Virgin name is well covered here--from cell phones to prospective ventures in space tourism--and Branson's own unparalleled business zeal is evident just inside the cover. A copy from his journal lists a smattering of "Last year's new projects:"
3. Ordered 5 new A380XX's - biggest plane in world4. Opened game reserves in Africa
5. Bought 5 miles Mayorcan Coastline for new hotel.
And that's just three of the 23 entries on that list. But do the following pages offer a hint to the secret of loving what you do as much as this guy does?
Generally conversational and non-stylized, evidence of Branson's characteristic spitting-contest bravado is intact. He isn't shy to remind us that Virgin is "the only one of the top twenty [brands] that has diversified into a range of business activities, including airlines..." Or that it's the "fastest company in history to generate over one billion dollars in revenue." And while basically his business advice takes a common sense, everyman's approach ("We run our companies professionally ... But the way we make sure is to see that people are having fun"), the combo of swagger and documented success makes for equal parts guidebook and page-turner. In the cluttered world of nuts-and-bolts approaches to management, Branson's is like a breathe of fresh air.
Business Stripped Bare is an entertaining read, surprising in that despite Branson's larger-than-life life, his business advice is still approachable. Business, he reminds us, is simply about "creating things" and that "business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives, or it's simply not worth doing." Even if you won't find groundbreaking specifics in Branson's biography, it's a story that reminds us of the limitless potential of ambition mixed with a healthy ego.
