In my last blog, I related the story of the candidate for a high-level, executive position, who didn’t read books. I felt this was a character flaw that was so fundamental that I would consider it a disqualifier for the job. To me it indicated the lack of critical thinking. I asked for your thoughts […]
Thoughts on a Post-Literate World–“I Don’t Really Read Books”
A client related this story. They were interviewing a candidate for a high-level executive position at a very prominent company. During the interview, they asked the candidate, “What kind of books do you read?” The candidate’s response was, “I don’t really read books.” The “really” wasn’t necessary, the person just doesn’t read books. Perhaps a […]
Book Review: A Higher Loyalty
A Higher Loyalty by James Comey was released on April 17th. I preordered my copy through Amazon and they delivered it on the 17th. I had ‘cleared the decks’ in terms of my reading schedule and dove right in, finishing the book in a week. A couple of comments right up front. First, Donald Trump […]
This Isn’t Rocket Science
The hardest thing about running a business must be figuring out how to manage people. When creating processes, the handoffs in the process, that is the interaction of people and departments are the hardest part. Creating alignment between individual goals and those of the company is endlessly challenging. Think of the creation of an incentive […]
Book Review: Internal Time
This book was recommended by Daniel Pink in his book When—The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, the subject of my last blog. Pink had six books he recommended in his Further Reading section. He said of this book, “You’ll learn more from this smart, concise work—organized into twenty-four chapters to represent the twenty-four hours of […]
Book Review: When—The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
The latest book by Daniel Pink, When—The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, was released in January 2018 and became an instant best seller. Pink is one of the most successful authors of non-fiction books. His past bestsellers include: Free Agent Nation—This book is about the gig economy, self-employed people and how the economy—even the meaning […]
Fire and Fury—Inside the Trump White House By Michael Wolff
I have to believe that anyone reading this blog has heard of Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff. The book has been a publishing phenomenon. It was announced, and then the author started a tour giving interviews and chapters were excerpted in various publications. But the most effective marketing was by the Trump administration, who […]
Book Review: It’s Not About the Coffee by Howard Behar
A couple of months ago I talked about seeing Howard Behar, one of the key people in Starbucks’ success, speak at a business function. Despite his understated manner, I thought he was the best business speaker I’ve ever heard. I titled my blog, “The Wisdom and Humanity of Howard Behar.” My summary of why he […]
Book Review: The American Spirit
It has been over a year since the presidential election and I’m distressed. Not because Congress can’t get anything done. I’m fine with that, in fact, I prefer it when politicians get little done. No, what distresses me the most is the incivility of the political discourse and the lack of reason. I prefer when […]
Enjoying the Good Times, Preparing for the Bad, Redux
For several years I predicted that 2017 would be the year a recession would start. I began saying this about 2013 and for several years I thought my prediction looked good. But now it looks like I’m going to be wrong. The economic expansion continues with no end in sight. How long can this continue? […]