Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Wow — best business book I have read in many a year — 5 stars from me; a perfect read. Buy it today.
The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick; I felt like I knew most of this information; but still a good book; if premature in its breathlessness of how Facebook has conquered the world.
Here are some of the books I have just read or are about to read this holiday season on my mini vacation.
Accelerated Disruption by Eric Lefkofsky
Eric is a friend. He is also a serial entrepreneur and is co- founder of MediaBank and Groupon, two companies that I am involved with and sit on their board of directors. Eric has written a crisp and smart book about innovation; speed to market; and the focus on execution and platforms to wring out ever last molecule of efficiency. Eric is very successful. Read this book to learn his methodologies and formulae for success. I enjoyed it very much.
SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Wow. What a great read! Fast, laugh-out-loud funny, a perfect follow up to Freakonomics. This is a perfect beachside reading book. I read it in two days and loved every word on every page. As I have noted in my blog, “Don’t believe the experts or conventional wisdom” and “Figures never lie but liars can figure.” I truly believe in the law of “unintended consequences” and this new book is destined to be a classic read.
This Time is Different by Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff
This is the definitive book about the financial crisis and how we never learn from history. It reminds me of The Black Swan, another great book I recommended to you all. This one is a fast and simple read and is scary in its outline of why we think things will turn out different and they never do! I am halfway through the book. I recommend it highly to you all.
The Education of an American Dreamer by Peter G. Peterson
This is an autobiography of Pete Peterson, one of our great business leaders and founder of the Blackstone Group. He is also a neighbor of mine in Vero Beach and he grew up the son of a Greek immigrant. I relate very much to his story. He has lived quite a life and has served on Wall Street; in government; and is one of our country’s great philanthropists. This book is a very good tour of the American business climate from the 60’s to today.
The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons
The NBA according to the Sports Guy. A friend gave me this book. It has become a bestseller. I can’t wait to dig in. Who can write 700 plus pages on hoops anyway?
I just finished two books which I think were good reads.
The first book is called “The Downhill Lie: A Hacker’s Return to a Ruinous Sport” by Carl Hiaasen. It is a book about a golfer picking the game back up in his fifties. It is a sweet little book by a great writer. The book is centered in Vero Beach, Florida, and he plays at Sandridge and Quail Valley, two courses that I have played many times. I enjoyed the book. You will too if you love the game of golf.
The second book is called “Serving Two Masters?: Reflections on God and Profit” by C. William Pollard. The book is about a well-respected company, ServiceMaster, and how it develops its company culture in pursuit of a higher calling - in this case the worship of God - to drive profitability. The key notion in the book is to be in service to a higher calling: your product; your customer; and your cause as a company.
