http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/ 15 Leadership book summaries powered by getAbstract en Copyright 2011 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:33:35 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.2-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Washington Post blogs have moved. If you are subscribing to the RSS feed for this blog, you may need to re-subscribe with the new feed URL. If you stop receiving updates from this feed, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/rss where you can see all of our feeds and re-subscribe to this feed or sign up for new ones. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/03/the-rss-feed-for-this-blog-has-moved.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/03/the-rss-feed-for-this-blog-has-moved.html Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:33:35 -0500 Title: The Prince Author: Niccolò Machiavelli Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008 ISBN-13: 978-0199535699, 186 pages Review: The Prince By Thomas Bergen, getAbstract The end justifies the means. This simple, pragmatic maxim underpins Niccolò Machiavelli's classic work, The Prince. Written in 1513, when Machiavelli was a Florentine registry official, this handbook of political power provoked controversy like no other. Its central theme is how Renaissance rulers should act if they want to prevail. According to the author, a strong state requires a leader who is able to defend his power at all costs. Machiavelli maintains that a ruler may deceive, trick, oppress and even murder his opponents, as long as his misdeeds serve the state's stability. Without question, this short treatise offers enough material to demonize its author. However, Machiavelli does not champion unlimited ruthlessness and violence. Nor does he justify any objectives that seem to warrant violence. However, he http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/03/reading-machiavelli-the-prince.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/03/reading-machiavelli-the-prince.html Books Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:28:44 -0500 Title: Obstacles Welcome: Turn Adversity to Advantage in Business and Life Author: Ralph de la Vega Publisher: Nelson Publishers, 2009 ISBN-13: 978-1595552648, 272 pages Review: Obstacles Welcome By Patrick Brigger, getAbstract When Ralph de la Vega was 10 years old, his parents sent him from Cuba to the US. They planned to follow him a few days later, once their travel documents were in order. Ralph arrived in Miami without money, without his family, unable to speak English and unfamiliar with the culture. A young couple, Cuban émigrés and acquaintances of the de la Vegas, took Ralph in, thinking it would be only a few days until his parents arrived. It took four years. Ralph had to take a job after school to help his parents when they, too, arrived with nothing. Ralph worked hard, moved ahead and went to college. Hired by Southern Bell, he advanced. Today, he http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/03/obstacles-welcome.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/03/obstacles-welcome.html Books Wed, 02 Mar 2011 10:06:13 -0500 Title: The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising Author: Kenneth Roman Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0230100367, 304 pages Review: The King of Madison Avenue By Thomas Bergen, getAbstract Author and adman Kenneth Roman worked for and with David Ogilvy for a quarter century at Ogilvy's groundbreaking ad agency Ogilvy & Mather. Thus, Roman is uniquely placed to understand Ogilvy in the context of his time and achievements. He presents Ogilvy's life and work, and explains what both meant at the time and now. Despite some unevenness in Roman's writing style and information flow, Ogilvy emerges as a singular hero in this saga of eccentricity, perseverance and native genius. getAbstract recommends this fast, insightful book to those who write advertising, those who want to, and those interested in the history of advertising and popular culture. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/the-king-of-madison-avenue.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/the-king-of-madison-avenue.html Books Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:12:39 -0500 Title: High Financier: The Lives and Time of Siegmund Warburg Author: Niall Ferguson Publisher: Penguin Press, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1594202469, 576 pages Review: High Financier By Patrick Brigger, getAbstract This panoramic biography of Siegmund Warburg reveals a complex man who built international banking in response to the great turbulence of the 20th century. Given access to previously unavailable personal letters and diaries, Niall Ferguson, a history professor at Harvard, spent 12 years profiling this singular man, who was shaped by early-20th-century Prussian Europe and lived through World War I, the rise of Nazism, the dark years of the Holocaust and post-World War II reconstruction. The book's title aptly describes Warburg's "lives," since he reinvented himself in the face of world and personal events. Ferguson artfully weaves Warburg's motives, business environment and family intrigues into the political evolution of Western Europe and the US. getAbstract highly recommends this detailed, readable biography http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/reading-high-financier.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/reading-high-financier.html Books Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:36:59 -0500 Title: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future Author: Robert B. Reich Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0307592811, 192 pages Review: Aftershock By Thomas Bergen, getAbstract Politicians and pundits like to blame Americans' excessive debt for plunging the economy into recession in 2008. But middle-class earners had a good reason for borrowing: Their incomes have dropped since 1980, during a period when the U.S. economy's gains increasingly went to the wealthy. According to former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich, the only way out of the doldrums now is to redress that imbalance and help the middle class resume its role powering the economy. In this book, Reich explores the dire consequences of failing to get workers back to work. Without seeming particularly worried about stirring controversy, he offers his suggestions for restoring the "basic bargain" of shared prosperity: People work and the government supports good jobs http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/aftershock.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/aftershock.html Books Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:40:33 -0500 Title: Obama's Wars Author: Bob Woodward Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1439172490, 464 pages Review: Obama's Wars By Patrick Brigger, getAbstract Hours after his election as the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama learned details of the top-secret circumstances that defined the Afghanistan conflict, a war characterized by inadequate resources, incomplete planning, inchoate strategy and ongoing bloodshed. Bob Woodward of The Washington Post applied his legendary reporting skills to reams of meeting notes, classified reports and interviews to recreate the often tempestuous policymaking on Afghanistan that marked Obama's first 18 months in office. Woodward's trip to Afghanistan and his unfettered access to top officials in more than 100 interviews, including more than an hour with the president, put you at the center of marathon meetings, disputes and discussions peopled by contrasting personalities and their shifting allegiances. getAbstract recommends this work of reporting, an engrossing book http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/inside-obamas-wars.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/02/inside-obamas-wars.html Books Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:04:59 -0500 Title: Senseless Panic: How Washington Failed America Authors: William M. Isaac and Philip C. Meyer Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0470640364, 190 pages Review: Senseless Panic By Thomas Bergen, getAbstract In his first-person account comparing the 1980s bank crisis to the 2008 financial panic, William M. Isaac excoriates government officials for needlessly stoking fear and costing taxpayers billions of dollars through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Isaac, the former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), navigated that agency through the 1980s bank and thrift debacle, and he voices sharp opinions on the TARP's shortcomings, politicization and mismanagement. His presentation details how the government (read the FDIC) could have prevented this entire systemic mess had it responded as it had in the '80s under his lead. Unfortunately, most of Isaac's remedies are bank-centric and thus gloss over the roles non-bank financial institutions played in http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/from-the-pages-senseless-panic.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/from-the-pages-senseless-panic.html Books Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:03:12 -0500 Title: Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex Author: William D. Hartung Publisher: Nation Books, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1568584201, 304 pages Review: Prophets of War By Patrick Brigger, getAbstract Muckraking author William Hartung delves into the military-industrial complex with a corporate profile of its largest, most successful beneficiary, Lockheed Martin. Lockheed has survived bankruptcy and lean financial times, and Hartung contends that it has thrived in part through questionable business practices, milking taxpayers of billions and abetting Pentagon malfeasance. Hartung weaves a tale of the interface of armaments and politics, and says alleged Pentagon incompetence benefited both Lockheed and individual states with pork-barrel military projects. This complex, well-told story states that Lockheed eventually garnered $25 billion annually in defense contracts and now plays an outsized role in affecting U.S. foreign policy. getAbstract recommends this book as important background reading about the corporate-military complex, the shadowy http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/reading-prophets-of-war.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/reading-prophets-of-war.html Books Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:08:47 -0500 Title: Marshall: Lessons in Leadership (Great Generals) Authors: H. Paul Jeffers and Alan Axelrod Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0230614161, 224 pages Review: Marshall By Thomas Bergen, getAbstract George Catlett Marshall, Jr., a revered soldier and statesman, served as US Army chief of staff during World War II and later as secretary of state and secretary of defense. A born leader, Marshall was, as Sir Winston Churchill described him, "the noblest Roman of them all." He stood resolute for what he believed and, as authors H. Paul Jeffers and Alan Axelrod make clear, the world is a better place because he did. Indeed, Europe would not exist in its present state if not for the Marshall Plan that rebuilt its shattered nations after World War II. getAbstract recommends Jeffers and Axelrod's short, readable biography to those interested in the attributes that leadership demands, as demonstrated by the luminous life http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/marshall.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/marshall.html Books Wed, 12 Jan 2011 03:37:03 -0500 Title: The CEO's Boss: Tough Love in the Boardroom Author: William M. Klepper Publisher: Columbia UP, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0231149884, 192 pages Review: The CEO's Boss By Patrick Brigger, getAbstract Enron. Global Crossing. WorldCom. Adelphia. Tyco International. These corporate cautionary tales point to the crucial importance of responsible corporate governance, something in shockingly short supply in recent years. In this book, Columbia Business School Professor William M. Klepper discusses why boards must show "tough love" to CEOs to keep them in line with corporate goals. He details how a "Social Contract" can set the working partnerships between directors and CEOs. Klepper, a management expert in board and executive relationships, has worked on executive education with some of the world's best-known firms, including AT&T, Sony and Johnson & Johnson. He tends to refer to these experiences and his credentials frequently, name-dropping with abandon. But maybe his self-promotion is justified, because he http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/the-ceos-boss.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2011/01/the-ceos-boss.html Books Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:41:47 -0500 Title: The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050 Author: Joel Kotkin Publisher: Penguin Press, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1594202445, 320 pages Review: The Next Hundred Million By Thomas Bergen, getAbstract This is a refreshing book, even a reassuring one. Author Joel Kotkin describes a 2050 America deeply rooted in the present. Major societal changes will come about, and many are underway already, in signs as pervasive as telecommuting and as public as the face of President Barack Obama. Kotkin's future can seem a bit conservative, especially since he doesn't focus on radically negative futures (the impact of massive climate change, for instance) or technological change. His analysis remains grounded in observation, which renders his thoughts accessible and useful. getAbstract recommends his forecast to futurists, to business leaders who need to envision their future workforce and marketplace, and to those interested in American culture. http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/the-next-hundred-million.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/the-next-hundred-million.html Books Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:30:26 -0500 Title: Leading in Times of Crisis: Navigating Through Complexity, Diversity, and Uncertainty to Save Your Business Authors: David L. Dotlich, Peter C. Cairo, Stephen H. Rhinesmith Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2009 ISBN-13: 978-0470402306, 240 pages Review: Leading in Times of Crisis By Patrick Brigger, getAbstract Contemporary executives have more to manage than leaders did at any time in the past. They're like plate spinners, juggling to keep all their firms' interests--customers, employees, investors, regulators, suppliers and the environment--from crashing to the ground. David L. Dotlich, Peter C. Cairo and Stephen H. Rhinesmith bring years of leadership expertise--and the results of 20 interviews with senior executives about 21st-century management--to this examination of leading in a "complex, diverse and uncertain" world. The old command-and-control, problem-solving, analytical ways of piloting a firm are out; what's in and crucial is a new leadership model combining the strengths of leaders' "head, heart and guts." While occasionally http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/leading-in-times-of-crisis.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/leading-in-times-of-crisis.html Books Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:11:17 -0500 Title: The Squam Lake Report: Fixing the Financial System Authors: Kenneth R. French, et al. Publisher: Princeton UP, 2010 ISBN-13: 978-0691148847, 168 pages Review: The Squam Lake Report By Thomas Bergen, getAbstract This slim volume is named after the isolated New England resort where 15 renowned economists, academics and policymakers met in the fall of 2008 to devise solutions to the "World Financial Crisis." That they convened amid fast-paced, seismic economic events adds to the star-chamber aspects of their collaboration. Still, these éminences grises--all nonpartisan, without commercial sponsorship or political axes to grind--developed their ideas by sharing their expertise. Their recommendations cover reforms in banking, financial products, regulation, compensation, pensions and hedge funds: all the named villains of the last crisis. Why did they issue these ideas? So they could educate political and fiscal leaders (if they would only listen) about possible laws that could help avert or lessen http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/the-squam-lake-report.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/the-squam-lake-report.html Books Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:21:46 -0500 Title: Never Fly Solo: Lead with Courage, Build Trusting Partnerships, and Reach New Heights in Business Author: Lt. Col. Rob "Waldo" Waldman Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2009 ISBN-13: 9780071637060, 208 pages Review: Never Fly Solo By Patrick Brigger, getAbstract The cockpit of a fighter jet is the last place you would expect to find someone with claustrophobia and a fear of heights. Remarkably, Lt. Col. Rob "Waldo" Waldman managed to keep that little secret from the US Air Force during a stellar career in which he flew 65 combat missions in Serbia and Iraq. Now a professional leadership speaker, the retired pilot uses lessons from his Air Force days to inspire others to strive for success in business and life. Waldman is most compelling when he shares military stories and explains the tools and techniques he used to overcome adversity. He deserves credit for attempting to draw instructive parallels between his http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/never-fly-solo.html?wprss=leadershipbooks http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/books/2010/12/never-fly-solo.html Books Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:07:35 -0500