Books & Reviews

Home Books & Reviews Page 5

[Review] Good To Great

Are charismatic superstar CEOs the answer to enduring success? What about dramatic mergers and acquisitions - aren't those the panacea to ailing companies? The answer, surprising, is no, according to "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't", a phenomenal business bestseller published in 2001 by renowned business author Jim Collins.

[Review] Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets

In the audio book, "Warren Buffett's Management Secrets: Proven Tools for Personal and Business Success", Mary Buffett (Buffett's former daughter-in-law) and David Clark depicts some of the management philosophies behind the billionaire's success.

[Review] The Face-To-Face Book

The problem with the prophetic proclamations about the rise of social media and its impending dominance? It's that we can focus too much on the media part of 'social media', instead of the 'social' aspect, according to the authors of 'The Face-to-Face Book".

[Review] The Pivot Point

The problem with change management lies in the fact that individuals don’t change their behavior at the critical time and place. And the main reason why individuals don't tend to accept change? Attachment, says authors of "The Pivot Point".

[Review] Calling All Grads!

"Calling All Grads!" by Marco Buscaglia is a concise yet comprehensive guide that covers a wide variety of useful topics for the new graduate that includes identifying your career path, actual job search, and professional networking (both online and offline), amongst others.

[Review] Why Customers Really Buy

Debunking traditional research predicated on surveys, focus groups, and structured interviews, the authors of "Why Customers Really Buy: Uncovering the Emotional Triggers That Drive Sales" claim that true insight can only be achieved through conducting emotional-trigger research.

[Review] The 4-Hour Workweek

To many of us, Timothy Ferriss is living the dream life. The author of the uber bestseller "The 4-Hour Workweek" works from anywhere around the world, pursuing activities as varied as skiing in the Andes, tango dancing in Buenos Aires, or racing motorcycles in Europe.

[Review] Talent Is Overrated

Fortune editor-at-large Geoff Colvin's book "Talent is Overrated" provides excellent food for thought in today's knowledge economy. Debunking age-old notions that nature matter a lot more than nurture, the book proposes that prodigious amounts of deliberate practice is the key to success in multiple fields.

[Review] An Innocent Story

Written by writer and brand consultant John Simmons, "Innocent" narrates the brand story of how Cambridge graduates Jon Wright, Adam Balon and Richard Reed built a "tasty little juice company" with a unique culture founded on strong values.

[Review] Six Tires, No Plan

In the book "Six Tires, No Plan: The Impossible Journey of the Most Inspirational Leader That (Almost) Nobody Knows", author Michael Rosenbaum pieces together the Bruce Halle story and attempts to look at how the Discount Tire magnate built his empire with just six tires.

[Review] What Chinese Want

"What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and the Modern Chinese Consumer" is a comprehensive treatise on modern China, capturing its worldview, business environment, consumer markets, societal fabric, and engagement with the world.

[Review] The Good Fail

Richard Keith Latman saw his startup company Microworkz go from the brink of tremendous success to being shut down, have himself enter personal bankruptcy and his personal life destroyed. He chronicles that experience and the aftermath in the book "The Good Fail: Entrepreneurial Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Microworkz".

25 Books To Sharpen Your Social Skills (And Transform Your Career)

These 25 books can help you take your social skills to the next level and earn you huge payoffs in both your personal and professional lives.

[Review] Rubies In The Orchard

Serial entrepreneur and billionaire Lynda Resnick's book "Rubies in the Orchard: How to Uncover the Hidden Gems in Your Business" provides a fascinating glimpse into the marketing strategies behind brands like POM Wonderful, FIJI Water, Teleflora and the Franklin Mint.

[Review] Likeonomics

Marketing expert Rohit Bhargava's new book "Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action" looks at the subject of likeability and argues that this quality has become the currency of a new era.

10 Best Books About Excellence

Here are 10 arenas of everyday life and a pick for the best book on excellence in that area. Some are how-tos and some are stories of people who achieved excellence, but all of them can inspire you to be the best.

[Review] Hacking Work

With the subtitle "Breaking Stupid Rules For Smart Results", "Hacking Work" by Bill Jensen and Josh Klein encourages workers of all stripes to utilize "benevolent" hacking to get their jobs done more effectively and efficiently.

[Review] Hits & Misses: New York Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Strategies

The book "Hits & Misses: New York Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Strategies" by award-winning journalist, columnist and essay writer Tina Traster, puts decision-making by some 60 New York-based entrepreneurs under the microscope.

[Review] Great From The Start

Although countless books have been written on how entrepreneurs can put together successful startup companies, corporate attorney, entrepreneur, executive coach and writer John B. Montgomery gives his take with "Great From the Start: How Conscious Corporations Attract Success".

[Review] Predictably Irrational

"Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" by behavioural economist Dan Ariely provides an entertaining and enlightening read debunking conventional wisdom that human beings are rational and logical beings,

[Review] Uprising

To win over increasingly cynical consumers who expects nothing less than total transparency, what should companies and businesses do? Enter "movement marketing". Scott Goodson's book "Uprising: How to Build a Brand - and Change the World - By Sparking Cultural Movements" argues that the future of business is seeded in revolutions both big and small.

[Review] Retail Truths

It doesn't matter if you run a small, family-run hardware store, electronics store, or even a coffee shop - "Retail Truths" by Chip Averwater is going to be invaluable to you.

Eight Books That Shaped American Industry

There are plenty of books out there that make us think about life in a new way or feel something we haven’t felt before, but some books have the power to overhaul an entire industry. Here are eight of them.

[Review] Extreme Focus

How does one truly achieve one's dreams? What are the secrets behind ultra-successful folks who make a "dent in the Universe"? The answer according to NBA Orlando Magic's Senior Vice President Pat Williams and author Jim Denney is "Extreme Focus".

[Review] Engagement Marketing

"Engagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially Connected World" by Gail Goodman argues that delivering a 'WOW!' experience to the customer should always come first in any social media marketing effort.

[Review] Steve Jobs

Written as a biography yet offering lots of business and life lessons, "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson is a masterful work by the former Chairman and CEO of CNN.

The Complete Startup Reading List

Launching a startup is no small feat; if you’ve got one in the works, surely you know there’s plenty of hard work and a very real possibility of failure ahead of you. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most important books for startups of any kind.

[Review] Adapt: Why Success Always Start With Failure

"Undercover Economist" Tim Harford's latest book "Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure" blends economics, psychology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology to explain why trial and error is preferred over grand strategic plans.

20 Best Biographies For Tech-Minded Students

If you consider yourself at all tech-savvy, here are the 20 best biographies you'll want to check out.

[Review] The Lean Startup

If you have any interest in entrepreneurship at all, "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries is an engrossing read, says Lee Shen Han.