5 Standouts for a Business-Read Mashup

In our rapid-fire, digital generation, content comes to us—faster and from more sources than ever before. Regardless of its origin—Twitter, Google Reader, The Wall Street Journal, or your favorite blog—information is still king and great books are still treasures. Whether you’re a Gen Y in your first job, an On-Ramper who’s re-entering the workforce after raising children, or an executive in high gear, these five literary and corporate standouts will challenge your thinking and drive your differentiation.

1. Capitalizing on Complexity, Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study 2010 by IBM is a compilation of 1,500 face-to-face conversations with chief executive officers worldwide. Rare insight into “the world as they see it and, ultimately, what sets the highest-performing enterprises apart,” IBM’s CEO portfolio is a game changer. Examining strategy process, decision style, and leveraging the information explosion are explained in detail and interspersed with case studies. “The world’s public and private sector leaders believe that a rapid escalation of complexity is the biggest challenge facing them….And they identify ‘creativity’ as the single most important leadership competency” for businesses navigating through these unprecedented, first of their-kind experiences.
2. Woe Is I, the Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner. An excellent resource for those who still have no idea when to use who or whom, its or it’s. In the “Department of Hot Air,” she notes we don’t “dialogue” or “interface” with people, we talk and work together. And it’s perfectly acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition. The first grammar book you’ll really enjoy reading, O’Conner’s witty style distills the strength of powerful language.
3. Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell. Running a business or leading a company team demands a working knowledge of basic economics and a healthy dose of curiosity to question convention. Sifting facts from rhetoric, before investing in or projecting business changes, is a critical enterprise skill. In a 24/7 news cycle, it’s tempting to accept the trending topics on Twitter as facts, as opposed to sentiment, opinions, or observations. Sowell presents the facts surrounding several generally accepted truths like foreign aid, urban sprawl, incomes, social mobility, and the middle class. “Subjecting beliefs to the test of hard facts is especially important when it comes to economic beliefs because economic realities are inescapable limitations on millions of peoples’ lives.” Fact-checking and truth-finding may be tedious and unglamorous, but necessary to fill the data gaps and to help us make the most informed decisions.
4. April 1865 by Jay Winik. A chronicle of the last 30 days of the Civil War, Winik’s storytelling gift is masterful in spite of his 451 pages. Words like redoubtable, redolent, and brevetted are a refreshing change for the unsuspecting reader. Understanding the three hours at the McLean house in Appomattox, the generals and soldiers leading in battle, the country’s emotional pulse and clash of passions, and the potential for failure as a nation helps clarify current definitions of crisis. The final chapter titled “Epilogue, To Make a Nation,” is a prized reveal of American manufacturing, innovation, and invention: “On a quiet farm in Dearborn, Michigan, William Ford, who had avoided the war, was indulging his pride and joy, his two-year-old son Henry. With 90 acres, a handsome two-story house surrounded by evergreens, a pear tree, an apple orchard, and a large willow, the father felt the life of the prosperous, self-sufficient farmer was the American dream. But William would soon become deeply disappointed with his son, young Henry’s attention span repeatedly wandered…. ‘Henry’s not much of a farmer, he’s a tinkerer,’ his father sadly concluded.” Henry Ford was in good company with other captains of invention and industry including Thomas Alva Edison, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie.
5. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie is chockfull of practicalities on winning arguments, becoming a good conversationalist, changing people without giving offense, and practicing encouragement. “Every minister, lecturer, and public speaker knows the discouragement of pouring himself or herself out to an audience and not receiving a single ripple of appreciative comment. What applies to professionals applies doubly to workers in offices, shops, and factories and to family and friends. In our interpersonal relations, we should never forget that all our associates are human beings and hunger for appreciation. It is the legal tender that all souls enjoy.” To enrich your soft skills, make this book a loyal friend.

Free enterprise, English, economics, history, and good manners: Never underestimate the Return on Information of a great read.

Anne D Gallaher