For the month of August (despite travelling with my wife to Europe for almost 2 weeks) I managed to get some good read and they are: -
Number 5: Headhunters and How To Use Them: A Guide for Organisations and Individuals by Nancy Garrison Jenn.
The edition I read was a 2005 version.
Product Details of the book: When firms need to fill management positions, when experienced managers want a new challenge, or when MBA graduates are looking for their first senior management role, they often turn to headhunters, or, more formally, executive search consultants.
This guide provides a clear overview of the executive search market, with specific guidelines on using headhunters effectively, both for individuals looking for a job and organizations looking for to fill a role. Headhunters offers advice on what’s important in the selection of an executive search firm and provides invaluable networking tips on getting the best search consultants interested in you as a candidate.
With the global job market more uncertain than ever, the need for quality career guidance has grown considerably. This new addition to The Economist series helps fill the void for all of those looking for a new job—or a new employee.
About the Author
Nancy Garrison Jenn is a global authority on headhunters. She is an author, consultant and well known speaker on the executive search profession. She consults to many global corporations on the selection of executive search firms worldwide, with a special focus on emerging markets. Clients have included Armstrong Intl, Corning, Dell, Diageo, Expedia, GSK, KKR, KPMG, LVMH, Thomson Reuters ,Vanguard and Viacom.
To know more about Nancy, this is the link to her website: http://nancygarrisonjenn.com/
Number 4: The Company A Short History of A Revolutionary Idea by John Micklethwait & Adrian Wooldridge.
Introduction: Utopia Limited
* The book begins with the theme of a play by William S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. It was set in 1893! Mentioned briefly about the Companies Act of 1862 to the 2002 SOX (Sarbanes Oxley Act).
* 3 themes are mentioned for us to understand the underlying of the book. They are:
a) Past company's history is more dramatic than our current ones.
b) A Correlation exists from the first where the modern companies are becoming more ethical (Lord forbids! If we are living in the information age and behaves like stone ages primitive savageries) in comparison to the past!
c) The West (yes not the Asians) gained a huge competitive advantage due to 2 major determinants and they are: technological advances/prowess; and liberal parliamentarians & statesman such as the likes of William Ewart Gladstone & Robert Lowe.
* Its concluding paragraph also asked the readers about post Ronald Coase as we enter into the information age and the impacts it have on the company.
1. Merchants & Monopolists: 3000 BC to AD 1500
* From the Mesopotamia to the Assyrians, the existence of a contractual agreement in partnership to form the early days of a modern "company". This was evident with Amur Ishtar agreement which happens to be similar to our modern venture capital fund!.
* Went on to the shipping agreement of the Mediterranean civilizations of Phoenicians & Athenians, to the Romans, the Muslim merchant (Sinbad), the Chinese (which have a 700 lead years to the European in technological advances) and of course the resurgence of the West's technological advances due to China's close door policy!
1.1. The Rialto Effect
* The Merchants of Italy & the Guilds of the Northern Europe, which also brings in the shipping routes to trading! It dwells a bit on the word "compagnia" which is a compound of 2 Latin words, "cum" and "panis" to mean "breaking bread together"!
* Mentioned about early banks from the Florence's 2 important banks, Bardi and Peruzzi. Also briefly mentioned the rise & fall of the Medici empire.
1.2. Datini's Database
* a fervent supporter of "compagnia" and thus led to more acceptance in Italy!
1.3. Corporations & Guilds
* as most of the Middle Ages, Guilds were the most important form of business organisations.
* the word "guild" is derived from Saxon verb, "gildan" meaning to pay tax!
2. Imperialists & Speculators: 1500 - 1750
* 16th & 17th centuries saw the emergence of "Chartered Companies" with 2 strong ideas (to both finance its growths & embarks on the overseas ambition of colonisation) of: 1.) Shares that could be sold on open market; and 2.) Limited Liabilities!
2.1. The Honorable Company
* East India Company - all began on 24th Sep 1599, Founders Hall, City of London, Lord Mayor Sir Stephen Soane. Mentioned about the impact from Sir Edward Michelbourne & James Lancaster!
* The structure of the East India Company in 2 Tier Structure!
2.2. For King & Country
2.3. John Law and the God Mammon
2.4. The South Sea Bubble and The Carousel of Fools
2.5. A Body Without A Soul
3. A Prolonged and Painful Birth: 1750 - 1862
3.1. Slavers and Industrialists
3.2. An American Alternative
3.3. Setting The Company Free
3.4. The Middlemarch Effect
3.5. The Great Victorian Debate
3.6. A New Sort of Organization
4. The Rise of Big Business in America: 1862 - 1913
4.1. First Came The Railroads
4.2. The Retailers Before The Manufacturers
4.3. All Under One Roof
4.4. The Backlash
4.5. The Popularity of The Company
5. The Rise of Big Business in Britain, Germany, and Japan 1850 - 1950
5.1. Land of Hope and History
5.2. The Good and The Few
5.3. The Rise of German Industry
5.4. The Zaibatsu of Japan
6. The Triumph of Managerial Capitalism: 1913 - 1975
6.1. Sloan's Revolution
6.2. The Managers
6.3. Three Debates That Defined The Company
6.4. Corporate Imperialism
6.5. Organization Man and American Benevolence
7. The Corporate Paradox: 1975 - 2002
7.1. Hail The Company
7.2. The Unbundling of The Company
7.3. Round Up The Usual Suspects
7.4. Barbarians and Pension Funds
7.5. Silicon Valley
7.6. Unbundled, Flat and Borderless
7.7. Regulatory Capitalism
7.8. Enron and Beyond
8. Agents of Influence: Multinationals 1850 - 2002
8.1. The First Forays Abroad
8.2. An Empire of Their Own
8.3. The Multicultural Multinational
8.4. The Great Unloved
* Conclusion: The Future of The Company
1) 3 Possible Worlds
2) A Franchise Under Threat
Editorial Review - Cahners Business Information (c) 2003
Considering the astounding impact companies have had on every corner of civilization, it's amazing that the development of the institution has been largely unexamined. Economist editors Micklethwait and Wooldridge present a compact and timely book that deftly sketches the history of the company. They trace its progress from Assyrian partnership agreements through the 16th- and 17th-century European "charter companies" that opened trade with distant parts of the world, to today's multinationals. The authors' breadth of knowledge is impressive. They infuse their engaging prose with a wide range of cultural, historical and literary references, with quotes from poets to presidents. Micklethwait and Wooldrige point out that the enormous power wielded by the company is nothing new. Companies were behind the slave trade, opium and imperialism, and the British East India Company ruled the subcontinent with its standing army of native troops, outmanning the British army two to one. By comparison, the modern company is a bastion of restraint and morality. In a short, final chapter on the company's future, the authors argue against the fear, in antiglobalization circles, that "a handful of giant companies are engaged in a `silent takeover' of the world." Indeed, trends point toward large organizations breaking into smaller units. Moreover, the authors argue that for all the change companies have engendered over time, their force has been for an aggregate good.
About the Authors
John Micklethwait (left) oversees coverage of the United States for The Economist. He lives in London. Adrian Wooldridge (right) works for The Economist in Washington, D.C.
Both Micklethwait & Wooldridge co-authors a number of books and I could not wait to get my hands on them. They are:
1. God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World (2010)
2. The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America (2004)
3. A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Promise of Globalization (2003)
4. The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the Management Gurus (1997)
Number 3: The Courage to Act: Five Factors to Courage to Transform Business by Merom Klein & Rodney W Napier
The book I read was the 2003 Edition.
Editorial Review - Reed Business Information (c) 2003
Using terms like "conflict-prone realities" and "authority-responsibility gaps," this book attempts to help weak employees achieve success at work. Klein, founder of The Courage Institute (an organization that helps leaders and teams "build the courage to act"), and Napier, a business consultant and pioneer in the "concept of 360-degree feedback," present a dense but intelligent approach to acting with guts, whether workers are having trouble staying optimistic at the office or taking business risks. Part one explains why courage matters and what its traits are (candor, purpose, will, rigor and risk); part two teaches how to build it (based on the aforementioned traits); and part three gives examples of courage in action. Throughout, Klein and Napier draw on real-life examples from Fortune 500 companies and other organizations. The book will help more cerebral business readers who are experiencing difficulties stepping up to business challenges.
Rod Napier also co-authored another book with Rich McDaniel on
Measuring What Matters: S
implified Tools for Aligning Teams and Their Stakeholders (2006).Number 2: The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn To Handle Whatever comes Up by Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham.
I was reading this book in the later part of July 2010 and finished in mid August 2010. It was intentionally read so that it would coincide with my company's anniversary month!
From Publishers Weekly
Brodsky and Burlingham, both Inc. magazine columnists, offer a host of advice to budding businesspeople in this thoughtful guide. Having seen businesses fail and succeed, the authors have served as mentors to a wide variety of self-starters and use their experiences as object lessons. The book focuses mainly on big-picture practicalities—the protection of startup capital and the necessity of focusing on high–profit-margin sales—but also expounds on overcoming the sales mindset in favor of the entrepreneurial mentality and facing mistakes with grace and an eye to learning. With a clear, conversational style, the authors give advice on raising capital, maintaining relationships with banks and lenders, customer relations, dealing with unexpected roadblocks and hiring good management. But in the end, they contend that entrepreneurship is not only a passion but a way to achieve a happier, richer, fuller life for ourselves and for our children and grandchildren—and with the right mental habits and skills, anyone can achieve entrepreneurial success. Encouraging, succinct and informative, this is an excellent guide for anyone looking to dive into a new business or expand an existing one. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About The Authors
Norm Brodsky's (Left) is a columnist and senior contributing editor from the Inc. Here is the link to Inc website: http://www.inc.com/column/street-smarts/ and in 2008 Norm sold the CitiStorage for US$110 Million. He is a veteran entrepreneur that founded and grown six businesses. I like reading his column and I encourage you to visit and read some of the articles he wrote.
As for the other author, I heard about Bo Burlingham (Right) through his other books he co-author with Jack Stack. Here are some of the best-sellers books they co-authored:
1. A Stake In The Outcome: Building a Culture of Ownership for the Long-Term Success of Your Business (2003)
2. The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack & Bo Burlingham (1994)
Some of the other books written by Bo Burlingham are listed below:
1. Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell by John Warrillow & Bo Burlingham (2010)
2. Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big (2007)
Number 1: How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill.
About The Authors
Norm Brodsky's (Left) is a columnist and senior contributing editor from the Inc. Here is the link to Inc website: http://www.inc.com/column/street-smarts/ and in 2008 Norm sold the CitiStorage for US$110 Million. He is a veteran entrepreneur that founded and grown six businesses. I like reading his column and I encourage you to visit and read some of the articles he wrote.
As for the other author, I heard about Bo Burlingham (Right) through his other books he co-author with Jack Stack. Here are some of the best-sellers books they co-authored:
1. A Stake In The Outcome: Building a Culture of Ownership for the Long-Term Success of Your Business (2003)
2. The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack & Bo Burlingham (1994)
Some of the other books written by Bo Burlingham are listed below:
1. Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell by John Warrillow & Bo Burlingham (2010)
2. Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big (2007)
Number 1: How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill.
The edition that I read is 2008 version. This book is a memoir by Michael Gates Gill which tells the transformation of his life from a high-level advertising executive with J. Walter Thompson to a lowly coffee barista at one of the million of Starbucks cafes.
I ranked this book as number one for the month because, it touches on a number of facets in my daily life! It touches on areas where as a professional, what it takes to climb the leader of success and the countless sacrifices in order to fulfill that goal is after-all not so relevant in the end! One of my favourite parts would be his candidness of mixing both flashbacks and to the present situation so the readers not only see the sharp contrast but learned to be content through his eyes.
It is pretty much well summed up as by the Editorial Review - Library Journal vol. 132 iss. 10 p. 127 (c) 06/01/2007,
Gill, son of New Yorker writer Brendan Gill, explains how he was born into privilege, was "downsized" out of his high-powered advertising career, divorced by his wife after the woman with whom he was having an affair became pregnant, and learned that he had a slow-growing brain tumor—all of which ultimately led him to an entry-level job at Starbucks at the age of 64. And that's just the first chapter. Gill's inspirational memoir is a look back on his first year at Starbucks, learning the ropes as a barista. In each chapter, he faces a new challenge, from cleaning up to balancing the register to hosting coffee tastings. The resulting book is a somewhat simplistic but intensely readable tribute to the power of redemption through work, with Gill richly detailing his relationships with his manager, his colleagues, and Starbucks "guests." While telling his life story, he also hits all the appropriate business world notes, riffing on diversity, acceptance, and respect, and even manages to instill a desire for a cup of coffee in his reader. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/07.]—Sarah Statz Cords, Madison P.L., WI
Some of the other books I would like to get my hands on by him are:
1. How to Save Your Own Life: 15 Lessons on Finding Hope in Unexpected Places (2009)
2. Fire Up! From Corporate Kiss-Off to Entrepreneurial Kick-Off, Take Charge of Your Destiny in Our Downsizing World (1996)
Some of the other books I would like to get my hands on by him are:
1. How to Save Your Own Life: 15 Lessons on Finding Hope in Unexpected Places (2009)
2. Fire Up! From Corporate Kiss-Off to Entrepreneurial Kick-Off, Take Charge of Your Destiny in Our Downsizing World (1996)
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