Category: Management

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BR 39: Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

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Category: 2 – BUY it! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Great book. In many ways, it felt like a continuation of ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell but is a fantastic stand alone as well. It is exceptional as it brings about a framework for ideas that stick that is not too hard to apply in our own lives if we are disciplined enough.

What to expect: Lots of examples and proof that the ‘SUCCES’ principle is what makes great ideas stick. Great ideas are  S(imple), U(nexpected), C(oncrete), C(redible), E(motional) and are packaged in a S(tory).

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BR 32: The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: One of those acclaimed management books that gives you a  different perspective and shows you what can be done with a different approach. However, I found it idealistic and while easy to implement, not compelling.

What to expect: This is a story about a young man trying to learn management and his tryst with a manager who shows him the light..

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BR 30: Winning by Jack Welch

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Lots of good nuggets in here. It probably requires a bit of background about Welch and his work at GE as he talks about his pet topics like differentiation in detail. Also, I didn’t find the section on mergers and acquisition clear or, in my case, relevant.

What to expect: Jack Welch’s attempt at synthesizing his learnings on management. Many learnings are presented in his direct no-nonsense style that makes the book easy to get through.

3. SHELF it · Bio/Autobiographies · Book Review Actions · Book Reviews · Management

BR 16: Iacocca – An autobiography by Lee Iacocca

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Nice book without being great. Iacocca tells us his life story and keeps us engaged.

What to expect: Iacocca did very well at Ford, rising up the ranks till he had an ego battle with the owner Henry Ford II and that obviously ended only 1 way. Iacocca then joined Chrysler and CEO and turned the company around in remarkable circumstances. Story of a very popular Italian American CEO.

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BR 14: How to become a Great Boss

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: Good book.

What to expect: All of Jeffrey J Fox’s books have many simple ideas in one or two page chapters. A lot of them are tit-bits that are worth remembering. Lots of simple tit-bits worth remembering.

Add on Mar 16, 2016: This was one of JJF’s better books. “Hire slowly, fire fast” is an idea that has stuck from this book. Very much a cliched “how to” book though. :)

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BR 10: The Book of Leadership Wisdom

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: I liked this book. It was full of stories about leaders from HP, Ben & Jerry’s, Microsoft, GE etc. – Bill Gates, Jack Welch and co. sharing stories and learnings from their times as leaders.

What to expect: Just life stories – for those interested in exploring topics of management and leadership, this is the kind of book that makes for very nice reading. Very low on theory and facts and high on experiences.

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BR 5: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch

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Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)

Comments: This was, in many ways, my first business book and I enjoyed reading it. Jack Welch as an energetic, all action approach to story telling and it does describe his way up the corporate ladder all the way to becoming one of the greatest CEO’s ever during 20 years at General Electric.

What to expect: An insight into Jack Welch’s personality. As a reader, you can feel the strength of his persona all through the book, especially when he talks about pet topics like differentiation, implementing six sigma, training GE leaders, empowering people etc.  The book is very interesting for the most part though it does tend to drag in some parts when he begins describing some mergers and acquisitions in unnecessary detail.