Categories: Books

The new consumer reality

Posted by: Diane Brady on May 18

Here's a guest post from Geoffrey Miller, a psychology professor at University of New Mexico. His new book Spent: Sex, evolution, and consumer behavior goes on sale today. As the...

Leadership: The courage to change what you can

Posted by: Diane Brady on March 28

Here is a guest blog from leadership consultant Nat Stoddard and author Claire Wyckoff. Both have co-written a book called The Right Leader: Selecting Executives Who Fit. In the midst...

Summer Reading

Posted by: Jena McGregor on August 21

There's not much time left in the summer, but if you're at the beach and scoping out something business-related to read, this looks like a good pick. Noted author and...

Brain Rules

Posted by: Diane Brady on March 18

John Medina has a new book out in stores today called "Brain Rules" that offers 12 principles for "surviving and thriving at work, home and school." The rules are intuitive....

Time Sensitive Customers

Posted by: Diane Brady on January 31

There's a new book out today that makes the case for being sensitive to how time affects typical shopping choices. It's called Stopwatch Marketing and it examines how companies can...

Seducing the Boys Club

Posted by: Diane Brady on January 29

I mentioned this book in the fall, when Jena blogged about a shock jock-type book from Christopher V. Flett. But it goes on sale today so it warrants a mention...

The Logic of Life

Posted by: Diane Brady on January 15

Economists love to explain away the world. Even the most socially tragic outcomes can have their roots in rational decisions. Tim Harford takes on everything from promiscuous teens and office...

Dare to Prepare

Posted by: Diane Brady on January 01

How do you prepare for a potentially life-changing meeting, presentation, or event? Some people stand in front of a mirror, trying to pump themselves up to get confidence. Others meticulously...

More New Year's Resolutions

Posted by: Diane Brady on December 30

'Tis the season to fill yourself with firm convictions about improving your life and your career. And it's the season, of course, for books on how to do it. The...

Seth Godin does it again

Posted by: Diane Brady on December 26

It wouldn't be a new year without a new book from marketing blogger/guru Seth Godin. The author of such tomes as Unleashing the Idea Virus and, most recently, the dip...

Advice from a CE-Yo

Posted by: Diane Brady on December 17

I have long admired Gary Hirshberg's business philosophy. The co-founder and chief of Stonyfield Farm combines his drive for profits with a deeply held desire to improve the environment. He...

Big Think Strategy

Posted by: Diane Brady on December 06

Everybody likes to think of themselves as "big thinkers" -- the kind who bring bold ideas to the table. Bernd Schmitt has a succinct new book out today on the...

Selling through Snowpeople

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 21

Have you noticed that children's books are proving to be irresistable to marketers and brand-builders worldwide? First came the wave of celebrity authors -- some good (Julie Andrews and John...

Planning a smooth succession

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 15

Succession is notoriously botched. Now comes Joseph Bower with a new book (The CEO Within) about the importance of nurturing "Inside Outsiders" in succession planning. What kind of creature is...

Think Better

Posted by: Diane Brady on November 05

Are you sick of seeing books with "innovation" in the title? I am. What started as a fresh way of looking at business risks becoming an over-used buzz word. And...

Jermaine Dupri on Branding, Music and Starting Out

Posted by: Diane Brady on October 29

Jermaine Dupri has a new book out, and came in for a Video View to talk about his business. The book is Young, Rich and Dangerous: The Making of a...

The Books You Need to Succeed

Posted by: Diane Brady on October 18

We spend a lot of time on this blog, looking at the merits of new books and studies that come our way every week. This time, I want to talk...

Being Authentic

Posted by: Diane Brady on October 17

Authenticity is all the rage these days. Skeptical consumers can allegedly sniff a fake from miles away, and they punish those that don't live up to their claims. Now, consultants...

Clarence Thomas Speaks - Again

Posted by: Diane Brady on October 08

I've been intrigued by the reaction to Clarence Thomas's memoir, My Grandfather's Son. I've read it, in part because I'm working on a book that looks at a group of...

How the 'Aha moment' happens

Posted by: Diane Brady on October 01

Strategic intuition--those insights that emerge through thinking rather than emotion--is a hard thing to pin down. Columbia Business School professor William Duggan has just put out an interesting book on...

O.J.'s publisher on why he did it

Posted by: Diane Brady on September 24

The O.J. Simpson-dictated tome--If I Did It--debuted at #3 on The New York Times nonfiction bestseller list on Sept. 30 (which came out yesterday) and has gone back for a...

Juggling Elephants

Posted by: Diane Brady on August 17

Business readers seem to love fables -- those easy-to-read little tales in which fake characters discover some essential truth about business in an engaging little story. Pat Lencioni has it...

Egonomics

Posted by: Diane Brady on August 15

You have to pay attention when Stephen Covey calls a book "brilliant and vitally important." (Then again, has anyone ever tracked how many book blurbs he has written?) Even so,...

The Non-Business Business Book

Posted by: Jena McGregor on July 24

I've been surprised by the staying power of the story in the New York Times on CEO libraries. Since the story appeared on Saturday, it's been one of the Times'...

Secrets of Super Bowl winner!

Posted by: Diane Brady on June 27

How many business books can keep tapping the sports world for pithy truths about how to succeed? Now comes "Hiring Secrets of the NFL". I'm sure there's something to this, as long as we don't have to pay NFL-style salaries, but it made me laugh. Is professional football really such a rich resource for management expertise?

Spam calls from John Demartini

Posted by: Diane Brady on June 14

John Demartini claims to have sold out shows everywhere from South Africa to the U.S. He was featured in The Secret. So why does he have to employ spam-like techniques to get media coverage?

Do you communicate like a leader?

Posted by: Diane Brady on June 12

Why do so many people choose to skimp on details? Often, it stems from a leave-the-thinking-to-us mentality that makes managers dispense nuggets to staff on a need-to-know basis.

Signs of a Miserable Job

Posted by: Diane Brady on June 12

Management guru Pat Lencioni literally hopped into BusinessWeek's New York office the other day to talk about the three signs of a miserable job.

Paging Robert Townsend

Posted by: Diane Brady on May 21

Jossey Bass is about to revive Robert Townsend's cheeky 1970 bestseller Up the Organization. Good thing. What I like about the book is its humor--a feature that's decidedley missing from many of the earnest tomes published on management these days. Sure, he makes prescient points ("Two or three more generations of Fords ... will suffice to kill Ford"). But he also evokes a sense that business could be fun.

When to Quit

Posted by: Diane Brady on May 17

Author Seth Godin stopped by this week to talk abut 'the dip'.