A tapestry of remarkable characters, high drama, and entertaining story arcs for leaders of businesses large and small.
A history and analysis of “enlightened capitalists [who] sought to address social problems primarily through their business practices, rather than by acts of charity or philanthropy.”
With the exception of the relatively recent rise of movements like corporate social responsibility, the divide between corporate ambition and philanthropic efforts has been relatively stark. O’Toole (Emeritus, Business/Univ. of Southern California; Creating the Good Life: Applying Aristotle's Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness, 2005, etc.), founding director of the Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making, gives background and context to the efforts of those who have attempted to challenge one of business’s oldest axioms that it is “hard to be good.” These enlightened capitalists, writes the author, are notable for their strong ethical compasses, respect for other people, and commitment to sticking to their values through good times and bad. The more familiar characters include James Cash Penney, who created a retail empire that’s barely holding on today; and Levi Strauss, whose company has “a jaw-dropping capacity to undertake a corporate volte-face in company policy and strategic direction.” In the second half of the book, O’Toole narrates more modern stories—e.g., the epic battles between William C. Norris and Seymour Cray to create the supercomputer; business mavericks like Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines and Bill Gore, who coined the term “unmanagement”; and environmentalists like Anita Lucia Perella Roddick, who genuinely tried to change the culture with her Body Shop chain of natural products. Looking forward, the author examines how some business leaders are changing their tunes on environmental and social challenges, integrating ethical considerations into corporate strategy and using social engagement with customers to gain a competitive advantage. O’Toole writes that his method in performing this social review is simple storytelling, and it works; the book serves as an informative road map for leaders who dare to break the mold.
A tapestry of remarkable characters, high drama, and entertaining story arcs for leaders of businesses large and small.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-288024-6
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Harper Business
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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