An upbeat, motivational view on shaping corporate social consciousness.
McGaw, a senior business adviser at the Aspen Institute, discusses the ways in which leaders can create positive change in their companies.
Much of this nonfiction book centers on the concept of “corporate social intrapreneurship,” which she defines as “using the platform of business to tackle urgent social problems and align business and societal value creation.” Corporate executives might set the general tone at a company, she assures her readers, but real change happens only when companies pursue the social vision of workers in all departments at all levels. Drawing on an array of sources, from interviews with CEOs to the writings of inspirational authors such as Neil Pasricha and Thich Nhat Hanh, McGaw outlines the principles of her First Movers program, designed to help workers blend their companies’ financial goals with a progressive social agenda; the aim is to create “values-based leadership” that advocates ethical decision-making at the corporate level. She stresses that these changes can be incremental: “Small wins are controllable and constrained, requiring a limited amount of time, effort, skill, and expense,” she writes. “But they can lead to results that reverberate.” As she describes this process, she emphasizes the importance of concentrating on small, effective ideas that chip away at seemingly enormous problems. McGaw’s vision is insistently optimistic; she spends relatively time on either how “intrapreneurship” strategies can be money-losers, at least initially (“Decision-making is often singularly focused on costs and benefits in the short term. Reframing a problem with an eye on the future opens new perspectives”) or how they can be unpopular, not only to risk-averse employees, but also to potential consumers. Thanks to her engaging writing style, though, her optimism tends to be infectious, helped by her consistent recourse to practical approaches: “Choose what works for you, but be precise and constrained,” she writes, regarding how to make time for reflection. “As an example, try setting a goal of taking 15 minutes twice a week for one month at noon on Wednesdays and Fridays.”
An upbeat, motivational view on shaping corporate social consciousness.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9798218357344
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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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