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by Sendhil Millainathan (Get the Book)
The struggle for insufficient resources-time, money, food, companionship-concentrates the mind for better and, mostly, worse, according to this revelatory treatise on the psychology of scarcity. Harvard economist Mullainathan and Princeton psychologist Shafir examine how scarcity in many forms, from poverty and scheduling pressures to dieters' food cravings and loneliness-a kind of "social scarcity"-force the brain to focus on alleviating pressing shortages and thus reduce the mental "bandwidth" available to address other needs, plan ahead, exert self-control, and solve problems. The result of perpetual scarcity, they contend, is a life fixated on agonizing trade-offs, crises, and preoccupations that impose persistent cognitive deficits-in poor people they lower mental performance as much as going a night without sleep-and reinforce self-defeating actions. The authors support their lucid, accessible argument with a raft of intriguing research in psychology and behavioral economics (sample study: "We recruited Princeton undergraduates to play Family Feud in a controlled setting") and apply it to surprising nudges that remedy everything from hospital overcrowding to financial ignorance. Mullainaithan and Shafir present an insightful, humane alternative to character-based accounts of dysfunctional behavior, one that shifts the spotlight from personal failings to the involuntary psychic disabilities that chronic scarcity inflicts on everyone. --Publishers Weekly
by Jerry Oppenheimer (Get the Book)
Oppenheimer's eleventh biography chronicles five generations of the Johnson dynasty, from the three brothers who founded the world's largest health-care business in 1888 through the subsequent members of the Lucky Sperm Club, heirs and heiresses who benefited financially from the family name while having little or nothing to do with running the company. Known as The General, founding brother Robert Wood Johnson Jr. ruled the roost with an iron fist until his death in 1968, and his great-grandson and namesake Robert Wood Woody Johnson IV is the billionaire owner of the New York Jets. Woody's daughter, Casey Johnson, was a tabloid celebutante and friend of Paris Hilton who came to a tragic end in 2009 at the age of 31, and his once-troubled uncle is the famed sculptor, J. Seward Johnson Jr. Oppenheimer follows the clan of dysfunctional Band-Aid and baby-powder millionaires through the adulterous affairs, ugly divorces, drug and alcohol addictions, tragic accidents, suicide attempts, paternity disputes, will contests, and other turmoil as the family reaps the rewards of inheritance through privilege, opulence, and excess, for better and for worse. --Booklist
by Ori Brafman (Get the Book)
Brafman and Pollack, organizational and leadership experts, respectively, explain their thesis on the need for contained chaos in our personal and work lives so that new and creative ideas can emerge out of nowhere. Framing their argument within case studies, including the U.S. Army, Brafman and Pollack explain that while organizational structure and hierarchy are essential in both large corporations and small groups, they stifle creativity. A small amount of controlled chaos confined within certain borders can benefit an organization's overall well-being. Elements of chaos include white space, or time off from organized work to allow innovation and new ideas to take root; meetings without agendas; renegades, or those who don't fit into the group's traditional profile of participants; and planned serendipity, or engaging as many aspects of your organization as possible in problem solving. This small, excellent book offers thought-provoking insights for a wide range of library patrons as they face complicated challenges personally and within their businesses large and small. A must read. --Booklist
by Stanley Chao (Get the Book)
A consultant to foreign companies doing business in China, Chao sets his book apart by targeting smaller businesses and insisting on practicality. The son of Chinese immigrants to the United States, the author emphasizes what is necessary for operating successfully in China, as opposed to instructing readers about cultural details such as gift giving or dining etiquette. Topics include the fluid interpretation of contracts in China, the profit-seeking pragmatic nature of the generation that came of age under Mao, negotiation how-tos, and the importance of hiring a good translator and a Chinese lawyer. He discusses setting up foreign enterprises in China and warns against becoming involved in joint ventures. Using examples from his own experiences, Chao writes in a straightforward conversational style. -VERDICT A useful book aimed at serious entrepreneurs ready to enter the China market. --Library Journal
