Thirteeners: Why only 13% of companies successfully execute their strategy

by Daniel F. Prosser     (Get the Book)
Prosser, former CEO of Telman Technology Partners, has a theory about why 87% of companies each year fail to carry out the strategy they had previously decided on. According to him, their problem is not a lack of foresight or smarts, but that they don’t know how to talk amongst themselves. Moreover, he writes, it’s not enough that employees just agree with a company’s mission; they need to feel love both for and from their leadership. If this suggestion seems extreme, consider Prosser’s lengthy business experience, paired with his interests: for instance, he is a devotee of research professor Brené Brown and her studies on “the power of vulnerability” (to borrow the title of her TED talk). In chatty, engaging prose, Prosser urges readers to better understand why employees aren’t executing strategies and how an “execution virus” can infect a workplace. Most important, in his opinion, is that business leaders always, always keep open the lines of communication. Though some readers may find the proliferation of buzzwords and trademarks off-putting, Prosser’s can-do attitude, paired with the book’s wealth of worksheets and easy-to-use exercises, make this an appealing and encouraging guide to success through improved communication. --Publishers Weekly

Bold: How to Go Big, Achieve Success, and Impact the World

by Peter H. Diamandis     (Get the Book)
Through their work with the Abundance 360 community, Flow Genome Project, Singularity University, XPRIZE Foundation, and AbundanceHub.com, the authors offer entrepreneurs access to exponential tools and technologies to realize wealth and abundance. The Exponential Framework is described as following the “6Ds,” which include Deception and Disruption but lead to Democratization. As an example of the shift from the linear growth of the past to the exponential growth happening now, in 2012 Kodak, a hundred-year-old giant with 140,000 employees and a 1996 valuation of $28 billion, filed for bankruptcy, while the same year the photo-sharing service Instagram, with 13 employees, was purchased by Facebook for $1 billion. The authors describe technologies that are following this course, like 3D printing and robotics, and tools that make exponential growth possible, such as cloud computing and crowd funding. They profile four of the prime movers who have harnessed this power to build multibillion-dollar companies that changed the world: Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page. --Booklist

The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

by Guy kawasaki     (Get the Book)
Kawasaki (Haas Executive Fellow, Univ. of California Berkley's Haas Sch. of Business; chief evangelist, online design service Canva; coauthor, The Art of Social Media) here fully revises and expands 2004's The Art of the Start. His goal is to "make entrepreneurship easier for you," and he does so by arranging this book within categories: Conception (the art of starting up); Activation (launching, leading, bootstrapping, fundraising, pitching); Proliferation (building a team, evangelizing, socializing, rainmaking—generating larger quantities of sales); and Obligation (how to become someone ethical, graceful, and admirable). This very practical guide takes readers through the steps needed to launch a successful business. Nitty-gritty topics covered include: regulatory compliance, how to raise seed capital, how to present a good demo to an audience of venture capitalists, selecting a name for the company, hiring employees and building the team, pitching the start-up and product, and effective use of social media. Each chapter includes a further-reading list and exercises (e.g., "go to websites of your favorite companies and try to find information about how to apply for grants and volunteer for the company"). Kawasaki also includes FAQs related to the start-up process and microchapters on subtopics, for example, "The Art of Leading" offers the minichapter "How To Manage your Board." VERDICT An excellent guide packed with valuable information for students, would-be entrepreneurs, and practicing entrepreneurs. --Library Journal

The Power Formula for Linkedin Success: Kick-Start Your Business, Brand, and Job Search

by Wayne Breitbarth     (Get the Book)
Those who dismiss the power of LinkedIn as a job-search tool in the new information era, take heed. LinkedIn is not a fad. The website relies on social media to allow users to connect and exponentially broaden their professional networks. Breitbarth argues that users have nothing to fear but everything to gain from taking full advantage of the new frontier of online networking. Geared toward professionals looking for a change or out-of-work jobseekers, the author sets out to transform anxiety into action. Leading the reader through his own journey from skeptic to LinkedIn enthusiast and trainer, Breitbarth extols the benefits of creating a well-crafted LinkedIn account. In 20 short chapters, the author provides step-by-step instructions for creating a meaty, effective LinkedIn account. The book's well-documented catalogue of contents will allow readers to conveniently flip to areas of interest, and the author's easy-to-follow instructions will shepherd newbies through a variety of topics. Among them: how to build your professional network, how to make new connections and, most importantly, how to find a job. --Kirkus

Coined : the rich life of money and how its history has shaped us

by Kabir Sehgal     (Find the Book)
Sehgal worked for Lehman Brothers and had a front-row seat when it failed. Now a vice president with J.P. Morgan, the author has a self-professed obsession to understand money. This book was written not to be a definitive work but to spark the reader's curiosity about the subject. Divided into three sections, it covers the mind (why—biology, psychology, and anthropology), the body (what—hard, soft, and future), and the soul (how—values and creativity) of money. From the history of currency as a storage of surplus value to the future of it as digital legal tender, Sehgal investigates it all with best- and worst-case scenarios. Using a bit of a scattergun approach, he takes the reader from the Galápagos Islands, the vaults under New York City, and excavations in Bangladesh as he shows that money is a symbol of what man values. While the study of money can be a never-ending pursuit, the author acknowledges that just as humankind has shaped and created money, so money has shaped and created civilization. VERDICT While not an exhaustive discussion of money's history and future, Sehgal's book is a worthwhile treatment for the curious. --Library Journal