Reading Time: 3 minutesJim Collins How the Mighty Fall ISBN: 978-1-8479-4042-1 We talk a great deal in the business and startup world about success and how to get there. We don’t talk nearly enough about failure or the things that can lead a formerly successful company into the dustbin of history. In the third book in his series, … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesJim Collins Good to Great ISBN: 978-0-06-662099-2 Supplemental texts: Turning the Flywheel (ISBN: 978-1-847-94255-5) Good to Great and the Social Sectors (ISBN: 978-0-977-32640-2) Good is the enemy of great. There are a lot of good people and a lot of good companies. However, one must go beyond good to become great. Then, when one becomes … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesJim Collins and Jerry L. Porras Built to Last ISBN: 978-0-06-056610-4 What makes a company endure? How does an institution survive after an amazing CEO or founder leaves, retires, or passes on? Many founders have these questions on their minds when their companies are young and growing. If your goal as a founder is to … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesAdam Grant Think Again ISBN: 978-1-9848-7810-6 Never before have I had so many people recommend a specific book as I did with Adam Grant’s latest book, Think Again. It was actually somewhat surprising the number of people who had mentioned this book to me over the past year or so – I figured it must … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 2 minutesCalvin Kasulke Several People are Typing ISBN: 978-0-385-54722-2 This book review is an interesting one, because I usually don’t review fictional works (unless you count some of the material in the autobiographies of famous entrepreneurs, which I review from time to time.) Most of the fiction I read has nothing to do with business or … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 2 minutesSteve Case The Rise of the Rest ISBN: 978-1-9821-9184-9 Have you ever read a book that feels like it was either rushed to print or was composed of the remnants of multiple books that couldn’t stand on their own? Steve Case’s most recent book, The Rise of the Rest, felt like both of these things. … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesMario Livio Brilliant Blunders ISBN: 978-1-4391-9237-5 Most of the books I review in this series are strictly business or entrepreneurship focused. I read a great deal of historical non-fiction as well, but those books don’t really fit the purpose of the blog. However, when history meets innovation, the opportunity for a cross-over event can’t be … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesCurtis R. Nelson The Recipe for Business Success ISBN: 978-1-61623-035-7 “This book is for all businesses” is a bold claim to have at the beginning of a book and is the reason I picked up a copy of The Recipe for Business Success by Curtis R. Nelson, the CEO of the Entrepreneurial Development Center in … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 3 minutesJason Feifer Build for Tomorrow ISBN: 978-0-593-23538-6 Over the past three years, the world has completely changed. The coronavirus pandemic changed the way people and companies do business, and changed the way people view work-life balance and the time spent with family and friends. These changes are ongoing and are probably happening much faster than … [Read more…]
Reading Time: 2 minutesJon B. Fisher, Gerald A. Fisher, and Wallace Wang Strategic Entrepreneurism: Shattering the Start-Up Entrepreneurial Myths ISBN: 978-1-59079-189-9 I’ve read a lot of books over the years, including my fair share of books that were just written to stroke the ego of the author. When you have a successful career, you want to brag about … [Read more…]