New Summaries of the Week

Make Every Second Count

Make Every Second Count

In today’s busy world, the demands on an individual’s time can be overwhelming. In fact, forty-two percent of American workers feel that they are overworked. High speed technology, downsizing, and increased customer demands have created an impatient, time-impoverished society. In Make Every Second Count, author Robert Bly acknowledges that twenty-five hours cannot be jammed into a twenty-four hour day; however, an individual can solve the most critical time-management problems by increasing personal productivity.

 Bly, Robert
The Upside of Irrationality

The Upside of Irrationality

In The Upside of Irrationality, Dan Ariely draws on his background in behavioral economics to examine irrational human behavior and how it affects decision making in the workplace and in human relationships. The goal of behavioral economics is to make sense of the way humans operate, so that people can observe their biases, be more in tune with what influences them, and make better decisions.

 Ariely, Dan
The Leader's Guide to Radical Management

The Leader's Guide to Radical Management

The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management by Stephen Denning dismantles traditional management systems and builds a mental model of management based on a more accurate and effective understanding of how humans work best together.

 Denning, Stephen
Leadership Lessons

Leadership Lessons

In Leadership Lessons, authors Greg Swartz and Julie K. Thorpe explore how great achievers throughout history can influence an individual’s or organization’s performance in the modern world. They argue that the most successful achievers work hard to create their own successes and know how to recognize optimum opportunities. None of the popularly held theories of leadership are adequate to describe how icons of success such as Bill Gates and Leonardo daVinci turned opportunities into high achievement.

 Swartz, Greg
Be the Elephant

Be the Elephant

In Be the Elephant, marketing guru and best-selling author Steve Kaplan offers a detailed playbook for successfully growing businesses of all sorts and sizes, while exploring the ways a growing business can go astray. A business must grow or risk shrinking; however unplanned growth can also be risky. Growth may accelerate but falter if processes are not in place to handle the increase. Detailed business models using real figures to support projections, incorporate research, and discount optimism are essential to successful growth.

 Kaplan, Steve
Joining Forces

Joining Forces

While mergers, acquisitions, and alliances are more common than ever in today’s strategic business climate, only 25 percent of all mergers succeed. In Joining Forces, authors Mitchell Lee Marks and Philip H. Mirvis offer strategies, insight, and advice that go beyond what it takes to successfully combine organizations to create real value. This comprehensive guide uses a combination of theory, research, and practical knowledge to illustrate how to use mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to make one plus one equal three.

 Marks, Mitchell Lee