The Politcally Incorrect Guide to Capitalism - Robert P. Murphy (3 of 5 Piggy Banks)

First off, I must confess that I didn't actually finish this book. I kept putting off the review hoping that I would finish it, but I never got around to it. I have to take the CDs back now that I'm leaving DC, and frankly I don't feel that it's worth it to go find the discs back in SLC.

I started it a couple of months ago during my long days at the copy machine at work. In the beginning it was quite interesting. I was intrigued by the author's arguments about the value of pure capitalism. Murphy energetically campaigns against any kind of government intervention/regulation based on the belief that the market place will automatically regulate itself. Consumers will buy only that which they feel is desireable. And so it goes. You probably already know the rest.

Yes it was interesting. Yes it got old after a while.

Strengths Finder 2.0 – Tom Rath (3.5 of 5 Desperate Football Players)

I found this book on the bestsellers list at Barnes and Noble.  It looked interesting, so I pulled it off the shelf and found a comfortable chair.  As you might expect, it’s another career finder self help book.  The self proclaimed mission of the book is to help you identify and cultivate your natural strengths.  According to the book, work x natural talent = success. 

The book begins with the example of our dear friend Rudy who worked his butt of to get onto the Notre Dame Football team.  After a couple years of beating his head against the wall, he finally made it onto the field for a few brief moments.  Inspiring?  Yes.  An effective use of time?  Not exactly.  Perhaps Rudy was born with some mad box making skills.  If he had spent those same two years starting up his own box making business, it’s reasonable to assume that he could have made enough money to just buy the team and declare himself quarterback. 

Poor Rudy.  If only he had read Strengths Finder 2.0, and then taken the online aptitude test to identify his natural talents.  But that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out...  After the introduction, follows fifty chapters, each one identifying a “strength.”  Some of these include Achiever, Command, Focus, Harmony, and Input.  The book outlines each strength and then gives suggestions for how you can cultivate them.  At the end of each chapter are also a few suggestions for dealing with people who possess these strengths.

I can’t say that my life was significantly changed by reading this book, but it did give me a handful of insights about how to focus on and cultivate the strengths that I do have.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni (5 of 5 Business Allegories)

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team was recommended to me by my manager, Reed Wagstaff.  The director of the Audiovisual Department Finance group requires that each of his managers read this book.  As manifest in my five star rating of the book, I believe everyone in the corporate world, managers and employees alike should read it.  The five dysfunctions prevent a team from reach its full cooperative potential.  Efficiency and productivity are hindered by:

1. Absence of Trust
2. Fear of Conflict
3. Lack of Commitment
4. Avoidance of Accountability
5. Inattention to Results

The way in which Lencioni outlines these principles allows the reader to easily assimilate the material.  Most of the book follows the rebuilding of a fictional dysfunctional corporate team.  The newly hired consultant takes the team members on an off-site training trip.  During the two-day event, she shows them how to overcome each of the principles above.

The last twenty or so pages is a straightforward tutorial showing how anyone can apply these principles to his or her team.  It starts with a short diagnosis test, which allows you to identify your teams strengths and weaknesses.  The test is followed by practical suggestions for improving cooperation.

Working in an office is not a prerequisite for benefiting from this book.  Whenever two or more men or women join together for a common purpose, group dynamics become critical.  Applying the insightful principles in The Five Dysfunctions can improve conditions in Church committees, families, university research groups, etc.  It's a quick read.  Find it.  Read it.  Apply it.  Love it.

What other books on business or team building have you read and really enjoyed?

Freakonomics - Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (5 of 5 Misinformed Parents)

Freakonomics is definitely one of the most intriguing books I've read in the last few months.  The subtitle to the book is quite accurate: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.  This book explores topics ranging from cheating teachers to the Ku Klux Klan to the accounting practices of crack cocaine dealers to parenting practices.

I've never taken an economics class, but almost everyone I've ever talked to that has says it was the worst class of their college experience.  I wonder what they would have said if Steve and Stephen had taught the class.  In the first chapter they lay out the basics of economics.  All action is motivated by incentives.  Sometimes incentives inspire the behavior you desire.  Far too often the incentives backfire.  For example, the government institutes standardized testing to document which schools are failing.  It hopes this will produce reforms and better public education.  What it gets instead is large numbers of teachers changing test answers to avoid getting fired.

If you were one of those people that hated your economics class, I'd highly recommend that you take a look at Freakonomics.  It's sure to purge all those bitter feelings you've been harboring.

Wikinomics - Dan Tapscott & Anthony Williams (4.5 of 5 Group Projects)

Wikinomics is a fascinating look at the world of mass collaboration.  With the move to Web 2.0, mass collaboration is easier than ever.  This new web has given users all over the world the opportunity to combine their resources to affect business, science, education, politics, and a host of other groups in novel and exciting ways.  There is no denying that globalization is here to stay.  Wikinomics is an instruction manual about how people everywhere and in every walk of life can benefit from these changes.

Tapscott and Williams give detailed case studies of recent examples of global collaboration: Wikipedia, Linux, Facebook, Amazon, Google, IBM, Flickr, Second Life, and many others.  They describe strengths and weaknesses of each, and how those attributes can be applied to one's own business/life.

The four principles of Wikinomics are:

1. Openess - Transparency in business that allows many people opportunities to participate.
2. Sharing - Information is shared so that work is not being repeated unneccesarily.
3. Peering - Members of the community provide positive feedback on work completed.
4. Globalization - The goal is always to harness the abilities of as many people as possible.

I took off a half a point because the book is highly repetitive.  I found myself thinking a few times, "Ok.  I get it.  Move on."  However, the repetition was positive at the same time.  Once I was familiar with the principles of the book, I could follow loosely while simultaneously considering how I could apply the principles to my life.  

For example, my enthusiam for this website increased...  Second, I decided to create an LDS Housing website - www.saltlakecityldshousing.com - which could become a valuable resource in time with additional users.  The housing board at the U institute could be much more efficient and effective in internet form.  Third, I was inspired to start a wiki at work for the policy manual that I was asked to write.  This should make the material more comprehensive with additional input from the other people in my group.

I would highly recommend that everyone read this book.  Since finishing the book, I have discovered that it received several awards from entities such as Goldman Sachs, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and others.  If you don't think you have enough time to read the book, at least check out the website - www.wikinomics.com.

Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson (4.5 of 5 Chunks of Cheddar)

Who Moved My Cheese? is a delightful little allegory designed to help us find happiness in a constantly changing world. It is the story of four characters. Two of them are mice and two are human. These four characters live their lives in a maze looking for cheese. One morning they discover a large room with enough cheese to support them for many days. Every morning they leave home and go to the cheese.

One day however, when Hem and Haw (the little people) arrive, all the cheese is gone and so are the mice. Dumbfounded, they spend the whole day in the empty room complaining, and expecting someone to bring them more cheese. Hem goes back again and again to the same empty room, while Haw begins to consider returning to the maze and searching for new cheese.

The rest of the story details the changing attitude of Haw as he realizes that "the cheese" never stays in one place forever. We must always be like the mice, aware of the changes taking place in the world and adjust accordingly. We shouldn't be discouraged or become angry when our sources of income or happiness dry up. We should merely anticipate change and welcome the opportunity to return the maze in search of new cheese.

I was quite impressed with this story. It addresses an issue that is quite prevalent in our society. The story is simple but deep at the same time. The book has quite a few good one-liners that I want to go back and write down. This is a short little book that everyone should read.

Leadership and Self Deception - Arbinger Institute (4 of 5 Enlightened Coporate Executives)

A few weeks ago at lunch, some of my co-workers began talking about the Arbinger Institute. It is a consulting group based on the idea of combating self-deception, loosely related to Brigham Young University. Obviously, because it's never fun to be left out of a discussion, I decided to do some research.

The idea of self-deception is outlined through a conversation between a small group of corporate executives. A new manager Tom, has been recently hired by the company Zagrem. A month into his employment he is called in to speak with his boss Bud. During their conversation they are joined two other executives who provide personal stories and insight.

The idea of the box is defined as a condition in which a person's distorted perception of the world justifies their own bad behavior. One enters the box by rejecting the impulse to help someone else in need. When that happens, the person tends to see himself as a better person while their opinion of the other is lowered. If we deny these impulses consistently, we develop a permanent box, or permanent state of self deception. Collusion is defined by the event in which two self-deceived people mutually infect each other with their negative behavior.

The way out of the box is to do everything we can to follow the positive impulses when they come, while attempting to see others as people and not as objects to manipulate.

Clearly, you can see some ties between this corporate philosophy and the Gospel of Christ and the Atonement. It is no wonder that there are ties between the Arbinger Institute and BYU. I liked the book for its corporate application of the gospel. The presentation I thought was however lacking. It should have either remained superficial and short, or been long and deep. I found myself often saying, "Yes, I get it already. I'm in the box. Tell me how to get out."

The Power of Total Engagement - Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr (4 of 5 Sunday Afternoon Naps)

I pulled this book off the shelf in one of my many wanderings through the Bingham Creek Library. It is a good resource for anyone who feels that they are running faster than they have strength.

The origin of this book was Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr's quest to improve the performance of professional tennis players. As they studied the habits of the sport's top players, they discovered that the top tier athletes had developed various "rejuvenation rituals." Between points, games, practices etc. they were able to quickly move from intense action to deep rest stages. This allowed them to effectively recover their strength and be back at the top of their game faster than their competitors. Tony and Jim concluded that the most successful athletes lived life as a series of intense sprints followed by periods of rest, instead of one long and exhausting marathon.

Tony and Jim spent many years helping professional athletes develop their own rejuvenation rituals. With time, they decided that they could also adapt their ideas to help top business professionals. They found many ways to help men and women in office environments take short breaks throughout the day to help them maintain their efficiency and effectiveness in the long hours of the afternoon.

It's always amusing to see how the world is always one step behind God. "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Any primary student is already familiar with the principles discussed by Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr. I'll admit that it was somewhat interesting to see these principles applied to the worlds of sports and corporate business, but there wasn't anything life-changing in these pages for an active member of the Church.