Disclaimer: I was given a free reviewer's copy of this book by the author.

REVIEW: Despite being initially turned off by the title (I tend to dislike hyping words like "ultimate"), The Ultimate Competitive Advantage has very strong content and should be quite useful to readers responsible for organizational improvement and/or interested in innovation. Here "innovation" is used in its broader context and not just technical innovation.

The title and subtitle suggested to me that the book was about overall business strategy and business model innovation at the big picture level, however, I found the opposite. To me this book is actually about continuous business improvement at the operating level and it does an excellent job at that. I haven't read another book that so thoroughly and numerously discusses tactical and operational ideas related to good business practices. The core business concepts of others that I recognized were Peter Drucker's marketing concept, his idea that profit centers cannot exist inside an organization, and Michael Porter's Value Chain concept. The extent that the book is strategic, it should be thought of as a bottom-up evolution of a new business model though continuous improvement rather than a top-down approach. The authors take the right tone and show you how to get to a better business model without claiming to know the "best" model. The book has many examples that should stimulate your own ideas for business operating improvement. The authors clearly know the right questions to ask.

The biggest drawback of the book that I found is the authors' tendency to go to excess. While the excess of ideas for business improvement is probably a good thing, the other excesses were a little annoying. For example, the book starts off with 30 quotes from readers recommending the book - I think a handful would have been adequate. Another example, the book has two Forwards, a Preface, an Introduction, a Prologue, and an Introduction to Part One - Chapter One starts on page 61. The content is generally good, so this is little more than annoyance. However, I personally prefer reading more concisely written books.

STRENGTHS: Book is written with a focused purpose and author clearly tries to make the book effective for the reader. Chapters end with Key Questions which do a good job of summarizing core concepts. Lots of ideas for stimulating improvements in business practices, processes, and pricing. I found the last two chapter especially useful for those interesting in marketing. I generally liked and agreed with nearly all of the content. I think the authors would make excellent consultants.

WEAKNESSES: The "excesses" noted above. Some side bars I think are too long and interrupt the flow of the book.

REVIEW: This book falls into the standard popular management/business book category for the mass market similar to the book published about a year earlier by another retiring prominent CEO of a large multinational company, "Jack: Straight from the Gut". However, there are significant differences between the two and the main differences are reflected in the titles. As the titles suggest, "Jack" is more of an autobiography told in a very opinionated manner whereas Gerstner's book is more about the company during Gerstner's years and how (in broad terms) the company transitioned to a more flexible, entrepreneurial organization.

The book is organized into five parts: (1) Gerstner's beginnings at IBM, (2) Strategy, (3) Culture, (4) Lessons Learned, and (5) Observations. The first four parts are mostly about IBM and the transformation whereas the last section is mostly about Gerstner's views on industry, society, journalists, etc. I highly enjoyed sections 1-4 but felt section 5 didn't really fit the book purpose and it seemed almost as though the editor/publisher convinced him to add the section in order to make the book the standard size. The problem with section 5 is that Gerstner's states clearly that he believes the book should be about IBM and the turnaround, but section 5 is a half hearted attempt to give some personal musings about miscellanious things that at best seem like good political opinions and at worst sound like whinings.

However, excepting section 5, I got more out of this book more than Welch's. Gerstner clearly tries to lead the reader to greater understanding of the IBM situation, the thinking behind the decisions that were made, and the resulting turnaround. He does this in a style that doesn't suggest his answers are universal ones. He recognizes that imparting better understanding rather than the right answers is the appropriate goal for helping others to achieve better results in complex environments. This book probably doesn't deserve a permanant place on your bookshelf (i.e. it is unlikely to be a classic), but if your looking for better understanding of the IBM turnaround or of large business in general, this is a good book to read. If your looking for a better understanding of an individual CEO read Welch's book.

STRENGTHS: Written in the standard style of popular business books so it has fairly short chapters and is easy to read. Doesn't try to espouse too much theory or universal answers. Does a good job at explaining why certain decisions were made and certain strategies selected. Doesn't get bogged down in stock prices and financial data.

WEAKNESSES: Section 5, Gerstner's observations I thought was off target and weaker than the remainder of the book. Little insight into Gerstner himself (but that wasn't the book's intention). Some sections were a bit too brief and could've used additional detail.

REVIEW: I received a copy of this book by accident. I decided to read it anyway since I am a "thinking" personality type and the book looked easy to read. I was expecting the book to read like a hyped-up mass market self help book. I was pleasantly surprised. I found the book very practical, easy to read, and genuine. I picked up a good deal of useful information and helpful methods. These include understanding (within the brain) what makes things seem funny to step-by-step thinking procedures.

De bono writes very simply and even when he explains theoretical concepts the explanations are not technical. There is some tendency by the author to regularly cite his many other books and to use his own made up words and acronyms. I found the citations to the other works authentic and not overt plugs. Similarly the use of coined terms and acronyms seemed very practical and not driven by ego as I've noticed with many authors.

STRENGTHS: Very practical methods and ideas to improve thinking, easy to read, short chapters. Optional practice activities and not too technical or academic.

WEAKNESSES: Some might not like the regular use of coined terms and acronyms. Only cites his own books. Some things explained too briefly.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Anyone interested in improving their thinking.

This book is a collection of 15 lectures/speeches/interviews that Popper gave at various points throughout his career (earliest 1958, latest 1994). They are organized into two sections (1) those related to natural science and (2) those related to history and politics. The first section relates to theory of science and knowledge in an evolutionary context with the process of problem solving at the core. In the second section Popper addresses problem solving more generally ("all life is problem solving") and shares his thoughts on subjects such as war, peace, communism, and interpretation of history.

This book has the weaknesses and strengths that you would expect from a work not originally intended to be published in written form. The benefits are that the chapters are fairly brief and easy to read. Also, Popper's style is nearly anti-academic as he tries almost too hard to simplify the material in order to make it understandable to all. The primary drawbacks are that the book can't be well organized and there are significant repetition and overlap in ideas. Additionally, the book doesn't provide the level of detail that one normally expects in a book by a major thinker.

This is the first book of Popper's that I've read. I became interested in his work by being briefly introduced to some of his thinking from other authors. This book did not provide enough detail to satisfy my interest in Popper, but it served to confirm to me that he is a first rate thinker and that his other works should be near the top of my reading list. I especially enjoyed the surprise of reading Popper's thoughts on Saddam Hussein and the threat of nuclear weapons - highly relevant to our situation today (early 2003). There is no doubt where Popper would stand on the current debate about Iraq.

So this is a good book to get a taste of Popper or maybe for a quick review of some of his thinking if you are already familiar with him. However, this isn't the best book for studying Popper's ideas in detail.

REVIEW: This book falls into the standard popular management/business book category for the mass market similar to the book published about a year earlier by another retiring prominent CEO of a large multinational company, "Jack: Straight from the Gut". However, there are significant differences between the two and the main differences are reflected in the titles. As the titles suggest, "Jack" is more of an autobiography told in a very opinionated manner whereas Gerstner's book is more about the company during Gerstner's years and how (in broad terms) the company transitioned to a more flexible, entrepreneurial organization.

The book is organized into five parts: (1) Gerstner's beginnings at IBM, (2) Strategy, (3) Culture, (4) Lessons Learned, and (5) Observations. The first four parts are mostly about IBM and the transformation whereas the last section is mostly about Gerstner's views on industry, society, journalists, etc. I highly enjoyed sections 1-4 but felt section 5 didn't really fit the book purpose and it seemed almost as though the editor/publisher convinced him to add the section in order to make the book the standard size. The problem with section 5 is that Gerstner's states clearly that he believes the book should be about IBM and the turnaround, but section 5 is a half hearted attempt to give some personal musings about miscellanious things that at best seem like good political opinions and at worst sound like whinings.

However, excepting section 5, I got more out of this book more than Welch's. Gerstner clearly tries to lead the reader to greater understanding of the IBM situation, the thinking behind the decisions that were made, and the resulting turnaround. He does this in a style that doesn't suggest his answers are universal ones. He recognizes that imparting better understanding rather than the right answers is the appropriate goal for helping others to achieve better results in complex environments. This book probably doesn't deserve a permanant place on your bookshelf (i.e. it is unlikely to be a classic), but if your looking for better understanding of the IBM turnaround or of large business in general, this is a good book to read. If your looking for a better understanding of an individual CEO read Welch's book.

STRENGTHS: Written in the standard style of popular business books so it has fairly short chapters and is easy to read. Doesn't try to espouse too much theory or universal answers. Does a good job at explaining why certain decisions were made and certain strategies selected. Doesn't get bogged down in stock prices and financial data.

WEAKNESSES: Section 5, Gerstner's observations I thought was off target and weaker than the remainder of the book. Little insight into Gerstner himself (but that wasn't the book's intention). Some sections were a bit too brief and could've used additional detail.

REVIEW: This book is a good but brief (2 pages or less each) overview of about 75 individuals whose ideas have greatly influenced the world. It is targeted to a general audience and as it is fairly short its purpose is merely to introduce the individuals and their main influential ideas.

The book focuses mainly on Western civilization and then primarily on scientific and technical achievements. All the familiar names are here: Plato, Einstein, Newton, Darwin, Marx and many others not so famous. The author can easily be criticized for leaving out many important ideas, especially social or non-technical innovations, but this could probably be said about anyone's top 75 list of great ideas. If you are looking for a relatively easy to read book that introduces some of the most important thinkers of the past 4000 years, this book will do. Just don't expect a comprehensive book or a thorough explanation of the ideas. It may also make a good, light reference book for your bookshelf.

STRENGTHS: I especially liked the inclusion of a picture of each individual and some discussion of the person and not just their ideas. The book is easy to read and not too technical.

WEAKNESSES: As one would expect of a book of such breadth, there is not much depth to each discussion. Additionally, while not really affecting content, I think the book could have been a little more "professionally done". I found too many errors missed by editing and I thought the title and book cover very misleading (only a small portion of the book relates to Einstein). I also noticed some style changes that may indicate different authorship for certain sections.

REVIEW: It has been said that the non-profit sector has been slow to accept the value of management education and practices basically because of the assumption that "management" means "business management". This book clearly bridges that gap and explains lucidly what makes for achieving non-profit leaders and effective non-profit institutions. The book is not a theoretical work or an academic one. It is rather an extremely practical show-and-tell about being a great manager in a non-profit organization. It is almost a "how-to" but doesn't stoop to the level of the ubiquitus but never effective "10 step program". You will be more effective by absorbing this material.

Drucker has done an excellent job at extracting material from three of his management books: The Effective Executive, Managing for Results, and a little bit of Innovation and Entrepreneurship [Note, these three are available as a collection called The Executive in Action]. The material is presented simply, concisely and is completely targetted to the non-profit sector with many examples including interviews with about 6-7 non-profit leaders. Highly recommended.

STRENGTHS: The book is fairly short, consise, easy to read yet full of great content. Each section includes a brief summary at the end and has at least one interview with a non-profit manager that makes the ideas even more practical.

WEAKNESSES: The book could use some select references to his other works and some graphics. But this is not Drucker's style.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Managers/leaders in the non-profit sector should consider this a must read. Other fans of Drucker that would like a refresher on some of his concepts.

I very much enjoyed listening to David McCullough biography of John Adams and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of early America. The reader does indeed come away with a better appreciation for Adams as perhaps the most under-rated member of the founding fathers.

The strengths are in the material itself, especially the skillful use of excerpts from many letters of Adams, his wife, Jefferson and others. Also, the narrator, Edward Herrmann has a special gift for reading audiobooks that adds to the quality of the material.

There were a few weaknesses, though they didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the audiobook. First, I didn't like the way that the abridgement was done. It wasn't smooth and seemed almost amateurish. In hindsight, I would have listened to the unabridged version. Second, McCullough seems to see Adams through rose colored glasses. Other authors (see for example Paul Johnson's History of the American People) portray Adams' personality much more negatively using terms such as "arrogant", "disloyal", "cantankerous", etc. McCullough's more likely to call this part of Adams as simply "outspoken" for example.

In any event, highly recommended listening even if tilted a little towards the good side of Adams.

TITLE: Forest or The Trees?

REVIEW: I agreed with a lot of what Goleman has to say in Primal Leadership and I'm fairly sympathetic to his general theme that much existing management theory and teachings lie too much on the analytical/reasoning side and do not put enough emphasis on the "softer"/psychological issues. However, while many of Goleman's statements and cited research make sense (the "trees") they often don't seem to fit well within his model/theory (the "forest"), which is overly one-dimensional in stating basically that "emotional intelligence" (EI) competencies are the be all and end all of leadership.

Goleman's theory, which seems to be based on his statement that "the emotional task is the original and most important", swings the pendulum too far in the anti-analytical direction. He makes the same mistake as many of his analytical colleagues do/did in assuming that there is one ideal leadership mold to which everyone should be shaped into. The purpose of the book is to get the reader to understand Goleman's emotional intelligence (EI) mold for the ideal leader and how to fit this mold.

Goleman lists 19 EI competencies that the ideal leader should have. First, note that many of the competencies are not simply emotional, but require reasoning skills/abilities. Second, while it is true that these competencies are good to have, it is folly to expect one individual to try to obtain all of these. This is a throwback to the myth of the well-rounded organizational man of the 1950s IBM which has been discredited. One should focus on their strengths and manage their weaknesses, not become a well rounded person in all these competencies.

The other major disappointment I have with Primal Leadership is the same that I have with most books on "leadership". As Peter Drucker has taught, the only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. This definition includes Hitler, Jim Jones, David Koresh and all con artists who all knew/know how to appeal to human emotions to get people to do what they want. Books on "leadership" assume that leadership equates to management. While this difference may seem trivial and harmless it isn't upon deeper reflection. The primary goal of managers isn't simply to be a leader, that is to have followers, but rather to do the right things, make the organization effective/produce results, and assist employees in being productive. Goleman does succeed to some extent in identifying what is helpful in creating followers, but it's the wrong focus.

STRENGTHS: The book is fairly well written, well organized, and easy to read as one would expect of a mass market Harvard Business School Press book. Also, I especially enjoyed the discussion of the importance of organizational vision and the importance of the culture of groups.

WEAKNESSES: One-sided focus on emotional tasks. Tries to teach the reader how to be the ideal leader (i.e. the Tiger Woods of Leadership) instead of giving the tools and information needed to help average people (which most of us are) become more effective. Most example come from dysfunctional, rather than typical, situations.

ALSO CONSIDER: Peter Drucker for effective management teachings. Marcus Buckingham for the opposite of the "one-size-fits-all" management theory.

REVIEW: Drucker tends to write two types of management books. One type is the more practical/"how-to" type of book where he aims directly at improving the effectiveness of managers of all types through their actions. Such books as "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices" (1974), "Innovation & Entrepreneurship" (1985), "Managing for Results" (1964), and "The Effective Executive" (1967) fall into this category (all of which are still highly relevant). The second type, while still practical, primarily aims at imparting a broader level of understanding of politics, economy, and society (and their trends) to help executives make effective longer-term decisions and shape the future of their organizations. His typical approach in these books is to bring an historical perspective (over decades or even centuries) into understanding the current trends of human activity that are shaping the future. Drucker's "The Age of Discontinuity" (1969), "Managing in a Time of Great Change" (1995), and "Management Challenges for the 21st Century" (1999) are examples of this type. "Managing in the Next Society" (2002) falls into the second category.

The book is actually a collection of articles that Drucker has published from 1996-2001. The basic theme is that it is not the "New Economy" that executives (and all leaders) should be trying to understand it's the "Next Society". The chapters generally touch upon the three major trends that he's identified as shaping the Next Society: the decline of the young population, the decline of manufacturing, and the emergence of the information revolution.

As he did with his very first book "End of Economic Man" in relation to WWII, Drucker is again reminding us that we must first look to understanding society if we wish to understand major historical events/transitions. This thought is summed up best by the title of a chapter about understanding Japan - "It's the Society, Stupid". While that chapter is limited to Japan, I interpreted the book as telling us that we need to understand society in order to understand all major world events and trends. This is especially important after 9/11 when there's a temptation to look at issues through only political, militaristic, or economic lenses.

STRENGTHS: Since the book consists of articles previously published in magazines from 1996-2001, the text is generally concise, interesting, and easy to read. I also loved the way Drucker brings history into some of the chapters (e.g. he covers Luther, Machiavelli, Hamilton, the industrial revolution, slaves, knights, and inventions such as the book, the stirrup, and the longbow).

WEAKNESSES: The downside of a book of articles is that there is a lot of repetition of concepts and phrases and the book is less cohesive and focussed than it could be. However, I didn't find this too serious of a problem. Also, there are no graphics or charts (it's not Drucker's style).

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Those executives and leaders (whether in business, politics, or non profits) who are responsible for shaping the future of their organizations.