800-CEO-READ Blog

Jack Covert Selects - Gangs of America

Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy by Ted Nace, Berrett-Koehler, 300 Pages, $24.95 Price, August 2003, ISBN 1576752607

This extremely interesting book couldn’t be more timely. Sure, there’s all sorts of talk about the corporate scandals and regulations that failed to prevent the swindles; but how many of us know how the corporation was born, or how it came to acquire so much power in the United States? I sure didn’t!

Ted Nace has written a wonderfully informative story about the history of the corporation. Beginning in England before the United States were even colonies, he shows the tiny seedlings of what has grown into modern-day corporations. Nace details very early fights by U.S. colonists to limit the power of large companies in their time, explains major court decisions concerning corporations, and then shows what is happening to the corporation in today’s world, and what that will lead to in the future.

One of the most interesting chapters in the book is the one about a man named Tom Scott. Never heard of him? Me neither! Yet Nace claims that Scott was the person responsible for creating the institution that we know as a corporation today. In the style of an exciting historical thriller, Nace guides us through Scott’s strategy to free his business interests from the restrictions of the state.

Most of this book deals with events and people who existed before the 1950s, but the author balances it out by showing how the current scandals were able to happen, and how corporations are on the verge of acquiring more rights and freedoms as the global market expands. He also devotes about 20 pages to the groups of people who are now fighting to limit corporate rights and power.

I can’t say how important this book is. It’s like a college course in economic history for way cheaper than any university could offer, and in a compact 300-page book! Plus, I almost forgot to mention, there are two appendices in the back of the book. One contains summaries of relevant Supreme Court decisions; the other has the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment (the parts of the Constitution most referenced in the book). With how often we all come into contact with a corporation everyday—whether seeing an ad on TV or buying coffee at Starbucks—we should all at least know how these organizations came to be, how they work, and what they are capable of doing.

Jack Covert Selects - Double-Digit Growth

Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It—No Matter What by Michael Treacy, Portfolio, 288 Pages, $27.95 Price, September 2003, ISBN 1591840058

Michael Treacy co-wrote (with Fred Weirsema) The Discipline of Market Leaders, one of the more influential books of the last decade. It talked about the fact that many super successful companies did not try to be all things to their customers—they had the discipline to focus on price, selection or service. That book was published almost ten years ago and is still in print and selling well.

What set that book apart from many other business books—and what also sets Treacy’s new Double-Digit Growth apart—is how the books are laid out. I don’t mean the physical design of the book, but the linear thought processes that Treacy uses. His examples and the double-digit growth companies he presents all have similar guiding principles. He defines six key principles that these organizations use to define their approach to growth, enabling them to seize opportunities while minimizing risk. The six key principles are: Spread the Risk, Take Small Bites, Guarantee Top Value, Balance Your Strategies, Focus on Growth Capabilities, and Manage for Growth. In addition to the six principles, Treacy also provides five growth disciplines. The book uses the five disciplines as chapter headings, and each chapter is loaded with real, relevant, and useful examples.

This is one of the most comprehensive guides to how to grow your organization—whether it’s a large company or a small business. I really like Double-Digit Growth. With all the lessons and information it supplies, it’s truly a valuable resource!

Jack Covert Selects - Authentic Leadership

Authentic Leadership : Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value by Bill George, John Wiley & Sons, 217 Pages, $27.95 Price, August 2003, ISBN 0787969133

Bill George, the former CEO of Medtronic, a leading medical technology company, has written a book that I think really does come from the bottom his heart. Authentic Leadership is George’s call to corporate America for a new kind of mission-driven leadership instead of financially-driven leadership.

George plots out five dimensions of Authentic Leadership: Purpose, Values, Heart, Relationships, and Self-Discipline. Often times using examples from his own life at Medtronic, he shows why and how the five dimensions are necessary to be a genuine and effective leader that gets the job done—and with pride, ethics, and integrity.

What I really like about Authentic Leadership is that the strategies offered in this book are easy to follow and can be used right away. Plus, George’s plan for a mission-driven organization can be applied to any business large or small, retail or service oriented, for-profit or non-profit. His focus is on being a leader, not how to act like one. I especially like the title of Chapter One: “Leadership Is Authenticity, Not Style.” That’s really true. By the end of the book, I felt I had the knowledge necessary to really be a leader.

This book is a perfect “airplane read” because of its easy style and clear points. And when you’re done with Authentic Leadership, there’s a great list of George’s recommended reading titles in the back that may provide even more insight on how to become an authentic leader.

Jack Covert Selects - The Art of Happiness at Work

The Art of Happiness at Work by The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D., Riverhead Books, 192 Pages, $24.95 Price, August 2003, ISBN 1573222615

One of the surprising best sellers of the late 1990s was the Dalai Lama’s book The Art of Happiness which sold over a million copies. In this book, the Dalai Lama and Dr. Howard C. Cutler, who met the Dalai Lama in 1982 and maintains a private psychiatric practice in Pheonix, sit down to talk about how we can be happy at work. The book is an ongoing conversation with Dr. Cutler asking very good questions and the Dalai Lama providing stunningly brilliant replies.

This is not the kind of book I usually read. It is a little more “inward” than I usually like. That said, I am at the age and temperament to want to understand why things have to be the way they seem. I am not sure whether this is the book to answer those questions, but books that make you think are always important books—and this one really makes you think. The Dalai Lama’s thoughts on dealing with stress, competitiveness and jealousy are worth the price of admission. For example:
“You shouldn’t mistake just being contented with one’s job vs. just sort of not caring, not wanting to grow, not wanting to learn, just staying where one is even if one’s situation is bad and not even making the effort to advance and to learn and to achieve something better. If we have a poor job, perhaps unskilled labor, but we have the skills and qualifications for better work, by all means we should exert our best effort for the better work, make a good attempt. But if that fails, then instead of frustration, anger, or thinking I tried but I wasn’t able to make it—then think, ‘ok, I’ll carry on with this work.’ Be contented with the work you have. So if you fail, that is where one’s attitude and the practice of contentment can make the difference between anger, resentment and frustration, and a calmer and happier attitude. That’s where training of the mind comes in. These kinds of things, lines of reasoning, can diffuse your frustration and disturbance of mind. So contentment, I think contentment. That’s the key thing.”

Usually when I quote something out of a book, I quote much less. With this book I had a heck of a time finding this a short except to share with you because it’s so loaded with thought provoking, insightful ideas. Definitely a relevant and enjoyable read!