It is nearly impossible to make sense of what is going on in the business world, but wouldn't it be better if you had someone to talk to about it with? We think so.

On Tuesday, November 18th, we are going to hold an economic group therapy session at the Eisner Museum in Milwaukee. This is not a pity party, but rather an opportunity to talk about what is going on in your world, get past the fear, and muster up some courage to take into the new year.

No dinero is needed. The event is FREE.

Let's self-diagnose together. We'll bring the books.

Economic Group Therapy with 800ceoread
Tuesday, November 18th | 5:00 - 5:45 PM
The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design | 208 N. Water Street
Free Admission

Please RSVP to jon at 800ceoread dot com

We've also heard a lot about change, lately. Below I list 5 books that changed my perspective on something; not all have a business angle, but each does have something universal to offer readers.

1. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, 1st edition

If you're discouraged by the dark cloud of political rhetoric that has settled over the U.S. for the past, oh, two years, I recommend reading Whitman's introduction to Leaves of Grass as a reminder of why we should care so deeply about our country and government:

"...but the genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislature, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges or churches or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors...but always most in the common people. Their manners speech dress friendships--the freshness and candor of their physiognomy--the picturesque looseness of their carriage...their deathless attachment to freedom--their aversion to anything indecorous or soft or mean [...] their delight in music [...] their good temper and openhandedness--the terrible significance of their elections--the President's taking off his hat to them and not they to him--these too are unrhymed poetry. It awaits the gigantic and generous treatment worthy of it."

2. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience by Yi-Fu Tuan.

This is an incredibly accessible and enjoyable book about the cultural significance of geography and physical orientation. Tuan explores the ways people have historically made sense of their surroundings. For instance, he examines why we form attachment to "home," how time affects our sense of space, and why certain cross-cultural similarities exist among groups that have had no exposure to the habits and values of others (e.g., our proximity to others, or the prominence of right-handedness). I read this book as part of a grad school project on "sense of place" in virtual environments, and it has changed the ways I perceive the space around me and my values with regard to architecture and place.

"What sensory organs and experiences enable human beings to have their strong feeling for space and for spatial qualities? Answer: kinesthesia, sight, and touch. Movements such as the simple ability to kick one's legs and stretch one's arms are basic to the awareness of space. [...] Space assumes a rough coordinate frame centered on the mobile and purposive self. [...] Purposive movement and perception, both visual and haptic, give human beings their familiar world of disparate objects in space. Place is a special kind of object. It is a concentration of value, though not a valued thing that can be handled or carried about easily; it is an object in which one can dwell."

3. Emergence: Labeled Autistic by Temple Grandin

Reading Emergence was like a thousand light bulbs turning on in my world. I grew up with a mentally disabled family member, but until I read Temple Grandin's words about what it felt like to be overwhelmed by her existence, I did not fully appreciate the complexities of the minds around me. Grandin has also contributed greatly to our understanding of the animal world, and has worked as a scientist to develop more humane ways of interacting with animals.

"But as a child, the "people world" was often too stimulating to my senses. Ordinary days with a change in schedule or unexpected events threw me into a frenzy, but Thanksgiving or Christmas was even worse. At those times our home bulged with relatives. The clamor of many voices, the different smells--perfume, cigars, damp wool caps or gloves--people moving about at different speeds, going in different directions, the constant noise and confusion, the constant touching, were overwhelming. One very, very overweight aunt, who was generous and caring, let me use her professional oil paints. I liked her. Still, when she hugged me, I was totally engulfed and I panicked. [...] I withdrew because her abundant affection overwhelmed my nervous system."

4. Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi

Of the few voices we have from this dark period in our world history, Primo Levi's is perhaps the most renowned and penetrating. Survival in Auschwitz is his memoir of the 10 months he spent in the death camp. He details the subcultures that develop within even the most degrading of circumstances, reflects on our instincts and desire to overcome in the face of utter hopelessness, and creates an arresting, almost visceral reading experience that helped me understand, in my sheltered experience, what millions of people endured through no fault of their own.

"If we were logical, we would resign ourselves to the evidence that our fate is beyond knowledge, that every conjecture is arbitrary and demonstrably devoid of foundation. But men are rarely logical when their own fate is at stake; on every occasion, they prefer the extreme positions. According to our character, some of us are immediately convinced that all is lost, that one cannot live here, that the end is near and sure; others are convinced that however hard the present life may be, salvation is probable and not far off, and if we have faith and strength, we will see our houses and our dear ones again. The two classes of pessimists and optimists are not so clearly defined, however, not because there are many agnostics, but because the majority, without memory or coherence, drift between the two extremes, according to the moment and the mood of the person they happen to meet."

5. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

I know we give the Heath brothers a lot of love here at 800-CEO-READ, but I hope that my selection demonstrates the transformative nature this recent business book can have on the way you do your work. As a relative newcomer to the world of business books, Made to Stick will forever stick (no pun intended) in my mind as one of the first and most influential business books I have read on communication. I can't tell you how many times we referenced ideas from Made to Stick while working on The 100 Best. And while we recognize that the book borrows definitions and terms from other places (most notably, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell), Made to Stick is the only one that lays out a practical and useful way of putting these ideas to work.

"No special expertise is needed to apply these principles. There are no licensed stickologists. Moreover, many of the principles have a commonsense ring to them: Didn't most of us already have the intuition that we should "be simple" and "use stories"? It's not as though there's a powerful constituency for overcomplicated, lifeless prose. But wait a minute. We claim that using these principles is easy. And most of them do seem relatively commonsensical. So why aren't we deluged with brilliantly designed sticky ideas? Why is our life filled with more process memos than proverbs?

Sadly, there is a villain in our story. The villain is a natural psychological tendency that consistently confounds our ability to create ideas using these principles. It's called the Curse of Knowledge. (We will capitalize the phrase throughout the book to give it the drama we think it deserves.)"

Now, we'd like to ask you: What are the books that changed your perspective? How can they help others?

We are fed up (no Bernanke pun intended) with the bad news.

The folks at 800-CEO-READ gathered today to figure out how to move from this paralyzing mode of helplessness and get back what we do well: helping people. We have some ideas in the works, which will include opportunities for you to participate.

Watch the blog over the next week for more on our efforts to break the cycle and make our way back to some normalcy in the world of business.

Here is a slideshow of photos from last night. The presenters were great, and the Sugar Maple was an excellent venue to work with.

You can also view the photos on our Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/800ceoread/

Today, this article on CNN (check out the photos) got me thinking about the different ways we can make our work lives healthier and ease the strain on our bodies, eyes, and minds, as well as our natural environment.

Oh, and to tie this post back to a business book...a few weeks ago our friend Cathy S. at HarperCollins sent us The Good Office: Green Design on the Cutting Edge, published by Collins Design. The Good Office is a beautiful photography book accompanied by short essays and information about architectural groups dedicated to bridging the gap between the working world and the environment.

The Good Office provides examples of sustainable design that creates "a more positive space for both the environment and the worker." We might not all be able to work in beautiful "green" buildings, but there are small steps we can take to make our work spaces healthier and more comfortable.

P.S. Kate--don't worry, we appreciate your "What if?s"!

A new offer goes up on Monday.

InBubbleWrap is back.

If you are new to us, we have a sister site that gives away free books. We post the book and a description. If you are interested, you can put your name in the electronic hat. We random choose people and they get sent free stuff.

If you remember the first incarnation, we have changed one thing. We will be posting new books once a week now, rather than every day. Data showed that daily posting was burning people out. And frankly it was burning us out too.

So, got check out the Kotter giveaway. On Monday, there will be something new.

The book has a name:

The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You

It has a beautiful cover:

The words have been written and most have survived the first round of edits. We are now in the polishing stage known as copyediting.

While we found ways to personally celebrate the completion of the manuscript with our families and the 800-CEO-READ team, we now want to share our growing excitement about the book with you.

The title is a bit of a giveaway, but our book is about business books. So we decided the best way to celebrate is to give you a sneak peak of some of the books we've included in The 100 Best.

We invite you to join The Countdown Book Club: Six Months To The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.

You'll receive six books. The first book will be sent to you in September. We'll send you five books, one a month, through January. And then in February, you'll receive your copy of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.

The cost is $99, which includes the six books and all the stamps to get them to you.

Now, we won't tell you which books we will send to you, but we promise you that they are more than worth your time and dollar.

We are looking for an individual to join our operations group as a customer service representative.

Your job will be to take care of our customers, managing their orders from the time they are taken until the time the shipment arrives. This will involve obtaining all the pertinent information for the order, placing the purchase order with our suppliers, and tracking the order during shipment.

Some important things to keep in mind:

• The job involves an enormous amount of communication over the phone, through email, and with other members of the office.
• The position requires patience and empathy as you work with expected and unexpected situations constantly that can impact the customers you work with.
• You will be working in an open office with 12 other people. This works for us. It may not work for you.
• We sell and promote books. Liking books will help you like the job.

800-CEO-READ is a division of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops and specializes in selling business books to corporations, universities, and individuals. The company was started in 1984 and located in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. In the last five years, we have experienced double-digit growth each year and tripled the size of the business.

We have a lot of fun things planned. Come join us!

Location: Milwaukee, WI

Salary Range: $30,000 to $35,000 per year

Benefits: Health, Dental, 401K, and profit sharing

Please respond to by sending a resume and cover letter to todd a t 800ceoread d o t com.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The next Pecha Kucha Night is August 26 at the Hi Hat Garage.

There's a new book out called Cubicle Warfare: 101 Office Traps and Pranks by John Austin. Just a few pranks suggested:

"Pickled Chair" - adding a food smell to someone's office chair
"Walkie-Talkie God" - planting a walkie talkie in the ceiling tiles above someone's desk, then transmitting music, the news, or the gospel from a secure location
"Industrial Velcro" - velcro everything to the desk
"Elevator Fun" - post warnings like "Warning- Cables Are Rusting, Please Do Not Jump"
"Paper Hole Door" - place chads from the 3-hole punch along the top of a door
"Decaf Espresso" - not funny

Now, I don't condone carrying out any of the pranks suggested in this "Tactical Manual," but you will certainly enjoy a chuckle or two reading it.

* Meg's desk

** Jon's shanty

Just an interesting tidbit: Jon worked in the shanty for an entire week.

Here are my extensions to what Seth started with his post:

• I think business books are self-help, in the most positive sense of the word. And you'll pay $30 for a business book in hardcover because the potential payoff is huge.
• I am not sure cookbooks are the right metaphor for business books. Business in all its components lacks the certainty of the physics and chemistry. There is a repeatability problem. Following a business book recipe does not guarantee the same results for different cooks.
• Having said that, the biggest contributor to failure is most don't follow the recommended recipe to start with. People like picking and choosing the easiest pieces and are surprised when they don't get the roasted chicken like the one in the picture.
• Book summaries are the distilled recipes. I know they are popular with a certain segment, but I don't get it. You don't remember the five important points from a book by reading them in a list. You do it by understanding the context and internalizing the stories the author uses. Whenever we write a Jack Covert Select or publish a manifesto on ChangeThis, our intention is tell you about the book and convince you it is worth your time to read it in its 225 page form.
• I surprised by the number of people who tell me they skip the introductions to business books. I will admit before I started reading "professionally", I did the same. DON'T SKIP THE INTRODUCTION. It often does the same thing as the opening credits to a good movie. You get an idea of what you are getting into, the sort of language the author will be using, and what the compelling points are going to be. If the introduction doesn't grab you, put the book down and find another.
• Take notes and I am going to strongly suggest you do this electronically. Open a text file. Name it with the title and author. And just start writing what you think as you are reading or right after you are done. Writing about what you learned and ability to go back to find it later will pay back in spades. If you want to keep things in the meatspace, get some of these. They were invaluable as we were doing research for our book.
• Finally, reading books is an act of meditation. It is a mental refuge for you to explore your thoughts and feelings about work, but also life as a whole. Take some time to help yourself.

I write to provide a needed counterpoint to Elizabeth Spiers April 2008 Not So Fast column titled "Library of The Living Dead."

I will start where she ends, agreeing in fact with Spiers' ultimate conclusion: Business books are self-help, by their very definition. The implication that business books fall strictly into the "I'm OK, You're OK" segment of self-help is where Spiers and I diverge. A book publisher recently shared research with me that showed the number one reason people buy business books is to find a solution to a problem. Sitting at the educational crossroads between "I know nothing about this," and "Let's hire a consultant," business books contain a high value proposition for the twenty dollars and two hours spent. Not, as Spiers says, to abdicate responsibility for the choices they make. Instead, it takes a great deal of personal awareness to look for answers from those who offer experiential lessons in books.

The packaging of those lessons receives the majority of criticism in Ms. Spiers column and I am always dismayed by the problems pundits have with this aspect of the industry. Human civilization is built upon stories and when an author chooses a fable as the delivery device, the writer is making the lessons more accessible to a wider audience.

The "12-step-ification" is a crutch that bloggers, business magazines, and book publishers certainly use alike, in the same way celebrity authors are used to garner attention and sell product. This is simply product marketing through concreteness and social proof.

The bestseller list as a guide to the "best" in the category is just another form of social proof. My optimism for the category would bring me to highlight Gallup's research-based StrengthsFinder 2.0 or Jim Collins' insightful and wonderful written Good to Great as evidence that some books that make the bestseller list really deserve the title.

In the case of John Kotter, we have the benefit of choosing either his current top-selling fable, or his 1996 book "Leading Change," which has sold over a million copies. Both books tackle the same content, but offer options for the reader to choose his method of consumption.

Ms. Spiers overall indictment of the entire business book category is an easy mark and one that could be applied to any genre of media. Her elitism about what constitutes good reading compounds the problem further. While I can appreciate her hyperbole as a method to communicate some criticism about the genre, a more subtle treatment of the subject would, I believe, be more effective.

Beyond that, Fast Company is a magazine that has always supported business ideas. A simplistic column like Spiers' goes against the very DNA of your publication. The mantra "WORK IS PERSONAL" matches well with Thoreau's or Emerson's definition of self-help. The publication of this column leaves me wondering just how that mission has been served.