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Posted Jan. 5, 2006 8:53 a.m. by jack
The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think About the Rest of Your Life
By Lee Eisenberg, Free Press, 288 Pages, $26.00 Hardcover, January 2006, ISBN 0743270312
In spring of 2005, I was interviewed for an article in the Financial Times. The article was about the success of Blink, Freakonomics, and The World is Flat. I spoke about how the new business book was not so much about how to run a company as it was about how to look at the world differently. This is a classic book in that genre. Another thing that sets these aforementioned books apart is the writing. The books are full of examples to which we can immediately relate and incredibly well-written.
This book is about the "Number" (in dollars) that we carry in our head; it is the amount we need to retire and live as we desire.
As the author states:
The Number is about net worth. Most people think of it that way. But the Number is also about self-worth, which is something many people don't like to admit. Because I have so little money, I'm a failure. Or, because my house is small, even if it's on the right shore of Long Island, I'm a failure.
The author talks about how we have tried to increase our "stuff" to make us feel better. "Debt Warp" is how he states it:
Debt Warp is a silent Number Killer that afflicts young and old, rich and poor. It works at the high end of the marketplace, it thrives at the low. According to the Federal Reserve studies, the richest 1% of all American's held just 6% of the nation's debt; the poorest 90% held 70%.Debt Wrap brings the illusion of equalization. It lurks beneath and has been misguidedly heralded as the 'democratization of luxury'.
What got me hooked on the book was reading the first five pages. Eisenberg is a storyteller. For example, read the way the author illustrates a letter written to a wealthy individual:
...and the letter applies to you as well as the man who is rich enough to have somebody read it to him, peeling his grapes at the same time.
The book tells really amazing stories about how Americans have been preparing poorly for retirement. Go into your local bookstore and read the first couple of pages; see if I am right.
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Jack Covert Selects: The Travels of a T-Shirt
Posted Nov. 8, 2005 4:45 a.m. by jack
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power and Politics of World Trade by Pietra Rivoli, John Wiley and Sons, 272 Pages, $29.95 Hardcover, February 2005, ISBN 0471648493
How is a book picked to be considered to be a Jack Covert Selects? I have been asked that question many times. The answer "it varies." I read this book because it is a finalist for the FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book Award. When the list was posted, I agreed with every title being an important work. I had heard of this book but didn't know anything about it. So better late than never, I got a copy and loved it. I think this book gives Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat a run for its money as the best book written about the current globalization. (The Friedman book is also a finalist.)
The preface of the book explains where the book came from. In the 1999 the WTO demonstrations got the author thinking:
Back at Georgetown in 1999, I watched a young woman seize the microphone. 'Who made your T-shirt?' she asked the crowd. 'Was it a child in Vietnam, chained to a sewing machine without food or water? Or a young girl in India earning 18 cents per hour and allowed to visit the bathroom only twice per day? Did you know that she lives 12 to a room? That she shares her bed and has only gruel to eat? That she is forced to work 90 hours per week, without overtime pay? Did you know that she has no right to speak out, no right to unionize? That she lives not only in poverty, but also is filth and sickness, all in the name of Nike's profits?'I did not know all this. And I wondered about the young women at the microphone: How did she know?
During the next several years, I traveled the world to investigate. I not only found out who made my T-shirt, but I also followed its life over thousands of miles and across three continents. This book is the story of the people, politics, and markets that created my cotton T-shirt. It is a story of globalization.
Let me tell you folks, this professor is a great storyteller and this book taught me a ton about the power of the cotton farmers in West Texas, the "hukou" system in China, and the power of the apparel and textile industries in the US. She puts everything in perspective by giving the reader a very readable history lesson.
The sign for me of a really well written book is when I carry the book home and read it while I could be reading stuff I usually read at home. I am giving this book to some people who enjoyed books like this: Blink, Freakonomics and Friedman's. I hope the book wins the FT prize.
If you would like to receive the monthly Jack Covert Selects Newsletter, please visit the Newsletters area of our website. Then, sign in and check the boxes of the newsletters that interest you.
Jack Covert Selects--The World is Flat
Posted May 18, 2005 5:22 a.m. by jack
The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century By Thomas L. Friedman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 480 Pages, $27.50 Hardcover, April 2005, ISBN 0374292884
Tom Friedman, three time Pulitzer Prize recipient, has written an impressive book on the "brief history of the Twenty-First Century." It is not only about globalization but more about how we got where we are today. This is a book that isnt necessarily a business book per se, but it is a book business people truly need to read. Why? This book shows us that you cant react to a situation until you know as much as you can about the situation. I expect that this wont be the last word on globalization but I expect it will be the best written book on the subject. I have read all of Tom Friedmans books and he is a great storyteller in the sense of sitting around the campfire storytelling. This book effectively paints a clear picture of complexities like foreign policy and economic issues. It also investigates the impact of developing countries, geopolitical issues and companies on the world we live in.
Here is an example of his take on outsourcing:
The relatively high standard of living that she can now enjoyenough for a small apartment and car in Bangaloreis good for America as well. When you look around 24/7s call center, you see that all the computers are running Microsoft Windows. The chips are designed by Intel. The phones are from Lucent. The air-conditioning is by Carrier, and even the bottled water is from Coke. In addition, 90% of the shares in 24/7 are owned by U.S. investors. This explains why, although the United States has lost some customer service jobs to India in recent years, total exports from American-based companiesmerchandise and servicesto India have grown from $2.5 billion in 1990 to $5 billion in 2003. So even with the outsourcing of some service jobs from the United States to India, Indias growing economy is creating a demand for many more American goods and services.
Here is a blog post about Open Source. http://www.800ceoread.com/blog/archives/001087.html
I understand that this subject is not without controversy, but if you want to read a book that is not only well written, but laid out logically, and if you are interested in changes that will affect us all, this is the book for you. It's not only informative, but demystifies many issues which will make reacting to changes in our global community easier for individuals, companies, communities and governments alike.
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