Book Summaries

A Soundview Featured Book Review
Executive consultant and author Ram Charan doesn't mince words. In this book, he presents the universal truths about what makes a successful business. Whether you run a small shop or a Fortune 500 firm, Charan provides the information to help your business reach new levels of speed, efficiency and profitability.

Known for writing some of the liveliest reports on Wall Street, Coburn has identified how some technologies are blockbusters (such as the iPod), while others are losers from the starting gate (like the video phone). The Change Function writes off the “build it and they will come” mentality that so many technology companies adhere to, and shows that technology demands a change in habits—more specifically it demands a change in consumers, who are often uninterested in trading in the norm

To excel in the cramped business world today, individuals and organizations must learn when to leave the herd behind and break from the pack with fresh ideas and ahead-of-the-game innovation. Harari provides a four-pronged process in Break from the Pack for moving into the lead and leaving competition behind, while providing lively examples through the “Madonna Effect” and the “Willie Nelson Principle.” In what Harari calls a “Copycat Economy,” it is essential to differentiate as well a

According to Covey, trust is one of the essential elements of business, and the ability to create, preserve and restore trust has become one of the most important skills today, inside and outside the office. In The Speed of Trust, Covey gives his readers all the key tools to cultivating trust in their relationships, while offering up the wisdom of other great leaders on the topic.

Bestselling author Daniel H. Pink offers a fresh look at what it takes for individuals and organizations to move from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age in A Whole New Mind. He also reveals the six essential aptitudes — Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning — on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend. A Whole New Mind includes a series of tools, tips and hands-on exercises drawn from international experts that help readers sharpen th

In The Search, journalist and Wired co-founder John Battelle reveals exactly how Google triumphed over its rivals. He also digs into the big picture of how search engines are changing the way we shop, find entertainment, screen potential dates, hunt for jobs, and do just about everything else. This summary draws on more than 350 interviews with major players from Silicon Valley to Seattle to Wall Street, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt and more.

This summary looks behind the curtain to reveal a Saudi oil production industry that could soon approach a serious, irreversible decline. Veteran oil industry analyst Matthew Simmons draws on his 30 years of insider experience and more than 200 independently produced reports about Saudi petroleum resources and production operations. What he uncovers is a story about Saudi Arabia's troubled oil industry, not to mention its political and societal instability, which differs sharply from the globall

It’s impossible to eliminate crises completely. But crisis management experts Mitroff and Anagnos outline the crisis management tools — and attitudes — needed to either anticipate crises or effectively manage them once they occur.

The authors’ detailed five-step process for developing an integrated customer measurement and management system will show you how to find out exactly what your customers want and use that information to produce the kinds of products and services that will keep them coming back.