Book Summaries

Any leader straining under the weight of his or her position needs to read this book. Boyatzis and McKee attempt to reverse what they term the "dissonance" suffered by leaders. A leader is expected to deliver success quarter after quarter with an ever-increasing list of objectives. Resonant Leadership helps executives maximize their strengths and conquer the challenges of their unique place in the organization.

David Novak is worthy of depiction in a Horatio Alger novel. Novak never attended business school and spent most of his youth living in a series of trailer parks. Despite his humble roots, he rose to become CEO of Yum Brands, one of the largest food, beverage and restaurant companies in the world. The Education of an Accidental CEO provides insight on Novak's inspirations and what he learned on his unforgettable journey.

Steve Miller has earned an international reputation for fixing major problems in several industries. In The Turnaround Kid he recounts his inside view of American manufacturing and offers perspective on what it will take to bring it back to profitability. In his story he incorporates the important role that his wife played in his success and how she kept him focused even throughout her battle with brain cancer.

Three business strategy experts identify six contradictory forces that have kept Toyota on the path of realizing continuous innovation and constant renewal. As the authors show, Toyota thrives on paradoxes as it harnesses opposing propositions to energize itself. We learn that companies that create their own contradictions can achieve higher levels of performance.

Brothers and authors Ori and Rom Brafman explore several of the psychological forces that derail rational thinking. We are all more prone to irrational behavior than we realize and this can affect our careers and shape our business and personal relationships. Understanding why the sway of irrational behavior is so alluring can help us to become more aware of it and perhaps less likely to fall victim to its force.

Hit products and services like the iPod, Starbucks and FedEx were seemingly embraced by the market overnight. But it wasn't luck, creativity or marketing that led to their success. Any organization can create hits that resonate if they stop guessing what people need and start building deep connections to what their buyers value most. With a strategy for achieving market resonance that has been developed over 15 years, the authors show readers how to find unsolved problems in the marketplace and