Recommended Reading from the Booyango Team.
These books have been “hand picked” by the Booyango Research group. Let others know if you found this information useful or make a suggestion of your own – Please leave a comment.
“Linchpin” | A linchpin, as Seth describes it, is somebody in an organization who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced—his or her role is just far too unique and valuable. “You don't become indispensable merely because you are different. But the only way to become indispensable is to be different. That's because if you're the same, so are plenty of other people. To not be a linchpin is economic and career suicide.” |
“Tribes” | This book by Godin argues that lasting and substantive change can be best effected by a group of people connected to each other, to a leader and to an idea. Smart innovators find or assemble a movement of similarly minded individuals and get the tribe excited by a new product, service or message, often via the Internet (consider, for example, the popularity of the Obama campaign, Facebook or Twitter). Tribes, Godin says, can be within or outside a corporation, and almost everyone can be a leader; most are kept from realizing their potential by fear of criticism and fear of being wrong. The book's helpful nuggets are: we can be leaders if we want, tribes are the way of the future and change is good. |
“The Dip” | Another easily digestible social marketplace commentary from Godin prescribes a cleverly counter-intuitive way to approach one's potential for success. Smart, honest, and refreshingly free of self-help posturing, The Dip is a primer on winning-through-quitting and is at once motivational and comically indifferent. Sometimes to get ahead you must first quit. |
| You have to toss out everything you know and do something "remarkable" (the way a purple cow in a field of Guernseys would be remarkable) to have any effect at all, writes Godin. He cites companies like HBO, Starbucks and JetBlue, all of which created new ways of doing old businesses and saw their brands sizzle as a result. |
| Great marketers don't talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a story--a story we want to believe, whether it's factual or not. In a world where most people have an infinite number of choices and no time to make them, every organization is a marketer, and all marketing is about telling stories. |
| Godin specializes in direct-mail campaigns online, where he takes advantage of the interactive nature of the technology. Using traditional terms such as reach and frequency to define his efforts, he moves further, into the touchy-feely area of "permission marketing," his term for developing a personal relationship with consumers, where they actually enjoy receiving correspondence. |
| There’s a growing consensus that the current job development system -- both in the US and overseas--is badly broken. Too many people can’t find good jobs. Too many businesses can’t find qualified people. What’s behind the deep talent shortages that now confront the United States and much of the world? And how can we rebuild the pipeline? |
| An indictment of current management and education practices that are causing a mismatch between skilled labor supply and demand, and how to reverse these trends before it's too late, “The 2010 Meltdown” is a predictive view of the structural shortcomings of our business environment prior to the most recent economic recession. |
by Daniel H. Pink Warner Business Books, 2002 | Not all "free agents" are highly paid athletes whose main skills are dunking a basketball or hitting a baseball. In fact, as Pink (contributing editor, Fast Company) reveals, over 25 million Americans are now self-employed, and fewer than one in ten works for a Fortune 500 company. This excellent work synthesizes the seismic shift in attitudes about and patterns of work in the economy from the early 1950s era of William Whyte's The Organization Man to today's independent worker, the free agent. |
| In The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, the story is just as interesting as the advice. What's the advice? 1. Don't be rigid about planning out each step well in advance . . . it's not possible to do. 2. Build on what you're good at and avoid relying on what you aren't good at. 3. Focus on what you can do for others rather than what's in it for you. 4. Keep at it. Practice makes perfect. 5. Take on big challenges and learn from them. 6. Make a difference. |
| With visionary flare, Pink argues that business and everyday life will soon be dominated by right-brain thinkers. He identifies the roots and implications of transitioning from a society dominated by left-brain thinkers into something entirely different—although at times, he seems to be exhorting rather than observing the trend. |
| Everything we think we know about what motivates us is wrong. He pits the latest scientific discoveries about the mind against the outmoded wisdom that claims people can only be motivated by the hope of gain and the fear of loss. Pink cites a number of studies revealing that carrot and stick can actually significantly reduce the ability of workers to produce creative solutions to problems. What motivates us once our basic survival needs are met is the ability to grow and develop, to realize our fullest potential. |
| Reich's thesis is well argued and frighteningly plausible: without a return to the "basic bargain" (that workers are also consumers), the "aftershock" of this recent Great Recession includes long-term high unemployment and a political backlash -- a crisis -- that just might be painful enough to encourage necessary structural reforms. |
 “Supercapitalism” by Robert Reich Knopf, 2007 | While praising the spread of global capitalism, Reich laments that supercapitalism has brought with it alienation from politics and community. His proposed solution is to separate capitalism from democracy, and guard the border between them. Plainspoken and forceful, this book urges new and strengthened laws and regulations to restore authority to the citizens in us. |
 “Reason” by Robert Reich Knopf, 2004 | According to Reich, today's conservatives are reckless, vituperative extremists, deeply at odds with the caution and civility of traditional conservatives like Edmund Burke. Liberals, he asserts, remain squarely in the tradition of Jefferson and FDR, not the late '60s New Left. Yet liberals have ceded certain issues and qualities to conservatives that they should take back. Moral outrage is one: "There is moral rot in America, but it's not found in the private behavior of ordinary people. It's located in the public behavior of people at or near the top." |
 “Locked in the Cabinet” by Robert Reich Knopf, 2000 | Reich, the secretary of labor for President Clinton's first term, relates the successes, failures, and frustrations of being a liberal in a centrist administration. His book brims with stories about successful programs for the poor, the rage of displaced workers, and the futility of trying to pass legislation on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society. Reich tried to use his office as "secretary of little people," fighting against corporate greed and the growing chasm between rich and poor by advocating retraining and education programs that would let workers remain productive in a global society. |
 “Surviving Capitalism” by Erik Ringmar Anthem Press, 2005 | This book investigates the question of economic globalization - whether it is likely to lead to full convergence between political models and ways of life, or whether, even in a completely globalized world economy, there is likely to be scope for alternative solutions. But in a fully globalized world, how will we survive capitalism? |
 “The Mechanics of Modernity” by Erik Ringmar Routledge, 2005 | Why, from the eighteenth century onwards, did some countries embark on a path of sustained economic growth, while others stagnated? This text looks at the kind of institutions that are required in order for change to take place, and Ringmar concludes that for sustained development to be possible, change must be institutionalized. Taking a global view, Ringmar investigates the implications of his conclusion on issues facing the developing world today. |
 “The Social Media Bible” by Lon Safko and David K. Brake Wiley, 2009 | The Social Media Bible, Second Edition is the most comprehensive resource that transforms the way corporate, small business, and non-profit companies use social media to reach their desired audiences with power messages and efficiency. In this Second Edition, each of the three parts - Tactics, Tools, and Strategies - have been updated to reflect the most current social media trends. |
 “Escape from Corporate America” by Pamela Skillings Ballentine Books, 2008 | Skillings aims to rescue Americans from corporate tedium in this entertaining and informative guide to walking away from an established—albeit stultifying—job and forging a more rewarding career. With insight and humor, Skillings enumerates the stages of Corporate Disillusionment and the features of the toxic workplace—the bullying bosses, moronic co-workers, terminal boredom and rampant racism and sexism. A multitude of questionnaires, exercises and worksheets helps readers determine their dream job, assess expenses and assets, and plot an escape plan to break free of corporate life without going bankrupt. |
 “The Organization Man” by William H. Whyte, Jr. Simon & Shuster, 1956 | As an editor for Fortune magazine, Whyte was well placed in 1956 to observe corporate America; it became clear to him that the American belief in the perfectibility of society was shifting from one of individual initiative to one that could be achieved at the expense of the individual. Regarded as one of the most important sociological and business commentaries of modern times, The Organization Man developed the first thorough description of the impact of mass organization on American society. |
 “Mastering LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less” by Jan Wallen Selling Your Expertise, 2009 | Mastering LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less gives you day-by-day steps you can do in 15-20 minutes a day, so you're using LinkedIn to find a job and find clients ... in record time. It's written from a real person's perspective, so it's easy to read and do the 7 steps. If you're a salesperson, you'll know how to use LinkedIn to find clients. If you're looking for a job, you'll know how to do that. And you learn how to write your Profile so that people find you. If they don't find you, they can't hire you. |
 | “Strategic Human Capital Management: Creating Value Through People” by Jon Ingham Elsevier, 2007 |
