The Cranky Middle Manager Show #074 (MP3 11.2MB 32:34 Min)

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Welcome to our end of the year book wrap up. We’re talking today with Jack Covert, the CEO of, well, 800 CEO Read. We’re gonna strip down and just roll around in books for a half hour or so. (Try eliminating THAT visual from your brain). Sit back, grab a pen and no matter what your management challenge, we’ll talk about a book you should care about. Some of these authors have been on our show, others are classics and some you’ll want to rush right out and read. You can bet a couple have already received invitations from yours truly to come talk to us.

By the way, don’t forget to check out the Mindtools.com special offer for listeners of the show. 25% off for just being part of our dysfunctional little family ain’t a bad deal.

Of course while we’re talking books, you can check out my books, “A Philistine’s Journal- an Average Guy Tackles the Classics” ( a real book with paper and everything) and “Meet Like You Mean it- A Cranky Middle Manager’s Guide to Painless and Productive Meetings”. (an e-book but you can print it if you really need paper). They make good Christmas presents….or at least would help me buy Christmas presents…..
Show Notes

0:00 Welcome aboard episode 74. Today we’re talking business books. What makes a good one and what should we be reading? We start with a salute to business book pioneer and the first person to document Double Entry Accounting (so now you know who to blame) Fra Luca Pacioli.

Pacioli took something that had been around since the Sumerians and documented it, thus becoming a famous author. That’s how it’s done all you app-loving, good-to-great workin’, cheese moving managers.

4:51 The quote of the week is from Horace Mann. Just a little bit every day…. and we’re happy to help.

6:35 Welcome Jack Covert, founder and head blogger at www.800ceoread.com. i stumbled over him when he wrote about Nikos Mourkogiannis’ book Purpose- The Starting Point of Great Companies. Nikos spoke to us back on episode 72. check it out here…

We start with why that book worked for us both and take it from there.

8:42 We talk about Rosa Say and Managing with Aloha. You can hear her conversation (and you should if you haven’t) here. It helped turn the show into what it is today, just don’t blame her. What makes a good business book?

10:35 What does Jack look for in a business book? give him the big picture. He likes all five books awarded the Goldman Sacks prize this year. Mostly he likes Fables.

5 temptations of the CEO by Patrick Lenioni

Radical Leap and Radical Edge by Steve Farber

12:30 We talk about Who Moved my Cheese and have a philosophical discussion about it. You’ve heard me rant about it before. We also dish on Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point and Blink.

Other Fables: The Goal by Elihu Goldratt and Dave Mosby and Michael Weissman of The Paradox of Excellence (Episode 37)

Jeff Cox Zap, the Power of Empowerment

18:00 Now on to Business Biographies. Start with Andy Grove’s biography There’s also books on Thomas Paine, Andrew Carnegie and Walt Disney. We talk about Disney in some depth.
There’s also Steve Wozniak’s book, iWoz

25:30 We talk about The Wal-Mart Effect and Wal-mart in general and segue into books written by journalists.

27:30 International books include Blue Ocean Strategy. International rights to books are dropping but English versions of books overseas are rising dramatically. More people around the world are reading and working in English than ever before.

30:05 New books to consider: Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick

What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

Don’t let the weasels get you down.

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