Business Books For Beginners

May 20, 2013 //

An entertaining post by The Economist considers books for first time business readers about to enter the working world. The topic was brought about by Groupon’s (ex-boss) Andrew Mason, who lamented “that too few of the young people who joined his firm had read a single business book.” Mr. Mason suggested these three books:

Winning, by Jack Welch

The One Minute Manager, by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

Good To Great, by Jim Collins (although many of the firms featured started to underperform after publication)

Also suggested in the post:

The Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton Christensen

The Fortune At the Bottom Of the Pyramid, by C.K. Prahalad

Tags books, business, business book, career

Categories 2013, Books, May

Alibaba’s Internet Trifecta

May 17, 2013 //

Quartz’s Leo Mirani reports on recent deals made by China’s biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba. Deals with maps/locations firm AutoNavi and microblogging service provider Sina Weibo have created a potent combination. “Imagine combining the ubiquity of Twitter, the e-commerce might of Amazon, and the location-awareness of Google maps.”

Tags business, e-commerce, global economy, social media, technology

Categories 2013, Global Economy, May, Social Media

Search Tool Personalizes Medical Information

May 17, 2013 //

Springwise.com has picked up a new search tool, called Medivizor, that offers medical results personalized to each user. “Currently open to those looking for information on breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, colorectal cancer, and melanoma, Medivizor users first sign up and enter details about themselves and their condition – or those of the person they’re caring for. The service then delivers relevant news and updates that may help them learn more about their condition and what it means for them.” The tool is invitation-only at this point. Spotted by Tracy Chong.

Tags research, search

Categories 2013, Information Technology, May, Search

Hot Trend In Books: Less Is More

May 13, 2013 //

Photo Credit: Stack of Thin Flexicover Books On Reflective Table, by Horia Varlan

TechJournal reports that a hot book publishing trend today is short books – “so short that in the past no self-respecting publisher-or author-would even have called them books.” The reason for this new trend? Author Michael Levin points to shortened attention spans due to smartphones and social media. His firm, BusinessGhost, Inc. advises business clients “to do 50-page minibooks to meet impatient readers’ expectations for speedy delivery of information.”

Tags books, business, business book, publishing, social media, trends

Categories 2013, Books, May, Publishing, Social Media, Trends

800-CEO-Read April Business Book Bestseller List

May 10, 2013 //

Business book supplier 800-CEO-READ released its list of business book bestsellers (top 25) for April 2013. Here are the top ten:

Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive By Investing In Nature, by Mark Tercek and Jonathan Adams

From Values To Action: The Four Principles Of Values-Based Leadership, by Harry M Jansen Kraemer

Own the Future: 50 Ways To Win From the Boston Consulting Group, by Michael S. Deimer, et al

The One Thing: The Surprising Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

Decisive: How To Make Better Choices In Life and Work, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Power Of Why: Breaking Out In a Competitive Marketplace, by c Richard Weylman and Greg Ostergren

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach To Success, by Adam M Grant

Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future, by Dorie Clark

Crafting the Customer Experience For People Not Like You: How To Delight and Engage the Customers Your Competitors Don’t Understand, by Kelly McDonald

Stewardship: Lessons Learned From the Lost Culture Of Wall Street, by John Taft, Charles D Ellis and John C Bogle

Tags books, business, business book

Categories 2013, Books, May, Publishing

Is Adobe’s Shift To the Cloud the Start Of a Trend?

May 9, 2013 //

Adobe has announced that it will transition Creative Suite (shrink-wrap version), which includes Photoshop, toward Creative Cloud, a subscription-based service for software and updates. Creative Suite’s traditional business model “revolved around one-time product licensing.” Knowledge@ Wharton analyzes the transition and makes these following points:

for customers, the “cloud” business model will ultimately be beneficial
other software companies are likely to follow
the move acknowledges “that software is rapidly transitioning toward collaboration, subscriptions and use on multiple platforms such as Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, Mac OS and Microsoft’s Windows”
both SAP and Oracle have been moving away from a one-time licensing model

Tags information technology, software, technology

Categories 2013, Information Technology, May, Trends