Business Book Reads and Insights

***Mikoid*** · Oct 19, 1999, 11:09 AM

The Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy
by Christopher Meyer, Stan Davis

The Blur contends that three forces will shape the digital economy: "connectivity, speed, and the growth of intangible value". These forces will catapult business into a period of unprecedented transition not unlike evolutionary attrition. A company -- or even a career professional -- must innovate or perish.

The Blur is an excellent study of the digital economy -- one of perfect information and high levels of efficiency. Prices are dynamic and immediately responsive to shifts up the line. It's an economy where you can't distinguish between a product and a service, where everyone practices a certain level of personal entrepreneurship.

More than any other, this book stimulates your thinking. It outlines the shift of thinking needed for your company or your career to operate in the connected future.

Business @ The Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System
by Bill Gates (who???)

Chairman Bill penned a pretty good strategic management book here. He uses examples from real companies and CEOs to show how computer networks are revolutionizing information management, how Internet technologies are creating meaningful consumer experiences, and the reality of a paperless office. I found his early chapters on the digital nervous system to be the most inspiring -- how management has access to real-time, dynamic information on company performance, market trends, sales and financial data, etc.

In the process, he does the predictable. Yes, he plugs MS products. Yes, he uses his own company as "the successful case study". But if anyone's got the right to show off, it's gotta be Chairman Bill, right?

He also has nifty quotes by business leaders of major US corporations at the start of each chapter.

The Dilbert Future
by Scott Adams

Where the Blur pushes "connectivity, speed and intangible value" as its driving forces in the New Economy, Scott Adams introduces the In-duh-vidual. He says that technology pushs individuals below the "incompetence line", that the future won't be like Star Trek, and that Microsoft will emerge the victor in the IT war.

This book isn't all funny, though. He actually has a serious closing chapter which borders on the metaphysical!

Some important lessons from Scott Adams' vision of the future:

1. in the future, life definitely won't be like Star Trek (or else we'd never leave the holodeck)
2. there will be a huge market for technology products that help workers goof off and still get paid
3. Internet capacity will increase indefinitely to keep up with the egos of the people using it
4. it will be incredibly easy to find customers gullible enough to
5. buy any product, no matter how worthless and stupid it is
6. your competitors will remain just as clueless as you are

***nix*** · Oct 28, 1999, 10:43 PM

I've been reading Blur for a while now (haven't had much time), and although I find the writers' perceptions very interesting, I agree with their overall conclusion that much of their discussion has been left unsettled.

The Blurring shifts in our economy, sweeping as they may be, appear to have many scampering forward, innovating, without really mastering what they have left behind. Perhaps, those who have vigilantly pushed for the said shifts have been too caught up in the rapid transition that they have blurred the values which their businesses have embraced in the first place.

I find that such essentials as Mission-Vision Statements, Core Competencies, Company Values and Ethics, maintain their importance, and must not in turn, be blurred, unrecognizable, in the attempt to keep ahead of the pack. From the looks of the situation now, the paradigm is shifting rather too quickly for any genuine assessment to take place.

Finally, I would like to give a little insight on the e-commerce craze. Business to Business exchanges produce ten times more revenue when compared to Business to Commercial transactions. Amazon.com, Buy.com and all these other sites, have been successful in an otherwise impersonal (when compared to their real world counterparts) avenue of merchantry. But Business to Business transactions may not translate as well on the Web. BB exchanges have been built on growing relationships, on handshakes and meals shared. And this is something that an electronic graphic on your screen can never replace.

[This message has been edited by nix (edited 10-28-1999).]

***Mikoid*** · Oct 29, 1999, 01:40 AM

I have a reply, but my brain is about as effective as tossed salad. Maybe tomorrow morning... g'night.

zimdude · Oct 8, 2000, 08:13 PM

I just finished this one:

Secrets of a CEO Coach

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...079947-1308637

I agree with the Amazon readers, though the book is quite short and written in parts in outline form. I got this because I want to pick up CEO thinking patterns even though I'm not keen on being one. I should also look for the author's How to Think Like a CEO.

----

I just picked up these:

Funky Business

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...079947-1308637

The Mentoring Manager: Strategies for fostering talent and spreading knowledge

Couldn't find reviews for this.

I'll do my write-ups on these later, but just from the layout Funky Business is really off the wall.

***nix*** · Oct 9, 2000, 12:38 PM

Recent reads include:

Permission Advertising by Seth Godin: Very interesting insights on the new face of marketing.

The Mckinsey Way (I forget the author's name): A little shallow, but it has some interesting pointers.

Am currently reading Eboys which is the story of Benchmark Capital, the VC who funded Webvan, Scient, and Ebay amongst others. So far so good, the book narrates the experiences of this start up fund back in 1996.

zimdude · Oct 9, 2000, 12:52 PM

Perhaps we can discuss these at the Business Club (just like its literary counterpart, Book Club)

Irradiate · Oct 12, 2000, 09:30 AM

Done reading (recommended):

"The High Tech Start-up" by John Nesheim-Book was abot Venture Capitalism, critical issues in a start-up co., Valuation, market statistics, etc.

"Rethinking Business to Business Marketing" by ?-Modern marketing strategies.

"Budgeting A La Carte" by John Tracy-Simplified budgeting and financial crash course. Highly recommended

Currently reading:

"The Productivity Game" by Craig Hickman-An Interactive business book where you learn to decide and think like a CEO. Pretty cool stuff coz you make your own choices. Kinda like 'Choose your Own Adventure' in the business setting.

Zim, I agree. Let's get together!!!

zimdude · Oct 12, 2000, 11:29 AM

well, Irradiate, it looks like I don't have to buy more books... let's just swap

pero hindi puwede tayo tayo lang no... hmm that marketing book would be good, I'd like to learn something in that field. my friends in marketing have helped me in the past, and one of them is a PExer

Thanks ha.

Irradiate · Oct 12, 2000, 05:18 PM

Why don't we have our swapping take place in the next Business Club EB?

zimdude · Oct 12, 2000, 10:14 PM

Hmm by swap we mean lend each other the books no... well I think a business library would be a good resource for people who can't afford the P1,000+ price tags... let's put one up?

As for the discussion, well I can summarize the books I just read. I really haven't started the current one, perhaps when I take my trip I can get some notes written down.

Irradiate · Oct 13, 2000, 05:52 PM

Great idea! I have a few at home which I don't read anymore. It can be useful to others who'd want to borrow it. Set it up Zim...I'm in!

zimdude · Oct 13, 2000, 10:11 PM

Sige sige, I'll try to whip up a website for hosting this thingie, so non-PExers would benefit too...

zimdude · Oct 20, 2000, 05:52 PM

Just picked up this one, it's great! Light reading, finished in 3 hours or so.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...867868-2107347

What does it really take to run a successful company today? Thomas Neff and James Citrin, U.S. chairman and managing director, respectively, of the Spencer Stuart executive-search firm, offer revealing answers in Lessons from the Top: The Search for America's Best Business Leaders. In 50 short but perceptive profiles, they identify and analyze the men and women who drive today's most successful corporations. As might be expected, the authors lean heavily on well-known CEOs such as Steve Case of America Online, Michael Dell of Dell Computer, and Howard Schultz of Starbucks. But they also look at a number who don't get the same publicity, including Fannie Mae's Frank Raines, the Gap's Don Fisher, and Autodesk's Carol Bartz. The result is a broad but surprisingly consistent palette of personalities and philosophies that in a concluding section Neff and Citrin highlight by synthesizing into 10 common traits (passion, intelligence, communication skill, high energy, controlled ego, inner peace, a defining background, strong family life, positive attitude, and a focus on "doing the right things right") and six core principles (live with integrity, develop a winning strategy, build a great management team, inspire employees, create a flexible organization, and implement relevant systems). This book is for managers and anyone else looking for the patterns of success, both in and out of business.

zimdude · Nov 11, 2000, 01:45 PM

Now this is an old Old Economy book but still has some value...

Iacocca : An Autobiography

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...088798-5137701

what can be more "old economy" than cars?

cianoy · Nov 21, 2000, 05:23 AM

Hi! I saw this thread on books and business just a while ago. I'm looking for something more particular. Does anyone know of books for the starting businessman given the Philippine setting?

Thanks!

---------
http://philippinejobs.ph

Career Assistance in your Mail
---------

zimdude · Nov 21, 2000, 07:24 AM

Admittedly I have read none... now there's this marketing book being advertised, by Josiah Go? I think he's well-published, how's he?

ching · Dec 23, 2000, 06:30 AM

Does anyone have a Jack Welch book they can lend me? I can swap an Andy Grove book ("only the paranoid will survive")...

zimdude · Dec 23, 2000, 07:03 AM

I don't have Welch, and I've stopped reading business books for now. Now reading math books

They have new titles over at Page One (Rockwell)

mupheza · Jan 10, 2001, 08:11 AM

Hey... post nyo naman URL nung site na you were planning to put up. I could surely use some guide regarding which titles to read for putting up & maintaining a biz

mac_bolan00 · Jan 11, 2001, 12:13 AM

sa akin lang, i don't really like reading those "how to" and og mandingo-type books. i prefer going back to my old notes and textbooks. i also look out for new editions.

years after i finished mba, i visited my professors in diliman. i asked them what hot finance textbook was currently being circulated. they all told me to just master the one we used in finance II ("principles of financial management" by brealey and myers). they say it's still the best finance book around. they themselves continue to read it.

finance guys should check it out. it's easy reading, even witty.


Oct 9, 2000, 12:52 PM	#6
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	For discussion... Perhaps we can discuss these at the Business Club (just like its literary counterpart, Book Club)


Oct 19, 1999, 11:09 AM	#1
*Mikoid* Administrator Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: PEx Stronghold	The Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy by Christopher Meyer, Stan Davis The Blur contends that three forces will shape the digital economy: "connectivity, speed, and the growth of intangible value". These forces will catapult business into a period of unprecedented transition not unlike evolutionary attrition. A company -- or even a career professional -- must innovate or perish. The Blur is an excellent study of the digital economy -- one of perfect information and high levels of efficiency. Prices are dynamic and immediately responsive to shifts up the line. It's an economy where you can't distinguish between a product and a service, where everyone practices a certain level of personal entrepreneurship. More than any other, this book stimulates your thinking. It outlines the shift of thinking needed for your company or your career to operate in the connected future. Business @ The Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System by Bill Gates (who???) Chairman Bill penned a pretty good strategic management book here. He uses examples from real companies and CEOs to show how computer networks are revolutionizing information management, how Internet technologies are creating meaningful consumer experiences, and the reality of a paperless office. I found his early chapters on the digital nervous system to be the most inspiring -- how management has access to real-time, dynamic information on company performance, market trends, sales and financial data, etc. In the process, he does the predictable. Yes, he plugs MS products. Yes, he uses his own company as "the successful case study". But if anyone's got the right to show off, it's gotta be Chairman Bill, right? He also has nifty quotes by business leaders of major US corporations at the start of each chapter. The Dilbert Future by Scott Adams Where the Blur pushes "connectivity, speed and intangible value" as its driving forces in the New Economy, Scott Adams introduces the In-duh-vidual. He says that technology pushs individuals below the "incompetence line", that the future won't be like Star Trek, and that Microsoft will emerge the victor in the IT war. This book isn't all funny, though. He actually has a serious closing chapter which borders on the metaphysical! Some important lessons from Scott Adams' vision of the future: 1. in the future, life definitely won't be like Star Trek (or else we'd never leave the holodeck) 2. there will be a huge market for technology products that help workers goof off and still get paid 3. Internet capacity will increase indefinitely to keep up with the egos of the people using it 4. it will be incredibly easy to find customers gullible enough to 5. buy any product, no matter how worthless and stupid it is 6. your competitors will remain just as clueless as you are


Oct 28, 1999, 10:43 PM	#2
*nix* Administrator Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: Metro_Manila	I've been reading Blur for a while now (haven't had much time), and although I find the writers' perceptions very interesting, I agree with their overall conclusion that much of their discussion has been left unsettled. The Blurring shifts in our economy, sweeping as they may be, appear to have many scampering forward, innovating, without really mastering what they have left behind. Perhaps, those who have vigilantly pushed for the said shifts have been too caught up in the rapid transition that they have blurred the values which their businesses have embraced in the first place. I find that such essentials as Mission-Vision Statements, Core Competencies, Company Values and Ethics, maintain their importance, and must not in turn, be blurred, unrecognizable, in the attempt to keep ahead of the pack. From the looks of the situation now, the paradigm is shifting rather too quickly for any genuine assessment to take place. Finally, I would like to give a little insight on the e-commerce craze. Business to Business exchanges produce ten times more revenue when compared to Business to Commercial transactions. Amazon.com, Buy.com and all these other sites, have been successful in an otherwise impersonal (when compared to their real world counterparts) avenue of merchantry. But Business to Business transactions may not translate as well on the Web. BB exchanges have been built on growing relationships, on handshakes and meals shared. And this is something that an electronic graphic on your screen can never replace. [This message has been edited by nix (edited 10-28-1999).]


Oct 29, 1999, 01:40 AM	#3
*Mikoid* Administrator Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: PEx Stronghold	I have a reply, but my brain is about as effective as tossed salad. Maybe tomorrow morning... g'night.


Oct 8, 2000, 08:13 PM	#4
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	I just finished this one: Secrets of a CEO Coach http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...079947-1308637 I agree with the Amazon readers, though the book is quite short and written in parts in outline form. I got this because I want to pick up CEO thinking patterns even though I'm not keen on being one. I should also look for the author's How to Think Like a CEO. ---- I just picked up these: Funky Business http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...079947-1308637 The Mentoring Manager: Strategies for fostering talent and spreading knowledge Couldn't find reviews for this. I'll do my write-ups on these later, but just from the layout Funky Business is really off the wall.


Oct 9, 2000, 12:38 PM	#5
*nix* Administrator Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: Metro_Manila	Recent reads include: Permission Advertising by Seth Godin: Very interesting insights on the new face of marketing. The Mckinsey Way (I forget the author's name): A little shallow, but it has some interesting pointers. Am currently reading Eboys which is the story of Benchmark Capital, the VC who funded Webvan, Scient, and Ebay amongst others. So far so good, the book narrates the experiences of this start up fund back in 1996.


Oct 12, 2000, 09:30 AM	#7
Irradiate Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Pasig City NCR	Done reading (recommended): "The High Tech Start-up" by John Nesheim-Book was abot Venture Capitalism, critical issues in a start-up co., Valuation, market statistics, etc. "Rethinking Business to Business Marketing" by ?-Modern marketing strategies. "Budgeting A La Carte" by John Tracy-Simplified budgeting and financial crash course. Highly recommended Currently reading: "The Productivity Game" by Craig Hickman-An Interactive business book where you learn to decide and think like a CEO. Pretty cool stuff coz you make your own choices. Kinda like 'Choose your Own Adventure' in the business setting. Zim, I agree. Let's get together!!!


Oct 12, 2000, 11:29 AM	#8
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	well, Irradiate, it looks like I don't have to buy more books... let's just swap pero hindi puwede tayo tayo lang no... hmm that marketing book would be good, I'd like to learn something in that field. my friends in marketing have helped me in the past, and one of them is a PExer Thanks ha.


Oct 12, 2000, 05:18 PM	#9
Irradiate Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Pasig City NCR	Why don't we have our swapping take place in the next Business Club EB?


Oct 12, 2000, 10:14 PM	#10
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	Hmm by swap we mean lend each other the books no... well I think a business library would be a good resource for people who can't afford the P1,000+ price tags... let's put one up? As for the discussion, well I can summarize the books I just read. I really haven't started the current one, perhaps when I take my trip I can get some notes written down.


Oct 13, 2000, 05:52 PM	#11
Irradiate Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Pasig City NCR	Great idea! I have a few at home which I don't read anymore. It can be useful to others who'd want to borrow it. Set it up Zim...I'm in!


Oct 13, 2000, 10:11 PM	#12
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	Sige sige, I'll try to whip up a website for hosting this thingie, so non-PExers would benefit too...


Oct 20, 2000, 05:52 PM	#13
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	Just picked up this one, it's great! Light reading, finished in 3 hours or so. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...867868-2107347 What does it really take to run a successful company today? Thomas Neff and James Citrin, U.S. chairman and managing director, respectively, of the Spencer Stuart executive-search firm, offer revealing answers in Lessons from the Top: The Search for America's Best Business Leaders. In 50 short but perceptive profiles, they identify and analyze the men and women who drive today's most successful corporations. As might be expected, the authors lean heavily on well-known CEOs such as Steve Case of America Online, Michael Dell of Dell Computer, and Howard Schultz of Starbucks. But they also look at a number who don't get the same publicity, including Fannie Mae's Frank Raines, the Gap's Don Fisher, and Autodesk's Carol Bartz. The result is a broad but surprisingly consistent palette of personalities and philosophies that in a concluding section Neff and Citrin highlight by synthesizing into 10 common traits (passion, intelligence, communication skill, high energy, controlled ego, inner peace, a defining background, strong family life, positive attitude, and a focus on "doing the right things right") and six core principles (live with integrity, develop a winning strategy, build a great management team, inspire employees, create a flexible organization, and implement relevant systems). This book is for managers and anyone else looking for the patterns of success, both in and out of business.


Nov 11, 2000, 01:45 PM	#14
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	Now this is an old Old Economy book but still has some value... Iacocca : An Autobiography http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...088798-5137701 what can be more "old economy" than cars?


Nov 21, 2000, 05:23 AM	#15
cianoy cianoy Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Metro_Manila	Hi! I saw this thread on books and business just a while ago. I'm looking for something more particular. Does anyone know of books for the starting businessman given the Philippine setting? Thanks! --------- http://philippinejobs.ph Career Assistance in your Mail ---------


Nov 21, 2000, 07:24 AM	#16
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	Admittedly I have read none... now there's this marketing book being advertised, by Josiah Go? I think he's well-published, how's he?


Dec 23, 2000, 06:30 AM	#17
ching Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Singapore	Does anyone have a Jack Welch book they can lend me? I can swap an Andy Grove book ("only the paranoid will survive")...


Dec 23, 2000, 07:03 AM	#18
zimdude indietechartist Join Date: May 2000	I don't have Welch, and I've stopped reading business books for now. Now reading math books They have new titles over at Page One (Rockwell)


Jan 10, 2001, 08:11 AM	#19
mupheza Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Metro_Manila	Hey... post nyo naman URL nung site na you were planning to put up. I could surely use some guide regarding which titles to read for putting up & maintaining a biz


Jan 11, 2001, 12:13 AM	#20
mac_bolan00 Banned by Admin Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Quezon	sa akin lang, i don't really like reading those "how to" and og mandingo-type books. i prefer going back to my old notes and textbooks. i also look out for new editions. years after i finished mba, i visited my professors in diliman. i asked them what hot finance textbook was currently being circulated. they all told me to just master the one we used in finance II ("principles of financial management" by brealey and myers). they say it's still the best finance book around. they themselves continue to read it. finance guys should check it out. it's easy reading, even witty.