Book Review: Delivering Happiness

Book Review: Delivering Happiness. Tony Hsieh is awesome. Why? Because both pairs of shoes I bought from Zappos came in one day, for no extra charge. Well, that's true, but the reasons I admire Tony Hsieh stretch much farther. Delivering Happiness is an autobiography of sorts, chronicling his upbringing, educational background and experiences, and business experiences, from Oracle and LinkExchange to Zappos and Amazon. Hsieh breezes through recounting his college experience, but his application process and subsequent acceptance to everywhere he applied to is a testament to his intelligence and work ethic (thanks Asian parents!). What's really impressive is his passion around his work and his extreme willingness to invest himself fully in it. LinkExchange started as a small idea, but as it gained momentum, Hsieh and his business partners invested all their time into it. And when LinkExchange went in directions Hsieh did not like, he sold and reminded himself to apply the lessons he learned to every future venture. Hsieh is thoughtful, able to meld business goals and culture and employee goals. And more than meld, he believe that focusing on the culture and employee goals will enable him to reach business goals. It's likely the correct approach, as it deals with the principal-agent problem up front, ensuring 100% buy-in and providing stability in the form of reduced turnover, corruption and productivity loss. This book is a must read for really anyone in any field. Hsieh sticks to his priorities and passions as we all should.

Book Review: Elsewhere U.S.A.

Book Review: Elsewhere USA. In Elsewhere USA, Dalton Conley describes how we have been transformed into a society on the move, constantly working via mobile devices, grabbing meals on the go and video conferencing in from remote locations. This is a fact, and although Conley is obviously a smart man, and deploys many theories, historical facts and such in his book, I see no real value in it. He offers no real conclusions or outcomes, just observations that we work a lot. I don't think we needed a book to tell us that.

Book Review: The No Asshole Rule

Book Review: The No Asshole Rule. The book said many things, all related by about 94%. Things like: being an asshole hurts your career, companies are worse off when hiring assholes, people don't like assholes, assholes hurt productivity in the workplace, and more. Much like Elsewhere USA, I doubt a book needed to be written on this topic. I did appreciate the final chapter acknowledging that there are "assholes" who are quite superior at their jobs, namely Steve Jobs. I think often times being calculating, unflinching and demanding of excellence can get one unfairly labeled as an asshole, especially in today's "make people feel good, give everyone an opportunity, it's the effort that counts" society.

Book Review: The Associate

Book Review: The Associate. The Associate tells of a Yale law student turned big-city law associate, caught between a past he'd like to forget and a lawsuit of epic proportions. Typicl Grisham. Good read if you like Grisham.

Book Review: The Confession

Book Review: The Confession. This was one of my least favorite Grisham books. I sort of disliked all the main characters: Keith, Robbie, Travis, Donte and Kerber.

Book Review: Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will

Jack Welch was the legendary CEO of General Electric, the venerable US blue chipper started by the crazed hair and brilliant mind of Thomas Edison. GE has stood the test of time and is the gold-standard for companies when it comes to longevity, stability and growth. GE continues to be prime business school discussion as they have transformed their business lines, turning themselves into basically a hedge-fund masquerading as a normal company. Their massive amounts of commercial paper have huge effects in the short-term debt world. The book chronicles Jack Welch's rise to CEO, vision and implementation of change on a grand scale, and continued guidance of GE at the forefront of American business. We learn all about Welch, from his intensity and Darwinian outlook to his dexterity at navigating bureaucracy and unwavering commitment to excellence. I had never read any book on Welch, so this detailed look at one of the best business minds our country has seen was wonderful. Welch displayed countless qualities of a leader of a company, well-spoken and blunt, willingness to bring anything up for discussion and bullheaded determination to get the facts, the relevant facts for any decision.