Mark Gandy

For the second consecutive year, we’ve dedicated a show to our favorite books we read during the previous year. There’s a Top 10 list, a bucket for fiction, honorable mentions, unexpected surprises, books we reread, and books we did not like. We also make a bold prediction for one of our favorite books for 2023. How many books should you read? What’s behind a great book? Those questions are answered too.

What can any business or financial leader learn from a twenty-year vet in the fire service? I’m calling John Cuomo the John Maxwell for firefighters and other public safety officials based on his book, Leadership Refined by Fire. John has always been interested in leadership and lifelong learning, and his book is full of stories, inspiration, and big ideas that can be applied to any playing field in the areas of lifelong learning, humility, and much more.

As a financial expert, could you estimate the cost savings in the U.S. alone through the country’s use of daylight savings time (DST)? Benjamin Franklin’s estimates in 1784 yielded about $200 million in savings in today’s dollars if people lived their days by making the best use of daylight around the year. David Prerau is the leading expert on daylight savings time, and his book, Seize the Daylight, explores the rich history of DST.

I recently started listening to the podcast Investing by the Books produced by the Nordic investment banker Redeye. The hosts are Eddie Palmgren and Niklas Sävås, and they are great. Both are lifelong learners, and they love books on investing. In this show, we talk about the best investment books that Eddie and Niklas have ever read. We’ll find out their favorite book about Buffett. We’ll also get more insights on Mr. Market, moats, and the Ackman Paradox.

Gordon Graham accepted an IT position at a public utility district in rural Washington because its core values and guiding principles aligned with his. The PUD’s culture started spiraling downward after a new general manager with narcissistic tendencies pushed an agenda with financially damaging outcomes. These behaviors and other bizarre actions resulted in Gordon’s inexcusable termination, which he tells in his book, The Intrepid Brotherhood: Public Power, Corruption, and Whistleblowing in the Pacific Northwest.

I stumbled upon John Seddon’s website, The Vanguard Method, a few years ago. At the time, I read every page, post, and short tutorial in one sitting. I followed that binge-reading with his book, Beyond Command and Control, which is the topic for this episode. John teaches us about failure demand, break-fix systems, the destructive nature of arbitrary targets, and budget management. We also gain greater insights into outside-in thinking through a systems mindset.