Corporate Counsel by Peter Carayiannis is a Lencioni-like business fable geared toward lawyers contemplating a career move to become in-house attorneys in private business. However, the book is not just for those who have passed the bar exam. As a finance professional, I found this fast-paced book packed with actionable insights that business owners can apply immediately in their organizations. Finally, business readers have a book to build their legal and corporate risk literacy and acumen.
[Read more…] about A Novel Approach to In-house LawyersThe Buffett Acolyte Who Attended School with His Kids
Of all the books written about Warren Buffett, I am unaware of any authors who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and went to school with his children. Todd Finkle is the author of Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur, a book that was fourteen years in the making. Even if you have read numerous books on investing, this one is full of gems from a unique perspective, including a chapter on Buffett’s investing missteps.
[Read more…] about The Buffett Acolyte Who Attended School with His KidsBig Bet Leadership
Making his second appearance on the show is John Rossman. John hit my radar two years ago after he wrote The Amazon Way, which reached my Top 10 list of 2022 books. His newest book is Big Bet Leadership that he co-wrote with Kevin McCaffrey. This strategy and management book reads fast with practical and big ideas not just for high-tech organizations, but those that are low tech large or small. Nonprofits can gain value, too.
[Read more…] about Big Bet LeadershipUpcoming Book Releases
I like finding obscure business books, biographies, and well-written historical pieces that read like narratives. I’m also constantly watching upcoming releases that fit these criteria. The list below is in release date order.
[Read more…] about Upcoming Book ReleasesWhat CFO Bookshelf Is Reading Now
I’ve never been a person to share what I’m reading on social media. Yet, friends and acquaintances still ask me what I’m reading frequently.
Typically, I’m always reading one book and listening to another. I walk about 75 minutes an evening and longer on weekends. That allows me to consume 40-50 audiobooks annually. Accordingly, I’ll break my reading into two buckets: reading and listening.
[Read more…] about What CFO Bookshelf Is Reading NowBuilt to Beat Chaos
Gary Harpst co-founded the ERP solution Solomon Software, which was ultimately sold to Great Plains. CFO Bookshelf enjoys Gary’s past books, including Six Disciplines for Excellence and Six Disciplines Revolution. Gary’s newest book has been 40 years in the making. The title is Built to Beat Chaos: Biblical Wisdom for Leading Yourself and Others. While this is Gary’s message and stories, this provocative leadership book is part of Drucker, C.S. Lewis, Maxwell, and Christensen.
[Read more…] about Built to Beat ChaosWhat is a Beautiful Constraint?
I started my career reading Goldratt and his Theory of Constraints, which includes exploiting and elevating a constrating. Instead, A Beautiful Constraint’s authors want to leverage these limitations toward progress positively. Barden and Morgan view constraints as an opportunity and use them as a stimulus to see a new or better way of achieving an ambition. Willy Donaldson and I unpack five of their seven process steps of making constraints beautiful through mindset, method, and motivation.
[Read more…] about What is a Beautiful Constraint?Our Favorite Books in 2023
Since starting the CFO Bookshelf podcast, I have released a ‘favorite books’ show each January. I’ve always been reluctant to do so because my reading tastes may differ from yours. However, these episodes are some of the most downloaded in our podcast catalog. In this discussion, I list my Top 10 books, honorable mentions, fiction, and even books that I did not like. Other insights include what and how much to read and if fiction matters.
[Read more…] about Our Favorite Books in 2023Pricing Strategy vs. Pricing Tactics
Many pricing books are heavy in ideas, abstractions, and behavioral science mind-shifting. Others are focused on simple pricing tactics. Jean-Manual Izaret’s (JMI) book, Game Changer, fills a void by showing readers and pricing practitioners how to approach pricing strategically through cleverly designed frameworks and thought-provoking questions. The heart of this conversation is The Strategic Pricing Hexagon and how to play the right pricing game.
[Read more…] about Pricing Strategy vs. Pricing TacticsEntrepreneur Upskilling
The objective of Topgrading® is finding, acquiring, onboarding, and keeping A-players. However, what is the Topgrading® equivalent of entrepreneur A-players? I don’t think there is one, but perhaps we need a definition for Entrepreneur Upskilling.
[Read more…] about Entrepreneur Upskilling