If you liked The Big Short by Michael Lewis where we learn about the investors who bet against the housing market before its massive plunge in 2007-2008, then you might like reading about the financial revolution that emerged the following 10 years. Daniel Simon weaved more than 150 interviews with technologists whom he calls misfits for his book, The Money Hackers which reads fast in its narrative-driven arc.
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The Tools and Frameworks Behind a Massive Cultural Turnaround
The legendary CEO, Hunter Harrison, was making an impact with his tools and philosophies while turning around Canadian National Railway. But he still needed help with a serious problem. The organization’s culture was still a problem. That’s where Judy Johnson and her other consulting team members played a role in the cultural turnaround. Judy is the co-author of SwitchPoints which addresses this journey and their tools.
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The Complete Financial History of Berkshire Hathaway
In any Amazon book search, one can find some 200 titles about Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger or Berkshire Hathaway. Yet, the book Adam Mead was searching for never existed – a complete listing of every purchase that Berkshire Hathaway made from its very beginning. Even Hagstrom doesn’t come close in his great book, The Warren Buffett Way. It took him 5 years to write it, and Adam Mead finally has the book he was wanting to read himself.
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Jean Cunningham, a Former CFO’s Perspective on Lean
One of the best books I’ve ever read on LEAN from a CFO’s perspective is Real Numbers by Jean Cunningham, one of the co-authors of that book. I was deeply thankful we could pull Jean out of retirement for this insightful and informative discussion about the mindset and methodology of LEAN, which is about continuous improvement with respect for people. We discuss the goals of lean, plain-language financial reporting, the one-day close, kaizen, unit costs, her other books, and much more.
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Practical Performance Measurement with Stacey Barr
Stacey Barr is the author of Practical Performance Measurement and Prove It!. She’s also the creator of the PuMP® framework which I believe is by far the best mental construct for learning and implementing performance measurements successfully in any organization large or small. This Australian-based teacher and consultant did not set out to be a performance measurement specialist. While she had a strong penchant for math and statistics, she first had her sites set on the medical profession.
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A Global FP&A Director Talks Technology, Methods, and People
I read some 100-120 books annually, I skim probably a hundred others. I read dozens of whitepapers and journals just to keep my mind sharp during any 12-month period. While FP&A bleeds every beautiful color in my veins, books on the topic generally range from being dull to lifeless. That’s why our team started scoping out FP&A Directors to interview for our podcast. Our first selection included some luck and did not disappoint.
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An OKRs Doubleheader
When it comes to OKRs thought leaders, only two people come to mind. One of them is not John Doerr although he’s influenced both in their thinking about OKRs. The first is Ben Lamorte who has already been on our podcast. He’s an author and coach of OKRs consultants. The other person is someone who Ben said, “Mark, you need to watch Christina’s Wodtke’s, The Executioner’s Tale.” In this episode, her OKRs roots and her last book, The Team That Managed Itself are the key themes of our discussion with both Christina and Ben.
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Howard Green Tells the Story of One of the Greatest CEOs Ever
When you think of iconic and successful CEOs, names like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Howard Schultz, Jack Welch, and Sam Walton probably spring to mind. Can you name a 4-time CEO who orchestrated overwhelming turnarounds at each of his stopping points? I can, and his name is Hunter Harrison. He’s the subject of the book, Railroader: The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-Time CEO Hunter Harrison.
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Have You Been Tripped Up by The Management Myth?
I owe a debt of gratitude to long-time pricing expert, author, speaker, and podcast host, Ron Baker. On the Soul of Enterprise podcast, Ron and his co-host Ed Kless mentioned Matthew Stewart and his book, The Management Myth. I immediately listened to it and then read it (and a few more times since). I require every consultant I coach and mentor to read it.
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A Supply Chain Metrics Deep Dive with Lora Cecere
Lora Cecere needs no introduction in the supply chain world. That’s especially true when she has 320,000 followers on LinkedIn, and that list continues to grow. Lora is the founder of the research and analysis firm, Supply Chain Insights which publishes the annual Supply Chains to Admire annual report. We talk about Lora’s supply chain insights, and her book, Supply Chain Metrics That Matter.
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