Weekly Bookmarks
08 – March 31, 2019
1. What I’m Reading
- Unless I’m reading a book similar to Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog, business books are easy to put down. That’s because the purpose of most business books is to inform. I’m reading Your Strategy Needs a Strategy and finding the book hard to put down. Don’t have time to read the book? The author’s TED talk is excellent. This 2012 HBR article provides a summary of the key points too. You’ll learn that big is not necessarily beautiful.
- Annie Duke’s Thinking in Bets is not a book about winning at poker. Duke takes us on a journey through how we make decisions. It is a fascinating read, if not a slight mind-bender.
- I never knew what the job title Product Evangelist meant until I read about Guy Kawasaki. No, he’s not the Rich Dad, Poor Dad guy (er, Guy). My favorite Kawasaki book is still The Art of The Start. But Wise Guy: A Memoir will be a 2019 stocking stuffer for my adult children this Christmas.
2. What I’m Writing
I am a frameworks fanatic. I build them daily while working with clients, especially with COOs. Later this week, I’ll publish a fun article with a video on well-known frameworks. For instance, did you know that SWOT was not the first-ever framework introduced? It was created in 1969 and written about in 1970 by Bruce Henderson of BCG. If you are familiar with PEST, did you realize it was introduced two years earlier? Stay tuned; more to come on frameworks.
3. What I’m Reading Beyond Books
Jim Collins wrote an article for Fortune in 2003 listing his 10 Greatest CEOs of All Time, which you can read here. This list includes notable exceptions (Bezos, Page, Bethune, Gates, Eisner, and Iverson, to name a few).
My favorite inclusion is Sam Walton, where Collins writes that he was arrested for being on his hands and knees measuring store aisles at a retailer in South America. Talk about attention to detail; he cared about the small things.
4. What I’m Watching
If a young intern wrote a Strategic Management Report for your company, would it look like this one? It was nicely done by a college student.
My favorite visual is the Brand Onion on the far right of pages 18-19. Consider sharing this link with your marketing team and the CEO.
5. Homework Assignment
Earlier, I mentioned frameworks. This article introduces the reader to 4 widely known if not overly-abused, business frameworks. Which of these frameworks have you used at your company? Which ones are misused? Which ones are missing? More importantly, have you considered creating frameworks to help guide your work?
Thank You!
Thank you for reading. If you like the above and the posts at CFO Bookshelf, may I ask a favor? Feel free to share this with other readers and comment on your favorite blog posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
Take care, and have a great week. Always be learning.
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