8th Annual Top 10 Summer Reading List for Business Leaders

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is excited to announce some favorite books in the "Eighth Annual Top 10 Summer Reading List for Business Leaders" for 2011, as recommended by faculty members and staff.

1. Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours (2011)
   By Tarun Khanna

   “This book is a must read for anyone interested in how the world of business is going to be transformed by India and China during this century,” says G. “Anand” Anandalingam, Dean of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “The book describes the complementary strengths of India and China, and how ‘mutualism’ between both nations can facilitate each other’s weaknesses. Khanna reinforces the notion that the government is the entrepreneur in China. Conversely, Indian entrepreneurs have little faith in the Indian government and try to avoid it at all costs. In addition, ‘Billions of Entrepreneurs’ examines the similarities in both Chinese and Indian history.”

2. Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future (2010)
   By Dan Schawbel

   "To be competitive in today’s global marketplace, students must seek out new ways to build their brand and gain access to business opportunities," says Jeff Kudisch, managing director of the Office of Career Services. "So what are you doing from a social media perspective to differentiate yourself from other business school job seekers? More broadly speaking, what strategies are you using to set yourself apart? The job search process is dynamic and requires students to fully immerse themselves in social media to enhance their personal brand. This book offers a detailed and comprehensive guide for leveraging the big three social media features – LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. In this very practical, engaging, easy to read book, Schawbel offers a variety of branding techniques and tools to maximize job search success. This is a must read for those who want to create a powerful persona that truly separates themselves from the competition amidst the war for talent."

3. Decision Points (2010)
   By George W. Bush

   In this candid account, President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions that shaped his presidency and personal life. “This book shows the inside perspective on the key decision points during the Bush presidency,” says Asher Epstein, Managing Director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. “It’s a real time and with big stakes read on how key decisions were made in times of great significance. This is a valuable read for strategic thinkers and leaders.”

4. Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business (2010)
   By Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler

   “The authors explain how to use technology and your employees to link to your customers and improve your brand” says Ken White, Executive Director of the Office of Marketing Communications and Acting Assistant Dean of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations . “The book encourages companies to allow their employees to interact with customers via social media. Some great examples are given regarding employees becoming brand builders. Bernoff co-wrote ‘Groundswell,’ a terrific book about social media.”

5. Social Innovation, Inc.: 5 Strategies for Driving Business Growth through Social Change (2010)
   By Jason Saul

   “This book is an excellent primer to those thinking about how their firm can create business value through social change,” says Melissa Carrier, Executive Director of the Center for Social Value Creation. “Saul describes five strategies to take organizations beyond the traditional model of corporate social responsibility as an obligation for companies to give back or minimize the negative effects of business. Indeed, the ‘aha!’ of this book is about discovering the hidden or unrealized business potential of social change. There is a clear shift in thinking among private sector leaders towards strategic integration of social, environmental, and economic value creation. This book provides colorful examples of best practices we see at the Center for Social Value Creation.”

6. You Can't Lead With Your Feet On the Desk: Building Relationships, Breaking Down Barriers, and Delivering Profits (2011)
   By Edwin Fuller

   “This book is inspiring and very insightful. Written by Edwin Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging at Marriott International Inc, the book is easy to read and filled with great examples all based on his extensive international experience,” says Mark Wellman, Tyser Teaching Fellow of Management & Organization. “The book explains how to connect, manage and do business with people in any culture. Under his leadership at Marriott, Fuller has opened more than 500 hotels outside the United States and visited over 125 countries on six continents. Fuller outlines how he built Marriott's global arm into the world's largest international hotel chain, with lessons for managers and students.”

7. Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour (2010)
   By Lynne Olson

   “As a youngster during WW II, I was very familiar with the voices and movie news of Churchill, FDR, and Edward R. Morrow,” says John A. Haslem, Professor Emeritus of Finance. “Believe me, much of what was seen and heard was frightening, and early on, mostly discouraging—Germany invades the West, Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor, the North Atlantic convoys, North African campaign and invasion of Italy, D-Day and Normandy casualties, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Stalingrad, and so much more. This most informative book presents the inside story of those Americans diplomats and newsmen who supported Churchill in his efforts to get the president to enter the war—Averell Harriman, Edward R. Murrow, and Ambassador to England John Winant were the major players in these efforts. These men played huge roles in saving England from Hitler, and perhaps the U.S., as well. Winant is the unsung hero of these efforts and deserved much more than he received in recognition, and Roosevelt, less so, including his dealings with Stalin.”

8. In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives (2011)
   By Steven Levy

   “Few companies in business history have ever been as successful and as Google,” says Mark Wellman, Tyser Teaching Fellow of Management & Organization. “Google’s influence goes well beyond internet search. How has been Google been so successful? Author Steven Levy takes readers inside the Googleplex show how Google works. I've reviewed a number of books about Google, and this is by far the best one I have come across that shows how Google executive really manages the company.”

9. The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It (2011)
   By Scott Patterson

   “This is a fascinating story of the math geniuses who started hedge funds, creating great wealth for a few and great losses for many more (sometimes themselves) in the collapse of the financial markets in 2008,” says Susan White, Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow of Finance. “The quants used complicated mathematical models and supercomputers to develop trading strategies. The book follows the financial moves of a handful of traders at places including Morgan Stanley, AQR hedge fund, and Deutsche Bank. The book is an entertaining story, but it oversimplifies the causes of the financial crisis – blaming a few traders, when, in reality, the crisis and its aftermath are far more complex.”

10. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard (2010)
    By Chip Heath and Dan Heath

    “This book addresses how everyday people are able to use both their emotional and rational minds (which are often in conflict) to achieve all types of personal and professional changes,” says Joyce E.A. Russell, Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow of Management & Organization. “Filled with great examples and backed up with lots of research. This book should help anyone trying to make a change or trying to get others (colleagues, friends, family, etc.) to change.”

Bonus Picks

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (2011)
By Howard Schultz

“This book will be required reading for any change management class. Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz has plenty of valuable lessons regarding change management and leadership,” says Mark Wellman, Tyser Teaching Fellow of Management & Organization. “Schultz outlines his own efforts to help Starbucks reclaim its original customer-centric values and mission while aggressively innovating and embracing change.”

X-Treme Supply Chain Management: A Guide to Mastering Business Volatility (2010)
By Sandor Boyson, Lisa Harrington and Thomas Corsi

The global financial crisis and resulting economic downturn signaled a need for change in the way supply chains are managed, shifting from models based on assumptions of relatively stability to a realization that risk and volatility must be taken into account. The book analyzes the rapid increase in business volatility and risk created by global economic pressures. It provides best practices and managerial tool sets with which to mitigate operational risks of all forms across physical, cyber, financial and service supply chains. It also gives managers access to a supply chain risk simulation game and predictive analytic software models. Boyson and Corsi are research professors at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and co-direct the school’s Supply Chain Management Center, at which Harrington is a senior research fellow.

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time (2005)
By Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz

“This book is the ultimate guide to networking. Ferrazzi details how to gracefully approach others in business and social settings; how to follow up and how to build and grow lasting professional relationships, which is what networking is truly about,” says Kasandra Gunter Robinson, Expert Industry Advisor. “He believes that you should reach out to others from the spirit of generosity - before you ask for something, give something. This simple concept is a core theme throughout the book. Although there are not many new concepts, the art of networking takes on a new life in this book.”