What makes a good business book good?
So what makes a good business book good? That it is provocative? That it leaves you with something useful? Yes and yes. But the ultimate test must surely be that it is read and referenced repeatedly.
Some of the books I own that meet these criteria are Influence by Robert Cialdini, Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn, Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, and Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono. Here’s why.
Influence by Robert Cialdini Ph.D. is simply the best business book I’ve ever read. Drawn from over 50 years of research, Influence is a penetrating analysis of why and how people do things that they otherwise might not. His big interest? How to cause people to say yes: Not just change ideas or opinions, but change behaviors. The key is to access one or more of six mental “shortcuts” we all employ, social mechanisms that every culture reinforces to some degree. They are: Reciprocity, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, and Scarcity. Every strategic account plan I’ve ever done has included specific strategies to do all six.
Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn might be the most controversial book ever written on compensation. Kohn cites massive amounts of research to support his fundamental conclusion: rewards will generate short-term compliance; they do nothing to create long-term quality, motivation, or performance.
So what are we to do? Three words: Collaboration, content, and choice. Says Kohn, “People will typically be more enthusiastic where they feel a sense of belonging and see themselves as part of a community than they will in a workplace in which each person is left to his own devices.” And, “We are most likely to become enthusiastic about what we are doing – and all else being equal, to do it well – when we are free to make decisions about the way we carry out a task.” My conclusion, double your time and attention on building the three Cs with your team and watch the results soar.
Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte is the gold standard (along with Visual Explanations) on how to communicate visually. The book itself is simply exquisite with hundreds of images from Galileo to modern charts and graphs. Ten years after reading the book, here’s what I still remember:
People think at 12 inches, are entertained at 12 feet. If you want people to think about what you’ve got, print it out so they can hold it and read it (like they do with everything else that matters). If you want to entertain them, project it.
We can handle a tremendous amount of information density; we can’t remember anything once we turn the page. Your best bet is to print your presentation on big paper and fill the pages according to Tufte’s design principles. Make rich maps that promote learning and discussion, not endless pages of boring bullet points.
In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell does a brilliant job of distilling mounds of research explaining how epidemics work. Gladwell weaves examples from epidemiology, sociology, criminology, and marketing in support of his three rules:
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The Law of the Few. Not everyone matters; it’s the right kind of messenger that counts. Find the connectors, mavens, and salesmen to start your epidemic.
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The Stickiness Factor. There needs to be something different, memorable, and relevant about the message, product, etc.
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The Power of Context. Small tweaks and changes to the environment in which the message plays enhance or diminish the power of the message.
Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono is a small volume with a big idea: “The main difficulty of thinking is confusion. We try to do too much at once.” De Bono’s solution is to literally divide how we think, particularly if that thinking is going on as part of a group activity, into six different modes or “thinking hats.”
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White Hat: The facts and figures.
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Red Hat: Emotions; how things feel
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Black Hat: Details, details
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Yellow Hat: Everything good
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Green Hat: Time to be creative
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Blue Hat: The big organizing ideas
These books are academically sound, well written, and immensely applicable to what you do day in and day out.
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Kevin Hoffberg
Last modified:
05/03/06