Some Books About Inspiration, Delusion At Work

Many business books are heavier on jargon than on wisdom, executives often complain. But among this year's titles are some that can sharpen managers' thinking about technology, management and careers. Other simply offer pleasure, as the holiday season gives some respite from meetings and business trips.

The exchange of ideas on the Internet, for example, is bound to keep proliferating, which is what makes 'Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything,' by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams, worthwhile reading.

The book highlights how traditional collaboration among employees in meeting rooms is fast being superseded by collaboration on a much vaster scale. Thanks to the Internet, masses of people beyond corporate boundaries can exchange thoughts and innovate to produce content, goods and services. Web sites such as Wikipedia, the user-edited online encyclopedia, MySpace and even the Human Genome Project encourage this interaction, which spurs growth.

Some corporate executives still lament the competition this poses to their proprietary marketplace offerings, but Mr. Tapscott, a proponent of open sourcing, argues that the more you share, the more you win. He and Mr. Williams outline ways to exploit the power of online collaboration. They describe how companies from Flickr to the more traditional Procter & Gamble have benefited from inviting in ideas from customers and others browsing the Web.

For a trenchant view of business and business advice, take a dip into 'The Halo Effect . . . and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers,' by Phil Rosenzweig. The author, a former manager turned professor, asserts that a great deal of analysis offered by consultants, academics and the media is simplistic and often 'deeply flawed.'

When a company reports that sales and profits are on the rise, for example, people say it has a visionary leader and a brilliant strategy. When performance then falters, they say the leader was myopic and had the wrong strategy. Yet little in the way of leadership and strategy may actually have changed.

The book illustrates this point by delving into good and bad times at big companies such as Cisco and IBM. It identifies nine common business delusions, including 'single explanations' for success or failure, and 'absolute performance.' Because company performance is relative to competition, following one formula can never guarantee results, Mr. Rosenzwieg asserts. Success comes only from doing things better than rivals do them.

'The Halo Effect' is for executives who aren't looking for a quick-fix prescription and who understand that winning depends on knowing one's own company and on executing smart decisions well -- with a little luck mixed in.

Managers who want to be better bosses may turn to 'The Three Signs of a Miserable Job' by Patrick Lencioni, the author's latest management fable, which uses fictional characters to illustrate what should be self-evident: Unhappy employees are those who don't feel valued or listened to, don't know why their job matters to others, or don't know how they are performing. All these problems can be fixed easily, as Mr. Lencioni outlines in his tale. The book is a quick read.

Executives concerned with their own fates should consider 'Firing Back -- How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters,' by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward. Using the accounts of dismissed top executives at companies such as Morgan Stanley, Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard, the authors show why some have been able to move on to new successes by, among other things, seeking help from old allies and acknowledging their failure.

For a colorful take on recovering from a personal and professional fall, read Michael Gates Gill's 'How Starbucks Saved My Life.' It tells of the author's unusual journey after losing a senior advertising job and his marriage in middle age. Lonely and unemployed at 63 years old -- and with no health insurance after being diagnosed with a brain tumor that wasn't malignant but cost him some hearing -- he landed a job at a Starbucks in Manhattan.

His fellow workers and boss are decades younger, mostly African-American and without the Ivy League degree he has from Yale. But rather than feel depressedtaking orders for lattes and lugging garbage to the curb, Mr. Gill finds the job becomes a refuge, where he feels valued and makes friends among colleagues and regular customers.

His account of his year behind the counter at Starbucks -- which is slated to become a movie starring Tom Hanks -- is a moving reminder that having a community at work can be more rewarding than a big office or title.

No Christmas Eve column about books would be complete without mentioning some longtime Christmas favorites that are still relevant. 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, the writer's 1843 tale of boss Ebenezer Scrooge's journey from a life of greed and miserliness to one of charity, still resonates, especially at a time when the super-rich are so exalted. And O. Henry's century-old 'The Gift of the Magi' still reminds us that love is the only gift worth possessing.

商界管理人员常常抱怨说，许多商业著作里的术语多过学问。不过今年的新书中颇有一些可以加强管理人员对技术、管理及事业的认知。还有一些则能在暂时摆脱会议和出差的假日期间给读者带来乐趣。

举例来说，由于互联网上的信息交流无疑将以扩散之势发展，所以唐•特普斯科特(Don Tapscott)和安东尼•威廉姆斯(Anthony Williams)所着的《Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything》就值得一读。

这本书重点讲述了员工在会议室里展开合作的传统模式正在如何为规模大得多的合作方式所取代。借助互联网，很多来自不同公司的人可以交流想法、创造出新的内容、产品和服务。维基百科(Wikipedia，允许用户在线编辑的百科全书)、MySpace甚至Human Genome Project一类的网站都在鼓励这样的互动，进而带动了经济的发展。

一些公司管理人员还在唉声叹气，因为这种情况对他们拥有的产品构成了竞争，但对信息开放持支持态度的特普斯科特则相信人们共享的越多，获得的也就越多。他和威廉姆斯列举了从网络协作中汲取能量的方式。他们在书中讲述了从Flickr到更为传统的宝洁(Procter & Gamble)等一干公司是如何在向顾客和其他上网者诚征意见的过程中受益的。

如果想接触一些有关业务开展及商业建议的鲜明观点，可以读读菲尔•罗森茨维格(Phil Rosenzweig)教授所着的《The Halo Effect . . . and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers》。罗森茨维格曾任职经理，他断言专家、顾问和媒体提供的许多分析都过于简单，而且还常常存在"很深的谬误"。

比方说，当一家公司宣称自己的销售额和利润增长时，人们会说这是因为领导拥有远见卓识，而且发展战略相当明智。而随后当业绩出现问题时，人们又说这个公司的领导眼光短浅，战略一无是处。但实际上公司的领导层和战略可能根本没有什么变化。

这本书以思科(Cisco)和国际商业机器公司(IBM)等大公司的起落为例来说明这一观点。书中列出了商业中的九种常见错觉，其中包括简单地定义成败、绝对绩效等等。罗森茨维格强调说，公司的业绩与竞争相关，只遵循一种原则是无法保证结果的。成功的唯一方法就是比对手做得更好。

《The Halo Effect》适合这样的管理人员：他们没想寻求速效药方，同时明白获胜的关键在于了解自己以及很好地执行明智的决策──再加上一点点好运相助。

如果想当个更好的上司，那么管理者们可以看看帕特里克•兰西奥尼(Patrick Lencioni)所着的《The Three Signs of a Miserable Job》。这本书是作者最新的管理学故事，他利用虚构的角色说明了一个不言而喻的道理：员工之所以情绪低落是因为他们觉得自己的价值得不到重视或无人愿意倾听其想法，不知道自己的工作对别人有什么意义，或是不知道自己究竟表现得怎样。兰西奥尼在这本轻松易读的故事书中告诉读者，这些问题都是可以轻易解决的。

担心自己命运的管理者应该考虑一下杰弗里•桑尼费尔德(Jeffrey Sonnefeld)和安德鲁•沃德(Andrew Ward)合着的《Firing Back -- How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters》。两位作者运用摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)、家得宝(Home Depot)和惠普(Hewlett-Packard)等公司解职高管的事例，展示了为什么有些人能够通过寻求老朋友帮忙、承认自己的失败等方法来续写辉煌。

迈克尔•盖茨•吉尔(Michael Gates Gill)的《How Starbucks Saved My Life》写得妙语如珠，让人知道如何从生活和事业的失败中恢复元气。这本书讲述了作者在中年时丢掉广告业高级职位、而且婚姻告终后一段颇不寻常的人生历程。吉尔在63岁时没有工作，孤身一人，还被诊断出患了脑瘤，虽然不是恶性的，但令他丧失了部分听力，而他还没有医疗保险，最终他在曼哈顿的星巴克(Starbucks)找到了一份工作。

他的同事和上司都比他年轻几十岁，大多是非裔美国人，也不像他那样怀揣耶鲁大学颁发的毕业证。但销售拿铁咖啡、把垃圾拖到路边这类的工作并没有让吉尔感觉心灰意冷，他反倒把这份工作当成一个避风港，从中找到了自己的价值，还跟同事和老顾客交上了朋友。

他在星巴克当店员的一年经历让人们明白：和宽敞的办公室和闪亮的头衔相比，在工作中拥有伙伴是更有价值的事情。他的故事即将被拍成电影，由汤姆•汉克斯(Tom Hanks)主演。

平安夜图书专栏不能不提及长久以来为人们所喜爱、现在依然非常应景的圣诞节主题图书。查尔斯•狄更斯(Charles Dickens)的《圣诞颂歌》(A Christmas Carol)写于1843年，讲述了艾柏纳泽•斯克鲁奇(Ebenezer Scrooge)从贪婪吝啬变得乐善好施的过程，本书至今仍然能引起人们的共鸣，尤其是在眼下这个超级富豪倍受追捧的年代。而欧•亨利(O. Henry)的《麦琪的礼物》(The Gift of the Magi)仍在时刻提醒我们：爱才是唯一值得珍藏的礼物。
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