Problem Solving Books

The Premise: The modern, flexible corporate world is the perfect breeding ground for psychopaths according to this provocative read by psychologist Dr. Paul Babiak and psychopathy expert Dr. Robert Hare. Snakes in Suits paints a compelling picture of the way individuals with psychopathic tendencies can infiltrate the workplace and abuse trust, manipulate supervisors and leave teams in shambles. Through a combination of storytelling, examples and research, the book outlines how psychopaths use their insights and skills in reading people to manipulate those around them. The book provides you with lots of background into what makes a psychopath tick and offers an interesting window into their thought processes. The final chapters offer some suggestions on how you can protect yourself from a psychopathic colleague, boss or client, but at the end of the day the outlook appears bleak. Psychopaths are so skilled at manipulation that, frankly, the best approach may be to just run in the other direction.

The Bottom-line: My friend Mari dropped this book off for me and it’s been sitting on my bookshelf for a while. Given that the highest read post on our blog is about psychopath bosses, I thought I’d better read up on the subject. Frankly, this is a horrifying read and I challenge anyone who dives into it not to find themselves mentally checking off characteristics or behaviours that sound a whole lot like a present or former co-worker. Although the authors stress repeatedly not to “label” people as psychopaths, it’s certainly hard to resist doing it when presented with lots of reinforcing data! To show the corporate psycho in action, the authors let the story of a “typical” psycho path unfold through the various chapters. Although a bit of a heavy read (I got lost in some of the chapters around what they were actually focusing on), there’s some great information in here… particularly around how psychopaths build trust. It all left me thinking that interview skills are probably one of the most crucial skills that you can have as a manager. Checking references and paying attention to red flags may help keep the psychopath from entering your doors in the first place. Once inside, beware of the charming suck-up who’s getting cozy with your boss. He could be your very own Norman Bates.

The Premise: The idea that quitters never win and winners never quit is completely debunked by Seth Godin in this quick read pocket book. Every new project (or job, or hobby or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets more challenging and less fun, until it hits a low point when it’s not fun and really hard.

According to Godin, this point could either be a “dip” (a temporary setback that can be overcome if you keep pushing) or a “cul-de-sac” (a situation that will NEVER get better, no matter how hard you try). Godin asserts that highly successful people can quickly evaluate the difference between the two and then quit the “cul-de-sac” situations fast and without guilt. Most people quit ‘mid-dip’ because they run out of time, interest or money. Or, they settle for mediocrity, get scared or don’t take the situation seriously enough (aren’t passionate).

And finally, sometimes the pain of getting through the short-term realities makes you lose track of the long-term benefits, and you quit. Godin helps you figure out if you’re in a dip that’s worth your time, effort and talents.

The Bottom-line: This book is another spin on the current trend that’s storming the leadership bookshelves: how do successful individuals become successful and why aren’t more people successful? What’s interesting about this one is that it points to patterns in your behaviour that may either be enabling your success or derailing it. The concept of embracing becoming a “quitter” is a tough one to swallow in this hyper-achievement-oriented work world. Godin makes his case through examples of successful people who clearly put their emphasis on knowing when to retract from a situation and shift their efforts and attentions to areas that would provide bigger payoff. With most individuals and organizations managing far too many priorities and putting their efforts in multiple directions, it’s actually no wonder that so many people are burning out and companies are stalling.

Personally, I think many people don’t quit because of how they think other people will view them. As Godin points out, it takes courage to quit so that you can be great at something else. If you’re the type who finds yourself frequently burning the candle at both ends, this little book will be a good read – filled with lessons for leadership and for life.

The Premise: In a follow-up to his earlier work in Thinking for Results, consultant and author Randy Park explores how we think – specifically as it relates to forecasting into the future. Park’s assertion is that, when it comes to creating future plans, we have a tendency to fall into what he terms “prediction traps.” Prediction traps cause us to ignore key pieces of information which can often lead to dire consequences (can anyone say U.S. housing meltdown?). Parks book helps you identify traps in your thinking that may ultimately prevent you from charting the best course forward. He provides several tools throughout the book with even more available on his website.

The Bottom-line: I found Park’s book to be, overall, an interesting read. The information on how we develop and get blocked by our own personal filters was very enlightening and certainly useful for anyone in a leadership role. Anyone looking to add more skills to their personal leadership and thinking toolkit would benefit from the ideas, tools and stories shared. However, in my opinion, the “stand out” piece in this book is Park’s unabashed call for readers to consider the long-term consequences as they relate to tackling some of our most pressing societal issues. My own thinking was stretched around what I, as a business leader, could and should be doing to impact issues like energy consumption and climate change. Park challenges us to think beyond the boundaries of profit and loss to look at larger, long-term implications for our business decisions. Bravo.

The Premise: According to the book cover, 10-10-10 promises a life-transforming idea. A fairly hefty assertion, one might say. In a nutshell, 10-10-10 is a structure to help you think through the consequences of your decisions in the short-term (next 10 minutes), mid-term (10 months) and long-term (10 years). Through a variety of applications – career, family, parenting, work/life – Suzy Welch walks you through how to use 10-10-10 to analyze your choices and make decisions that you can live with. Expanded from an article originally written for “O” magazine, this book is filled with Welch’s own personal applications and stories which help illustrate the 10-10-10 point.

The Bottom-line: There’s no question that the concept of 10-10-10 is clever, but it probably doesn’t warrant a 200+ plus page book to outline it. A reprint of the O Magazine article would probably have been sufficient. But then again, a magazine article doesn’t a book tour make. 10-10-10 is a great provocation and – for overly spontaneous types – probably a great “slow down” mechanism. The key is to be grounded in your values for the process to be truly “life transforming”. And that’s where – in this reader’s opinion – the main gap exists in the book. Although Welch touches on some questions that can help you excavate your values, a simple values inventory would have been a useful addition. 10-10-10 probably isn’t the silver bullet it’s being hyped to be, but if it helps you make one better decision, it’s probably worth having in your toolkit.

The Premise: Economics has for long been known with the unflattering name of being a ‘dismal science’. This fascinating book by Greg Ip is a very timely one given the challenging times that we face today in most of the leading economies of the world. He does have impeccable credentials, being the current US editor of the ‘Economist’ magazine with a long distinguished career with stints as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail & Financial Post. He talks about the three key components of a healthy economy – population, ideas & capital, elaborating on how their interplay shapes our world of today. He covers a wide range of topics ranging from the causes, effects of the current financial crisis, the relation of fertility rates with economic growth, the rise of China, how Federal Reserve shapes the economy in the US and so on.

The Bottom-line: This is one of those books that, on the surface, may feel unsubstantive due to its deceptively simple language. To the contrary, the book provides some important insights that enhance one’s understanding of economics. Ip covers topics from 30,000 feet and 10,000 feet simultaneously, allowing you to interpret the book in your own way and mull over the many nuggets of wisdom he shares. Perhaps it’s the way he explains seemingly complex ideas and concepts in a language that is very easy to understand for everyone, that makes this book special. Several examples complement the broader economic concepts he describes and make them easier to relate to. In addition, his ‘bottom line’ summaries at the end of the chapter make it easier to remember the key take-aways. In a science that is sometimes criticized for being caught up in a world of fancy models and complex mathematics, this is a welcome breath of fresh air. This is a book that will make a lot of readers more comfortable with Economics.