Egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability) by David Marcum and Steven Smith (Simon & Schuster)
Enron's Jeff Skilling and WorldCom's Bernie Ebbers—both now jailbirds—haven't given big egos a good name, but Marcum and Smith argue that megalomania has its bright side: Without delusions of grandeur, after all, there'd be no iPod or personal computer. They recommend that managing ego—finding the line between determined and stubborn, courageous and reckless—be every manager's top priority.
The Future of Management by Gary Hamel with Bill Breen (Harvard Business School Press)
Most managers are stuck in the same rigid corporate hierarchies that confined their grandparents 50 years ago. Hamel says it's time to make a change, offering case studies of a handful of businesses—Google, Whole Foods, and W.L. Gore—that have profited from ditching traditional corporate structures.
We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business by Barry Libert and Jon Spector (Wharton School Publishing)
The MySpace and YouTube acquisitions showed the value of social networks. But how are regular businesspeople supposed to use them? Libert, CEO of Shared Insights, and Spector, president of the Conference Board, along with over 4,000 readers who collaborated on this wiki-based book, show how bricks-and-mortar companies tap online communities to drive profits. - Justin Ewers
