In 2004, business books told us how to put drama into meetings, predict which country would be the next economic juggernaut, treat promotions as setbacks, and leverage our inner pirates. Here’s what publishers have in store for the coming year. Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across an Industry Monica C. Higgins (Jossey-Bass, March) Drawing on her study of the biotech industry, Higgins, a Harvard Business School professor, warns boards to pay close attention to the values and habits that CEOs hired from outside carry over from their previous corporate cultures. The Next Global Stage: Challenges and Opportunities in a Borderless World Kenichi Ohmae (Wharton School Publishing, March) Strategist Ohmae’s latest pro-globalization argument focuses on the dynamics of two engines: the rise of regional states and the spread of international platforms such as Microsoft Windows. House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time Martin Kihn (Warner Business Books, March) A comedy writer turned consultant draws on skills from his former career to explain the machinations of his current calling. Depending on your perspective, it’s either funny or painful. The One Thing You Need to Know…About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success Marcus Buckingham (Free Press, March) The author of Now, Discover Your Strengths expands on the argument that focus trumps balance, urging managers to find one essential truth about their work and keep it squarely in their sights. Hot Property: The Stealing of Ideas in an Age of Globalization Pat Choate (Knopf, April) Western governments are beefing up protection of their citizens’ intellectual property, but elsewhere, the vultures are gathering. Economist Choate describes how Western companies are losing out to pirates and counterfeiters, with adverse consequences for profits—and for society. Moral Intelligence: The Key to Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success Fred Kiel and Doug Lennick (FT Prentice Hall, April) Ethics is not so different from other business competencies. Two consultants offer metrics and other tools for developing the skills and habits of moral effectiveness. The Silicon Eye: How a Silicon Valley Company Aims to Make All Current Computers, Cameras, and Cell Phones Obsolete George Gilder (Atlas/Norton, April) The telecom bust hasn’t muted Gilder’s enthusiasm for emerging technology. He goes behind the scenes at Foveon, an innovative leader in digital photography. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, April) Technology may be a boon for terrorists, says New York Times columnist Friedman. But it also allows smart entrepreneurs in developing countries to compete and collaborate with Western companies in surprising ways. Make Your Own Luck: 12 Practical Steps to Taking Smarter Risks in Business Eileen C. Shapiro and Howard H. Stevenson (Portfolio, May) A consultant and a professor advise executives to apply the techniques of skilled gamblers and develop “predictive intelligence,” including an ability to process varied information and act decisively in uncertain times. Made in China: What Western Managers Can Learn from Trailblazing Chinese Entrepreneurs Donald Sull with Yong Harry Wang (Harvard Business School Press, June) In the midst of China’s turbulent growth, a few audacious companies have thrived despite government restrictions and without competing on low-cost labor alone. Their entrepreneurial verve, says Sull, a London Business School professor, offers lessons for companies everywhere. The Sack of Rome: How Silvio Berlusconi Took Over Italy Alexander Stille (Penguin Press, July) This is a serious journalistic look at how Silvio Berlusconi has controlled much of the Italian media and government. Media magnates in other Western countries may try to do the same, Stille argues. Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn (Portfolio, August) Michael Porter’s “five forces” have dominated the thinking on positioning in recent decades. Greenwald, a professor at Columbia Business School, says we’re better off with a simpler framework centered on barriers to entry within industries. The Care and Feeding of the Knowledge Worker Thomas H. Davenport (Harvard Business School Press, September) Structured processes and top-down decision making demoralize knowledge workers. Davenport, a Babson professor who studied the species in its natural habitat, suggests effective ways to manage these employees. How Industrial Dynasties Work David Landes (Viking, September) In The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, Landes, a Harvard professor emeritus, laid out why entire countries get rich or stay poor. Here, he casts a historian’s eye on companies. Once again, culture is at the forefront of his analysis. The Search John Battelle (Portfolio, October) A veteran Silicon Valley journalist examines the strategy and culture of the search-engine industry. Could Google’s privileged position as a Web hub give it extraordinary leverage over Internet commerce? The Broken Windows Theory for Business Michael Levine (Warner Business Books, November) A popular law-enforcement theory holds that communities can reduce crime by addressing quality-of-life issues. This consultant wonders whether fixing the little things that bother employees will motivate them to tackle the big issues more effectively. The Leadership Legacy Robert Galford and Regina Maruca (Harvard Business School Press, 2006) Your legacy, by definition, waits for tomorrow, but thinking about it can add meaning to your career today, says coach and development consultant Galford. Deeply felt goals contribute to more authentic and effective leadership.
