Episode 305: Business Books

Welcome back! We are so pleased you are joining us for our podcast book group: Reading with Libraries!

This week we are discussing Business books.

In our book group we have fun talking about books, and provide useful information for library people doing Reader’s Advisory work. There are so many books out there that it’s tough to be an expert on all of them. So we pick a new genre each week to chat about and hopefully provide you with some insight into what may be an unfamiliar genre!

Our book group is very inclusive; there are no “right” or “wrong” books here! We just like to read and chat about books, and want you to share what you are reading too! All of us will take away at least a title or two that we want to read at the end of our time together.

Who is joining us this week? We are pleased to welcome returning Guest Host Rhonda Huisman, Dean of the Library at St Cloud State University.

Beverages:

Each week we like to connect the theme of our books with our beverages, and we each came prepared with our own drink to enjoy while we talk about our books. You are an important part of this book group, so if you don’t have a beverage go ahead and get one now. Each of our beverages will have a recipe or a link on our episode page, so you can try them yourself!

There are some standard drinks that people in business drink. Feel free to sip one of these as you listen, or as you read your next business book! These are suggestions from Chief Executive website as the best drinks to order with a business dinner. We have a link to this article in our shownotes, if you want the rest of their info!

 

Gin martini. A martini is a good bet for a business dinner not only because it is a classic that has long been a favorite at business lunches, but also because it is devoid of color, which helps eliminate judgment. But also, “since what you are up to”—i.e., having a meal at which business will be discussed—“is serious, you should have a serious drink,” according to entrepreneur.com. “All clear drinks are serious drinks.”

Scotch neat. “This is by far one of the most classic drinks,” Inc. reported. While 18-year-old scotch is “notorious for being the best,” the magazine said, many scotch drinkers actually prefer younger years.

Bourbon or whiskey on the rocks, with or without a splash of soda. Like scotch neat, bourbon and whiskey are, as Inc. said, quite classic, which puts them on the roster of good options for a CEO to enjoy during a business dinner. Another point in their favor: their brown color. According to entrepreneur.com, all brown drinks, like the above-mentioned clear drinks, fall into the “serious” category.

Moscow Mule. Comprised of vodka, ginger beer, and lime, the Moscow Mule has “been around since the 1940s, “when a vodka distributor and a ginger beer maker concocted it as a means of “promoting their otherwise unpopular beverages,” according to Liquor.com as reported by Huffington Post. Despite its “less than glamorous origin story,” HuffPo stated, the Moscow Mule “keeps popping up in conversation and on cocktail menus everywhere.” We think it belongs on the list of cocktails a CEO can order with impunity at a business dinner; as the Post noted, “It strikes a good balance between being sophisticated and approachable. It may be simple, but the Mule is anything but boring.”

 

Club Soda and Lime While not in the article, this is a good classic choice when you are having a business dinner and do not want to drink alcohol, or when it’s time to switch to something before you drive home.

 

Genre Discussion:

This is such a perennially popular genre of books; you can always new books with new ideas – and books that say the same things that were said 10, 20 or 50 years ago. Business classics are still around and popular, books by successful CEOs are always popular (for a while, at least), and books that try to show a new way to succeed in business and management skills will always be relevant to people working to build skills. You can find books on basic management skills, on starting a new business, on honing communication and creativity, and almost anything else that might help you to be successful in leadership and management.

You can also tune in to our Linking Our Libraries podcast, where we talk about all kinds of library and leadership skills with suggestions for honing your own skills!

We are going to talk about books specifically focusing on business ideas and skills; but to be successful in business we encourage you to read a wide variety of books to get ideas from all sorts of places. Being well-rounded will make you a stronger leader. Good leaders read, and they read widely.

So let’s talk about all kinds of different books you might read for yourself, or that you can be ready to recommend to patrons or to others who want to sharpen those management skills! We have several links to collections of books for you to check out right on our show notes page.

 

Suggested Reading Resources:

 

 

Our Book Discussion

Now we are a little more familiar with this week’s genre, and we have enjoyed some of our special beverages, let’s get to the book discussion!

The links and images below will take you Amazon.com; if you buy any of these nice books – or anything else – Amazon will give us a small percentage of the money they make on the sale. This will be a big help for us in serving our members! (Thanks in advance!)

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, by Safiya Noble

“A revealing look at how negative biases against women of color are embedded in search engine results and algorithms

Run a Google search for “black girls”—what will you find? “Big Booty” and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in “white girls,” the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated discussions about “why black women are so sassy” or “why black women are so angry” presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society.
In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color.
Through an analysis of textual and media searches as well as extensive research on paid online advertising, Noble exposes a culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online. As search engines and their related companies grow in importance—operating as a source for email, a major vehicle for primary and secondary school learning, and beyond—understanding and reversing these disquieting trends and discriminatory practices is of utmost importance.
An original, surprising and, at times, disturbing account of bias on the internet, Algorithms of Oppression contributes to our understanding of how racism is created, maintained, and disseminated in the 21st century.”

Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal

“Reframing Organizations provides time-tested guidance for more effective organizational leadership. Rooted in decades of social science research across multiple disciplines, Bolman and Deal’s four-frame model has continued to evolve since its conception over 25 years ago; this new sixth edition has been updated to include coverage of cross-sector collaboration, generational differences, virtual environments, globalization, sustainability, and communication across cultures. The Instructor’s guide has been expanded to provide additional tools for the classroom, including chapter summary tip sheets, mini-assessments, Bolman & Deal podcasts, and more. These recent revisions reflect the intersection of reader recommendations and the current leadership environment, resulting in a renewed practicality and even greater alignment with everyday application.

Combining the latest research from organizational theory, organizational behavior, psychology, sociology, political science and more, the model detailed here provides real guidance for real leaders. Guide, motivate, and inspire your team’s best performance as you learn to:

  • Optimize group, team, and organizational structure
  • Build a positive, collaborative dynamic across generations, teams, and sectors
  • Understand power and conflict amidst the internal and external political landscape
  • Shape your organization’s culture and build a cohesive sense of spirit

Bolman and Deal’s four-frame model has withstood the test of time because it offers an accessible, compact, and powerful set of ideas for navigating complexity and turbulence. In today’s business climate, leadership trends come and go; today’s flash in the pan is tomorrow’s obsolete strategy, but a leadership framework built on a solid foundation will serve your organization well no matter what the future holds. Reframing Organizations provides clear guidance and up-to-date insight for anyone facing the challenges of contemporary leadership.”

How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie

“You can go after the job you want—and get it!

You can take the job you have—and improve it!

You can take any situation—and make it work for you!

Dale Carnegie’s rock-solid, time-tested advice has carried countless people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. One of the most groundbreaking and timeless bestsellers of all time, How to Win Friends & Influence People will teach you:

-Six ways to make people like you

-Twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking

-Nine ways to change people without arousing resentment

And much more! Achieve your maximum potential—a must-read for the twenty-first century with more than 15 million copies sold!”

 

 Works Well with Others: Shaking Hands, Shutting Up, and Other Crucial Skills in Business That No One Ever Teaches You, by Ross McCammon

“Ten years ago, Ross McCammon made an incredible and unexpected transition from working at an in-flight magazine in suburban Dallas to landing his dream job at Esquire in New York. What followed was a period of almost debilitating anxiety and awkwardness—interspersed with minor instances of professional glory—as McCammon learned how to navigate the workplace while feeling entirely ill-equipped for achieving success in his new career.

Works Well with Others is McCammon’s “relentlessly funny and soberingly insightful”* journey from impostor to authority, a story that reveals the workplace for what it is: an often absurd landscape of ego and fear guided by social rules that no one ever talks about. By mining his own experiences at the magazine, McCammon provides advice on everything from firm handshakes to small talk in elevators to dealing with jerks and underminers. Here is an inspirational new way of looking at your job, your career, and success itself; an accessible guide for those of us who are smart, talented, and ambitious but who aren’t well-“leveraged” and don’t quite feel prepared for success . . . or know what to do once we’ve made it.”

 What if I Say the Wrong Thing?: 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People , by Verna A. Myers

“In this compelling new tip book you’ll find innovative and surprising ways to keep your personal diversity journey moving and the diversity commitment of your organization. Written to make this information bite-size and accessible, you’ll find quick answers to typical What should I do? questions, like: What if I say the wrong thing, what should I do? What if I am work and someone makes a sexist joke, what should I say?”

 

We discussed many other books in this episode; tune in to check out all of them!

 

Conclusion:

Thank you so much for joining us for this discussion with our book group! A special thank you to our Guest Host Rhonda.

Join us next Thursday with another genre, more guest hosts for our book group, and more books to share and discuss. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don’t miss a single episode! And if you want to hear more about the work we do in libraries – which is always interesting! – subscribe to our podcast Linking Our Libraries.

Bring your book ideas, bring your beverages, and join us back here on Thursday!