Books Centre

Regular and Near Daily Reads...

I try to go through the 3 main Toronto dailies everyday, I never have time to read them in their entirety but enough to have a good idea what's going on in the world. I'm also an avid reader of magazines like Wired and other tech related publications. I'm always interested in the future and having a comprehensive knowledge of current events helps you forecast future trends.

Currently Reading... (or about to read)

Latest Books Read...

The Ape in the Corner Office

From the Publisher: Richard Conniff, the acclaimed author of The Natural History of the Rich, has survived savage beasts in the workplace jungle, where he hooted and preened in the corner office as a publishing executive. He’s also spent time studying how animals operate in the real jungles of the Amazon and the African bush.

What he shows in The Ape in the Corner Office is that nature built you to be nice. Doing favors, grooming coworker's with kind words, building coalitions—these tools for getting ahead come straight from the jungle. The stereotypical Darwinian hard-charger supposedly thinks only about accumulating resources. But highly effective apes know it’s often smarter to give them away. That doesn't mean it’s a peaceable kingdom out there, however. Conniff shows that you can become more effective by understanding how other species negotiate the tricky balance between conflict and cooperation.

Conniff quotes one biologist on a chimpanzee’s obsession with rank: “His attempts to maintain and achieve alpha status are cunning, persistent, energetic, and time-consuming. They affect whom he travels with, whom he grooms, where he glances, how often he scratches, where he goes, what times he gets up in the morning.” Sound familiar? It’s the same behavior you can find written up in any issue of Business Week or The Wall Street Journal.

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Fast Company: The Rules of Business

From the Publisher: In The Rules of Business, the writers and editors of Fast Company distil the major ideas and principles of the world of business into fifty-five essential rules. These rules are elaborated on and enhanced by quotes and insights from over 200 business leaders, practitioners, and thinkers into what is sure to be an essential desk reference for managers, professionals, and executives-to-be.

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Looking at how we define taste, and how our tastes help to define our place in society.

Rather interesting topic. I think the most interesting thing that I learned was how taste is defined by who we associate with, rather then by individuals. You won't know if you have bad taste if you don't associate with anyone - or if those you do associate with have similar bad taste. Not a bad read, but it doesn't have a good flow - it's just a bit slow (disjointed). Peter Trifonas is a culture critic and philosopher, based at OISE University in Toronto

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By far one of the best books I have read in quite some time.

More than a book this should really be considered a handbook of the psychology behind shopping.

For books I like something that gets to the point, preferably case studies. This book spews page after page of fascinating facts on human behavior.
After you read this book you will come away with a new perception of how people shop. What's great is if your running a small business you will look at your operation with a new set of eyes.

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The more we learn, the less we end up knowing. In the 1980's scientist were very sure that they were getting very close to being able to predict earthquakes. But that was then. As we've progressed we've continued to learn more about the phenomena’s that cause the earth to shift. And the more we learn, the more scientist realizes that they actually understand less about the root causes of earthquakes. For example there is evidence that shows that the gravitational pull has influence on plate movement. Another example is in the 50’s scientists hoped that the cure for cancer wouldn't be far off, but the more we learn about the science behind cancer, the more scientists realize how little they truly grasp the forces that come into play causing the cancer. DNA

The book the ingenuity gap looks at how we've been continually told that when problems arise we will come up with a scientific/technological solution. The book looks into this reality and sees if we actually will have the ingenuity to solve problems. The gap is the discrepancy between the problem and our collective ability to solve it. The author provides compelling evidence that as man progresses and learns more about the world, it simple proves that man knows very little about how things work, and in the process of progress makes the world more complex as a result. The evidence presented is a warning to all things from global warming to messing around with the DNA code.

But this book appeal goes beyond those concerned about the state of the world. But also helps people involved in any company to understand the forces that effect their organizational behavior. It can be greatly beneficial to all people to understand how new technologies end-up making even the simplest task more complex. For example computers may make it easier and quicker to do certain tasks, but its negated by the fact that managers simply add more responsibilities for employees negating any time saved by new technological advances.

Only downside is the length of the example provided. The book is rather lengthy, but there’s no other way to really demonstrate the point of how our world is becoming more complex and therefore even harder to control.

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Read an excerpt from the book on Amazon.com

Long reported in the media as a complete failure the story of EuroDisney has long kept the critics and reporters busy covering all the mistakes made by the Disney company. The highly opposed project was seen as an American cultural Trojan horse. A project that would forever destroy French culture and further Americanize European culture. The project was opposed every step of the way from West Bank intellectuals, farmers to business leaders and industry groups. What is now one of Europe's largest private employers had it's ups and downs. Within the first year the venture almost went bankrupt and Disney had to deal with a multitude of negative backlashes from it's perceived negative treatment of employee's to trying to maintain an American management structure in a European context.

Andrew Lainsbury decided to write a book that would set the record straight on the history of EuroDisney. He details the history of the theme park from it's initial concept and financing, the construction and finally the operation of the park. Andrew carefully details every stage of the parks development. He carefully looks at what was reported and articulates the actual story as it happened behind the scenes.

This is one of the most well researched books I have ever seen. Notes and bibliography takes up an impressive 100 pages - out of a 292 page book. Andrew Lainsbury painstakingly noted the references for all quotes, facts and source material. The author has written in a journalistic manner, he doesn't impose his own comments or opinion on the story at hand, he simply sticks to the facts.

If your interested in culture or marketing products/services in foreign nations this is a great book to read. And you'll be very surprised to see who really wanted EuroDisney in the first place.

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Read an excerpt from the book at Amazon.com

I've never read a book that at that has left me feeling so lonely and having pity for the author. The 'Call of the Mall' is Paco Underhill's sequel to a book that has become a handbook for the industry. Call of the Mall is as it title denotes, is more focused as it's a dissection of the design principles of a typical American mall. Paco talks with fictional characters to help explain how he sees consumer behavior interacting with the built environment. To help convey many of the lessons he's learned over the years he's created a fake mall - which happens to have every design flaw you could possibly imagine.

Unlike his first book: Why We Buy, (which is cover to cover facts and insightful information) this book is more a narrative, that seems to get distracted with talking more about himself and his reasons for doing then it does in passing out good information. It's clear that Paco wrote this book shortly after the September 11 attacks, and like many, he's at a loss to explain those events - sadly this makes it's it way into the book. The conversation with the reader reflects this: as a man calling into question the point of his profession and more importantly, the point of his whole career. He talks at length about the long days on the road, and the notion that his life revolves around watching others do some of the most mundane activities: watching others shop. When you finish reading the book your left to wonder if Paco was more trying to justify his life's work then to explain the buying habits of the masses? Don't get me wrong, there are lots of things to learn about effective retail design, but you're really left wondering what's the point, as Paco depicts malls as such lonely places. Paco's honesty about his profession leaves the reader feeling somewhat sad for a man that has spent a life wandering malls, watching others have fun - if you can say that about shopping!

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Read an excerpt from the book on Amazon.com

What a pompous, self loving… Ok, I'll admit I do like Trump, but man he's full of himself, which I credit for much of his success. Lets face it people are attracted to arrogance. People finding it appealing to hear someone brag of his or her accomplishments. This persona is played out on the pages of his latest book. The book is a sequel to his highly successful book: "How to be a ---- " , the book adds new thoughts on what it takes to become successful. But what should only be a book of 20 or so pages is dragged into a novel length book. As result most of the book ends up being filler. For example, a whole chapter is devoted to an utterly complete breakdown of every hour of his day (so boring, I skipped the section entirely). His ego comes out in one section where he talks about all his favorite things in the world - and surprise, surprise - they're all things he sells or owns outright. His favorite water is Trump Water his….

The book offers up very few useful words of advice, and acts more as a vehicle to promote one mans ego than to be of an aid to an aspiring billionaire. Who knows if this is the real Trump, or just furthers the image of himself that he's been creating for decades.

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Read an excerpt from the book at Amazon.com

This is a must read for anyone interested in Themed Environmental Design. This book encapsulates the life work of Disney theme park master: John Hench. For those who don't know John Hench, he is one of Walt Disney's key theme park designers. His body of work makes him a legend in the industry (he's one of the key designers of Disneyland and Walt Disney World). What makes this book so great is John Hench lays out in full detail his processes for designing themed attractions and venues. It reads like a how-to handbook. By the end of the book you feel like John Hench has told you absolutely everything he knows. Unlike someone like Trump who uses the book to promote his own ego, John Hench simply lays out what he knows in a modest, yet revealing way. If I was asked to list my beef, it would be that it's presented in a very whimsical 'Disney-ish' way, for that seems to play down the quality and value of the information presented. The book isn't 'wordy', instead it deals with the core concepts behind his and other team members work. If you have any interest in themed environment design - read this book! Other than having John Hench personally train you - this book is the equivalent of taking a University course.

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Click here to buy the "Designing Disney" book from Amazon.com

I'll be honest - nobody wants to admit is that they read self-help books. It implies a weakness, a flaw. Yet we all do have elements of our character that needs improvement. Admitting that we're not perfect in many ways is the first step in the process. Even if you think you're perfect, you can't deny the need and reward of improving one's character. But many authors regurgitate common sense, you know: "Treat people well and they will treat you with the same respect…" I was drawn to Stephen Covey's book: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, not so much, because I have any opinion about the author, rather I was impressed on how he went about writing the book. Mr. Covey spent years going through hundreds of self help books written over the past 300 years. Through his process, he was able to assemble a list of common themes that this entire book presented to the reader. So instead of reading the personal perceptions of one man, you're actually reading a collection of 300 years of thought towards the subject. The result is a very practical list of methods to improve ones self. In fact, after you read his book you begin to realize that his book is the basis for virtually every book written on the subject since (that includes Dr. Phil!). The book challenges the reader in ways that may make you feel very uncomfortable. It calls into question your being, how you treat others and ultimately your true mission (calling) in life. The common theme is the need to stay true to yourself and others. To maintain a level of consistency, never deviating from your core set of principles. Unless you think your flawless, this is a must read. I would suggest that you're read it over time and not all at once. There are certain principles that you need to work on and truly understand before progressing to the next level. The person you hopefully turn into is worth its weight in gold.

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Click here to buy the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" from Amazon.com

I'll profess; I think IKEA is one of the greatest companies in the world. They just get it. They make money, but give back so much to both their employees and the greater community. It's interesting to note that people get excited when they hear of a new IKEA opening - contrast that with says a Wal-Mart. IKEA is like all the other big box stores, low margins and high turn over of goods. They are a category killer. Yet people still have a warm fuzzy feeling towards this multinational powerhouse. It's very ironic that the criticism towards the firm often is design and quality related yet never about the amount of money, they have gleaned from a region and the competition they present to local companies. Part of this could be because IKEA is a privately controlled organization. By not having to publicly release financial statements limits public knowledge of just how well the firm does.

Leading by Design is about the only book to be written about the IKEA phenomena. Again surprising for the size of the firm and its global impact. The book is a detailed history of the firm written with the aid of IKEA's founder: Ingvar Kamprad (the 'I' and 'K' of IKEA) and co-authored by Bertil Torekull - who helps explain Ingvar's writings. The book is a challenging read for it's been translated from Swedish. And because the translator needs to stay true to the actual writings of Ingvar, the translation is often literal, rather than figurative. The problem with literal translations is how the sentence structure is presented. Many European languages have sentence structures where the emphasis is presented in an opposite way to English. The reason I point this out is that the translation makes it very challenging to extract the authors opinions. The other problem is the book often gets bogged down with names of Swedish companies, people and places. As with any book that talks about a place unfamiliar with the reader, it becomes confusing to make sense of all the data presented. It's the equivalent of me talking about East York, when Toronto would suffice. Ideally, this book would be completely re-written for a more international crowd, with less emphasis on the nitty gritty of places and individuals and more on the generalized concepts behind IKEA.

That being said the book provides a fascinating account of IKEA's rise, and really gives the reader a good insight into the structure of the firm. The book details the ownership structure of IKEA, one that ensures that the firm will never disappear - nor ever to go public. It explains how IKEA on paper is really a Dutch firm, but has mechanisms put in place that ensure that even if ownership laws change in the Netherlands, it's registration in other countries will prevent it from ever coming under complete control of either the general public or his own family.

The book also details the IKEA ethos explaining the authors take on why he thinks the firm is so successful. It examines where IKEA got the idea to create assemble yourself furniture along with detailing their retail strategies.

For all the issues of how the content is presented, Leading by Design is an excellent insight into a firm that is little talked about in business circles. And as part of my research into the firm, has helped me understand the reasons behind certain business decisions.

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Click here to buy the "Leading By Design: The IKEA Story" book from Amazon.com

Sometimes it could be said that people write books for the sake of writing books. I'll be honest I don't really know who Terence Conran is. I had read his other book and he seems like he knows what he's talking about, hence the reason why I read another one of his books. But recently I came across his list of books online, and it seems like he's written dozens of design books. He's like a British male version of Martha Stewart. It also seems like he's designed a little bit of everything. In that my criticism is that, he lacks focus of design and therefore knowledge. Normally I wouldn't hold that against someone, but when an author offers advice and opinion, I do question their ability to be an authority on the subject. This design book is a series of opinions on the world of design. It reads like a personal take on the world of design, listing what he likes and loathes. It also is part biography, part advice. The book lacks focus and furthermore - purpose. There are interesting things to learn, but that only covers a few pages of my notebook. The information gleaned doesn't make it reading this book worth wild.

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Click here to buy the "Terence Conran on Design" book from Amazon.com

This book looks at the design and creation of a new restaurant. Terence Conran to his credit has helped to establish many successful restaurants in London UK. This book is an expose on what considerations are needed in order to establish a thriving dining establishment. It's a comprehensive guide looking at a wide range of issues from location to ambience. There is a certain level of self bragging on how Conran knew better than everyone else did that certain locations would thrive against advice given to him. Overall, the book is an important read to anyone considering opening a food establishment. It's full of advice on pitfalls that new restaurateurs often get themselves into, and how to avoid/plan for them. He also goes into great detail about the various components that go into a great restaurant, including financial planning. I did find the writing a bit sloppy, and he should have turned to a co-writer as he has for other titles.

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Click here to buy the "Terence Conran on Restaurants" book from Amazon.com

This is one of the most important books any person could ever read. It should be mandatory in all public schools. The book is a companion to the same titled documentary, produced by Canadian film maker Joel Bakan. So why is this so important? It's a brief overview on the history of the corporation and an expose of how the corporation impacts the lives of everyone on this planet. It may seem from the title that it's an anti-business rant, but actually, it's a well balanced look at the world of free-market economics. The title alludes to the general premise of the documentary, if the corporation was a person - what type of person would it be. By using common psychological tests the author was able to conclude that if a company was a human it would be a psychopath. As you read, you'll understand why that conclusion is extremely important to the world at large. The book documents how the corporation is actually treated as an individual person under the law. Yet the book points out that the company is not held to the same level of accountability as say you and me would be. This loophole allows the corporation immunity for things that would put in jail any individual. Understanding the legal implications of the corporation structure, helps explain many of the problems society has and helps explain why privatization may not be the best fix for many of the ills society suffers from. It's easy to think that this book bashes free market economies, rather it points out the current problems. It's surprising upon reading and talking with others how little we really know about the organizational principles that underlie the concept behind incorporation. A very eye-opening book and I really respect the writer for staying away form presenting his own opinion, simply sticking to the facts.

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Click here to buy the "I HATE Selling Book" from Amazon.com

Society is always in a state of flux and this is a book that helps the reader get a better grasp on both where we've been and more importantly where society is going. The book provides a good overview at the change in the value system that is occurring in the wider society and talks at length about those who are bringing forward these changes. Basically the author feels that historically society has been divided by the Bohemiums (the artisans and labours) and the Bourgeoisie (those that control the money and power) and that the conflict that has always existed between the two competing classes. What has changed is that these two distinctive groups have become so intertwined that it's hard to know who is who.

The rise of the Creative Class looks at this phenomena and traces it's roots back to where is all started: San Francisco in the late 60's early 70's with the emergence of the computer 'hackers'. It was the 'hacker' that saw the true potential of creating the desktop computer. But the hackers were by no means mainstream, they were the ones outside the normal realm of business thought and practices of the day. Their informal laid back style countered the standard ways of creating, thinking, inventing and doing business. Their office was the garage, they were the ones creating things that only the creator could truly envision and see the potential for. They live and thought way out side the box. Totally out of step with what was thought possible at the time - they refused to not limit their own potential by going with the status quo. This thought and work process was shunned at the time by the majority. Yet it's by having such a vision that their creations resulted in new industries being formed and even greater wealth being created. It was people that were considered outsiders that have provided us with a new world.

And that's the basic premise is that is what makes the 'creative class' so valuable now, why they should be cherished and how they will make cities that they inhabit richer whereas regions that shun these individuals will continue to decline further. But with all that's good about the creative class, their very nature has some profound downfalls. In the desire for so many individuals to go beyond the status quo - such as having experiences that nobody else has had - they begin to marginalize all experiences and by increasing demand for out of the box activities - they commoditize the act - reducing any activities true uniqueness. The author further goes on to explain that now that so many people are involved in producing knowledge services that they desire activities that both stimulate and challenge the individual on a more physical or psychological level. But the major effect of this is that we no longer seek out or get as much pleasure from group related activities such as watching a baseball game or playing a more passive sport like bowling. People in their recreational time what to influence and be in control of the outcome of whatever activity that they choose participate in.

The book does pull out the odd chart here and there to prove points brought up, but not as Overall the book is well read and gives the reader new ways to look at the world.

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Click here to buy the "Rise of the Creative Class" book from Amazon.com

Now that the service industry has become commoditized the next natural phase for companies to increase profits and differentiate themselves from the competition is to create experiences around their products. Well so goes the theory. The Experience Economy is a book that looks at the future of business in the process explaining what is flawed by the current way of doing things. The concepts borrow heavily on the Disney model relating to how they not only create environments favorable to establish experiences, but the need to back it up with employees who have the same goal. The writers relate most business functions in terms of theatrics. They talk at length of treating the working world like a stage, and speak optimistically of the opportunities that will be presented to anyone who changes their mind set. The book is laced with examples adding support to their arguments. Overall a good read. It was nice for me to read a book that reinforced it's arguments with hard facts and real numbers and statistics.

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Click here to buy the "Experience Economy" book from Amazon.com

Ok I must admit I'm not a big fan of selling. But that's all changed after reading this book. This book is targeted at non-commodity based industries (such as Graphic Designers, Accountants, Lawyers, Architects, etc.). Allan Boress has become a successful salesman by taking a new approach to sales. He looks to Doctors to learn the art or selling. For you never perceive a Doctor as a salesperson. Instead you think of them as solution driven professionals.

His approach is simple and easy to implement. He totally removes the fears that service based industries so often have towards selling.

After reading this book you will become excited about selling!

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Click here to buy the "I HATE Selling Book" from Amazon.com

What starts out as an analysis of the planning process of the Wonderland theme park turns into a scathing attack on the theme park industry. The writers explains at length the ways theme parks manipulate it's customers with the sole purpose of taking your money. That the proprietors have discovered that by appealing to ones fantasy they make you subservient to their wishes.

The book also gets into how theme parks by their very nature are a by-product of American culture and capitalism. Therefore in their opinion Wonderland was to be a Trojan horse of American culture and values. The book was published in 1981 which predates CNN's entry into Canada (It's important to note that CNN refused all attempts by the Canadian Government to make CNN broadcast limited amounts of Canadian produced news. This being a watershed for Canadian controls over foreign content providers. CNN's entry into Canada was followed by dozens of other American owned cable networks.)

Now I disagree with many of the points raised. Though it was a thorough look at the planning that went into the construction of a theme park. Where the book failed was to follow the construction process right to the very end. The book starts at the inception of the park, followed by a detailed look at the planning process (the politics, and logistics), the plans for similar parks and their failures, but quickly skipped over the details of the actual construction of the Wonderland Park.

Overall, it was a very technical read. It would be only of interest to those interested in Urban Planning, and theme park design/management.

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This is the landmark marketing book that helped influence a generation of marketers and sales professionals. The book looks at how to reposition a brand with minimal fuss and usually at the cost of your competition. One great example cited is the brand NyQuil. While all the other cold medicines were competing in essentially the same (daytime) market - NyQuil 'invented' a new market by simply claiming that they were the nighttime cold relief solution. It's not that their product was much different then the competition but they simply convinced people that if you want a good night sleep without being sick - use NyQuil. By establishing themselves as a product that consumers could agree with and see the need for they essentially locked up the market in part by playing off of their competition by simply telling people that they were different then everyone else.

It really tries to get marketers to think outside of the box when it comes up with ways for promoting and more importantly positioning a brand. Instead of trying to convince people to use your service/good, the author contends that it's better to leverage the consumers thought process showing them that you can provide a solution to problems they may have. Al Toutes argues that mainstream advertising often lectures the consumer on why they are wrong and how their product is right when they should be in agreement with the consumer and merely show them that their product can help them out. He demonstrates how you can effectively use your competitions position and market share to help promote your own organization. With the use of multiple examples he demonstrates how going with the grain helps establish a brand and make it part of peoples lives - the Holy Grail of marketing. My only complaint with the book is that it at times gets really repetitive - overstating the same point. It should be noted that the book has become extremely dated.

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Click here to buy the "Positioning for the Mind" book from Amazon.com

Great collection of short stories from the writers of Lonely Planet. The writers share their adventures of travel. Most are laugh out loud funny, whereas others are downright scary.

One of the joys of backpacking is the nightly story telling that occurs at the hostel pub. It's where you and other travelers swap stories of their adventures while traveling.

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Click here to buy Lonely Planet Unpacked from Amazon.com

Sometimes I really wonder how companies can justify giving away corporate secrets? It's like people never learned from Xerox in the late 70's (Xerox demonstrated to key Apple executives some of the major advancements that their company had developed such as the GUI based desktop and the computer mouse). Anyway's this is a book that describes in great detail the customer service practices of the Walt Disney Company along with examples from other firms that have implemented the Disney management style. The book is extremely descriptive and goes step by step through the processes that need to be followed if an organization wants to implement change to make them customer-centric.

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Book Description: Those ignorant of the mistakes of the past are bound to lose a lot of money. That's why Bob McMath founded the New Products Showcase and Learning Center--a "Smithsonian for Stinkers," Business Week dubbed it. There, executives from top corporations pay huge amounts of money to rummage through some 80,000 products gone awry. Their mission: to avoid the misguided, expensive, and occasionally ludicrous mistakes that trip up even top companies.

In What Were They Thinking?, McMath shows you how to avoid such mistakes, with more that eighty marketing lessons he's learned from his long experience with clods and clunker's.

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Overview: Discusses how to find a champion to sell your ideas, and how to get customers to remember you. Discover how to write great ads.

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Click here to buy the "Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads" from Amazon.com