4 comments about A Traitor to His Class: Robert A.G. Monks and the Battle to Change Corporate America.

1. A Traitor to His Class, Robert A.G. Monks and the Battle to Change Corporate America, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. by Hilary Rosenberg

   Consider a book about a large man who built a small fortune in order to carry out a big idea. This biographical work extends the lessons of Robert Monks' previous books, Power and Accountability (1993) and Corporate Governancej (1995), about the need for reform of American corporate governance and together they constitute the best source for the intellectual origins and history of that movement, a subject (now after twenty years) part of every business school syllabus.

   To those who know him, Mr. Monks is a large man, not just in physical power but in the energy of his mind and vision. It must have taken more than rowing in the Harvard and Cambridge eights to generate the qualities needed to put his ideas on the national agenda. The words relentless, persistent, methodical, demanding, resilient, self-questioning, optimistic, risk-taking occur to many of his allies and opponents in the struggle. Experience counts, too. Along the way Mr. Monks is observed in various roles: lawyer, real estate businessman, CEO, venture capitalist, fund manager, director, politician (unsuccessful) and public servant. The battle plan appears to be to surround the problem and attack from every angle. Not every engagement is a victory. Time and again he bounces back.

   There are plenty of numbers in the book for the specialist reader. You learn about how to take over a company without putting up any money, rather as a chef uses egg whites to conjure up a soufflé. The essence of the problem is that there are 800,000 pension funds governed by the Department of Labor's ERISA program. They own publicly traded shares to a value of $1.25 trillion or 25% of the U.S. equity market. The power of their ownership, until Mr. Monks and a few others came along, was unrepresented and therefore ignored by American corporations. Left unsaid is that the financial press must have been asleep for a few generations, accepting press handouts from corporations rather than responsibility to report on corporate America.

   When you think about it, the idea is a big one. It dawned as an epiphany on Mr. Monks in 1977 when he chanced upon a proxy form of a large paper company which he knew to be polluting a river in Maine with its discharge. Why are corporations not accountable to their shareholding owners, what are the requirements of corporate governance? He becomes the Pensions Administrator at the Department of Labor where he is able to change some rules of the game. He goads major pension funds into recognizing their power and responsibility. He establishes the leading company in the field of proxy management. All the time he is amassing information, advocating his cause in any and every forum, writing the text book, girding for war.

   Chance favors the prepared mind, said Louis Pasteur. Mr. Monks was ready to take the battle to corporate America. Sears, Westinghouse, American Express, Eastman Kodak, Stone and Webster and other poorly managed, undervalued companies became the targets. The names have a ring to them, like the names of Napoleon's battles. Mr. Monks called for better financial management, strategic planning and corporate governance. He asked for confidential shareholder voting, the addition of independent directors, the elimination of staggered boards, accountability to shareholders and (usually) the spin off of unprofitable businesses. The aim was to create greater value for shareholding owners through better management. The CEO's and the boardrooms didn't like it. Many of them slammed the door in Mr. Monks' face or kept him waiting for hours as a deliberate insult. Most of them could not survive. It was left for their successors to follow Mr. Monks' recommendations and watch the value of their shares rise. A good feature of the book is that the opposing CEOs were given a chance to have their say. Some of them preferred to keep quiet.

   Mr. Monks is better off for it, and so are we. But most of all this book is a tribute to the power of an idea and what it takes to make it work.

   George Herrick




2. A minister's son takes on the corporate establishment in this illuminating and exciting story of business, politics, and the power of ideas. Robert Monks says, "I've got this beautiful place, a beautiful wife, more than anyone can ask for. What else should I do with my time but think about big important issues?" He does much more than think -- as he also says, "You were not put on earth to be a spectator." His thoughts about big, important issues like corporate governance and accountability have transformed the behavior of every corporate director, every CEO, and every institutional investor in America. His adventures in breaking up Sears, replacing eight directors and three CEOs at Stone & Webster, and running in a roller coaster senatorial campaign read like a Tom Wolfe novel. Monks confronts CEOs (even picking one up and threatening to throw him through a window), takes out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal calling the Sears board "non-performing assets," and runs as an opposition candidate for one seat on the board of Sears. The lively and perceptive writing matches the lively and engaging subject. Must reading for anyone in the corporate world as a manager, director, or shareholder.



3. Hilary Rosenberg has successfully woven together an engaging biography of a fascinating figure in the corporate world, an intriguing tale of the machinations of big business and government and a necessary primer for corporate shareholders, board members and officers on what rights, responsibilities and duties each has and should expect from the other. Ms. Rosenberg's writing style not only keeps the pages turning for the uninitiated reader but her excellent documentation throughout the volume allows the serious student to use this book as a reference source. A great read for all and a must read for every corporate shareholder, officer and board member.



4. Robert Monks is a kind of a modern day "Don Quijote", battling single handed against corporate dirty tricks. This book tells the very interesting story of how the modern corporate governance movement got under way. A very important read.

1 comments about Big Top Boss: JOHN RINGLING NORTH AND THE CIRCUS.

1. Now know more than I ever wanted to about John Ringling North.

   The book was a bit slow in parts due to the excessive detail the author included. Such detail would be of much more interest to a fellow circus history aficionado than someone(like me) with a passing interest.

   Well researched, even handed account of the subject matter.

No comments about Brett Kebble: The Inside Story.

3 comments about DAY BY DAY: The Story of Cecil B. Day and His Simple Formula for Success.

1. ... or should I say "WOW!" This one almost snuck by me.

   Amazing, fast reading and I want to read more!




2. Mr. Day is someone I never met, but feel like I know after reading Day by Day by his son, CB Day, Jr. I hope to be like him when I grow up. Honest, in attitude, and spiritually. I'm just 10, but now I know good really can be got in America.

   Mr. Day is proof. Read it.

   aaron humes




3. In reading this book thus far, I've learned that I have yet to understand and put trust into following my "tug" to the fullest - which when reading this book is the main part of the formula for success. Add in the basic positives, such as faith, love and respect.....well you'll have to read it for yourself.

5 comments about It's Not about the Coffee: Leadership Lessons from a Life at Starbucks.

1. I respect, though do not agree with Lloyd Eskildson's review. While the review was deeply thoughtful and wordy, the underlying fact is, that the book is about the author's people skills, not about current market fluctuations which occur in every industry known to man. The author is not professing his beloved Starbuck's will rise through the likes of a nuclear explosion - which is seemingly where you expect a business to go -my goodness. The review was snobby at best.
   
   Way back down here on earth, the real-life day-to-day operations within a company are complex at best, and accounts of these experiences must be given more credit than to call them "surface" and "misleading". They are called books because they are TINY WINDOWS into the life of an author. Why do I understand this? Because of extended, sometimes painful experience - I can read "behind" the wording and envision the type of conversations going on when he 'appears' to be surface-writing. Only someone with more corporate experience than time spent in a library, would understand this.
   
   That being said, the book is a magnificent tool to change a very trendy and highly disturbing trend in American business - complacency. When business is 'all about me' (the birthplace of complacency in my opinion), it declines. Without mentioning names, I will say with ferver and focused passion, that there are only a handful who really understand how to avoid the 'all about me' syndrome, which the majority of business owners fall into quite readily. More times than not, giving a person the keys to their own business is like a lamb being led to slaughter when it comes to personality change. There grows within the concept of being a C.E.O., a need to self-serve for the sake of who's watching. Peer pressure at this level is magnificent and largely a waste of precious time and energy. I roll my eyes at it, out of pure boredom and silliness of the game because I simply haven't time for caring if my social and physical accessories are up to par with the Jones family.
   
   What the author has done here is level the playing field - and not out of disrespect for the office he honors. He understands 'how' to wear his hat and how to let others wear theirs. Nothing is more damaging to a company than to not understand this. It's an excellent book and should not be missed by anyone wanting an edge in their business. I highly recommend it.



2. Silly book! The title says "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE COFFE" when you open the book, the first page will tell you exactly the opposite! Another PR for Starbucks.



3. The book focuses on human relations and its a good read. Do not expect a managment book, in the strict sence of the word. I have read Peter Druker, a mastermind, and other management books. This book focuses on the human side and I do recommend it. It is candid and I liked that. Why 4 and not 5 stars? I would have liked more data specific or thourough experiences. The ones included are good but no enough for a 5 star. Thank you Howard.



4. As a leadership author and teacher, I recommend Behar's work for its challenge to live the idealism of leadership. While Starbucks is less than perfect as an organization [just witness their recent court battles], Behar outlines how he tried to inspire leadership in all ranks of the company. The chapters on mission, personal development, and the complexity of collaboration are important areas for those desiring to become effective in their leadership roles. Too many organizations live subpar--in the "real" world of corporate practice. Behar challenges the reader to live leadership idealism. What a difference it would make in corporate America if some leaders lived out even a few of Behar's principles. A simple, yet worthwhile read.



5. There are some great messages in this book that really make you think differently. It's so NOT your typical business book.
   
   However, I doubt Starbucks is as lovey dovey as he describes! I think the baristas are so cheery because they are caffeinated!

5 comments about Learning to Love Africa: My Journey from Africa to Harvard Business School and Back.

1. As I read this book I couldn't help but notice how similar Monique's tale is to the story of Africa. She weaves us through a maze of emotions as we feel her joy, hope, determination only to be suddenly brought to earth with frustration, anger, desparation.
   
   For anyone ever been to Africa rarely has a book come along that so perfectly captures the daily difficulties of survival in Africa. Though tongue-in-cheek Monique certainly understands clearly the difficulties facing that part of the world and I would hazard we'll be hearing more from her on this subject.
   
   Oh by the way did I mention that she became a World Class marathon runner in her spare time?



2. As someone who grew up overseas much like Monique, i deeply admire how she chose to use her acquired skills and network to give back to a continent in dire need of what rare individuals like her have to offer.
   
   The book is enjoyable to read and deeply inspiring to anyone interested in contributing to third world development.



3. Maddy writes a warm, but penitrating review of the life of her family, as well as the nation of Liberia.
   
   She gives great insight into the exploitation of Africa by the west. She makes recommendations that companies and individuals should heed as they work in this great continent.
   
   Her writing style is easy to read, and very to the point.



4. REVIEW BY IAN MOUNT
   www.ghanaweb.com: Business News of Monday, 1 October 2001
   
   The Last Place to Start a Company
   Monique Maddy tried and failed to launch a telephone service in Africa. She's moving on. Africa isn't.
   
   Three short years ago, Monique Maddy was boasting that her company was going to "change people's lives" and "revolutionize things." Adesemi, the wireless pay-phone company she founded in 1993, had raised $37 million dollars, built a network in Tanzania, and moved into Ghana, and was planning to expand its service to the Ivory Coast. Maddy was the new face of African business. A Wall Street Journal article in September 1998 even proclaimed, "If the disenfranchised of Africa ever join the global economy, it won't be diplomats, politicians, or church people leading the way. It will be entrepreneurs like Monique Maddy."
   
   It hasn't turned out that way. Maddy walked away from her company in disgust in the fall of '99. Her story is a familiar one, full of the government corruption that has become an African clichi, but the 39-year-old Maddy doesn't blame her company's demise on the bribery requests or Kafkaesque red tape. For the Liberian native, who's writing a book about third-world entrepreneurship to be published by HarperCollins next year, the real reason for Adesemi's failure and Africa's continental mire can be traced to the international development agencies that are designed to help the region. "Africa is worse off today -- in many countries -- than it was at independence, even though billions and billions have been spent," says Maddy, who herself served for five years as a United Nations Development Program officer. "As long as you have these kinds of institutions, you won't have any change."
   
   Take Maddy's experience getting a pay-phone license. In mid-1995, a year after the Tanzanian national phone company granted Adesemi the license (and Adesemi had spent $1.5 million on its network), the phone company president said that it was no good because Adesemi's pay phones were wireless. Only after an acquaintance at the Harvard Business School, her alma mater, put her in touch with World Bank president James Wolfensohn did the matter get settled. The World Bank pushed the government just so far, however. The phone company insisted on charging Adesemi inflated rates to use its infrastructure. "When we asked the World Bank to do something about the rates, they said they couldn't tell the government what to do -- but they could lend them millions of dollars," says Maddy, referring to a $75 million interest-free loan the World Bank made to the national phone company. "They had a conflict of interest," she says.
   
   Still, Adesemi kept at it, eventually building its network up to 600 pay phones and a pager service with 5,000 customers. The sell was easy, Maddy says, because Adesemi's phones actually functioned (the street nickname for the system was "the phones that work," she says).
   
   When an Adesemi backer, CDC Capital Partners, refused to invest more money for the company's expansion into what Maddy argued were more profitable markets -- it wanted to see profitability in Tanzania first, despite the stacked odds -- she finally gave up. Maddy, who now lives in Boston, hasn't been to Tanzania since; her investors are selling off the network.
   
   Not surprisingly, Maddy says her book will call for a radical departure from a system based on an international aid bureaucracy. "You basically have bureaucrats trying to develop countries," she says. "How many bureaucrats started Microsoft?"
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Source: Ian Mount



5. This is a fantastic book, though it's more of a global history lesson than a lesson in entrepreneurship. Monique Maddy covers the history of Liberia in depth and in less depth the history of several other African countries. She talks about economic development and the failures of the UN, IFC and World Bank. She is clearly an advocate for economic development via private investment. Her perspective is shaped by growing up in an exemplary company town. It was part of a mining project in Liberia sponsored by a joint venture named LAMCO. The project had a social development component that both supported the mining company by developing employees, and supported the citizens by developing them. The book is significantly a biography of Maddy herself and how she came to start her venture. That core of the book is surrounded by chapters that describe her efforts to start a pan-African telecommunications company- Adesemi - and its ultimate demise.

2 comments about The Steinway Saga: An American Dynasty.

1. A long book to be read unhurried and thoughtfully. The 19th c. period is an overview of commerce "red in tooth and claw." Concerns were often different but methods much the same as now, perhaps even rougher. The last 50 pages or so hits you like a waterfall of bad decisions, bad management, and incredible lack of understanding of what pianos were and are. A very rich book indeed.



2. Get Lieberman's book (or Susan Goldeberg's) if the subject matter interests you. If you're hungry for more Steinway lore, I suggest you read Lieberman's book again, because this one is a mess. What appears on the surface to be a well-researched biography of the Steinway family becomes an excuse for telling various sordid scandals of the day, some of which are totally unrelated to the subject matter at hand, and many of which are purely speculative on the part of the author (I cannot count the number of times the words "possibly" and "perhaps" appear in the text.)

   Worse yet is the author's "creative" writing style, in which every third or fourth sentence is twisted into some obscure metaphor. Every time the story threatens to take flight on its own, Fostle steps in with an inappropriate comment, awkward analogy, or meaningless statistic (he likes to count the number of days between events and the number of words within speeches.) I felt as if I were trapped in an elevator with a second-rate creative writing workshop student.

   Underneath all of the stylistic effluvia lies an on-again, off-again biography of William Steinway. If Fostle had simply gotten out of the way and told the story, we might have had something here. But as things stand, this is a tiring, tedious read. If you're a true Steinway aficionado, you'll probably seek this out regardless of what I've just said. Just don't say you weren't warned. If you're new to the subject matter, the true "Steinway Saga" begins and ends with Lieberman's book.

2 comments about The Age of the Moguls: The Story of the Robber Barons and the Great Tycoons.

1. Holbrook wrote in the first half of the 20th century about the businesses and characters that built the United States. His approach was not one of fawning adoration, rather he focussed on the quirks and oddities. He wrote in an irreverent popular style, yet the quality of the history in excellent. Think of him as a cranky David McCullough.

   Age Of Moguls is a series of biographies/portraits of the big actors in building the business that built this country.Buy this book and any anything else you can find of his.




2. First, some brief background information about Stewart Hall Holbrook (1893-1964). Throughout his adult years, he was at first a lumberjack and then a writer, journalist, and (his descriptive) "lowbrow historian." The Age of the Moguls (1953) is probably his best-known work but it should be noted that, for more than thirty years, he wrote for The Oregonian, the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the western United States (founded in 1850) and also authored or co-authored dozens of other books whose titles correctly indicate the scope and variety of his interests. For example, Little Annie Oakley & Other Rugged People (1948), Wild Bill Hickok Tames the West (1952) with Ernest Richardson, Davey Crockett (1955), Wyatt Earp: U.S. Marshall (1956), The Golden Age of Quackery (1959), The Golden Age of Railroads (1960), and Wildmen, Wobblies & Whistle Punks: Stewart Holbrook's Lowbrow Northwest (1992), an anthology. Holbrook's style of writing is as lively as his selection of subjects but it would be a mistake to question the authenticity of his historical material. One source (whose name I do not recall) has correctly described him as a "feisty David McCullough."
   
   In The Age of Moguls, Holbrook examines a number of "lords of capital" who, in his words, "made `deals,' purchased immunity, and did other things which in 1860, or 1880, or even 1900, were considered no more than `smart' by their fellow Americans, but which today would give pause to the most conscientiously dishonest promoter....They were a motley crew, yet taken together they fashioned a savage and gaudy age as distinctively purple as that of imperial Rome, and infinitely more entertaining." The group Holbrook considers is divided into three categories: promoters, bankers, and industrialists, with merchants in the latter group. They include Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, Charlie Gates, Thomas William Lawson, Henry H. Rogers, Henry Morrison Flagler, and Samuel Insull; Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Cyrus McCormick, Philip D. Armour, Henry Clay Frick, Henry Ford, and the Du Ponts; also the Guggenheims, Andrew W. Mellon, James J. Hill, Edward Henry Harriman, Henry Villard, the first two Vanderbilts, and the Astors. Some of these names remain familiar in our own time; others do not. All were "tough-minded fellows, who fought their way encased in rhinoceros hides and filled the air with their mad bellowings and the cries of the wounded." A colorful lot indeed.
   
   There are several reasons why I hold this book in such high regard. First, until reading it, I knew very little about the social and economic significance of what Holbrook characterizes as a "savage and gaudy age." As he explains so well, it was certainly both but the moguls he examines, together, established a bedrock of capitalism which remains intact to this day even as new laws and regulatory enforcement of them seem to ensure that, although Holbrook is not overly concerned with comparative business ethics then and now, were they alive today, "almost every man in this book would face a good hundred years in prison." I admire this book, also, because Holbrook succeeds so well in bringing the moguls to life in ways and to any extent I did not anticipate. Some are much more colorful than others, of course, but Holbrook anchors each in a human context, warts and all. Finally, I admire this book because it enables me and other readers to draw comparisons and (especially) contrasts between the current business world and the one which evolved throughout much of the 19th century. Those who receive most of Holbrook's attention have been variously described (then and now) as "giants and titans, and more often as rogues, robbers, and rascals" but Holbrook has convinced me that these and other adjectives (both positive and negative) accurately characterize most of them. For better or worse, all were "larger than life."
   
   Question: Why is this book not available in a paperbound edition?

4 comments about Managing With Asperger Syndrome: A Practical Guide For White Collar Professionals.

1. It may surprise some people to know that people with Asperger syndrome can have demanding careers and be successful business people, which is probably why this is the first book I have seen specifically for people either in that position or aiming to be. Drawing on his own experiences the author looks at issues such as office politics, coping with pressure, managing staff, and building credibility. It is very pleasing not only to see that a more diverse range of employment issues are finally being recognised but that the advice regarding them is coming from people on the spectrum themselves.



2. Speaking as someone with Asperger's syndrome who would like to progress to managerial roles, I was hoping that this book would provide me with lots of valuable insights about how to harness the advantages and control the disadvantages posed by my condition.
   
   Unfortunately, the book is far too thin on detail. Malcolm Johnson provides a few concrete examples of how the tide of events was determined by his condition in a managerial situation, but this book is of little use to me because such examples are few and far between.
   
   Maybe I am already aware of the points he raised (probably because he raised so few points), but I felt a bit ripped off by this book, as I don't really feed I gained any new insights or much about how to operate in a managerial role in spite of having Asperger's syndrome.
   
   Malcolm Johnson shows that he is capable of being perceptive, but you read this book and get the feeling that you haven't learned anything and that there is still far more to learn before you can even think about improving yourself as a manager.



3. I have Asperger's Syndrome and was struggling with integrating into the workplace. This book provided a lot of great insight and information, and helped me see how to more effectively operate in a corporate business environment. The book is poorly written, however, as if the writer did it in one draft without the help of an editor. Grammar and sentence structure are often awkward. But I still recommend the book, especially since there aren't many AS books out there for business professionals (most are for dealing with AS children).



4. Mildly interesting autobiographical sketch of someone possibly with mild Aspergers dealing with the business world. Same sort of general advice as other business success books but little practical application. Definitely needs far more detail to be useful for Aspies. Very thin book, grossly overpriced since you can get better info free on the Web.
   
   For Aspie, as well as neurotypical, readers, I recommend Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People instead.

5 comments about Mr. Bernds Goes to Hollywood.

1. Have you ever dreamed you could make it big in Hollywood? Countless dreams have been shattered in this town, but one young man made it, and this is his story. Rarely will one encounter a more modest telling of a life's story. Yet Ed's tale rings so true and so right that you can't help but be drawn in. From making a crystal radio set as a teen, to snaring the top sound position with Frank Capra, Mr. Bernds entertains, informs, and delights us in the telling.

   One of the reasons why this book is so fresh is that its author works not just from memory, but from detailed diaries. The tale of his trip west to Hollywood in a broken down jalopy fairly crackles. Genuinely good story telling accents this lively account of the early talkie era. Recommended to anyone who would enjoy a stroll through the inside of Hollywood, spoken by a real movie sound pioneer.




2. Have you ever dreamed you could make it big in Hollywood? Countless dreams have been shattered in this town, but one young man made it, and this is his story. Rarely will one encounter a more modest telling of a life's story. Yet Ed's tale rings so true and so right that you can't help but be drawn in. From making a crystal radio set as a teen, to snaring the top sound position with Frank Capra, Mr. Bernds entertains, informs, and delights us in the telling.

   One of the reasons why this book is so fresh is that its author works not just from memory, but from detailed diaries. The tale of his trip west to Hollywood in a broken down jalopy fairly crackles. Genuinely good story telling accents this lively account of the early talkie era. Recommended to anyone who would enjoy a stroll through the inside of Hollywood, spoken by a real movie sound pioneer.




3. Edward Bernd's autobiography is a wonderful insight into the life and career of a Hollywood talent whose career lay behind the camera.

   The book only covers the first half of his life, from his childhood in Chicago to his career as a top sound engineer at Columbia Studios. Bernds' engineering career encompassed the films of Frank Capra (Capra always requested Ed for his team), the many classics of Moe, Larry and Curly, and many major Columbia feature productions through 1945.

   The reader is left wanting more, particularly the details of Bernds' new post-1945 career of writer and director for the Three Stooges, the Blondie series, the Bowery Boys and Elvis Presley. But, that's another book. Right, Ed?




4. When Hollywood first started to shine golden, Ed Bernds was there. He knew and worked with the stars, the directors and the writers, and contributed no little himself to Hollywood's Golden Age. In "Mr. Bernds Goes To Hollywood," Ed tells -- with near total recall -- of his journey to the movie capital in the earliest days of sound (which was his speciality) and of his career at Columbia Studios, the King of "Poverty Row," with the likes of Frank Capra, Clark Gable and the feared studio head Harry Cohn. In telling his story, Bernds invokes a bygone era of Hollywood glamor with an inside knowledge that few today possess. Necessary books on Hollywood are few and far between, but "Mr. Bernds Goes To Hollywood" fills the bill.



5. The late writer-director Edward Bernds has become a familiar name to movie comedy fans, through his association with The Three Stooges, The Bowery Boys, the Blondie series, and a host of other comedy stars. But Mr. Bernds made his reputation as a recording engineer during the early-talkie years, and was the number-one sound man at Columbia Pictures until he took on more creative duties.

   This book chronicles Bernds's early years, from his first radio jobs through his successful association with director Frank Capra. Bernds was a stickler for accuracy, and drew upon his old diaries to confirm his excellent memory for facts and faces. He was just as careful to spell things out for the reader, explaining a technical process or a business practice to amplify the point he was making. Bernds's attention to detail makes for good, solid reading.

   This writer was disappointed that the book stops when the author stopped working as a soundman. But it's understandable because Bernds, in his thoroughness, would have written a mammoth volume if his entire career were to be discussed. Joseph McBride recognizes the "missing" material by appending a more general interview with Bernds, conducted by McBride and Leonard Maltin.

   Film buffs and historians will enjoy "Mr. Bernds." For those who want Bernds's observations and recollections of his Three Stooges years, read "The Columbia Comedy Shorts" by Ted Okuda and Edward Watz.