A quick book review of The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift by Andres Edwards, from new Society Publishers. If you are wondering what the Sustainability fad is all about, then this is a good starting point. Sustainability seems to be all around us, and shouted by every business and group, and this book explains why. One of the best features is his inclusion of a large number of examples of sustainability statements.

Whether you want to call this a primer, a survey, or a basic introduction, I found it to be an excellent starting point. It is a quick read, I am a fast reader and it took me around an hour, but there is a lot of information packed in the book, especially at the price point offered by the publisher. It is a real value.

My three criticisms. The author tries to avoid controversies. For example, for some reason, he seems to try very hard to avoid any discussion of over population, which may be the biggest problem of all in trying to achieve sustainability.

Second, again avoiding controversies, the author praises Netherlands, justifiably, but also points out that most of their land is recaptured. He never seems to address this obvious contradiction.

Third, the author emphasized education and indicates that it will be integrated throughout the book. However, I never saw any real discussion of education or psychological change.

Although I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, I was never convinced this was a real paradigm shift, not in the classic meaning of a paradigm shift. If it is, the author fails to deal with how we will change the minds and motivations of people.

For HR professionals, we need to consider the implications of the sustainability revolution for HR practices.

This is a quick book review of Strategic Learning and Leading Change by Stephen John, from the Elsevier New Frontiers in Learning Series. John’s book has a lot of positive aspects. This is basically the story of a global company undergoing significant changes, and the role HR plays in shaping such changes. HR leaders undergoing such challenges may find some inspiration and some practical advice in the book.

Strategic Learning is basically a book built around a case study. The case study, which appears in the middle of the book, is probably the strongest aspect. I give high marks to Chapter 3, Strategic Learning and Leading Change, Chapter 4, Globalizing Pharma, and Chapter 8, Reinventing Human Resources.

My main problem with the book is that it lacked sufficient detail. As a result, you really do not know how to make similar changes or, in many cases, exactly what HR did in various situations. For example, John indicates that he will discuss the role of importance of Social Network Analysis. However, no real detail is given on how to conduct a social network analysis or what role it actually played in the case. This is a short paperback, a rather quick read, and not a heavy academic tome. Still, I would have really liked to see more details on some of the actually methods and techniques used in the change process. At the end, I was unsure what cutting edge developments had been discussed in the book.

One of the best features of this book is the Foreword by Marshall Goldsmith. Goldsmith knows how to write for a business audience. So does John and he provides an interesting case study regarding an HR organization attempting to reinvent HR.

However, a final note, the price of this book at least on Amazon seems to me to be way too high. The book should be in the 10-20 dollar range, not the over 30 dollar range.

Marshall Goldsmith’s Succession: Are You  Ready (2009) Harvard Business Press

This book is in the Memo to the CEO series. I previously reviewed the book by Steve Kerr on rewards and was highly impressed by Kerr’s title in the series.

The Memo to the CEO series involves very small, short books. As such, they could easily be read on an airplane or, by those so inclined, in the bathroom.  The brevity is both a plus and a minus; given the length of the book there is no real depth. I realize executives are busy people, but I often wonder whether one of the problems with business in America is that our top decision makers spend so much time with Reader Digest versions of complex topics.

First, Goldsmith is a top coach and educator. He did not reach such a lofty status without being able to listen well, tell a good story, and deliver useful information in a compact form. All three of these skills are on display in this book.

The book covers the behavioral side of choosing a successor including preparing for the transition, choosing a successor (although the assumption is there is one primary successor), coaching the successor, and passing the baton. The section I found most valuable and interesting was the discussion on why Goldsmith has a preference for internal successors. I found his thoughts on internal succession to be worth the price of the book. On the other hand, if there was a missing piece, I was disappointed that there was not more attention paid to identifying the successor.

Other than the discussion of the preference for an internal successor, there is not a lot in the book that cannot be found elsewhere. However, by design, this is a short summary. I did find it odd that although the book is in the memo to the CEO series, and Goldsmith says it will be written as a series of memos, I never really did see where the book followed a memo structure. But that is a small point.

As Goldsmith admits, the book may have greatest value to the entrepreneur or to the CEO of a small company. Those individuals may not be able to afford or find a coach of Goldsmith’s quality. For those individuals, I except they will find comfort in reading this book from the standpoint of being able to say – “wow, what I am feeling or thinking is not that much different that the experience of others before me.”  Sort of like Chicken Soup for the Executive’s Soul.

Overall, Goldsmith delivers an important message in an effective but still compact form.

Steve Kerr, former chief learning officer for General Electric and Goldman Sachs, has written a short book on Reward Systems: Does Yours Measure Up? The book is in the Harvard Business Press Memo to the CEO series. However, any employee at any level can learn valuable lessons from the enjoyable book.

I find a lot of short, popular books like this — it clocks in at less than 136 pages — are relatively short on content. Many can be summarized in a couple of pages or paragraphs. But not this book by Steve Kerr. Kerr has had a long career in acadame and industry; he is also an excellent story teller. As a result, the book provides a wealth of information on what goes wrong, and what can go right, with reward and compensation systems.

The book contains a number of checklists and guiding principles. The major organizational principles are:

1. Define performance in actionable terms
2. Measure the right things
3. Reward the right things

This may sound simple. Of course, the devil is in the details. The book provides a great deal of information on how you can attempt to follow the three principles.

Almost all of us have encountered the confusing situation where we offer someone help, but our offer of help is refused. Edgar Schein has written a new book entitled “Helping: How to offer, give and receive help,” which is available from Berrett/Kohler or online bookstores. The book analyzes the difference between effective and ineffective help across a whole range of human situations. In simple language, Schein explains why it is that help is refused. For example, it could be due to communication problems or the status differentials that helping creates. Schein’s points are illustrated with numerous examples.

Edgar Schein is widely known for his seminal academic work on organizational development and corporate culture. However, this book is written for a general audience. His book should be helpful to anyone interested in the psychology of change and helping others. Given how ingrained helping is in our daily lives, it can really be though of as guide to living. I highly recommend his book. It should be mandatory reading for psychology graduate programs, organizational development professionals, and supervisors and leaders.

Transformative Assessment by W. James Popham is written for an educational audience, but has much to offer for the human resource or training and development professional. The book deals with formative assessment in education. It explains the research on formative assessment and how to build a framework for instruction based on assessment. However, given the dearth of writings on formative assessment in training, there is much that can be gleaned from the pages of his book. Perhaps the most important lesson is that assessment can be a mechanism for transformation. I also highly recommend his Chapter 7 on the limitations of formative assessment. Overall, an excellent resource book for the classroom teacher that also has a lot to offer in terms of new ideas for the training professional.

Malcolm Gladwell does not need my recommendation to sell books. His new book, Outliers: The Story of Success, follows the bestsellers The Tipping Point and Blink.

For those in Psychology or Human Resource Management, some of the material Gladwell covers will be familiar. The reader will also notice that he often chooses to leave out research that contradicts his hypotheses.

Nevertheless, I believe all of Gladwell’s books, but especially Outliers, should be considered must reads for those in Human Resources. The book is about success, expertise, or high performance. Gladwell offers an interesting synthesis of research suggesting that multiple factors may relate to success.

Despite the underlying theme of success, this is almost three books rather than one. If there is something to criticize, other than ignoring contradictory research, it is that there seems to be something of a disconnect between the three major sections. The first section deals with the impact of birth year, or generation, on success. The second looks at the impact of ethnicity, culture, or location on success. The third takes a very personal look at Gladwell’s family and personal background. The first section is the strongest in terms of interesting writing and amazing science. The third section is strong on emotion and drawing a connection to the author.

Basically, the book looks at the unusual impact seemingly chance factors have on success. This includes birth year or generation and location or ethnicity. This does not mean that the argument is made that it is luck. Rather, Gladwell’s argument is that these factors lead to years and years of hard work, which then leads to success.

Overall, the book tells a fascinating story of what contributes to expertise and high levels of performance. It also fits in well with the current interest in generations.

A complete side note: On the back of the book there is a quote from the New York Times concerning “Gladwell’s theories could be used to run businesses more effectively…” Gladwell is an excellent writer and translator of psychological research, but the theories are those of others.

Recently, I received a notice that the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus had declared bankruptcy. As someone who attended Jesuit schools for 8 years, this news saddened me, especially when combined with the parish closings in Northeast Ohio.

In that context, I would recommend a 2000 book by Donald B. Cozzens entitled “The Changing Face of the Priesthood.” Fr. Cozzens has a background in counseling, psychology, and pastoral theology. He also has many years of experience with seminarians.

Fr. Cozzens provides an excellent and in-depth look at the challenges faced by the priesthood. This is a deeply personal and psychological reflection. It could also be viewed from the standpoint of how an institution attempts to handle the human resource challenges presented by a major crisis.

If there are any disappointments, it is that Cozzens offers no real solutions and the book is based on dated psychological theories. In addition, there is more attention paid to the failures in the trenches than to the role of leadership. Nevertheless, the book serves as a tremendously insightful look into the question of spiritual and ethical lapses in the priestly profession.

I am going to use this book as a textbook for one of my classes this year – Business the Orange County Chopper Way.

Who needs a:

• PhD
• MBA from Harvard
• Consultants
• Flying Fish

OK, I have not read the book yet, but I have caught the tv show. My guess, it probably does make a good read.

This is certainly a time when ethics occupy significant space on the front pages of the business sections. As I have previously comments, it is surprising to me, although not to others, that despite trying to put a major emphasis on ethics over the last 10 years, so little has been accomplished. So I started reading books on ethics.

In “Doing the Right Thing at Work,” James L. Nolan looks at ethics from a Catholic perspective. The subtitle is “A Catholic’s Guide to Faith, Business and Ethics.” The book is based on the Woodstock Business Conferences and includes case studies from that conference. There is not a lot of ethical guidance in the book. More than providing ethical guidance, the book shows Catholic business people how they can find the right answers on their own through faith and prayer. Depending upon your viewpoint, his approach could be seen as a positive or a negative.

Although the book reads as a series of spiritual exercises, I did find two comments made by Nolan to be intriguing. The first is that the real tough ethical issues involve where there is no good solution, only a series of bad solutions, but one must be chosen. The second is his 5 pillars, or 5 point program, which includes:

1. Self awareness
2. Expanding your horizon
3. Engagement in work and the world
4. Community
5. Prayer

The book makes for a quick read or can be used as the basis of setting up a spiritual program. It does not so much tell you what the right thing is, or even how to identify the right thing, as much as it attempts to provide guideposts for finding the right answer on your own.