The DeAngelis Review

Books about Leadership in Times of Crisis. During the pandemic, I became interested in how leaders have and should conduct themselves during times of crisis. Four of the volumes I read and recommend were about Winston Churchill, leaders during the 1918 flu pandemic, why leaders are needed today, and how the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius viewed leadership.

Competing Against Luck. This book, by the late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen and his colleagues, discusses the “Theory of Jobs to Be Done” and explains why businesses need to focus on providing solutions for their clients’ challenges.

Cognitive Computing: A Brief Guide for GameChangers. In this book, Peter Fingar explains why today’s leaders need to understand what’s happening in the field of computer science.

Shareology. Bryan Kramer asserts that rising generations don’t embrace “ownership” the same way as older generations. As evidence, he discusses the rise of companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Zipcar. But he primarily argues that we are now sharing knowledge in a new way. That’s why his book focuses primarily on social media sharing. No longer, he explains, are people confined to sharing with friends and neighbors.

Connected by Design. Barry Wacksman and Chris Stutzman attempt to answer the question “How can companies drive consumer preferences and secure sustainable growth in this digital, social, and mobile age?” They discuss how functional integration can help companies create a competitive edge and discover new revenue streams.

Real-World Analytics. When writing this book, Michael Koukounas understood analytics was a topic of limited interest for most people. He dedicated the book to his wife who encouraged him “to write about a subject she has absolutely no interest in.” Nevertheless, the book is an easy read filled with anecdotal examples of what works and what doesn’t when trying to implement a big data project.