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bookshelf THE LEARNING CURVE AUTHOR: Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño PUBLISHER: Palgrave MacMillan, US$42 IÑIGUEZ TAKES a long and comprehensive look at the past and present of business education to speculate on how it should position itself for the future. He spends some time addressing recent criticisms, but more of his energy goes to examining—from every angle—how the disci- pline might look in the years ahead. He argues persuasively for virtues-based ethics education and strongly advocates measures that draw "academia" closer to "agora," or the real-world marketplace. He also examines the powerful changes that could be wrought by forces like technology and globalization. "Imagine, for example, a young person in a remote village in Africa who is able to download learning materials designed and created at one of the top universities in the world," he writes. All education will be shaped by these forces, he notes, but he expects business schools to model the way. The charge for business schools, he says, is "to prepare global citizens. Thus, education delivered at business schools can and should be a personal transformation pro- cess." His book provides the blueprint for that transformation. THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF INNOVATION AUTHOR: Scott D. Anthony PUBLISHER: Harvard Business Review Press, US$25 THIS "LITTLE black book" is a quick-read how-to book that boils down the prin- ciples of innovation to discrete ideas any- one can understand. Anthony first offers a brisk survey of the legendary "Masters of Innovation"—such as Clayton Christensen and Joseph Schumpeter—and then he provides 28 daily exercises for spotting and practicing innovation. These include "Start before you need to" and "Test critical assumptions," but it's the supporting information that brings the lessons home. For instance, in "Compete against non- consumption," he describes how Indian company Godrej & Boyce took on GE, LG, and Whirlpool in the refrigeration market by design- 60 March/April 2012 BizEd ing a small, inexpensive, battery- operated cooler for the 85 percent of consumers who don't have space or money for a standard unit. Anthony, managing director of Christensen's Innosight consultant firm, makes innovation seem well within anyone's grasp. KISS, BOW, OR SHAKE HANDS: SALES AND MARKETING AUTHORS: Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway PUBLISHER: McGraw-Hill, US$20 WHEN YOU'RE in a business meet- ing in South Korea, offer or accept a business card with both hands to show respect. In Brazil, expect your business associates to stand close and intermittently touch your arm. In Turkey, shake hands first with the eldest man in the room. The book, a follow-up to the authors' original cultural guidebook, offers these and hundreds of other highly specific pieces of advice to help executives do business in 20 countries. For each nation, they describe "brilliant" and "boorish" ways to open a busi- ness meeting; cultural norms about punctuality and personal space; and, of course, customs involved in meet- ing strangers. Morrison, president of communications firm Getting Through Customs, and writer Con- away point out that the world is growing more connected than ever— and the Internet is only speeding up the pace. "A taboo subject will not just stop an individual sale anymore; it may preclude an entire country from viewing your site," they note. Their practical and enjoyable book aims to make sure such disasters don't occur. CREATIVE PEOPLE MUST BE STOPPED AUTHOR: David A. Owens PUBLISHER: Jossey-Bass, US$29.95 VANDERBILT'S OWENS sifts through the dozens of books on