Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/54913
bookshelf ONWARD AUTHOR: Howard Schultz with Joanne Gordon PUBLISHER: Rodale, US PRICE: US$25.99 THE YEARS 2007–2008 were rocky for many businesses, but for coffee giant Starbucks, much of the chaos played out in the media and over the Internet as leaked internal memos and fall- ing sales led to internal dissent and public speculation about the company's future. In his book, Schultz describes the difficult period when he decided to return as CEO after an eight-year absence from that role. The book works on many levels—as a case study for one organization's turmoil and recovery, as a blueprint for building a company on a foundation of values, as a peek into the mind of a passionate entrepreneur, and as a wake-up call about the power of the digital media. Throughout, it's impossible to miss Schultz's love for his job or his product. He writes, "This is what merchants do. We take the ordinary—a shoe, a knife—and give it new life, believing that what we create has the potential to touch others' lives because it touched ours." BUILDING RESPECTED COMPANIES AUTHOR: Jordi Canals PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press PRICE: US$60 CORPORATE SCANDALS, tum- bling economies, and the rise and fall of charismatic CEOs have combined to create public distrust of big business and send many firms into crisis. Canals, dean of IESE Business School, has a solution: better corporate governance built around solid leadership and an understanding of the place of business in society. This requires "rethinking what a firm is, what its pur- pose is, what society expects from firms, and what roles and responsibilities board direc- tors and senior executives should have." He examines historical per- spectives of business and analyzes the factors that have led to the recent turmoil, including the drive 76 May/June 2011 BizEd to maximize shareholder wealth. Then he introduces the idea of a respected company, one that's successful in "its economic perfor- mance, the way it attracts people, its customers' loyalty, and its social impact." It's clear he thinks busi- ness has lost its way—but equally clear that he sees a solid road back. FROM VALUES TO ACTION AUTHOR: Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr. PUBLISHER: Jossey-Bass PRICE: US$27.95 KRAEMER, a former healthcare CEO and current Northwestern professor, presents a persuasive case for values-based leadership built on four pillars: self-reflection, balance, self-confidence, and humility. He admits that they might sound sim- plistic, but warns that they aren't easy to implement, and indeed, each pillar becomes more complex as he thoughtfully examines its deeper meaning. For instance, lead- ers who practice self-reflection not only understand their strengths and weaknesses, they've also identified priorities for themselves and their companies; they can make decisions based on sure knowledge of their abilities and core competencies. Leaders who know how to balance not only make time for work, family, health, and other important areas of their lives, they also learn how to gather input from a variety of sources to weigh against their own opinions. Building a leader- ship style is essential for everyone in the workplace, Kraemer believes: "Whether you manage ten thousand people … or you are a single con- tributor influencing a team, you are on a leadership journey." ENGAGING RESISTANCE AUTHOR: Aaron D. Anderson PUBLISHER: Stanford Business Books PRICE: US$29.95 WHILE VOLUMES have been writ- ten about change management, says Anderson of San Diego State