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Bookshelf As a new president completes his first 100 days in office during exceedingly challenging times, leaders every- where contemplate what it takes to Hit the Ground Running. Jason Jennings has conducted in-depth interviews with nine high-perform- ing CEOs to discover what common patterns and beliefs govern the behavior of top execu- tives. The answers tend to be basic and straight- forward, and there are hardly any surprises: Tell the truth. Gain trust. Be accountable. Find the right people. Yet the stories behind the platitudes are intriguing glimpses into the lives of nine CEOs who outperform aver- age CEOs on virtually every mea- sure. For instance, Tim and Richard Smucker, great-grandsons of the man who founded the J.M. Smucker Company, are Christian Scientists who do business by the Golden Rule and don't hire—or keep—employees who don't fit in. That's critical, writes Jennings: "A company either has the right culture that their leadership has worked relentlessly to move throughout the organization or the wrong one because the leader- ship couldn't be bothered with soft things like culture." Jennings uses the successes of the other eight CEOs to make additional points, allowing their personal stories to illustrate universal themes of business. (Portfolio, $25.95) A company that fails to grow will fail to survive, but managing strategic growth is a difficult proposition. The key is to grow in incremental stages after carefully defining specific goals—and giving managers some latitude for failure. This approach, called Discovery-Driven Growth, is presented by Columbia University's Rita Gunther McGrath and Whar- ton's Ian C. McMillan. They write, "What needs to replace conventional planning when you are trying some bold new growth program is a pro- cess that allows you to set a direc- tion, probe inexpensively, redirect where necessary, and, hopefully, grasp emergent growth, but shut down early and inexpensively if things don't work out." The authors Today's customers are curious, restless "infovores" who generally know a great deal about any product before they buy it—and a great deal about your competi- tors before they decide to buy that product from you. The advent of the Internet—with search engines like Google and social networking sites like Facebook—means potential customers not only know what products are available, they know who carries those products and what other people think about the buying experience at each retail outlet. Even your long-term customers will find it easy to switch to new providers if they don't like your service or selection. But Jill Griffin, a specialist in creating customer loyalty, knows all the keys to Taming the Search-and-Switch Customer. "The 'Do I switch?' question is always lurking," Griffin writes. She gives today's leaders ways to make that answer "No." (Jossey Bass, $24.95) 66 BizEd MAY/JUNE 2009 outline the essential steps of creating a framework for growth, bringing the management team on board, managing projects, and deciding when to abandon them. "It's crucial that your team doesn't attach a stigma to stopping a proj- ect," they warn. "Doing something that yielded valuable insight, learn- ing, or new capabilities can be as valuable as growing a new business can." It's a well-reasoned approach to a critical process. (Harvard Busi- ness Press, $27.95) Anyone who's fascinated by the day-by- day, despairing-and-euphoric cycle of building a new enterprise from scratch should enjoy Tom Szaky's Revolution in a Bottle. Bonus points if the reader is invested in the notion of eco-capitalism. In his honest, funny, and uncensored book, Szaky shows how he turns trash into cash—more specifically, turns worm excrement into fertilizer—thereby simultaneously making a profit and helping to save the world. The tales of funding woes and near-disasters contrast nicely with the ultimate suc- cesses, such as selling the first pallet of fertilizer to a big box store and coming up with new Earth-friendly products. Szaky cares passionately about doing the right thing, but he's a pragmatist, too. "It seems fairly clear to me that everyone wants to buy organic, eco-friendly products, but equally clear they don't want to pay more for them," he writes. "That's where eco-capitalism comes in." It's a fun, frighten- ing, and fabulous ride. (Portfolio, $15)