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Bookshelf While the literature on great leaders could fill a library, the literature about great followers would scarcely take up one shelf. Harvard professor Barbara Keller- man fills part of the gap with Followership, a book that examines the complex relationship between lead- ers and the people who choose to let them lead. "I am claiming that followers are important—every bit as important as leaders," Keller- man writes. She examines leadership and followership from many standpoints—his- torical, psychological, politi- cal, Darwinian—and describes situations throughout time in which a mutiny of so-called subordinates has upended the hierarchical order. She believes that the various cultural revo- lutions of the 1960s and the ongoing repercussions of the information age have combined to create a modern era in which the zeitgeist favors more power in the hands of people, less in the hands of autocrats, be they dictators or CEOs. "The days when people in high places can sit pretty and do what they want how they want are over," she writes. "Followers the world over are getting bolder and more strategic." (Harvard Busi- ness School Press, $29.95) Because of the accelerating pace of global business, the most critical com- petence for today's CEOs may be change management, writes Timo- thy R. Clark in Epic Change. He attempts to fill in the gaps with an analytical look at the patterns and stages of change and the ways lead- 70 BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2008 ers can energize their workforces to successfully negotiate those stages. He makes it very clear that no matter how well a CEO understands the technical requirements of change, such as strategy and capital, no organizational change will be successful unless the human components are man- aged even more effectively. Clark believes that change is fueled by seven energy sources that rotate into play: agility, urgency, cred- ibility, coalition, vision, early results, and sustained results. It is the leader's job to make sure workers can draw on sufficient energy to perform additional work and absorb additional stress, Clark emphasizes. Anyone who has ever lived through a massive restructuring will rec- ognize Clark's descrip- tions and consider how to apply his framework to the next iteration of change. (Jossey-Bass, $29.95) Even intelligent people do stupid things, usually because they're following basic behavioral patterns that are hard-wired and occasionally useful under different circumstances. So says Jim Nightingale in Think Smart, Act Smart, an absorbing book that turns a searchlight on some of the most mystifying human behavior. In one sense, this isn't a business book at all. For instance, a chap- ter on how "wishful thinking" can derail individuals and organizations includes a long disquisition on author Arthur Conan Doyle's obses- sion with spiritualism. In another sense, Think Smart, Act Smart is the perfect business book, because it examines how misguided thinking patterns can cause business leaders to fail spectacularly, and Nightingale provides plenty of these relevant examples as well. Ultimately, Night- ingale is intrigued with the process of decision making, which, he says, "is not an art, nor is it a science. It is a discipline." By showing the kinds of traps leaders can fall into as they try to make decisions, Nightin- gale helps them hone that discipline into a fine skill. (Wiley, $27.95) Many management books offer facile formulas for how to succeed in business, but in the end, every busi- ness relies on coming up with a plan and carrying it out. "Effective strategy consists of choosing to do the right things. Effective execution means doing those things right," according to Mark Morgan, Ray- mond E. Levitt, and William Malek in Executing Your Strategy. It's not quite that easy, of course. They identify six interlocking domains that executives must understand and align: the company's identity, its nature, their vision for the company, their engagement with its projects, synthesis of those projects, and transition to a new level. They emphasize that unless the CEO knows which projects support the company's overall strategic plans— and sometimes gets his hands dirty working on those initiatives—no one else can be certain that any project aligns with the long-term future of the organization. The book not only offers a way to gain clarity on organizational strategy,