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Bookshelf moving into a leadership role, accepting the stretch assignment, dealing with significant failure, cop- ing with a bad boss, losing a job, living through an acquisition or merger, and surviving a divorce. Individuals who endure such experi- ences but don't learn from them will never grow as leaders, according to these authors. "Without a failure or two along the way, leaders never have to move out of their comfort zones, adjust their identities, or develop their capacity for compas- sion," they write. Those who have ever held a job will have lived through some of the crisis points and can use this book to gauge how the events changed them as leaders. (Jossey- Bass, $24.95) No one likes to fail, but good leadership almost requires that individuals face adversity at some point in their careers. It's how and what they learn from life's most unsettling events that hones their skills as lead- ers. That's the premise of Leadership Passages by David L. Dotlich, James L. Noel, and Norman Walker. The authors isolate 13 common personal and professional "passages," including join- ing a company, The entire science of marketing can be condensed to five specific strategies, according to John Zagula and Richard 52 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2004 Tong in The Marketing Playbook. Many of the analogies they offer are derived from sporting events, and the fast-paced, go-get-em attitude feels like a coach's exhortations to get his players on the field absolutely prepared. Their fast- paced prose is clear and precise, and they don't mince words. Describing the exhilaration of the "drag race" ploy—choosing a competitor and challenging it to an all-out rivalry— they write, "Take heed. Before you enter a Drag Race, make sure you look closely at the resources and wherewithal of the other racer, but also make sure you yourself are pre- pared to do what it takes to stay ahead all the way." Not only do the authors identify the five marketing strategies, they comprehensively describe what market conditions make each play the right one and outline the potential risks and rewards. The book offers a fun ride—but there's some real power under the hood. (Portfolio, $22.95) Alexander Graham Bell offered the telephone to Western Union back in 1876, but the telegraph company could see no particular use for the novelty device and turned it down. Twenty- five years later, AT&T had twice the annual income of Western Union, and ten years later, AT&T acquired a con- trolling interest in the other company. How did Western Union fail to recognize a disruptive technology that would change the entire struc- ture of long-distance communication? More important, how can any industry executive today forecast what new tech- nology will radically re-map his own landscape? In SeeingWhat's Next, Clayton M. Chistensen, Scott D. Anthony, and Erik A. Roth attempt to answer that second question. Using the telecommunications industry as an example, they develop theories that analysts can use to judge when any market is about to change, what segment is about to change, and where the competitive battles might play out. Smart and topical, this book is loaded with insights into how to prepare for the future. (Harvard Business School Press, $29.95) education institutions cling to an outmoded "educational model that has been in place since the 14th century." Failing to recognize how people really learn, and failing to incorporate new technology into their educational systems, universi- ties are failing their students—and, by extension, a country that will need a diverse workforce equipped to understand a global economy. The current educational system only works, Smith believes, if "the goal of a college is to be well thought of by other colleges; if the president of Is higher education failing America? Peter Smith thinks so. In The Quiet Crisis, he points out that higher education is becoming an aristoc- racy of the white well- off elite, leaving behind the poor and people of color. At the same time, he says, most higher