Stories
Stories
Edited by Margie Kelley
Welcome to the USA! You’re Hired!
By Betsy Cohen (MBA 1978)
Constead Press
In this book author and economic development innovator Betsy Cohen presents wisdom from a dozen experts in career development and job searching. Foreign-born job seekers—whether they’re international students, relocated persons, immigrants, or refugees—will find useful advice for landing a job in the United States this book. Readers will learn the different stages of the search process and how to prepare for each one, as well as practical advice for building an network, finding posted and unposted openings, discussing salaries, and how getting recognition for accomplishments can lead to promotions and pay increases. The book’s case studies and expert contributions provide many examples and recommendations to manage stress and make the search process smoother.
Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now
By John Doerr (MBA 1976)
Portfolio
In 2006, John Doerr was moved by Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and a challenge from his teenage daughter: “Dad, your generation created this problem. You better fix it.” Since then, Doerr has searched for solutions to this existential problem—as an investor, an advocate, and a philanthropist. Fifteen years later, despite breakthroughs in batteries, electric vehicles, plant-based proteins, and solar and wind power, global warming continues to get worse. Its impact is all around us: droughts, floods, wildfires, the melting of the polar ice caps. Our world is squarely in a climate crisis and on the brink of a climate disaster. More than ever, we need a clear course of action.
What if the goal-setting techniques that powered the rise of today’s most innovative organizations were brought to bear on humanity’s greatest challenge? Using a tool called Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), Speed & Scale offers an unprecedented global plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions before it’s too late. Used by Google, Bono’s ONE foundation, and thousands of startups the world over, OKRs have scaled ideas into achievements that changed the world. In this book, Doerr identifies the measurable OKRs we need to reduce emissions across the board and to arrive by 2050 at net zero—the point where we are no longer adding to the heat-trapping carbon in the atmosphere.
Speed & Scale intersperses Doerr’s wide-ranging analysis with firsthand accounts from Jeff Bezos, Christiana Figueres, Al Gore, Mary Barra, Bill Gates, and other intrepid policy leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, and activists. A launchpad for those who are ready to act now, this book is geared to leaders in every walk of life. With a definitive action plan, the latest science, and a rising climate movement on our side, we can still reach net zero before it is too late. But as Doerr reminds us, there is no more time to waste.
What Jesus Expects of Us
By Scott Engle (MBA 1978)
Invite Press
What does it mean to lead a worthy life? Much of Christian teaching today focuses on the benefits of following Jesus. We seek Jesus to heal our wounds, cure our sicknesses, and strengthen our marriages. We want Jesus to be our therapist and our life coach. Indeed, Jesus promises that we are blessed when we follow him. But he also charged us with doing more. What if we could pray not just to receive blessings, but to understand what Jesus expects of us, and for the power to hear and to act? This book offers a set of Bible studies to examine the question, “What does Jesus expect of us?” This latest work from biblical teacher Dr. Scott Engle looks at the responsibilities of Christians who are serious about following Jesus.
Capitalist West Germany and Socialist East Germany: A Country Divided
By James Glenn (MBA 1965)
Independently published
In the years following the end of World War II, a divided Germany became the epicenter of the Cold War. West Germany, at the end of the war occupied by British, American, and French military forces, developed along the lines of a Western-inspired capitalist democracy. East Germany, occupied by Soviet forces, developed as a government-controlled socialist society. Two countries, one language, two systems. This is the backdrop for Glenn’s spy novel, set in the 1970s, about a Russian plot to capture West Germany, and a CIA operative’s bid to decode the plan and alert the United States in time.
Russian General Yevgeny Inanovski has honed his Russian soldiers in East Germany for an imminent invasion of West Germany. He is looking for a plausible excuse to attack before he finally submits his plan to the Politburo in Moscow for approval. Inanovski is relying on the West German Red Army Faction to start rioting in the streets of Bonn, Hamburg, and Munich. The RAF orchestrated murders, bank robberies, and kidnappings in West Germany over many years. But can the General count on the RAF to create the rioting, the excuse he needs, to invade? Graham Smith, the CIA’s new Chief of Station in Bonn, shoulders the burden of giving the United States prior warning of a possible invasion from East Germany. He suspects that many West German spies have been compromised and cannot determine which intelligence reports to believe. Can he find a way to intercept Russian intelligence transmissions from East Berlin to Moscow?
No Bullsh!t Leadership
By Martin Moore (AMP 173)
RosettaBooks
When Martin Moore was asked to rescue a leading energy corporation from ever-increasing debt and a lack of executive accountability, he faced an uphill battle. Not only had he never before stepped into the role of CEO, he also had no experience in the rapidly evolving energy sector. Relying on the practical leadership principles he had honed throughout his 33-year career, he overhauled the company’s culture, redefined its leadership capability, and increased earnings by a compound annual growth rate of 125 percent. In No Bullsh!t Leadership, Moore outlines his leadership principles, which include creating value by focusing on what matters most; facing conflict, adversity, and ambiguity with decisiveness and confidence; setting uncompromising standards for behavior and performance; and selecting and developing great people.
Be Where Your Feet Are: Seven Principles to Keep You Present, Grounded, and Thriving
By Scott O’Neil (MBA 1998)
St. Martin’s Essentials
When we’re moving at 115 MPH, we rarely see the wall coming. But it comes for all of us and when it does, we grasp for lessons, meaning, and purpose. Each moment (good or bad) and every win or loss provides us an opportunity to learn, and if we choose to take it, that opportunity can change our lives—and the world—for the better. The human spirit craves connection. Authenticity. Belonging. Touch. Gratitude. Purpose. We need to make our interactions count. Whether it’s the death of a friend, loss of a job, a bad break-up or the isolation of COVID-19, those who manage to be where their feet are will grow, stretch, and emerge stronger, smarter and more prepared as we find peace and gratitude in the pause.
In Be Where Your Feet Are, the former CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils offers his own story of grief and healing, and shares his most valuable lessons on what keeps him present, grounded, and thriving as a father, husband, coach, mentor, and leader. O’Neil shares poignant life lessons from an array of people including professional athletes and sports executives, as well as his teenage daughters, among many others.
Chasing Down a Dream: Tales from the Middle of the Pack
By James Riehl, Jr. (MBA 1978)
Palmetto Publishing
During the running boom of the 1970s and early 1980s, the names of the swiftest runners were on everyone’s lips. Frank Shorter. Bill Rodgers. Alberto Salazar. Dick Beardsley. Champions, all.
But what about the runner a few steps behind them, sharing the vision but not necessarily the talent? What becomes of him, when his aspirations collide with reality? When his limitations cloud his dreams? Or when injuries and life's demands curb his ability to achieve? In this highly entertaining and inspirational coming-of-age memoir, Riehl offers a colorful range of diverse adventures as he leverages his sense of humor, hard work, the support of others, and just a bit of luck to chase down his dream.
Sacred Rhythm: A Christian Spirituality for Our 21st Century Work Lives
By Robert Tribken (MBA 1973)
Faith and Enterprise Press
Spirituality, Robert Tribken suggests, can play an important role in our work lives. Our spirituality encourages us to turn toward God and the divine mystery and then, perhaps inspired, return to our daily work with a new sense of purpose and a deepened desire to make a positive contribution to the greater good and the well-being of others. This can have practical implications for our work. It can help us develop a deeper sense of purpose, hope, and optimism. It can help us overcome obstacles, deal calmly with stress and interpersonal conflict, build healthy collaborative relationships, and work with greater wisdom and strength. It can help us understand how our daily work contributes to human flourishing, not just for ourselves and our families but for others as well. The book offers practical insights from multiple sources, including the Bible, contemporary research, and business, and invites the reader to consider them in light of one’s own faith or spirituality and work experience.
An Insider's Guide to Provence
By Keith Van Sickle (MBA 1985)
Dresher Publishing
Keith and Val Van Sickle are long-time residents of Provence, splitting their time between California and the charming village of St-Rémy-de-Provence. In this unique guidebook, the authors share their favorite things to see and do, both the well-known and the insider secrets. An Insider’s Guide to Provence is designed as a companion to traditional guides, providing a deeper look and different perspective. The book covers Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Avignon, the Luberon Valley, Nîmes, St-Rémy-de-Provence, and more, with a special focus on the area around St-Rémy. The authors recommend restaurants with fabulous food and offer tips for finding vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options; wineries with excellent wines, friendly tasting rooms, and English-speaking staff; lists of markets, site-seeing ideas, and where to hike and bike. An Insider’s Guide to Provence will help you make the most of this glorious corner of France.
By Julie Battilana Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, and Tiziana Casciaro
Simon & Schuster
Power is one of the most misunderstood—and therefore vilified—concepts in our society. Most people assume power is predetermined by personality or wealth, or that it’s gained by strong-arming others. Many write it off as inherently corrupt or “dirty” and want nothing to do with it. But as pioneering researchers Julie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro deftly show in Power, for All, power is the ability to influence someone else’s behavior. This influence is derived from having access to valued resources, which anyone can have, regardless of their income or status in life. Everyone has a resource to offer, so everyone has access to power. Battilana and Casciaro offer a timely, democratized vision of power. While hierarchies tend to stay in place because power is often sticky, by agitating, innovating, and orchestrating change, those with less power can challenge established structures to make them more balanced. They teach readers how to power-map their workplace to find who can create real change, plan for and cause sustaining power shifts, and understand the five motivations for seeking power—money and status, autonomy, achievement, affiliation, and morality. They explore how these dynamics play out through vivid storytelling, and demystify the essential mechanisms for acquiring and using power for all people.
Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator’s Dilemma, Second Edition
By Charles A. O’Reilly, III and Michael L. Tushman, Baker Foundation Professor; Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus and Charles B. Thornton Chair, Advanced Management Program at HBS
Stanford Business Books
Why do successful firms find it so difficult to adapt in the face of change—to innovate? In the past 10 years, the importance of this question has increased as more industries and firms confront disruptive change. The pandemic has accelerated this crisis, collapsing the structures of industries from airlines and medicine to online retail and commercial real estate. Today, leaders in business have an obligation not only to investors but to their employees and communities. At the core of this challenge is helping their organizations to survive in the face of change. The original edition summarized the lessons that the authors, as researchers and consultants, had learned over the previous two decades. Since then, they have continued to work with leaders of organizations around the world confronting disruptive change. With updates to every chapter, including new examples and analysis, this fully-revised edition incorporates the lessons and insights that the authors have gained in the past five years. Two new chapters critically examine the role of organizational culture in promoting or hindering ambidexterity and its underlying fundamental disciplines. Using examples from firms such as Microsoft, General Motors, and Amazon, O'Reilly and Tushman illustrate how leaders can align their organization’s cultures to fit the needed strategy, and how ideation, incubation, and scaling approaches, when used altogether, can successfully develop new growth businesses.
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