The document provides summaries of 19 influential management books published since 2000. Some of the key ideas discussed include: - Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Black Swan warns against trying to predict rare events and argues people are blind to uncertainty. - Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers examines how context and opportunity play crucial roles in success. - Thaler and Sunstein's Nudge explores how subtle "nudges" can influence people's choices in predictable ways. - Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody discusses how new media enables collective action and lowers the cost of failure, allowing communities to take ideas to new levels. - Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind argues that in the

1. Hard Core Input
for GROWTH
A review of 19 of the most influential
management books I’ve read
(published since the year 2000)

2. What Can I Expect?
Demanding attention required
Challenging perspectives
Insights & Questions
Loads of Information
The best magister class you’ve ever had!

3. Black Swan
By Nassim Nicholas Taleb [2007]
We focus on little parts of
what we know and use
them to predict what we
don’t know
We use stories to foul
ourselves with reasons that
don’t exist
We behave as black swans
don’t exist - but they do!
What we see is not
necessarily everything that
is out there
Variability is extremely
important
Mediocristan vs.
Extremistan
Psychological biases make
people individually and
collectively blind to
uncertainty and unaware of
the massive role of the
rare events in historical
affairs.

4. Black Swan
Nassim Nicholas
Taleb
[2007]
Ignore experts, stop trying
to predict everything and
take advantage of
uncertainty

5. Outliers
By Malcolm Gladwell [2008]
Outlier is a statistic
observation that is
remarkably different in
value from others in the
same sample
We ask “how is that
person?” instead of “from
where is that person?”
The real secret of success is
really simple and depends
in crucial turnarounds in
every person’s history
Tiny influences have made
certain people extremely
special
Opportunity is the first
element to be extremely
successful. Heritage is the
second
Success is determined by
where we come from and
what has happened in
the path

6. Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell
[2008]
Context is absolutely
crucial: what seems to be
the reason for something to
happen, rarely is

7. Nudge
By Thaler & Sunstein [2008]
Design thinking and choice
architecture.
That little “nudge” that some
people need to make a choice
iNcentives: People need to feel
they are getting something
from their choices
Understand Mappings: It is
important to understand how
people see things
Defaults: Make sure that
“doing nothing” is one of the
best paths to follow
Give feedback: Investigate the
rejected choices and try them
out
Expect error: People make
mistakes and even the most
structured systems allow them
Structure complex choices: if
it’s hard, separate in smaller
parts

8. Nudge
Thaler & Sunstein
[2008]
People will take “irrational
decisions” if they stay
limited by their own
instruments

9. The World is Flat
By Thomas L. Friedman [2005]
Knowledge and resources
link the whole world
Triple Convergence:
Players, Playground and
Processes
How many of the things
that we give for granted
are actually very new?
1. 09/11/89: Berlin Wall
2. 08/09/95: www
3. Workflow Software
4. Uploading
5. Outsourcing
6. Offshoring
7. Supply chain
8. Insourcing
9. In-forming
10. Steroids

10. The World is
Flat
Thomas Friedman
[2005]
Internet has flatten the
world to a point where
leaders and managers can
observe the whole frame
simultaneously as one
potential resource and one
market

11. Wikinomics
By Tapscott & Williams [2006]
Massive collaboration has
changed the world
N’Gen (Net Generation)
from passive to active
N’Gen norms are speed,
openness, innovation,
mobility and joy!
The volume of human
knowledge is doubling
every 5 years
The Four Principles:
1. Openness
2. Peering
3. Sharing
4. Acting globally

12. Wikinomics
Tapscott &
Williams
[2006]
Internet has changed
everything, it is imperative
to open enterprises to the
consumers

13. The Ultimate Question
By Fred Reichheld [2006]
It is possible to transform
consumers into promoters
Too many information data
makes managing and
leading difficult
Satisfaction surveys make
customers unsatisfied
Would you recommend
us to a friend?
NPS = Net Promoter Score
P-D=NPS
P: Promoter (>8)
D: Detractors (<7)
Fidelity is the key!
Word of mouth:
Detractors are responsible
for 90% of negative

14. The ultimate
question
Fred Reichheld
[2006]
Consumers that are ready to
recommend our product or
service are our best
leverage for success

15. Why Should Anyone Be Lead By You?
By Goffee & Jones [2006]
Millions of possible answers
(too much out there…)
Criticism to those that
suggest to follow the
example of successful
ventures/enterprises
Great leaders: “authentic
chameleons”
Followers: Feel relevant,
excitement, belonging
1. Become - more - ourselves
with ability
2. Self- awareness and “to be
seen”
3. Take personal risks
4. Read and re-write context
5. Maintain authenticity whilst
being adaptable
6. Manage the social distance
7. Carefully communicate

16. Why Should Anyone
Be Lead By You?
Goffee & Jones
[2006]
To be an excellent leader is
required to gain respect

17. Smart Leadership
By Yudelowitz, Koch & Field [2002]
Initiate change and give to
it the sensation of progress
Preparation for leadership is
to lead
Strategy and character
Individual identity,
Function, Emergent Process
1. Adopt a cause without planning
the future
2. Leadership is not always needed
3. Leadership is culture, not a person
4. Managers fulfill objectives,
leaders work for a purpose
5. Managers postpone decisions,
leaders take them
6. Don’t be too consensual in matter
of consensus

18. Smart
Leadership Yudelowitz, Koch & Field
[2002]
Intelligent leaders establish
a path, assume that the
path will change and
empower many to reveal
leadership qualities

19. How to Lead
By Jo Owen [2005]
Place people in the middle,
be positive and be reliable
(predictable)
Lead from the middle (find
the path from the womb)
Qualities of emergent
leaders: adaptability, self-confidence,
proactivity,
reliability and ambition (700
leaders)
What people expect from good
leaders:
1. Show interest in my development
2. I trust them - they are honest
with me
3. They know where they are
heading and how to get there
4. I am doing something that is
worth
5. I am recognized

20. How to lead
Jo Owen
[2005]
Successful leaders take
risks, welcome change and
embrace
ambiguity/uncertainty

21. The Seven-Day Weekend
By Ricardo Semler [2003]
Be a maverick and do
whatever you want!
Why are we answering e-mails
on Sunday and not
going to cinema on Tuesday
afternoon?
Why we think the opposite
of work is leisure? (idleness,
laziness; indolence)
Why money doesn’t buy
success but we measure
success based on money?
Working from anywhere
Take a break
Variable payment
Work and stop
Informal/open
management meetings
Start by hiring adults with
sensibility, and then trust
them!
Why, why, why

22. The Seven-
Day Weekend
Ricardo Semler
[2003]
When in doubt, trust
everybody and do nothing

23. Funky Business Forever
By Ridderstrale & Nordstrom [2008]
Funky times: the battle of
brains and the revolutions
(truly global, more
competition, differentiation,
organizational innovation...)
Forces of Funk:
Technology, institutions,
values, condemn to
freedom
Funky Village: Now (real
time), everywhere,
softwhere, hyphe-nated
Funky INC.: focused,
leveraged, innovative,
heterarchical
Funky U: Leadership =
direction, experimentation,
education, personalization;
Be unique
Feeling Funky: Infinite
innovation and the
emotional enterprise

24. Funky Business
Forever Ridderstrale & Nordstrom
[2008]
Whatever you do, make it
funky if you want to
succeed, the play now is
about making the current
obsolete

25. A Whole New Mind
By Daniel H. Pink [2006]
The future of global
business belongs to the
right-brainers
Birth of “design thinking”
The three "A’s"—
abundance, Asia, and
automation
High Concept: original
and appellative
High Touch: Customized
and personalized
The six "senses" crucial to
success in the new economy:
1. Design
2. Story
3. Symphony
4. Empathy
5. Play
6. Meaning

26. A Whole New
Mind
Daniel H. Pink
[2006]
We need to create things
with a high emotional level
and understand the
subtleties of human
interaction

27. Purple Cow
By Seth Godin [2003]
We, or our business, need to
be a purple cow, something
considerably different from
anything else
Play safe is too risky
Otaku (japanese for
something that is more
than a hobby and less than
an obsession)
Viral ideas (as in the
Tipping Point of Malcolm
Gladwell)
Diffusion agents
Influencing the influencers
Be exceptional and original

28. Purple Cow
Seth Godin
[2003]
Do the opposite of everyone
else and you will find a
place in the spotlight

29. Here Comes Everybody
By Clay Shirky [2008]
Sharing communities
Everybody is a media
channel now
Personal motivation leads
to collaborative work
Collective action generates
institutional challenges
Everything is reaching
further every day
Failing costs less and less
and less
We could launch the
seed of a medium
cooked idea and the
community that receives it
will take it to new and
higher levels
They do so because it is
pleasant for them

30. Here Comes
Everybody
Clay Shirky
[2008]
If you want a truly creative
idea, try asking to the
audience that is more likely
to be in line with the topic

31. Lovemarks
By Kevin Roberts [2004]
1. Low Love, Low Respect: Products
2. High Love, Low Respect: Fads
3. Low Love, High Respect: Brands
4. High Love, High Respect: Lovemarks
Have brands themselves
changed? Has what people
want from brands changed?
Mystery: Great stories: past,
present and future; taps into
dreams, myths and icons; and
inspiration
Sensuality: Sound, sight,
smell, touch, and taste
Intimacy: Commitment,
empathy, and passion
Creating loyalty beyond reason
requires emotional
connections that generate
the highest levels of love and
respect for your brand
Human beings are powered
by emotion not reason.
People are overwhelmed by
the choices they face. Human
attention has become our
principal currency

32. Lovemarks
Kevin Roberts
[2004]
Listening is something most
brands are not great at. They
evolved alongside the mass
media, and that’s where they
stayed. Talking, talking, talking.
The fragmentation of media
demands a fresh approach. Not
to abandon the mass market, but
to transform it with multiple
emotional connections.

33. S.U.M.O.
By Paul McGee [2006]
It is all about attitude
The way we think
determines the life we live
Drop the victim T-shirt
1. Where do you place this issue
in a scale from 1 to 10?
2. How important will this be 6
months from now?
3. It is my answer appropriate
and effective?
4. How can I influence or improve
the situation?
5. What can I learn from this?
6. What will I do differently next
time?
7. What can I find of positive in
the current situation?

34. S.U.M.O.
Paul McGee
[2006]
The best way to get
something done is to ignore
what happened before and
move on

35. How are YOU
feeling?

36. Do you need a
wrap up?
S.U.M.O.

37. In Groups Of 5
As diverse as possible…
What do I consider the 3 most important
inputs for us today?
How can we better use this input?
What do I see emerging here? Where is our
conversation taking us?

38. Are we ready to
do what it takes
to GROW?
NOW?