New Books in Business, Management, and Marketing

I recently got a chance to talk to Carol Sanford about her newest book Indirect Work: A Regenerative Change Theory for Businesses, Communities, Institutions and Humans. Carol Sanford is a consistently recognized disruptor and contrarian working side by side with Fortune 500 and new economy executives in designing and leading systemic business change and design.She is a founder and designer of The Regenerative Business Development Community, as well as best-selling author of several other books including her previous work The Regenerative Life—and a personal favorite for any entrepreneur or corporate leader today, The Regenerative Business: Redesign Work, Cultivate Human Potential, Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes. Her books have won over 15 awards so far and are required reading at leading business and management schools including Harvard, Stanford, Haas Berkeley and MIT.Frankly it wasn’t until I read this newest Carol Sanford book that it occurred to me to introduce her work to Systems and Cybernetics listeners. As should be obvious from some of my recent episodes, my current systems questions are oriented around how we can engage systemically at the human systems level—work, life, education, activism, etc. Carol knows how to bring systems thinking to life in her work. Her relationship with systems thinking goes back to her early life and is reflected in approaches to change theory and practices based on: Indigenous ways of living in community and on the planet from across the world Threads that run through wisdom of all lineage teachers across the world Quantum Cosmology about how the universe works on individual, social, and plenary level. Providing methods to break old patterns of working that lead to degenerative outcomes, Indirect Work strongly challenges the validity of pop psychology and the damage it causes to human psyche and soul, ultimately, impacting the quality of our society. After listening to our conversation, listeners will want to take up Carol’s challenge to shift their minds to work with counterintuitive transformation consistent with how living systems work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Genome sequencing is one of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs of the past thirty years. But what precisely does it involve and how is it developing?In Genomics: How Genome Sequencing Will Change Healthcare (Random House, 2022), Rachael Pells explains the science behind genomics. She analyses its practical applications in medical diagnosis and the treatment of conditions that range from cancer to severe allergic reactions to cystic fibrosis. She considers its potential to help with advances in agriculture and environmental science. She explores the ethics of genetic modification and the dangers involved when humans 'play God'. And she addresses the fundamental question: to what extent will future advances transform human longevity and the quality of life.Galina Limorenko is a doctoral candidate in Neuroscience with a focus on biochemistry and molecular biology of neurodegenerative diseases at EPFL in Switzerland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I talked to Alenka Triplat about Profit from the Source: Transforming Your Business by Putting Suppliers at the Core (HBR Press, 2022).Want to know the challenges bedeviling NATO as it seeks to arm Ukraine? This week’s guest is as good a source as any given how much the combination of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have put the focus on procurement. An area normally the “corporate equivalent of being sent to Siberia” (to quote this book) has now moved front-and-center. Triplat and the other three colleagues at BCG who collaborated on Profit from the Source emphasize the need not just to save costs, but to optimize the innovation process together. Right now the average CEO spends no more than about 5% of his or her time on the procurement process. And yet often over 50% of a company’s expenditures involve suppliers. As such, clearly a realignment of priorities is long overdue.Alenka Triplat is a partner and managing director at the Boston Consulting Group, based in BCG’s Vienna office. She advises global leaders in the high-tech, defense, and industrial goods sectors.Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Andrew Smart co-founded Slator, he banked on a major paradigm shift—and an industry-first—from the very beginning.His hunch more than paid off. Slator is a business news, research, and advisory service for the language services and technology industry. Unlike most business segments, however, providers of translation, localization and globalization services had virtually no trade media to keep them informed at the time of Slator’s founding.Andrew Smart, and his Slator co-founder, Florian Faes, believed there was an opportunity, not only to provide the $multi-billion language services industry with a reliable source of industry news, but also to monitor and report language-industry trends to a much broader business audience.Today, Slator’s newsletter has thousands of subscribers as well as multiple platforms for promoting, researching, informing and advising language industry providers on ways to elevate their business.Slator’s story is a fascinating example of how two people formed a company to serve an unmet need and succeeded by offering a higher level of journalism than the industry had ever seen before.About our guest:Andrew Smart is co-founder and Commercial Director at Slator, which provides news and research on the people, companies and deals that impact the language services and technology industry.Andrew has years of experience as a senior executive with P&L responsibilities at both start-ups and multinational corporations across the media, internet, education and financial services industries. He lives in Bangkok and serves a broad range of clients globally. About NBN:The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.Find links to past episodes here.About our Hosts:Kimon Fountoukidis:Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.Richard Lucas:Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I talked to Greg Hoffman about his new book Emotion By Design: Creative Leadership Lessons from a Life at Nike (Twelve, 2022).For this week’s guest Greg Hoffman, the characteristics of empathy and curiosity are central to everything from finding your place in the world, to connecting with others, and building a brand that exhibits a true sense of purpose by empowering people to realize their potential. Along the way, this episode explores both the value and limits of data-driven marketing takes on the central role of smartphones today, and goes back into Hoffman’s own backstory as a mixed-race child growing up in a nearly all-white suburb of Minneapolis. In art and sports, Hoffman found his way forward.Greg Hoffman is a global brand leader, advisor, speaker, and former Nike Chief Marketing Office. He’s now the founder and principal of the brand advisory group Modern Arena as well as a branding instructor at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist School of Business and a member of the Board of Trustees at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD).Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Austen Mulinder had a highly successful corporate career, holding several leadership positions at some of the world’s most respected companies. But as soon as his youngest went to college, Austen decided the time was right to take the leap and pursue his lifelong dream of becoming an entrepreneurNot many people would have thought the same way in his position. At the time he was a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, and he headed the company’s global sales operation. Not only would he be leaving a highly prestigious organisation, he would also be putting everything on the line in terms of his personal performance and financial risk.And that’s just what he did. In 2007, Austen used his past experience in retail technology, software development and sales management to serve as a founding board member, President and CEO of Ziosk, a tablet that allows diners at casual dining restaurants to order directly from their tables.Today, Ziosk is the leading restaurant customer tablet provider in the world and processes more than $8 billion in transactions. Join us to hear how Austen became a highly successful serial entrepreneur, and what he believes anyone can do to achieve success.About our guest:Austen Mulinder is a serial entrepreneur and former CEO of Ziosk, the world’s leading restaurant customer table-top tablet. He is also the chairman and co-founder of 501 Fun, the global leader in social entertainment systems, as well as the chairman of Forrit, a next-generation enterprise Content Management System.He currently serves as chairman and co-founder of two additional companies, Matilda Cloud Solutions, based in Dallas, and Iiwari, based in Finland. Austen also spends a great deal of time advising and coaching up-and-coming business leaders.501 Fun, headquartered in London - www.501fun.comForrit, headquartered in Edinburgh - www.forrit.comMatilda Cloud Solutions, headquartered in Dallas - www.matildacloud.comIiwari, headquartered in Finland - www.iiwari.comZiosk, headquartered in Dallas - www.ziosk.comAbout NBN:The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.Find links to past episodes here.About our Hosts:Kimon Fountoukidis:Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.Richard Lucas:Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I talked to Seth Stephens-Davidowitz about his new book Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in LIfe (Dey Street Books, 2022)Looking for advice on how to get a date, how to have a successful marriage, or just how to have a happier life? Don’t trust your gut, don’t trust conventional wisdom, and put down that self-help book full of plausible arguments and compelling anecdotes that just happens to contradict the advice you got from the self-help book you. Instead, let Seth Stephens-Davidowitz guide you, using data!Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is a data scientist, author, keynote speaker, and recovering economist. His first book Everybody Lies, was a New York Times bestseller that showed how social scientists have used new data about our online behavior to gain new insights about who we really are and what we really think. His latest book, Don’t Trust Your Gut, is about how we can use data not just to understand other people but also how to get what we want in life, whether it’s health, wealth, attractiveness, or inner peace.Host Peter Lorentzen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of San Francisco, where he leads a new Master's program in Applied Economics focused on the digital economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the world nears 8 billion people, the countries that have led the global order since World War II are becoming the most aged societies in human history. At the same time, the world's poorest and least powerful countries are suffocating under an imbalance of population and resources. In 8 Billion and Counting, political demographer Jennifer D. Sciubba argues that the story of the twenty-first century is less a story about exponential population growth, as the previous century was, than it is a story about differential growth--marked by a stark divide between the world's richest and poorest countries.Drawing from decades of research, policy experience, and teaching, Sciubba employs stories and statistics to explain how demographic trends, like age structure and ethnic composition, are crucial signposts for future violence and peace, repression and democracy, poverty and prosperity. Although we have a diverse global population, demographic trends often follow predictable patterns that can help professionals across the corporate, nonprofit, government, and military sectors understand the global strategic environment.Through the lenses of national security, global health, and economics, Sciubba demonstrates the pitfalls of taking population numbers at face value and extrapolating from there. Instead, she argues, we must look at the forces in a society that amplify demographic trends and the forces that dilute them, particularly political institutions, or the rules of the game. She shows that the most important skills in demographic analysis are naming and being aware of your preferences, rethinking assumptions, and asking the right questions.Provocative and engrossing, 8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World (W. W. Norton, 2022) is required reading for business leaders, policy makers, and anyone eager to anticipate political, economic, and social risks and opportunities. A deeper understanding of fertility, mortality, and migration promises to point toward the investments we need to make today to shape the future we want tomorrow.Galina Limorenko is a doctoral candidate in Neuroscience with a focus on biochemistry and molecular biology of neurodegenerative diseases at EPFL in Switzerland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I talked to Ximena Vengoechea about Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection (Portfolio, 2021).What’s your default listening mode? Are you perhaps a pivoter, a distractor, a withdrawer, an explorer or, like today’s guest, an innate problem-solver trying to find a solution to whatever is troubling the person you’re having a conversation with? Three different kinds of difficult conversations get covered here: 1) an imbalance-of-power conversation between a boss and a subordinate; 2) a competitive-conversation between divorced parents navigating childcare; and 3) a regressive-conversation where an elderly parent and child can easily fall into roles they played years ago. In each case, Ximena Vengoechea offers sound, sympathetic advice on how to steer clear of the usual pitfalls.Ximena Vengoechea is a user researcher, writer, and illustrator whose work on personal and professional development has been published in Inc., The Washington Post, Newsweek, Fast Company, and elsewhere. Her career has included positions at Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter.Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books and leads Sensory Logic, Inc. (https://www.sensorylogic.com). His new book is Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. To check out his related “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” blog, visit https://emotionswizard.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transactions have always taken place. For hundreds of years that 'place' was a market or, more recently, a shopping mall. But in the past two decades these physical locations have increasingly been replaced by their virtual counterparts - online platforms. In this book Michael Munger explains how these platforms act as matchmakers or middlemen, a role traders have adopted since the very first exchanges thousands of years ago. The difference today is that the matchmakers often play no direct part in buying or selling anything - they just help buyers and sellers find each other. Their major contribution has been to reduce the costs of organizing and completing purchases, rentals or exchanges. The Sharing Economy: Its Pitfalls and Promises (Duke UP, 2021) contends that the key role of online platforms is to create reductions in transaction costs and it highlights the importance of three 'Ts' - triangulation, transfer and trust - in bringing down those costs.Professor Munger trained as an economist at Washington University in St. Louis under Nobel Prize-winning economic historian Douglass North. He has published prolifically across disciplines in the areas of political economy and public choice, and is now a professor of political science at Duke University, with secondary appointments in economics and public policy. Professor Munger is also an avowed libertarian, and has stood for office as a candidate of the Libertarian Party. In our interview, he explains how the emergence of the platform economy creates concentrations of economic power that are just as concerning to him as concentrations of political power.  He also explains how thinking through the many changes and disruptions in our working lives that will result from the platform economy has led him to the view that Universal Basic Income and single-payer healthcare are necessary to creating the kind of free and prosperous society that he and other libertarians want.Host Peter Lorentzen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of San Francisco, where he leads a new Master's program in Applied Economics that trains students in the skills of data analytics needed to understand, succeed in, or make positive changes to the evolving digital platform economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices