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President's Bookshelf
Built
to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras
Shortly after I assumed the presidency, I read a book entitled Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Collins and Porras. The authors studied 18 of the nation's exceptional, long-lasting companies–Wal-Mart, Walt Disney, 3M, Hewlett-Packard–to gain a better understanding of the roots of sustained corporate greatness. Although MCG is an academic institution and not a corporation, many of the findings of this study are relevant to us.
The researchers found that corporations that have excelled through more than one business cycle and over a period of at least 50 years share common features. Visionary companies do not focus on profit more than their competitors do. They focus more intently and unwaveringly on their core values and purpose. And, they are willing to change everything about themselves and their way of doing business to maintain that focus.
They search for leadership within the organization and they nurture that leadership. They don't simply post a vision statement–they live their vision. They reward excellence and the sense of creating something that is bigger and more lasting than themselves. We can be such an organization, but it will demand sacrifice and commitment to a common vision, common values, and common purpose.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
by Jim Collins
Obviously, I really enjoy Jim Collins' work [see Built to Last above]. In this work, Collins shows us that visionary companies do not focus on profit more than their competitors do. They focus more intently and unwaveringly on their core values and purpose. And, they are willing to change everything about themselves and their way of doing business to maintain that focus. In Good to Great, Collins' research shows that the transformation of a good organization into a great organization rests on a few fundamental elements--leadership, recruiting and retaining the right people, having a clear vision of both the present and the future, a culture of discipline, and persistence. There are no short cuts.
Seuss-Isms:
Wise and Witty Prescriptions for Living from the Good Doctor
by Theodor Geisel aka Dr. Seuss
One of my favorite philosophers is Dr. Seuss. I particularly like the Lorax, who tries to save the Trufulla Forest and its inhabitants from environmental destruction. The Lorax says "unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." We must care for our patients, for scientific inquiry, and for our professions a whole awful lot in the midst of turmoil; it is the essence of what we do. And, we must celebrate the ways in which our differences, our diversity, our myriad talents, skills, and contributions all combine to form something that is more than the sum of its parts.
A Stranger in the Kingdom
by Howard Frank Mosher
This novel reminded me a lot of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. On the surface, it is about a brutal murder in a small New England town. The underlying theme, however, is what happens when we allow fear and prejudice to take control of our lives.
Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
by Gregory Howard Williams
Greg Williams is the President of the City College of New York, one of the most diverse colleges
in the United States. We met last year at the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents. This memoir
describes Greg's childhood on both sides of the color line in America in the 1950s. He spent his
first nine years in Virginia as a young white boy. When his parents split up, he and his younger
brother were taken by their father to live with a grandmother in Muncie, Indiana. It was there that
they learned that their father was the son of an African American mother and white father.
Overnight, they became black in the eyes of the world around them. This story presents a searing
view of race, prejudice, perception, and reality in America just a few decades ago.
Empire Falls
by Richard Russo
Empire Falls is a crumbling mill town in Maine, populated by small town characters easily recognizable for someone like me who grew up in a small town. The main character views town life from his role as manager of a greasy spoon grill. The intermixture of tragedy and comedy add up to a real life feel. You can't help but love these characters and all their flaws.
No Such Thing as a Bad Day
by Hamilton Jordan
Hamilton is the classic local boy done good--a native Georgian who became President Jimmy Carter's chief of staff. While his autobiography shares some information about his time in the White House, the compelling story here is Hamilton's personal struggle with cancer. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, melanoma, and prostate cancer, all before the age of 50. This book is a personal and political memoir, but it is also an inspiration to patients and their families who are battling the effects of this disease.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Society
by Jared Diamond
This brief history of the world provides an explanation for the ways in which culture and society
developed on different continents. The origins of social structure, domestication of crops and
animals, writing, guns, and epidemic illnesses are all explained. The author convincingly
addresses the question of how the world came to be the way it is today, in logical fashion, resting
on a few basic concepts.