Reading Recommendations for Idea-Hunters

The onset of August always brings with it a bittersweet reminder that summer's end is not that far away, but it also means that there is still one month of summer remaining, and that that time can be well-spent reading. What better to read about, this year, than lessons from accomplished idea-hunters? There are a number of suggestions in this vein that I'd like to offer (in no apparent order):

The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Provence, by Martin Gayford. It's 1888, and not yet the superstars that they would eventually become, and the young Van Gogh and Gauguin were each in search of new ideas to reboot their flagging careers. Nine weeks spent together in the South of France, explicitly to learn from each other, is a wonderful insight into the lengths that some will go to seed their idea-capital. I am particularly fascinated by the thought that since they had never previously met, they sent each other self-portraits so that they could be recognized when Gauguin made it to Arles. The lessons they shared there ranged from perspectives and styles to the media with which to paint, and the book is a wonderful reminder of much of what we know about the need for agility to be able to move, both physically and mentally, to places where the probabilities of catching new new ideas will be higher.

The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester. This biography of Joseph Needham, one of the 20th century's great China scholars, is a virtual "master-class" on one very successful idea-hunter's practices. Needham, who essentially established our knowledge of China's historical science and technology, went about his craft in a highly disciplined fashion and it is no coincidence that his work has had such a profound and lasting impact on those of us who study China's scientific and technical trajectories.

A Brilliant Darkness: The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Ettore Majorana, the Troubled Genius of the Nuclear Age, by Joao Magueljo. For me, reading this book reminded me of reading Kerouac's On the Road. As thrilling for its story as its cadence, the book spills across the tumultuous history of mid-century European physics with all of its complications and romance. Throw-in Enrico Fermi's Via Panisperna boys, and you even have a "Virtuoso Teams" story as well!

Charles Darwin "Voyaging" by Janet Browne (volume 1 of two volumes on Darwin). Darwin changed our world, but not by himself. This book is a treatise on the powers of networking and the power of including more and more different minds in idea-hunting. It is also a primer on how personal modesty and professional success do not have to be mutually exclusive, if the capacity to learn is nurtured.

Faust in Copenhagen, by Gino Segre. Also a great book on networking, this wonderful story of the "family" of scientists who in the 1930s stood at the inflection point between classical physics and quantum mechanics is a very useful exploration about how new ideas move from idea-hunter to idea-hunter and how distortions such as geographic space, political ideology and institutional pride can affect the flow of a new idea.

The Murrow Boys: Pioneers on the Front Lines of Broadcast Journalism, by Lynne Olson and Stanley W. Cloud. Perhaps, best known today for his courage in standing up against Senator Joe McCarthy, and the anti-communist witch-hunts of the 1950s, Edward R. Murrow also deserves our respect for his work in "inventing" the modern field of broadcast journalism. This book describes Murrow's role in creating the way that today's news reaches us, and thevirtuoso team he assembled to cover the second World War.

China By the Beach

For me, one of the best parts of summer is the ability to sit on the beach -- in Liguria, or North Carolina -- and catch-up on my reading. Without exception, I always start with Homer and the Greeks [except this year the cycle is Virgil and the Greeks], but (to paraphrase NC's own James Taylor) I always have "China on my mind" as well! Recently, I was asked by some colleagues in the IMD Dutch alumni community to suggest some summer China reading. In response, I've tried to come up with a brief but interesting list that would be good for the beach:

To Change China by Jonathan D. Spence. Originally published in 1980, this is the book that I always use to start any reading list on China. Spence, a distinguished China scholar, offers us a sobering view of the futility that has marked the efforts of past generations of Western missionaries, aid-providers, and business people engaged in attempting to change the mind of China in a variety of what appeared to them as logical and attractive ways. This was the book that left the biggest impression on me prior to our moving to China in 1980, and the one that I think of instinctively whenever I hear the dreams of a new-to-China enthusiast.

On China by Henry Kissinger. Published only a few months ago, Kissinger's book (reviewed by Jonathan D. Spence in The New York Review of Books) is the only book on this list that I have not yet read, but it is in my pile for this summer. Although the book hardly mentions China of the 21st century, I am including it because Kissinger is in a unique position to offer us a historical and politically-interperative overview of Chinese history, and I think that such a historical treatment is a well-worthwhile foundation upon which to build an awareness of contemporary and future China.

When China Rules the World by Martin Jacques. We have used this book as a primary reading for IMD's EMBA discovery expedition to China for the past two years, and it has served us well as a platform for bridging China's omnipresent past with it's accelerating drive into the future. Jacques, who writes for The Guardian, offers an informed and wide-ranging view of China's political and social infrastructure and how they interact with the rampaging economic machine that it transforming the global economy.

The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers by Richard Mcgregor. In the midst of our adulation of the Chinese growth experience, it is always a danger to discount the role of the Communist Party in all of this. As the old song title indicates, it's very likely true that: Without the Communist Party, there Would be No New China. The Financial Time's Richard Mcgregor has produced a very accessible and informative introduction to this most mysterious of growth catalysts.

The Beijing Consensus: How China's Authoritarian Model will Dominate the Twenty-First Century by Stefan Halper. Could China's success persuade other emerging markets to give-up on democracy and market mechanisms and adopt a more "directed" approach to economic growth and social organization? Halper provides a good overview of this recent political movement.

Ultimatum by Matthew Glass. Just as I was about to post this, my good friend Katrina Garner pointed out that no beach reading list would be complete without a good novel. I think that she's right and Matthew Glass's first novel is an amazing one for the beach. Climate change and US-China rivalry combine in an incredibly realistic and gripping yarn. Even if you are not interested in China, this is a good one for the beach!

"The Unforgiving Moment"

As a former US Army 2nd/1st Lieutenant, who prepared for combat but never had combat experience, I have long wondered how I would have done in the midst of the confusion and fear of a real fire-fight. Now, a book has appeared that addresses this question in a thoughtful yet emotional fashion. Craig M. Mullaney's The Unforgiving Moment, is a well-worthwhile book for those who have grappled with the essence of leadership in the "most unforgiving moments." In particular, there are two observations that Mullaney makes that I feel are worth the entire read:

1. As a platoon leader he was well-aware that his soldiers' "... parents had entrusted me with [their lives]," which I believe is the precise statement of a platoon leader's first and foremost obligations [p. 292]; and
2. In Afghanistan, as in so many places, "We should have focused less on finding the enemy, and more on finding our friends." [p. 362]

This is a book that all aspiring leaders would be wise to look at; the issues are important and the writing is moving. It also reminds us of the enormous sacrifices that are often asked of those who are not fortunate/wealthy enough to be able to sit-by and benefit from the sacrifices of others; how truly questionable our wars might be; and the amazing amount of preparation that is required of a thoughtful leader. Several times in the book the comment is made that the Army requires leaders who think; all too often, my experience was that this was the capability that was valued least among a variety of other more "performance-driven" attributes.

Great Leadership Read: Troublesome Young Men

May 1940; a time when a few young people really did change the world!

In the aftermath of the ill-fated "Munich Accord", and Neville Chamberlain's proclamation of "Peace in our Time;" and in the midst of widespread acclamation in Britain over the Prime Minister's "success" at avoiding war, the then-First Lord of the Admiralty, Duff Cooper, was the lone cabinet minister to resign from the Chamberlain government over his feelings of repugnance with the policy of appeasement. At the time, Cooper remarked: "I should never be able to hold up my head again [had I not resigned]. I have forfeited a great deal. I have given up an office that I loved, work in which I was deeply interested and a staff of which any man might be proud.... I have ruined, perhaps, my political career. But that is little matter. I have retained something which is of great value. I can still walk about the world with my head errect." Listen to these words: they are extraordinary! Where are such leaders today? Who amongst our contemporaries is putting all that matters on the line, when issues such as Iraq, Global Warming, 3rd World Poverty, and the like are crying out for leadership?

The value of Lynne Olson's new book Troublesome Young Men, which is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership, is that it is all about such throughtful and committed leaders. Also relevant for today's world, it is also about the abuse of power, and the ability of a small group of determined actors to change the world, against all odds. Rarely, have I been as enthusiastic over a book at this one!

Among the lessons that come tumbling out of this book that reads like a novel are:

• A small group of people really can change the world! We've argued this, of course, in
  Virtuoso Teams, but it is impressive to read about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter telling Tory MP Dick Law: "the trouble with you people is that your acts don't line up with your convictions. You know that this is one of the turning points in history.... Thirty resolute men in your House of Commons could save the world. You won't convince the House by argument nor even by facts -- only by the strength of your own conviction." [p. 177]
• The immense importance of Winston Churchill's energy, imagination, and enthusiasm for moblizing and stretching the population. When you think about what it takes to establish the credibilty of real "stretch goals," you have to love Churchill's rebuff to the suggestion that he was exaggerating Britain's military accomplishments: "There are two people who sink U-boats in this war Talbot [director of antisubmarine warfare]. You sink them in the Atlantic, and I sink them in the House of Commons. The trouble is that you are sinking them at exactly half the rate I am." [pp. 264-5]
• The pathos of Sir Anthony Eden's leadership prospects. He was everybody's "natural" alternative to PM Neville Chamberlain; indeed, no one ever looked as much a leader as Eden -- his followers were characterized as "the glamour boys," yet he was unable to fit the bill. His style projected vacillation, hesitation, and caution. As one observer put it: "He gave an impression of superficiality, with no profound interest in the problems of the Commonwealth." While another described him as: "most charming, most intelligent, but as a future leader, quite pathetic. [He] has no independent point of view and clearly no intention of upsetting the existing political status quo.... Really, as I walked down Whitehall after leaving him, I was nearly in tears."
• Finding in Chamberlain the fatal flaw of so many leaders, then and today, of reframing issues of national importance into suggestions of personal attacks; distracting intelligent debate on major strategic questions by characterizing them as issues of "loyalty," and politics. Chamberlain comes across as a bully, who exploited others through the power of his position, and who led by fear, divisiveness, manipulation and obfuscation.
• Finally, who cannot help but be inspired by the rhetoric which marked the debates of the time; especially Leo Amery's great speech, which he prefaced by admitting "great reluctance, because I am speaking of those who are old friends and associates of mine," but who then went on to quote Oliver Cromwell: "You have sat too long here for any good that you have been doing! Depart, I say, and let us have done with you! In the name of God, go!" [pp. 294-5]

This is a great book about the many facets of leadership. About the abuse of leadership by insecure incumbents; about the inevitable inertia that resists great change, and the related uncertainty that attends all bold action; and about the power of a few if united in a great cause. It is truly a shining illustration of leadership at many levels.

Virtuoso Teams: Some Summer Reading

Summer, with all of its joys, is one of the great periods of the year where I can "squander" time on reading things that I normally wouldn't be able to devote sufficent time to. Few moments are as relaxing as being on the rocks along Italy's Ligurian coast, or the beaches of North Carolina, with a bag of books and not much else to do! Last summer, a British magazine entitled MBA Business asked me to share some thoughts on my recommendations for summer reading. I was fresh from the Virtuoso Teams project and recommended three great reads, which I think are still are a sure bet for both leisure and learning:

Last Place on Earth [UK publisher: Abacus, 2000], by Roland Huntford – The race to the South Pole in 1911 by Roald Amundsen’s small team of virtuoso performers against Robert Falcon Scott’s much better-endowed and bigger-branded organization, and the story of how they won, provides a host of insights into how to build a great team and then employ knowledge as a competitive advantage. This book is as much about leadership and team-building as any book on a business shelf, and much more enjoyable reading!

I’ve long thought that jazz groups are the perfect metaphor for project teams, and no one ran a jazz group better than Miles Davis. Despite being vilified as the “Prince of Darkness” for his personal ideosyncracities, Davis nonetheless revolutionized his business in three successive decades, with different teams. John Szwed’s biography, So What [UK publisher: Arrow, 2003], provides ample evidence of Davis’ leadership genius in a style that grooves to the music that Davis did so much to create.

A whole new generation of viewers have come to know Edward R. Murrow through the recent George Clooney-directed movie Good Night, and Good Luck, which chronicles Murrow’s principled-stand against the tyranny of Senator Joe McCarthy and his Red-hunting excesses. This alone should merit the attention of all of us, as it speaks directly to the centrality of personal values in the business world. Murrow’s other remarkable contribution to business, however, came in the creation of the modern broadcasting industry, and the redefinition of the organizational attributes necessary for timely global coverage and informed reporting. Veteran American broadcaster Bob Edwards has recently written a compact yet comprehensive book on Murrow and his work: Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism [John Wiley, 2004].