Filed under: Books in General, Financial/Accounting, From the Editor, Leadership | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, Financial/Accounting, Leadership, Ram Charan, The Leadership Pipeline
Here’s a story that might raise a few eyebrows. The New York Times reported over the weekend about the reintroduction of guaranteed bonuses for certain recruits on Wall Street. The practice has been a part of recruiting in the financial industry for some time, but it’s obviously raising questions in a time period when many companies in the financial sector are on the receiving end of taxpayer-funded government bailouts. The debate over using guaranteed bonuses is an interesting one. Companies could argue that they need the bonuses to ensure that the top talent ends up at their company. The deals this person brokers will bring in profits that would eventually trickle down to those who maintain an investment portfolio with the institution. On the other side of the fence is the taxpaying public who could feel wronged that the companies their tax dollars bailed out are now able to revert to pre-crash era spending. The potential for the financial sector to rapidly return to its fast-living, risk-taking ways makes for a nervous public.
The war for talent, particularly in the leadership realm is an ever-growing concern. Despite business schools churning out scores of graduates each year, there continues to be a claim that true talent is coming at an ever-increasing premium. One person who would likely argue against lavish spending as a means to ensure a company possesses good leaders is author and management expert Ram Charan. We featured his book, co-authored with James Noel and Stephen Drotter, The Leadership Pipeline as a bonus summary for our subscribers in Soundview’s August 2009 edition. Charan and his co-authors are adamant that good leaders can be “home grown” if the company is willing to take the necessary steps to educate the leader and put him or her in the situations necessary to guarantee good growth. Organizations are encouraged to constantly refine and adjust their program to help the company sustain its influx of leaders. If a company executes the practices that Charan, Noel and Drotter suggest, it should not have to resort to a splash of cash to keep the leadership pipeline from slowing to a drip.
As the Times suggests, the practices of the financial sector will give Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s “pay czar,” plenty to stay busy. Perhaps Feinberg should consider giving Ram Charan a call.
Filed under: Books in General, Economics, Financial/Accounting, From the Editor, General Business, Green, Innovation | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, Earth Day, Environment, Green, Leadership, Publishing, Recycle, Reuse, Strategic Management, Sustainability, The Business of Green
If you printed out this installement of the Soundview Editor’s Blog, shame, shame! After all, today is Earth Day, and in the ever-expanding global consciousness of all things green, we shouldn’t forget that it’s the small things that make a difference. The notion of environmental awareness is much-discussed, but where does it actually lead? If we’re operating under the age-old adage of actions speaking louder than words, Earth Day is as good a day as any to take a long look in the mirror.
Just like so many areas of our lives, be it eating right, getting regular, strenuous exercise or going for routine medical check-ups, being green is a great idea that’s often difficult to put into practice. Who hasn’t had their feet burned on the infamous path paved with their good intentions? Making the correct decisions for the Earth can be time-consuming. It takes an effort to do simple actions like separating one’s trash or replacing every light bulb, not to mention remembering reusable grocery bags every time we set out for the store. These actions are just the basics.
It’s far more likely that people are more concerned with money than with time. The media is starting to pick up on this notion, and it’s no surprise that when put to a vote, the real “green initiative” is conserving the paper in our wallets. Fortunately, there are many companies who are working very diligently to benefit consumers and the environment at the same time. The more effort companies put into making environmentally-friendly practices a benefit to consumers, the better everyone will be in the long run. Now that’s an Earth Day wish we could all make together.
Lest you think I’m looking to cast stones from my glass-lined editorial pulpit, we’re trying to do our part as well. Check out our new collection, The Business of Green, and help your company take affordable, proactive steps to making smart choices for your business, your customers and the environment. We’re featuring 11 key summaries of top business titles with an environmental edge. What’s more, this collection is only available electronically. Like I said, it’s the small things that make a difference.
Published in late December, just in time to ring the New Year in, comes personal finance expert and bestselling author Suze Orman’s Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan from publisher Spiegel & Grau.
Orman has a huge following, writes a Q&A advice section in Oprah Winfrey’s monthly magazine O, has penned multiple bestsellers and hosts The Suze Orman Show on CNBC. Quite frankly, she definitely seems to know her stuff when it comes to personal finance. And according to Orman, 2009 is the year that none of us can afford to make mistakes with our money.
From the book’s Amazon.com page: “The nation’s go-to expert on financial matters, Suze Orman, believes that 2009 is a critical year for your money. There are safeguards to put in place, actions to take, costly mistakes to avoid, and even opportunities to be had, so that you are protected during the bad times and prepared to prosper when things take a turn for the better. No matter what situation you’re in, you will find a plan of action and the answers to your questions about: credit, retirement, savings and spending, real estate, paying for college, and protecting your family.”
As additional help for readers, Orman has a page on her Web site for online updates to her 2009 action plan. On the same page, readers can find useful 2009 action plan resources, such as a “debt eliminator, an expense sheet, and several more.
Tribune Media Services (TMS) launched Cash: Personal Finance for Real People, a new Kindle-specific personal finance magazine on Dec. 16. According to an article published by foliomag.com, the online face of Folio Magazine, this will be the third Kindle-specific magazine introduced by TMS and available on Amazon.
The magazine is a weekly, auto-delivered wirelessly on Mondays, for a monthly subscription price of $1.49, or $0.49 per issue. According to TMS, the editors have “assembled a crackerjack team that includes experts from Kiplinger’s Consumer News Service, U.S. News & World Report, Harvard University and the Mayo Clinic. …Cash delivers almost 40 columns a week that will help you make intelligent financial decisions.”
Folio quoted TMS’ Steve Tippie, Cash’s publisher and TMS vice president of marketing and licensing, as saying, “Cash is a very timely new tool created to help American consumers evaluate their options for spending, saving and investing decisions they confront each day. To meet this need, we pull the best advice and information from dozens of sources to tailor a continually-updated handbook to being a smart consumer.”
Cash sounds intriguing, but access—so far—is limited to only those who have a Kindle. The price seems fair for the subscription, but I’m not sure how many individuals will want to make the $359 investment for the hardware. Then again, it is an investment that allows the owner to carry a plethora of reading material around, so it might just be worth the ticket price.
I took some time to peruse NYTimes.com and came across Thomas L. Friedman’s regular op-ed column. Published Nov. 22, Friedman’s headline of “We Found the W.M.D” intrigued me, but once I got into reading the column, I realized this had nothing to do with nukes in Iraq or Iran … this had to deal with something much more frightening.
“This is the real ‘Code Red.’ As one banker remarked to me: ‘We finally found the W.M.D.’ They were buried in our own backyard—subprime mortgages and all the derivatives attached to them,” Friedman writes.
He calls for a quick swearing in of President-elect Barack Obama, with the hopes that our newest president can turn things around. I’m not sure if swearing in the next president approximately 50 days early will truly improve situations, but that’s why Friedman writes an op-ed column. This is his opinion.
Opinion or not though, he hits the nail right on the head about subprime loans. He hits another nail on the head when he discusses the nation’s lack of confidence and optimism—two things that this country direly needs if we are going to pull through this. “What ails us right now is as much a loss of confidence—in our financial system and our leadership—as anything else. I have no illusions that Obama’s arrival on the scene will be a magic wand, but it would help.”
I think that during these tough economic times, many of us can benefit from what the financial greats have taught us; take some time and read or re-read the works of Buffet and Bogle, review your budgets, your short term and long term investments, and just be smart with your money. Early inauguration or not, this country can make it through this recession.
John C. Bogle has finally had it. He’s saying when, and he’s saying enough is enough.
Fresh onto the bookstore shelves in mid-November comes the book Enough: True Measure of Money, Business, and Life from the founder of Vanguard and Father of Index Investing. With endorsements from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bloomberg News, and TIME magazine hailing the solid investment of this book, it’s a no brainer that anyone who has the slightest interest in finance and investing would benefit from—and dare I say enjoy—reading this book.
From the inside flap: “We live during a time where there seems to be no limit to what ‘enough’ entails. CEOs—even those of failing corporations—pull down huge paychecks and hedge fund managers can enjoy billion-dollar paydays. These excesses are only the most obvious examples of the gross excesses that have overwhelmed our financial system, precipitating the crisis we now face.”
Interesting enough, when I googled “Enough” and “Bogle,” one of the first things I hit was his May 18, 2007 commencement address to the MBA Graduates of the McDonough School of Business—also titled “Enough.” Perhaps an early draft? Nevertheless, if you have the time, read through the address, and I guarantee you will get a taste of what Bogle’s book is all about.
Also, in doing some research, I found a press release detailing the joyous union of Bogle and publisher John Wiley & Sons in a three book deal. The first book of the deal was Enough, which will be followed by Jack Bogle Speaks in late 2009; the third title was not divulged.
Filed under: Financial/Accounting | Tags: Business, business books, Financial/Accounting
Take a look at the New York Times’ bestsellers list for hardcover business titles published Oct. 3, 2008. Previously I had written about the effect of the current economic crisis on financial books , but I noticed something interesting when I looked at the bestsellers list again recently.
Doing some quick math, I figured that 40 percent of the titles on the NYT list pertain directly to the current economy. Of these six titles, it’s reassuring that five of them aim to give solid financial advice—something that anyone in the U.S. could greatly use. The only one that seems to be more of a look—objective or subjective, depending—at the dire straits of the economy would be Kevin Phillips’ Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism (Viking Adult, April 2008).
As much as consumers don’t want to take a book like this with them to bed, I have a feeling that Phillips’ book might be a real eye opener for some. However, when you’re done reading this book, where does it leave you?
I believe this is where the other books I alluded to before come in. Titles such as The Total Money Makeover, Debt Cures “They” Don’t want You to Know About, The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio, The World is Curved, and When Markets Collide all have a bit more to offer when it comes to practical advice as to how consumers can invest wisely today (especially in the bear market), and how to maneuver through rough financial waters.
I feel that Bad Money has it’s place in educating us about what went south with the economy, but at the same time, it’s good to empower yourself with financial advice that can have a direct impact on your life.
Filed under: Books in General, Financial/Accounting, Investing | Tags: Business, Financial/Accounting, Investing
Panic is too mild a word for what many investors are experiencing right now, with banks closing or being bought at an alarming rate, the stock market dropping drastically, and the success of the government bailout questionable at best. So the question of the day is “Where do I put my money?”
One possible answer is found in the new release The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio , published by Wiley and written by Alexander Green. Green is the chairman of Investment U and the investment director for The Oxford Club. He brings his 23 years of investment experience to this book, which details his proven investment strategy, based on the mathematical formulas of Dr. Harold Markowitz, who won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work.
Green’s contention is that if you follow his investment advice, made up of a simple mix of mutual funds, you can let it run and go fishing. Although this may sound too good to be true, by following this formula Green was able to retire from the securities industry at age 43 having gone from a net worth of zero to financial independence. The key to his success is Asset Allocation, developing the most effective, optimal mix of investments. By optimal, he means “that there is not another combination of asset classes that is expected to generate a higher ratio of return to risk.”
Of course, investment strategies are everywhere, so we recommend you do your homework before buying into Green’s advice. Here are a couple of opinions on Green’s investment strategy out in the market place: Daily Wealth, and Stock Gumshoe. We’d love to hear your thoughts as well.
