Here at Soundview we’re experts at condensing books that number in the hundreds of pages down to eight essential pages of information. Our purpose in doing this is to provide executives with concentrated knowledge that’s meant to give maximum impact for minimum time invested. Knowing the amount of effort that we put into this work, I can only tremble at the thought of tackling the bill that’s currently sitting on Capitol Hill. The health care reform bill that awaits the House of Representatives is nearly 2,000 pages. While I can’t give you eight compact pages, I’d like to discuss one aspect of the bill that is currently causing debate amongst a key segment of the American economy: small businesses.

Take a look at this article from The Dayton Business Journal for an inside track on the debate. I was glad to see that the reporter indicated there are people who are in favor of the bill, as well as covering the vocal element that are against it. While I don’t state my political opinions in this forum, I bring up the bill and its impact on small businesses because I’m anticipating a bump in business books dealing with health care if the bill is passed.

To date, Soundview has really only featured one title that dealt explicitly with health care. The Innovator’s Prescription by Clayton Christensen, Ph.D. remains a valuable resource for understanding the nature of the American health care system and the history of the system’s development.

We had the opportunity to speak with Christensen at a Soundview Live event in July 2009. Looking back on that conversation, I continue to reflect on Christensen’s argument that the government’s efforts had little to do with the care that patients actually receive. “This is a debate about reforming health insurance, not health care,” he told us at the time. While I think there is truth in his argument, I can’t help but feel that the thousands of small business owners across the U.S. are more concerned with the bill’s potential effect on their bottom lines at present.

I revisit Christensen’s book quite often, particularly when I read stories about the progress of health care reform. Regardless of the size of your company, it wouldn’t hurt to take a second look at our summary of The Innovator’s Prescription. In the event a new system dawns, those who stay informed will likely be the ones to have the smoothest transition.

Whether your candidate won or lost yesterday, I think there’s one thing on which we can all agree: it’s nice to know that the political attack ads are over for a little while. I was getting a little tired of hearing two people give me reason after reason why their respective opponent is quite possibly the cause of every major disaster, both man-made and natural.

However, there may have been a few of you out there who got a little extra enjoyment yesterday from pulling a lever, checking a check-box or pushing a button (for as many candidates as there are, there’s also as many ways to vote for them). With that in mind, I’d like to run a little poll of my own. Our November summaries have been with our subscribers for a little while now, and I hope that all non-subscribers at least gave them a look and considered joining us. What I’d like to know is which of the three titles we featured is the one you deem most beneficial to you and your business?

Was it How Did That Happen?  Roger Connors and Tom Smith’s look at creating a workable accountability system? Was it Emmanuel Gobillot’s Leadershift, a new look at the changing methods of leadership? Or was it Keith Ferrazzi’s Who’s Got Your Back? an in-depth look at building three key lifeline relationships?

Reply to this post and let me know which was your favorite and why. One thing is for certain, this is one race that I’m glad is too close to call.

In some ways, the book publishing business is like any other industry. There are books that occasionally arrive on the market in a serendipitous junction of the state of the economy and shifting tides in management thought. At other times, the market creates a need and publishers respond as quickly as possible to meet customer demands. We saw this occur over the past 12 to 18 months with an increase in titles relating to surviving an economic downturn and crisis management. (For a great example of one of the strongest of these titles, click here).

This same principle applies to every market. I was clicking through the major business headlines today when I came across an interesting note. I certainly hope your company (or for that matter, your home or school) hasn’t been impacted by the H1N1 flu virus. Between the shortage of vaccine deliveries and the increased media coverage of deaths due to the virus, it seems like everyone is a little more sensitive to the presence of microbial invaders on every square inch of our dwellings and places of employment.

For business leaders, a plan for flu prevention makes good sense. Companies continue to push for an increase in health and wellness among their work forces, but they shouldn’t neglect the need to protect against common illnesses that often keep workers bed-bound for days at a time. This could be as simple as a few extra reminders about the importance of frequent hand washing or as full-scale as setting up a station to administer flu shots on a given day.

While it would be reprehensible to suggest that anyone is actually “happy” about this year’s flu epidemic, one company has benefited to an extent. According to this article from Bloomberg, Clorox’s profits rose 23 percent in the past quarter. Sales of the company’s disinfecting wipes have been on the rise as people everywhere attempt to ward off the flu. As I said … timing is everything. Now if you’ll pardon me, my own desk could use a little cleaning. Can never be too careful!

I ran across two separate articles today discussing the “price wars” over best-selling books. Major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target are in fierce competition to snap up the considerably fewer dollars that shoppers will spend on books in the upcoming holiday season. Here’s one article from The Washington Times discussing the fight by the American Booksellers Association to get the federal government to investigate the deep price cuts that the major retailers are undertaking.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal offers an article that explains the tightly regulated publishing market in Europe. It’s an interesting read when you consider that prices for nearly all new releases are set in advance and discounts are verboten (I couldn’t resist, since Germany is heavily featured in the article).

One point brought up in the Journal article that I wanted to bring to your attention is the lawsuit that occurred in French courts against the French branch of Amazon.com. The suit in question concerned the famous “free shipping” offered by the online retailer on purchases of a certain amount or more. This lawsuit was also referenced in one of the key business books of 2009, FREE: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson. I’ll have a little more to say about Anderson and this book in the coming weeks, but the fact that both he and the Journal discuss the French Amazon case gives indication about the ongoing fight over pricing in today’s economy.

The entire price war debate reminds us once more of the desperation occurring in retail. I suppose if I can take anything positive away from the situation, it’s that there is still a great demand for books of all genre.

If you check in with us from time to time, you’ve probably noticed that I have a bit of a fascination with business titles that deal with consumerism. Part of the interest is rooted in the frequent observation that Americans today have more material wealth and technological convenience than any previous generation, yet they continue to be less and less happy. On another level, I always enjoy the consumer titles because I’m fascinated by branding and the unique combination of factors that can propel one product to the top while a similar one collects dust on store shelves.

In that vein, I was delighted to read this review of a new book by Kevin Maney, a writer for USA Today. Maney’s book Trade-Off examines the gap that exists in the modern world of retail. Customers are drawn more and more to two distinct sets of products. They prefer either inexpensive goods that offer convenience but not quality, or they splash their cash on high-end items that carry a certain clout or trendiness. Products that fall in between these two categories, Maney argues, are likely to be ignored by the majority of the buying public.

Maney is not the first author to tackle the widening gap in consumer goods. Michael Silverstein examined this topic in his book Treasure Hunt, a title we summarized. What’s interesting about both books is the notion that consumers of all income levels cherry-pick from both groups of products. Maney’s book seems to suggest that quality suffers in the pursuit of the lowest price. However, he also remarks that most consumers are comfortable with this idea. I suppose that more and more consumers are willing to live with the adage “You get what you pay for.” Something to think about the next time the person in front of you at Wal-Mart pulls an iPhone out of an expensive handbag before paying for discounted household items.

How many times have you composed an e-mail in anger or frustration, sat back to review it, and then hit the Delete button? I expect that the delete feature has saved many a career. In fact, it’s good to be able to delete and forget many haunting, spontaneous actions we may have done. And maybe we’ve gotten a little obsessed in our digital record saving. We probably should be doing a little more deleting when you think about it.

This notion has the support of Viktor Mayer-Schonberger author of Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age. He believes that in our saving frenzy we are not losing enough of our digital data and are guilty of “failing to forget.” He also points to examples of stalled careers and lost jobs through events captured on Facebook and YouTube, among other things, to prove his point.

In the Wall St Journal review of this book, the writer points out that perhaps it isn’t all bad that the digital world has such a long memory. It may just cause us to be more careful about what we post in the public realm.

Certainly, the recent surge of digital-themed books would lead one to believe that perhaps caution is the better solution than deletion. Here are just a few of the titles that we have been checking out recently: Behind the Cloud – about salesforce.com’s development of cloud computing, Viral Loop – how to grow a business from scratch through the use of social media, Twitterville – using Twitter to help a business thrive, and The Laws of Disruption – disruption technologies in the digital age.

Since the digital realm shows no signs of slowing down, or moving with caution, perhaps we as individuals should make more of an effort.

Here at Soundview, as we watch the steady flow of business books pour across our desk, there is a recurring trend that doesn’t speak well for bosses. It seems that many people aren’t happy with the way their boss does his or her job, and they’re looking for ways to either work around their boss or “manage” him or her.

The most recent title in this vein is Lead the Boss: The Subtle Art of Managing Up by John Baldoni. In the acknowledgment portion of his book, Baldoni says his urge to write the book began with the needs of the men and women executives who he has coached, many of whom were “excelling in their jobs but found it sometimes difficult to get the attention of, interact with, or persuade senior leaders.” “Leading your boss,” he tells us in the prologue, “is really a metaphor for leading from the middle,” which actually encompasses leading your boss, your peers and your team for the ultimate good of the organization.

Other similar books published in recent years include The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell, Leading Up by Michael Useem and Managing Up by Rosanne Badowski and Roger Gittines. Maxwell even ventures to say that “the reality is that 99 percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of an organization.” In the final Special Section of The 360 Degree Leader he mentions, “More than two-thirds of the people who leave their jobs do so because of an ineffective or incompetent leader. People don’t leave their company — they leave their leader.”

Clearly, good leaders are needed throughout an organization, not just at the top. But issues around trust, lack of transparency, ineffective communication and unclear direction — plus a few poor interpersonal skills — can easily undermine the effectiveness of any leader at any level. If you or your boss could use some perspective on effective leadership or management strategies, visit Soundview Executive Book Summaries for access to some helpful book titles.

In Soundview’s November 2009 edition, we’re pleased to feature Who’s Got Your Back? from Keith Ferrazzi, author of the classic Never Eat Alone. One of the major reasons we selected Who’s Got Your Back?  for summarization is the book’s unique look at networking. Ferrazzi brings an intensity and sense of drive that echoes through the pages of his book. One of the key insights in the book is Ferrazzi’s discussion of the necessity to form three “lifeline” relationships. The definition of “lifeline” and the method needed to forge these relationships is certain to change a lot of people’s minds about networking.

For subscribers, you’ll be fortunate enough to hear Ferrazzi’s intensity firsthand. We’re featuring an mp3 interview with Ferrazzi in which he goes into further detail about the method to forming lifeline relationships. I was also pleased to hear Ferrazzi’s personal revelations about how many of the elements of the book came from events in his own life. It’s easy to see why, at one point during the conversation, he points out that the people who form his own “lifeline” relationships are the ones who tell him to slow down and not take on too much.

By the time I was done listening to the interview, I was ready to charge out into the world and start cementing the bonds of my strongest relationships. There’s no doubt that he’ll give you the same spark!

If you’re not currently a subscriber, visit us at Summary.com for more information on how you can receive these FREE interviews with today’s top business authors.

I just got off the phone with our editorial contact who’s sitting in the offices of Zenger/Folkman.

We’re just a little over an hour away from our Soundview Live Webcast with John Zenger, Joseph Folkman and Scott Edinger, the authors of The Inspiring Leader.

If you’ve signed up, make sure you log in shortly before the Webcast starts at NOON Eastern.  From what my colleague said, we’re expecting a large audience. This conference should definitely benefit leaders at any level of an organization.

I’ll be listening, and I certainly hope you will as well.

If you’re not currently a subscriber and you’d like the opportunity to attend future Soundview Live events for FREE, visit us at www.summary.com for more information on how to subscribe.

I just wanted to remind everyone that we’ve got a fantastic Soundview Live event coming up on Thursday, 10/15  at noon Eastern. We’ll be hosting an interactive Web event with the authors of The Inspiring Leader: John Zenger, Joseph Folkman and Scott Edinger.

Leadership is one of the most popular topics with our audience. We probably receive more requests to cover leadership titles than any other subject area. I think this is what has me looking forward to the event on Thursday. We’re pleased when we can offer our subscribers a chance to interact with authors who are experts in the audience’s major area of interest. I was lucky enough to get a preview of some of the material that will be covered in the authors’ presentation and I can say that it will definitely open the eyes of anyone who feels he or she needs to improve his or her leadership abilities. I learned a couple things about my own leadership habits that I had never considered. I also love the fact that the authors’ presentation is just the launching point for the overall Soundview Live experience. Our audiences have been fantastic at driving the conferences to new heights with their questions and interpretations of the authors’ material. Join us Thursday at noon Eastern and get the answers to your leadership questions!

One other advantage to being able to peek “behind the scenes” is that I can see how many of our subscribers are taking advantage of this FREE interactive Web conference. Not to put any pressure on anyone reading this, but if you haven’t signed up, I wouldn’t wait too much longer. Subscriber response to this event has been tremendously … inspiring, one might say.

If you are currently a subscriber, or are interested in subscribing to attend Thursday’s event, visit this link for all the information you need.