What are leading CIOs reading this summer?
We asked Enterprisers what books they've read this year that they would recommend other IT leaders add to their summer reading list. The answers ranged from leadership books (The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance) to biographies (Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity).
THE SECOND MACHINE AGE: WORK, PROGRESS, AND PROSPERITY IN A TIME OF BRILLIANT TECHNOLOGIES
By: Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson
Recommended by: John Marcante, CIO, Vanguard
Book Description: In The Second Machine Age, MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee ― two thinkers at the forefront of their field ― reveal the forces driving the reinvention of our lives and our economy. As the full impact of digital technologies is felt, we will realize immense bounty in the form of dazzling personal technology, advanced infrastructure, and near-boundless access to the cultural items that enrich our lives.
Why it's a must read: “This book speaks about the incredible progress technology has made possible in all industries and the catalyst it has been in benefiting humanity. It also demonstrates the importance of advanced skills, knowledgeable workers, and the importance technologists have in future business models. For me it reinforces the fact that IT organizations need to continue to move from service providers to business drivers,” said John Marcante.
THE OPEN ORGANIZATION: IGNITING PASSION AND PERFORMANCE
By: Jim Whitehurst
Recommended by: Lee Congdon, CIO, Red Hat
Book Description: Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat, one of the world’s most revolutionary companies, shows how open principles of management — based on transparency, participation, and community — reinvent the organization for the fast-paced connected era. Whitehurst gives readers an insider’s look into how an open and innovative organizational model works. He shows how to leverage it to build community, respond quickly to opportunities, harness resources and talent both inside and outside the organization, and inspire, motivate, and empower people at all levels to act with accountability.
Why it's a must read: “This book is about how we lead Red Hat using transparency, participation, and collaboration to compete at speed. Jim provides great insights on what it takes to thrive as a passionate, open, mission driven culture, and why establishing a similar culture makes sense for other enterprises,” said Lee Congdon.
THE ACCIDENTAL SUPERPOWER
By: Peter Zeihan
Recommended by: Tim Elkins, CIO, PrimeLending
Book Description: In The Accidental Superpower, international strategist Peter Zeihan examines how the hard rules of geography are eroding the American commitment to free trade; how much of the planet is aging into a mass retirement that will enervate markets and capital supplies; and how, against all odds, it is the ever-ravenous American economy that-alone among the developed nations-is rapidly approaching energy independence. Combined, these factors are doing nothing less than overturning the global system and ushering in a new (dis)order.
Why it's a must read: “I was amazed to learn how our geography and demographics play an integral role in our superpower status. It is also interesting to see how technology will impact the labor pool and the futures of different countries around the world. There are quite a few bold predictions in the book that I will be monitoring over the next few years,” said Tim Elkins.
DATA SMART: USING DATA SCIENCE TO TRANSFORM INFORMATION INTO INSIGHT
By: John W. Foreman
Recommended by: Sergo Grigalashvili, VP Advanced Analytics, Kaplan Higher and Professional Education
Book Description: Data Science gets thrown around in the press like it's magic. Major retailers are predicting everything from when their customers are pregnant to when they want a new pair of Chuck Taylors. It's a brave new world where seemingly meaningless data can be transformed into valuable insight to drive smart business decisions. But how does one exactly do data science? Do you have to hire one of these priests of the dark arts, the "data scientist," to extract this gold from your data? Nope. Data science is little more than using straight-forward steps to process raw data into actionable insight. And in Data Smart, author and data scientist John Foreman will show you how that's done within the familiar environment of a spreadsheet.
Why it's a must read: “This book is very interesting. It conveys the essence of data science in simple and familiar terms, and it then explains it on several of its most frequent use cases using simple Excel. In a way, it demystifies data science,” said Sergo Grigalashvili.
NO PLACE TO HIDE: EDWARD SNOWDEN, THE NSA, AND THE U.S. SURVEILLANCE STATE
By: Glenn Greenwald
Recommended by: Lee Congdon, CIO, Red Hat
Book Description: Glenn Greenwald recounts his high-intensity ten-day trip to Hong Kong, examining the broader implications of the surveillance detailed in his reporting for The Guardian, and revealing fresh information on the NSA's unprecedented abuse of power with never-before-seen documents entrusted to him by Edward Snowden himself. Going beyond NSA specifics, Greenwald also takes on the establishment media, excoriating their habitual avoidance of adversarial reporting on the government and their failure to serve the interests of the people. Finally, he asks what it means both for individuals and for a nation's political health when a government pries so invasively into the private lives of its citizens--and considers what safeguards and forms of oversight are necessary to protect democracy in the digital age.
Why it's a must read: “Regardless of your political views on state surveillance, information technology leaders should be aware of the state of the art. This book details some of those capabilities, but reads like a spy thriller,” said Lee Congdon.
THE OBSTACLE IS THE WAY
By: Ryan Holiday
Recommended by: Pete Buonora, Enterprise Architect, BJ’s Wholesale Club
Book Description: We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history — from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs — a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek. These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by a Roman emperor who struggled to articulate a method for excellence in any and all situations. This book reveals that formula for the first time — and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage.
Why it's a must read: “I liked this book because as IT leaders we always need to be thinking of new angles to approach a problem. Rather than being discouraged by setbacks and new challenges we must find ways to redirect the inertia of those challenges to our advantage. This book also brings together a lot of the concepts of stoicism into one easy-to-read book that can be applied in every aspect of life,” said Peter Buonora.
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO DAY: STUXNET AND THE LAUNCH OF THE WORLD’S FIRST DIGITAL WEAPON
By: Kim Zetter
Recommended by: Lee Congdon, CIO, Red Hat
Book Description: Top cybersecurity journalist Kim Zetter tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of warfare—one in which a digital attack can have the same destructive capability as a megaton bomb. Zetter shows us how digital warfare developed in the US. She takes us inside today’s flourishing zero-day “grey markets,” in which intelligence agencies and militaries pay huge sums for the malicious code they need to carry out infiltrations and attacks. She reveals just how vulnerable many of our own critical systems are to Stuxnet-like strikes, from nation-state adversaries and anonymous hackers alike—and shows us just what might happen should our infrastructure be targeted by such an attack.
Why it's a must read: “Like No Place to Hide, this is an accessible and engaging account of the known state of the art in digital weaponry. Of course, both accounts describe the state of the art several years ago, and technology continues to advance,” said Lee Congdon.
TESLA - THE WIZARD OF ELECTRICITY
By: David J. Kent
Recommended by: Cliff Tamplin, Consultant and Former Vice President of Technology Support & Risk Management, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Book Description: Who was Nikola Tesla? A visionary inventor? Eccentric genius? Outsider rebel? Now David Kent reveals the life, drama, and mystery surrounding the romantic figure. An immigrant from what is now Croatia, Tesla would move to America and go on to create groundbreaking inventions including some that would change the world. He even electrified visitors at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with an amazing never-before-seen electrical light display. Despite his successes, Tesla would become largely forgotten over the remaining dozen years of his life as others got credit for his remarkable scientific contributions. But after his death, he found renewed fame as the subject of conspiracy theories and as a pop culture idol. Through this fascinating book, you'll come to know the dashing man that continues to capture imaginations today.
Why it's a must read: “This biography of the incredible inventor is good reading for IT people as it shows that even the brightest ideas will go nowhere or be taken seriously by others if not presented properly and in alignment with the business goals,” said Cliff Tamplin.
MAKERS: THE NEW INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
By: Chris Anderson
Recommended by: Tom Soderstrom, IT CTO, Jet propulsion laboratory
Book Description: Wired magazine editor and bestselling author Chris Anderson takes you to the front lines of a new industrial revolution as today’s entrepreneurs, using open source design and 3-D printing, bring manufacturing to the desktop. In an age of custom-fabricated, do-it-yourself product design and creation, the collective potential of a million garage tinkerers and enthusiasts is about to be unleashed, driving a resurgence of American manufacturing. A generation of “Makers” using the Web’s innovation model will help drive the next big wave in the global economy, as the new technologies of digital design and rapid prototyping gives everyone the power to invent — creating “the long tail of things.”
Why it's a must read: “This is a very worthwhile read. Among other excellent takeaways, Chris Anderson makes the point that in the past 10 years, of all the innovations we’ve seen have really been about building capabilities like mobility, social networking, open source design and so on. The next 10 years will be about using these capabilities to change the world,” said Tom Soderstrom
WORK RULES!: INSIGHTS FROM INSIDE GOOGLE THAT WILL TRANSFORM HOW YOU LIVE AND LEAD
By: Laszlo Bock
Recommended by: Lee Congdon, CIO, Red Hat
Book Description: From the visionary head of Google's innovative People Operations comes a groundbreaking inquiry into the philosophy of work-and a blueprint for attracting the most spectacular talent to your business and ensuring that they succeed. Drawing on the latest research in behavioral economics and a profound grasp of human psychology, WORK RULES! also provides teaching examples from a range of industries-including lauded companies that happen to be hideous places to work and little-known companies that achieve spectacular results by valuing and listening to their employees.
Why it's a must read: “It’s an enjoyable read and a fascinating look at how Google leads and motivates their people. Don't miss the anecdotes about nudging your employees to better outcomes,” said Lee Congdon.
