In Connecting Organizational Silos, Frank Leistner presents a full-featured guide for organizations interested in using social media. His argument is simple: as it becomes easier for people to interact virtually, the value of effectively moving knowledge through an organization increases. Leistner outlines basics like social media analytics, the mobilization of various departments, and social network dynamics, and he explains why social media is here to stay. Leistner also explores the concept of enterprise social networks (ESNs) and how the future of social media platform technologies will affect both users and organizations in the coming years.

As Craig Storti explains in Speaking of India, India will continue to play a greater role in the global business market. Businesses will continue to outsource more than information technology (IT) or call centers overseas to India; instead, they will outsource tasks such as business process outsourcing (BPO), aspects of banking and financial services, insurance operations, legal services, mortgage services, television digitization, editing, and airline reservations. With about two million Indian workers in the United States, and Indians owning more than 3,000 companies in California alone, individuals must learn to overcome many culture differences in order to achieve successful Indian-Western partnerships and joint ventures.

Irv Rothman describes Out-Executing the Competition as “chapters about evolution,” both professional and personal. By being open to lifelong learning, Rothman experienced a paradigm-shifting moment concerning business models that shaped his entire career. The principle of customer-centric business models created by employees was the foundation of a series of successful business ventures. Once considered radical business philosophies, listening to customers and empowering employees are now fundamental practices required to sustain business success. In addition, Rothman’s life lessons show that business success is a product of hard work, being smart, acting prudently, taking calculated risks, adapting to innovations, and planning ahead. By applying business axioms consistently, value can be delivered reliably, market fluctuations can be responded to nimbly, and core business strengths can be leveraged to out-execute the competition.

The Bully-Free Workplace

In many organizations some employees behave in ways that are extremely damaging to their co-workers. These bullies wreak havoc in organizations. Their damaging behavior leads to emotional, physical, and financial challenges for the employees they target. For organizations, these problems often lead to losing productive employees and can result in lawsuits. In extreme cases, bullying can lead to homicide or suicide. In The Bully-Free Workplace, authors Gary Namie and Ruth F. Namie inform executives that the best solution to eradicate bullies from the workforce is to implement a formal policy, such as the Namie Blueprint process—a process that defines standards of appropriate behavior and holds people accountable for that conduct. When organizations draw a line in the sand clearly illustrating what behavior is unacceptable they can put an end to bullying.

The Science of Serendipity

The Science of Serendipity by Matt Kingdon shows large, complex organizations how to open the door to the kind of creative thinking that leads to commercial success. With a focus on the twin concepts of serendipity and innovation, Kingdon explains how established businesses can shake off the rust, dodge bureaucratic pitfalls, and find new directions while boosting their bottom lines. Kingdon, cofounder of ?WhatIf! Innovation Partners, cites abundant examples drawn from his company’s experiences working with different corporate clients. After considering what qualities a corporate innovator must have, Kingdon discusses specific techniques and strategies for every stage of the process, from an initial idea to a successful launch. His emphasis is always on the concrete and practical: how to test an idea, sell it to the hierarchy, and bring it to market.

Rice Wine with the Minister

In Rice Wine with the Minister, Andrew and Nada Kakabadse organize their wealth of personal experience in the global marketplace into a logical structure of steps that the global executive can take to succeed in today’s business world. The predominant themes of the text are the ubiquitousness of globalization and the critical importance of cultural sensitivity for effective leadership. Replete with examples of multinational organizations’ successes and failures around the globe, this text elucidates abstract concepts and distills them into practical applications. No area of the globe is overlooked, and the authors work hard to compare and contrast global cultures, highlighting the challenges of conducting business in a world that is both homogeneous and heterogeneous.

The Principles of Ethical Intelligence

There are five simple principles of ethical intelligence that all leaders must follow:

1. Do No Harm. This is inspired by the classic oath taken by doctors and other healthcare professionals. While there are some situations in which doing harm is unavoidable, individuals are obligated to reduce the amount of harm that is done to a person or a company.

2. Make Things Better. This is tied to the belief that improving one’s own life is the key to improving the lives of others. The message of this principle ties with something that frequent air travelers are quite familiar with: the idea of securing one’s own oxygen mask first during cabin decompression. With their own mask secured, people can better assist others who may be struggling.

3. Respect Others. In addition to respecting legal rights, leaders must also be respectful of people by following the golden rule: “Treat others as you wish to be treated.” Telling others the truth, and keeping their confidential information a secret, is the path to true respect.

4. Be Fair. Being Fair means giving others what is due to them. This can be broken down into three main prongs: rectifying injustice, disciplining people proportionally, and spreading scarce resources around in an equitable way.

5. Be Loving. This can also be thought of as being compassionate toward others. This fifth and final principle can be compared to a can of WD-40 lubricant. While not absolutely necessary, the idea of compassion “makes things flow better.” In some ways, Being Loving is the most important of the five principles. While it may not be necessary in the business world, compassion toward others can help people more fully embrace the other four principles of ethical intelligence. Being Loving is more of an ideal than an ethical requirement, but it is an ideal that Weinstein believes leaders must aspire to.


This article is based on the book "Ethical Intelligence" by Bruce Weinstein, PhD. The book summary is available online at Business Book Summaries.