Top Five Books of 2018

With artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technologies transforming the business world, it’s never been more important to get in front of change. These top four books from 2018 (plus one older book I just discovered)— aligned with our 4 Decisions Scaling Up framework (People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash)—will help you master the forces that are shaking up the landscape for middle market companies, so you can take advantage of the best new opportunities to scale. 

PEOPLE

Outrageous Empowerment: The Incredible Story of Giving Employees Their Brains Back by Ron Lovett.

This is my top pick for 2018.  Lovett went from private security guard to the rich and famous to founder of his own security company with 1,500 employees (which he recently sold for 24x earnings). His secret: Getting rid of all middle managers and letting frontline employees think through decisions for themselves. Employees don’t quit companies. They quit bad bosses.  And the best way to fix this problem is to eliminate all the bosses!  Lovett will help you find the courage to pare away that non-essential layer of bureaucracy, which is costing you 30% of your payroll, and free your team to excel.  Lovett’s firm embodies what I consider the organizational structure for the 21st Century.  

STRATEGY

Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb.

Artificial Intelligence was the #1 business topic of 2018.  Yet how do “mere mortal” mid-market firms think through how to put it to work in a practical way? The key is in the title of this powerfully practical book: prediction. Where in your company would knowing something more quickly make or save you significant money/time – like when you’re about to lose a big customer or your best employees are ready to jump ship? Once you read it, head to the authors’ two-day workshops in Toronto. They’re the best insurance policy you can find against being disrupted out of existence by a 22-year-old in Silicon Valley (or Toronto!).

EXECUTION

Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More by Morten Hansen

It’s no accident that Hansen, a leading management thinker and professor at UC Berkeley, was also the co-author of what I consider Jim Collins’ best book, Great by Choice.  Now Hansen has written a book of his own, delivering a significant update to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Every company needs not just a few top performers producing but everyone knocking it out of the park. This book will show leaders how to educate everyone on their team to execute better. 

CASH

Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh

Blitzscaling details the "hacks" you need to grow really, really fast to capture a market quickly with a paradigm shifting idea. And because of this need for speed, you've got to have a really strong culture. There are blitzscaling opportunities in every company. Put together a team of two or three people to spend a few days a week to identify and exploit a blitzscaling opportunity within your own firm. You’ll have a shot at unleashing massive growth this year with a side project that could generate more cash value than your core business. 

 THE ONE I MISSED

Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective by Kenneth O.O. Stanley and Joel Lehman

I just discovered this jewel, published in 2015, and it’s challenging my own business thinking more than any recent book—so I'd be remiss not to mention it here. If you really want to scale your business, you have to let go of some of your business objectives and allow serendipity to take hold. Stanley and Lehman have made a compelling case that too much adherence to objective-setting can blind you to the real opportunities to scale—and that medium-term goals can be dangerous to your business. Nonetheless, they haven’t thrown out short-term goals. You need to know your next step. If you’re looking for a book that challenges the conventional wisdom and will shake up your thinking, you won’t want to miss this insightful read.