The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger

I am actually quite excited about THE BOOK OF BEAUTIFUL QUESTIONS by Warren Berger and have been talking to several administrators about this new title. Berger is the best-selling writer of A More Beautiful Question and his work on innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity appears regularly in publications like Fast Company, Harvard Business Review and The New York Times. In his latest book (released in late October), he explores “The Powerful Questions That Will Help You Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead.” 

Given our current work as a school district on strategic planning, including a Leadership strand, Berger’s Part IV which deals with questions for stronger leadership seems especially valuable and relevant. There, he begins by reviewing the concept of “servant leadership” or a “visionary helper” who exhibits qualities like humility, curiosity, and open-mindedness. He continues, referring to Susan Cain’s (author of Quiet) comments on the tendency of schools to define leadership in shallow terms – “based on how any achievements a student can list or the number of clubs that student has become president of.” Berger suggests some introspection, particularly as to whether one’s reasons for wanting to lead are too self-serving versus caring deeply about an issue or making a difference. In fact, Berger says to ask yourself the following to see if you are ready to be a 21^st century leader: 

• Am I willing to step back in order to help others move forward?
• Do I have the confidence to be humble?
• Can I learn to keep learning?
• Do I seek to create an organization in my own image?

Minds to inquiry is a key component of our motto and asking questions through different lenses is a habit that we promote through Junior theme and other research processes. THE BOOK OF BEAUTIFUL QUESTIONS contains extensive notes and a helpful index of all of the questions Berger raises. This text has the potential to be a one school/one book read and I can see using many of these questions (Which stupid rule should we kill? At this moment, what is the highest, best use of my time?) as prompts for interactive displays and reflection.   

More Business and Strategy book reviews ...

Just offering a quick review of several new and forthcoming business related titles from a variety of publishers:

 

The one with the most fun title is IF YOU’RE IN A DOGFIGHT, BECOME A CAT by Leonard Sherman (Columbia UP) which, as the subtitle explains, is about “Strategies for Long-Term Growth.” Several case studies of successful businesses like Apple, Fed Ex and Starbucks provide a solid introduction to competitive business theory and the importance of ongoing innovation and product differentiation.  An experienced management consultant, venture capitalist, and marketing professor, Sherman explains standard business models (like BCG’s growth matrix, Marketing Mix of 4 P’s, and Blue Ocean Strategy) while extolling the value of failure as a great teacher. 

THE ENTREPRENEUR’S BOOK OF ACTIONS by Rhett Power (McGraw-Hill Professional) contains “Essential Daily Exercises and Habits for Becoming Wealthier, Smarter, and More Successful.”  Power discusses the need for knowledge, persistence, and patience in order to help a business grow, explaining that he wrote this book in order to help others succeed in a more focused manner.  The book is designed to take 53 weeks to complete and encourages time, commitment, and reflection from the reader to actually change and create new habits. The first tasks, about defining your purpose, fit nicely with the recent New York Magazine article “In 2017, Pursue Meaning Instead of Happiness.”   

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW MANAGER’S HANDBOOK (Harvard Business Review Press) describes “The 17 Skills Leaders Need to Stand Out” ranging from building trust to learning to use financial tools as it incorporates real life stories plus exercises and assessments for managing yourself, other individuals and teams.  I also like the annual “10 must reads” articles that Harvard Business Review selects and publishes.   

ASK MORE by Frank Sesno (AMACON Books) Here, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, former CNN reporter and White House correspondent explores “The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change.” Sesno describes asking the right question in the right setting or category: diagnostic, strategic, empathetic, bridging, confrontational, creative, mission-related, scientific, interview and more! As a librarian, I am often stressing to students that the way they ask the question is as important as the answer.  I especially liked the summary sets of questions near the end and will work at adapting some for help with readers’ advisory or reference inquiries. Students may also be interested in Sesno’s work with Planet Forward at George Washington University.  

INSIGHT OUT by Tina Seelig (HarperOne) As best-selling author Stanford’s Seelig exhorts, “Creativity Rules!” and she offers suggestions on engagement, motivation and experimentation in order to “Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World.”  INSIGHT OUT is already on a list of possible reads (looking at Tom Kelley, Daniel Pink and the Heath brothers, too) for the entrepreneurship class that our Business Department will be offering next year.  

101 Job Interview Questions You'll Never Fear Again by James Reed

101 Job Interview Questions You'll Never Fear Again by James Reed is a terrific compendium of questions and their rationales based on crowd-sourced work with interviewers and recruiters. As Reed points out, interviews in the past “would have been almost exclusively about skills and experience; these days your interview is just as likely to be about your personality and your mindset.”   

With its emphasis on 15 key interview themes, this title will be a valuable guide for recent graduates in particular.  The book is written in a very straight forward way with summaries and explanations throughout.