Looking for a good book or two to dig into this summer? We’ve got you covered! From artificial intelligence and secrets of happiness and well-being to corporate partnership and innovative cultures around the world, CEIBS faculty offer some of their favourite picks and recent academic publications for your selection. Happy reading all!

Understanding Organizations… Finally

By

Henry Mintzberg

“We live in a world of organizations. From the moment we are born in a maternity hospital until our final farewell in funeral homes, we spend our whole lives in organizations. In between, we are educated, employed, enriched and exasperated by organizations. We must better understand how these “strange beasts” really work! This book synthesizes the experience of Henry Minzberg and offers a great update of his 1983 classic: “Structure in Fives”. Among some of the key insights of the book are:

1. Reorganizing is popular but not easy to implement.
2. An organization cannot put blinders on its people and then expect peripheral vision.
3. Machine organization is efficient. Project organization becomes effective by being inefficient.

You will not find a better guide on how to make organizations work better than this new classic book.”

CEIBS President (European) and Professor of Marketing Dominique V. Turpin

Scary Smart

By

Former Chief Business Officer of Google Mo Gowdat

“In Scary Smart, the author highlights the speed with which AI is developing to the point that humanity may lose control of the algorithms and robots. He urges policy makers and societies to put guardrails around AI before it is too late.”

CEIBS Dean Emeritus John A. Quelch

The Good Life

By

Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz

“Based on the Harvard longevity study which has been ongoing for 84 years on happiness and well-being, the authors draw an amazing, yet somehow non-climactic result that the key to a long, happy life is social fitness. The ingredients for living a long, happy life are quite simple: proper nutrition, physical exercise, sleep, and the cultivation of strong connections to others.  According to their research results, good relationships keep us healthier and happier. What distinguishes The Good Life from other prolific authors on well-being is that their findings are based on an 84-year-long study of the same people, their families and the generations of their children. Happy reading all!”

CEIBS Switzerland CEO Rob Straw

Innovative to the Core

By

Juan A Fernandez, Emily David and Sophie Chen

“Based on extensive interviews with industry leaders, Innovative to the Core: Stories from China and the World describes the components of innovative cultures, including both national culture and organizational culture and how they compare to the China model. Distinguishing between innovation and related concepts, chapters detail how talent management, leader behaviours, organizational systems, and company culture must combine and interact to create environments that are innovative to the core. The book displays how most innovative countries and companies are led by visionary and entrepreneurial servant leaders and have agile cultures that feature psychological safety, open communication, and diversity.”

CEIBS Professor Emeritus Juan Antonio Fernandez

Everything is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer

By

Duncan J. Watts

“Everything is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer by Duncan Watts is a thought-provoking book about why common sense is almost always wrong when we are dealing with complex social, political and economic issues. It offers numerous insights on how our intuitive, common-sense thinking can easily lead us astray. The author shows persuasively how hindsight bias often leads us to underestimate the impact of random factors on the observed outcomes of complex events, urging readers to question their preconceived notions and embrace a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of the social world.”

CEIBS Professor of Economics Zhu Tian

Gorillas Can Dance

By

Shameen Prashantham

“Gorillas Can Dance by CEIBS Professor of International Business and Strategy Shameen Prashantham is an engaging and well-written look at collaboration between large corporations (Microsoft, in this case) and start-ups. The book cleverly explores the paradox of highly institutionalized businesses co-opting agility by partnering businesses better positioned to be agile.”

CEIBS Lecturer of Management Nana Yaa A. Gyamfi

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of Human Race

By

Walter Isaacson

“Jennifer Doudna is a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in 2020 with Emmanuelle Charpentier for developing the gene-editing tool CRISPR, which has the potential to change the future of the human race. Besides giving readers a front-row seat to how cutting-edge science is performed, The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of Human Race also focuses attention on the role of women in science, the moral implications of the new and powerful scientific tool, and the rivalry between scientists.”

CEIBS Professor of Economics Albert Hu