BOOK REVIEW: “Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea” by Mark Blyth

Success often depends on timing. Though Mr Blyth has been working on this book for two years, its launch seems to have come at a very appropriate moment. After several years of austerity measures, public opinion in countries across the world is becoming more critical on the cutbacks their governments have brought in to reduce their deficits. Adding to that is the discovery that Reinhart and Rogoff’s models, the theoretical underpinning of these policies, were erroneous. This is a well researched and well argued book and the title, “Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea”, will give you a clear indication of where the author stands. 

BOOK REVIEW: “The Art of Choosing” by Dr. Sheena Iyengar

In a magazine interview, Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Welsh actress and wife of Michael Douglas, describes one of her daily chores, which involve making choices. 

“It is,” she said, “deciding whether to buy that beautiful little dress she had found while shopping in California, knowing full well that the shoes that she needed to go with it were in one of her homes in the Caribbean or in Europe.”  

Pity the rich and famous!

We have more choices today than we have ever had in history and yet making countless decisions each day may be a burden rather than a pleasure.  In this excellent book, which brings in scientific research and personal examples, Dr. Sheena Iyengar, Professor at Columbia University, describes just why some of these choices are so difficult. 

 

Professors (and other experts) getting it wrong : The Reinhart and Rogoff spreadsheet error

So, two of the most prominent and respected professors of finance in the world got it wrong! There are several interesting aspects to the Reinhart and Rogoff spreadsheet error saga and many commentators have jumped in to criticise their work now that we know they omitted out five countries. Perhaps the one thing that has not been said is that they had the good grace, open mindedness  and humility to send their data to a graduate student that they had never met and wasn’t even a student at either of their universities. Professors do get it wrong, as do all human beings, but good ones are open to analysis and criticisms from others.

 

BOOK REVIEW : “This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly” by Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff (2011)

A few weeks ago this book would have been read quickly, given an A+ with a little gold star and a request from the teacher for a “Show and Tell” from two of her best pupils. Thomas Herdon, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst has dented the myth though by identifying the errors in their calculation. This has coincided with increasing criticisms of the current policies even in academic circles. Mark Blyth at Brown University has just published “Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea.” In this context, “This Time is Different” is certainly worth another critical read.

BOOK REVIEW: “The Art of the Sale” by Philip Delves Broughton (2013)

Philip Delves Broughton made quite a name for himself by writing a book, which was highly critical of Harvard Business School and the MBA system in general.  During his time at HBS, he was surprised that sales was not part of the curriculum.  He expected it to be very present in MBA programs and yet found that, in general, they looked down upon such mercantile procedures. 

BOOK REVIEW: “Reorganize for Resilience” by Ranjay Gulati (2010)

 

Back in the carefree days before 2007, companies looked at growth as their major challenge.  In those days, obtaining a 15% increase on yearly growth seemed to be the most important thing for them to achieve, to keep their stockholders happy.  Since then, with the collapse of firms such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, survival has become the key element to business.  In Reorganize for Resilience, Ranjay Gulati shows some of the things that resilient companies do, both in good times and in bad, to ensure that they don’t end up being a case study on what companies shouldn’t have done.

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): The European Affinity Group and the challenges of accreditation for European schools

At the AACSB Annual ICAM Conference 2013, the European Affinity Group organized a session on the special challenges for European business schools in obtaining accreditation. This began with Rachael Weiss, Head of Student Experience and Accreditation at the University of Sheffield, entitled “QAA and UK challenges with Assurance of Learning” This was then followed by a discussion between different regions of Europe with some proposals on how continue with the work that has already been done.

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): Building Your School’s Brand Through Executive Education (Elaine Eisenman, Kai Peters)

At the AACSB ICAM 2013 Conference, Elaine Eisenman, Dean of Babson College, and Kai Peters, Chief Executive of Ashridge Business School, set out some of the main issues in executive education today. Peters described the period as being one of the “most Schumpeterian times for executive education” and business schools in general. The presentation entitled “The Ideal, the Real, and the Deal” first dealt with some of the key misconceptions concerning education. 

 

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): Learning, Leading, and Teaching in the 21st Century (Tony Wagner, Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard)

At the AACSB ICAM 2013 Conference, Tony Wagner, Innovation Education Fellow at Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, talked about the learning gaps that are affecting students across the world, and gave some strategies for how to prepare them for the new global knowledge society. 

AACSB Annual Meeting (ICAM 2013): Lead by Choice: Lessons for the B-School (Sheena Iyengar, Columbia Business School)

“I am always looking for cool pictures.” said Sheena Iyengar at the end of her excellent presentation on how to “Lead by Choice”. The quote was all the more remarkable in that the director of the Global Leadership Matrix (GLeaM) at Columbia Business School is totally blind. The objective of the talk was to highlight “what effective leaders need to know about choice” and how you can choose your way to success. Indeed, there is so much information available that it has become imperative today to know how to choose.