A former bank CEO offers forthright advice in this debut business book.
As CEO of Silicon Valley Bank for a decade, Wilcox faced a series of daunting challenges. He writes in this candid work that “tech was in the doldrums and interest rates were among the lowest in the history of the Fed.” The author had no choice but to lead through tough times, and his experience led him to craft a practical “field manual” to guide other executives. In three succinct but informative parts, Wilcox expounds on leadership principles and qualities, building teams and managing during change, all anchored by a strong emphasis on corporate culture. The book begins with an exploration of leadership motivation; the author asks penetrating questions about readers’ visions, delegation skills, and management styles. Wilcox wisely points out that leaders must not only be authentic and confident, but also vulnerable: “They’re willing to admit to their shortcomings and mistakes. Without this quality, no one can be a true leader.” The author references Gandhi and Lincoln as examples. In the first part of the manual, Wilcox stresses honesty, humility, and collaboration. Part 2 concentrates on leadership fundamentals, including building and steering a team, developing a corporate culture, sharing a vision, executing decisions, and communicating effectively. The author draws liberally on his own experiences, citing numerous examples of what to do and, perhaps more importantly, what not to do. Much of his advice is specific and actionable; for instance, he provides six recommendations for what kind of people to hire, engages in a captivating discussion about “the spectrum of human behavior,” enumerates “The Magic 12” (a list of 12 ways to cultivate trust), and shares “The Four Ds,” a useful process for making decisions.
Part 3 of the book, “Accomplishing Great Things: Revolutionary Leadership,” is a journey into more ambitious, cutting-edge goals. A chapter on managing change demonstrates the author’s deep understanding of organizational behavior. Wilcox writes that employees generally break into three groups when it comes to a company’s direction: those who like it, those who are neutral, and those who object. He wisely suggests that the time many leaders expend trying to convince the unhappy workers to follow the course would be better spent devoted to the happy employees because they’ll help steer the others. A discussion of innovation is insightful; Wilcox supplies eight salient ideas to foster invention, such as “Build a Culture in Which People Will Have the Courage to Speak Out” and “Praise Creativity, Avoid Criticizing Failure.” The appendix focuses on the experience the author had organizing a banking operation in China, delivering a personal, firsthand look at the unique challenges associated with doing business in the country. Wilcox’s perceptive observations about building a “shared culture” should prove invaluable to any leader who has global responsibilities. Throughout the book, he looks back over his senior executive experience with a critical eye, unafraid to reveal his own shortcomings. That, writes the author, is exactly what a great leader should do.
An illuminating bird’s-eye view of leadership.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-949003-35-2
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Waterside Productions
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & COMMUNICATION | GENERAL BUSINESS | BUSINESS
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Everyone’s favorite avuncular socialist sends up a rousing call to remake the American way of doing business.
“In the twenty-first century we can end the vicious dog-eat-dog economy in which the vast majority struggle to survive,” writes Sanders, “while a handful of billionaires have more wealth than they could spend in a thousand lifetimes.” With that statement, the author updates an argument as old as Marx and Proudhon. In a nice play on words, he condemns “the uber-capitalist system under which we live,” showing how it benefits only the slimmest slice of the few while imposing undue burdens on everyone else. Along the way, Sanders notes that resentment over this inequality was powerful fuel for the disastrous Trump administration, since the Democratic Party thoughtlessly largely abandoned underprivileged voters in favor of “wealthy campaign contributors and the ‘beautiful people.’ ” The author looks squarely at Jeff Bezos, whose company “paid nothing in federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018.” Indeed, writes Sanders, “Bezos is the embodiment of the extreme corporate greed that shapes our times.” Aside from a few passages putting a face to avarice, Sanders lays forth a well-reasoned platform of programs to retool the American economy for greater equity, including investment in education and taking seriously a progressive (in all senses) corporate and personal taxation system to make the rich pay their fair share. In the end, he urges, “We must stop being afraid to call out capitalism and demand fundamental change to a corrupt and rigged system.” One wonders if this firebrand of a manifesto is the opening gambit in still another Sanders run for the presidency. If it is, well, the plutocrats might want to take cover for the duration.
Even if they're pie-in-the-sky exercises, Sanders’ pitched arguments bear consideration by nonbillionaires.Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
ISBN: 9780593238714
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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SEEN & HEARD
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
Categories: BUSINESS | LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & COMMUNICATION | PSYCHOLOGY
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