An engaging rags-to-riches business story.
A financial book offers the inside story of the near demise and revival of a community bank.
In existence since 1832, the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, a Delaware bank, teetered on the brink of closure in 1991. Written by former bank CEO Schoenhals, in collaboration with Kriegstein, this book traces the bank’s journey from before its near-death experience through its successful rebirth. At first glance, the story may seem to have only local relevance, appealing primarily to those who live in the bank’s market—Delaware, Philadelphia, and Southeast Pennsylvania. Schoenhals writes in the preface that the book’s “one primary purpose” is for “past, current and future WSFS Associates and Customers” to gain a better understanding of the bank’s history. In that respect, the story is largely a memoir by Schoenhals and other officials quoted in the volume. But this well-told tale has broader implications; intertwined with the WSFS chronicle are historical details about a previously precarious economic time, insights into actions taken by federal regulators, and glimpses of how banks are capitalized. The work begins with a short, illustrated history of the bank, including an intriguing piece of trivia: In 1972, WSFS introduced what “was believed to be the world’s first debit card.” A chapter then offers a historical perspective on why the period from 1979 to 1990 was a particularly challenging time for financial institutions. Subsequent chapters explain in detail how WSFS got into serious trouble and was ultimately bailed out by investors. But this is not a dull, dry story; the lively account features sketches of bank, regulator, and investor personalities; the personal ups and downs faced by Schoenhals; a bailout plan written down on the proverbial napkin; and an amusing scene of a crucial slide presentation projected onto a bedsheet because no screen was available. Appended to the book is a section by Schoenhals of “stories that should not be lost.” In this insightful retrospective, he shares perhaps some of his most valuable observations about the bank’s culture, the “regulatory courage” it took to keep WSFS alive, and his seasoned views of leadership.
An engaging rags-to-riches business story.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
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. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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