Title: Why Things Go Wrong : Deming Philosophy in a Dozen Ten-Minute Sessions

Author: Gary Fellers

Publisher: Pelican Publishing, 2011

ISBN-13: 978-1455606016, 127 pages

Dr. W. Edwards Deming was a business professor and consultant who’s probably best known for his role advising post-World War II Japanese companies on manufacturing and quality; many experts give him much of the credit for Japan’s transition to technological preeminence. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing even now, his famous writings, “14 Points for Managers” (a chapter in his book Out of the Crisis) and “7 Deadly Diseases of Management,” and his subsequent books make major corporations like Ford take notice. He spent the latter part of his life writing and consulting on management, quality and productivity.

Consultant Gary Fellers’s tidy little manual moves Deming into today with a readable summary of his management philosophy in 10 handy chapters. While Fellers’s summations are no substitute for Deming’s primary texts, the author provides a practical précis of Deming’s salient philosophical points. getAbstract recommends Fellers’s guide to any manager, experienced or new. You’ll read it again and again, and it handily fits in your pocket.

Title: Higher Ambition : How Great Leaders Create Economic and Social Value

Authors: Michael Beer, Flemming Norrgren, Russell Eisenstat, Nathanial Foote and Tobias Fredburg

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press, 2011

ISBN-13: 978-1422159743, 218 pages

Concentrating solely on the bottom line may produce short-term results, but it won’t provide the basis for long-term success or contribute to the greater good. Only “higher-ambition leaders” — CEOs who focus on their company’s social contribution as well as its performance — can do both. Professors Michael Beer and Flemming Norrgren, working with co-authors Russell Eisenstat, Nathaniel Foote and Tobias Fredberg, interviewed 36 successful CEOs who exemplify higher-ambition leadership. The authors base their higher-ambition leadership model on these leaders’ principles, processes and behaviors. getAbstract believes the authors hit an innovative chord and fill a gap that MBA programs leave open by concentrating primarily on increasing shareholder value. These tales of determination, vision and courage will help leaders lift their eyes from today’s bottom line and look beyond the horizon.

Title: CEO Priorities : Master the Art of Surviving at the Top

Author: Neil Giarratana

Publisher: Career Press, 2010

ISBN-13: 978-1601631268, 224 pages

With more than three decades of experience as a CEO, Neil Giarratana knows how to run a company. His book includes real-life examples of common problems that confront CEOs and offers useful, if fairly elementary, advice on how to deal with those issues. Be sure to consider Giarratana’s suggestions in the context of your company — it’s possible that some of his ideas could land an inexperienced chief executive in hot water. Despite this caveat, Giarratana’s book offers notable value, particularly for neophyte executives. If you are a new CEO or a CEO-in-waiting, getAbstract recommends this briefing. Do heed one telling piece of advice: No one is going to watch your back or tend to your career as devotedly as you, so keep your eyes open.

Title: TouchPoints : Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments

Authors: Douglas Conant and Mette Norgaard

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2011

ISBN-13: 978-1118004357, 208 pages

You can become a great leader if you take to heart the message and the methods of Campbell Soup Company president and CEO Douglas Conant and executive management training consultant Mette Norgaard. They describe an innovative leadership model based on making the most of “TouchPoints,” those seemingly innocuous but quite powerful interpersonal events that pepper the daily lives of corporate leaders. Many executives resent “pesky” interruptions, but the authors reframe them as golden opportunities for leaders to move their strategic agendas forward via personal connections with their employees. Conant and Norgaard based their approach on the philosophy of “leading in the moment” that Conant developed and used to turn Campbell’s around when it was distressed. getAbstract recommends their book to executives seeking a workable model for creating and honing a personal leadership style.

Title: Employees First, Customers Second : Turning Conventional Management Upside Down

Author: Vineet Nayar

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press, 2010

ISBN-13: 978-1422139066, 200 pages

When Vineet Nayar stepped in as president (in 2005) of India’s storied global IT firm, HCL Technologies (HCLT), the corporation was doing all right. That was the problem — just all right; it needed to do better. HCLT was beginning to stagnate, allowing its competitors to jump ahead. Realizing the need for unconventional thinking and management, Nayar derived the “Employees First, Customers Second” (EFCS) philosophy. In this short, personable book, he explains EFCS’s principles and how he put it to work at HCLT, turning the company’s fortunes around in just five years. The good news: EFCS strategies can work at your company, too. getAbstract found Nayar’s tale thought provoking, entertaining and enlightening and recommends it to CEOs, managers and all employees seeking renewed effectiveness.