A Fistful of Rice
My Unexpected Quest to End Poverty Through Profitability
By Vikram Akula
Book Philanthropy and capitalism may seem like strange bedfellows, but Akula is convinced that together they can end poverty. Microloans are effective, but in India, where more than 75 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day, Akula needed a solution that could scale. Nonprofit lenders can’t raise enough capital to help everyone. So he started SKS Microfinance, which in 2005 became a for-profit venture. Harvard Business Review Press, $26.95
The CIO Edge
Seven Leadership Skills You Need to Drive Results
By Graham Waller, George Hallenbeck and Karen Rubenstrunk
Book CIOs need to keep the trains running while managing tight budgets, but to be their most effective, they must build strong partnerships with employees, business peers and external partners. Together, these relationships form what the authors—Waller is a VP at Gartner, and Hallenbeck and Rubenstrunk hold senior positions at executive recruiter Korn/Ferry—call a “followership.” The insight is based on three years of research, which allowed the authors to identify the seven behaviors and skills most critical to a CIO’s success. Among them: commit to leadership first and everything else second, and embrace your softer side. Harvard Business Review Press, $29.95
Harvard Business Review: Research Blog
By Various Authors
Blog This blog is packed with useful information on a variety of workplace topics, all by authors who write intelligently and have in-depth knowledge of their topics. Recent posts cover Web 2.0, executive compensation, the glass ceiling for men and women, and Mad Men’s take on innovation. Also be sure to check out “The Zombie Workplace Survival Guide,” which identifies four contagions that turn a company into a zombie workplace—“where creative people and good ideas disturbingly molder”—and how to combat them. blogs.hbr.org/research
Who’s Who in Internet Politics
A Taxonomy of Information Technology Policy
By Robert D. Atkinson, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Research Every week a new debate flares up about how the Internet should be used. Questions like: How much privacy do you have a right to? How do you enforce copyright? Is net neutrality essential or an impediment to the growth of the Web? To help you understand the combatants and their ideologies, Atkinson identifies eight types of major players in the Internet policy debate—from Cyber-Libertarians to Bricks-and-Mortar types like the RIAA—and two axes along which their thinking tends to fall. www.itif.org/publications/whos-who-internet-politics-taxonomy-information-technology-policy
Andy Blumenthal—My Blog
By Andy Blumenthal
Blog The CTO at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Blumenthal mostly shares musings inspired by what he’s reading. Recently, he covered the difference between addressing people’s wants and addressing their needs, and he found business lessons in the Chilean miner rescue. andyblumenthal.posterous.com
