More than 11,000 business books are published every year—an overwhelming choice for busy professionals. Therefore, in partnership with getAbstract, Training brings you November’s top three business books recommended to our readers.
“Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” by Jerry Kaplan (Yale University Press, 2015, 256 pages, ISBN: 9780300213553; $16.69)
Today’s phenomenal acceleration in computing power and machine learning and the breakthroughs in sensor acuity herald an age of artificially intelligent systems and robotic devices. Futurist Jerry Kaplan sees both great promise and grave danger in these technologies. They give people free time for creativity and caring and offer prosperity, safer transport, and easier living. Conversely, as its owners profit, machine intelligence threatens jobs and current skill sets. Kaplan envisions a future of legally constituted, asset-holding “artificial persons.” His clear, fast-paced, and intriguing report is a cogent heads-up on smart automation. getAbstract recommends his timely evaluation of the gathering storm of synthetic intelligence to entrepreneurs, futurists, business professors and students, CEOs, managers, the self-employed, policymakers, and opinion leaders.
Rating (out of 10): 9
Importance: 9
Innovation: 8
Style: 9
“Hiring & Firing” by Brian Tracy (AMACOM, 2016, 112 pages, ISBN: 9780814437513; $9.22)
Keep your eye on “hiring and firing.” Employing—and terminating—people well makes a big difference between managerial success and failure. People who work together toward mutual goals accomplish the most. As a leader, you should identify people who can help you achieve shared objectives. Popular management author Brian Tracy offers 21 ideas to help you identify the people you should hire, help them thrive, and sack them if necessary. Tracy’s beliefs about firing in some small ways recall those of former GE CEO Jack Welch, whose approach might seem less enlightened now than in the ’80s. Otherwise, getAbstract recommends Tracy’s helpful, forward-thinking guidance to HR specialists and managers who handle recruitment and retention.
Rating (out of 10): 7
Applicability: 8
Innovation: 6
Style: 7
“Misplaced Talent. A Guide to Better People Decisions” by Joe Ungemah (Wiley, 2015, 224 pages, ISBN: 9781119030942; $16.08)
Seasoned consultant Joe Ungemah provides a concise, practical guide to modern talent management. As he covers recruiting, “employer branding,” competencies, capabilities, engagement, learning, change management, succession planning, performance, and metrics, an integrated, holistic model of people management emerges. And he explains why workforce initiatives often fail. Some of Ungemah’s data sources seem dated, but his refreshing emphasis on building and maintaining healthy, balanced relationships between employers and employees—as opposed to a single-minded focus on results and revenue—is rare and useful. getAbstract recommends his insights to CEOs, HR professionals, entrepreneurs managing start-ups, and anyone who makes people-related decisions or who advises on talent management.
Rating (out of 10): 7
Applicability: 9
Innovation: 7
Style: 6
For five-page summaries of these and more than 15,000 other titles, visit http://www.getabstract.com/affiliate/trainingmagazine
