The Power of Minds at Work: Organizational Intelligence in Action, by Karl Brecht

I'm about half way through this fascinating study of the mind of organizations. Albrecht very convincingly proposes that normal human intelligence can be divided into several categories, as can organizational intelligence. We have practical intelligence, emotional intelligence, IQ intelligence, etc. And he asserts that organizations need to put together the same sorts of intelligence in action to function effectively. For example, its not enough to have a strategic vision, without the ability to communicate that. Its not enough to have a product to sell, if people don't have the heart, the inspiration, to sell it. And like any functioning organism, an organization has to have the ability to adapt and change with changes in its environment.

He examines collective stupdity, learned incapacity, and syndromes of dysfunction. And then he defines the 7 traits of organizational intelligence: strategic vision, appetite for change, alignment and congruence, performance pressure, knowledge deployment, "heart," and shared fate.
I'm going through strategic vision right now which is also an analysis of leadership styles and thinking.

I'm really enjoying this book. For those who have a business or who work in a business, I'm sure it would be interesting.

more on A Thousand Splendid Suns

The news today included a suicide bombing at a Kabul, Afghanistan elementary school, where children were receiving their end-of-year certificates. A dozen children were killed, and this is just one of several schools bombed, supposedly by a war lord who is waging "jihad" against the neighborhood. Its happening again--the bombing of innocents in the name of God in Kabul.

This fascinating and well told story is seen from the eyes of two women whose lives intertwine during the period from the Soviet occupation, to the bombing of Kabul by war lords filling the vacuum they left, to the takeover of the Taliban, and liberation by the Americans. Its hard to understand how a civilization and a fundamentalist version of Islam could hold women in such contempt, enslavement, and could abuse them so systematically. Unfortunately, Kabul's war lords and the Taliban are vying for the right to suppress and oppress the Afghan population once more.

Khaled Husseini finishes this sad but hopeful book with a summary of his work with Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

Hosseini, who wrote the Kite Runner, is a great story-teller, and brings such a unique perspective to a part of the world most of us know nothing about. I've just read the first part of the book, about Mariam, who leads a very circumscribed life from birth. The second part is about an entirely new character, Laila, who grows up in a "modern" family. The juxtaposition of conservative and liberal life styles before the Taliban imposed "sharia" on the whole country is a nostalgic backdrop to the current situation. More later...

more on Hot, Flat and Crowded

I was just reading all the things Barbara Boxer wants to do to save and create jobs. It reminded me of one of the things that Thomas Friedman recommends for the same purpose--effectively making mandatory PG&E's approach for all US utilities, including uniform requirements to place a premium on conservation and alternative energy feed-in (like requiring that a utility accept solar power energy from your home). Our friend Ron Hamilton works for a company that contracts with PG&E to insulate and in other ways save energy for homes and businesses, and PG&E pays them to do that because they are in turn paid or allowed to retain profits by the Public Utility Commission here for conservation efforts. His explanation of how utilities currently work in most cases shows why Californians energy use is so much more efficient than that of any other state. I just assumed every utility company was like PG&E, but evidently not. This is why Obama and others are saying that they can create green jobs and at the same time promote conservation and green energy. Unfortunately, that particular strategy won't have a big impact on California because we're pretty far ahead of most other places.

Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

I've always liked Thomas Friedman's articles in the New York Times, and I loved his last two books, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, and The World is Flat. This book, if anything, covers even more, and more urgently if a little less optimistically than the last two. Its a very thoughtful and yet panoramic view of how climate and energy use are linked, and the implications for education, investment, jobs, and the economy now and in the future.

One of the most compelling chapters was on Energy Poverty, the lack of electricity available in Africa and how it impacts kids trying to do their homework, adults trying to get jobs or business trying to persist. A whole continent without electricity in this day and age is a huge detriment, and will only make matters worse and worse in a vicious cycle as these people fall farther behind the rest of the world.

Another fascinating chapter was A Million Noahs, A Million Arks, about the importance of essentially community organizers who are also biodiversity experts who save their little corner of the world by letting the community see how their own survival depends on it.

The Energy-Climate Era, which began in the year 2000 is upon us, and Friedman's view is that this is a make or break pivotal moment in time, and if we don't succeed in meeting the challenge of reducing CO2 loads in the atmosphere quickly by using clean energy sources, there won't be a future economy, or a future mankind, to worry about. His main contention is that everybody doing their little part is no where near enough. Government has to set a price signal on oil that will provide incentives for a quick and massive transition to alternative energy sources.

He sounds optimistic in that he believes it can be done, but sober in that its going to take big actions by big government now to do it. He provides many angles of vision on this problem, as he always does, in a very entertaining, interesting and absorbing way, so I highly recommend the book, especially for those who think we may be able to work our way out of this recession with green jobs. That won't happen without some major policy shifts at the highest levels of our government.

One happy note: as the price of oil decreases, the past would indicate that freedom and democracy in petrodictatorships increases. One can hope for that at least.

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane

This is a very big book and there's a lot to say about it. This historical novel is Dickensian in its interweaving of plot and characters, which all lead to the Police Officers' strike in Boston in 1919. The male characters are very richly depicted. We see them inside and out, and live their point of view. The protaganist, Danny Coughlin, is the heir apparent to an Irish Catholic Boston Police Department Lieutenant, Thomas Coughlin, who has the natural conservatism and prejudices of his time and heritage. But Danny rejects the old values and we get to see his character, his views, his introspection. The other major characters, a black man named Luther Laurence, a recent immigrant named Nora, and the bad guy, Eddie McKenna. The women are more lightly sketched--we never see inside Nora's head, or get her history. Luther's wife we see only from his point of view. Thomas' wife, Ellen, is just a sketch.
The historic events and thinking of the time is well researched and reflected in the characters and their actions. The times were similar to our own. There was an irrational branding of all immigrants as bad in the minds of the majority, especially slavic and Russian immigrants. Terrorism from anarchists was a real fear. There were real bombings, real injuries and death, caused by anarchists, but the emotional reaction lost all focus on the perpetrators and anyone who was a recent immigrant from Russia or slavic countries was suspect. Normal dissent was feared. Union activity was subversive.
This was the end of the first World War, the world was suffering from the Spanish flu pandemic which killed 18 million people during its two year spread throughout the world, and immigrants were pouring in to the United States as the economy was faltering. The Boston Police department had not had a raise since 1903, but unionization of essential government services was especially subversive.
Given the complexity of the times, its natural that the book takes awhile to lay the foundation for the main story lines and characters. The author's style does allow you to immerse yourself in the times, the people, the events, but if he could have eliminated about 10% of the metaphors and added some character to the women, I would have liked it better. It was, as a good friend of mine said, very metaphor-full. Here's an example:
"The night was moonless, the air so raw it found his gums. ...He drove back to the city with a windshield grimed by salt and his own fear drying into his scalp." There's a little too much of that.
On the other hand, there were two bad guys, Eddie McKenna, and Tessa Ficara, and we know exactly what Eddie is thinking, and how he got the way he is. We never see inside Tessa's head. We could have used a little more introspection on the part of the women.
But all in all I was absorbed in the story, not very distracted by the excess of imagery, and only disappointed in the women after the fact. So, I would very much recommend the book as a great and entertaining depiction of a pivotal event in the history of the country, not just Boston, and for the feel of the times, the real and unfounded fears that justifiably or not changed Boston forever. The parallels to our own time make the lessons that could be learned from that time important.

Reading in Mazatlan

Just finished The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert, and its a haunting book about a wounded warrior seeking perfection first as a self-made native american living with and off the earth, then as an American pioneer farmer. The wounded part is what drives him, as is true of so many people: the inability to achieve a success or perfection that will warrant his father's approval. This is a very common theme in overachievers--kicked in the teeth by parents who find themselves in dire need of a clone and don't find one in their child. Very sad. But the accomplishments of this man are truly amazing. And of course Gilbert is so crisp and clear and authentic in conversation with him and his family and friends we get to know and like or understand them all, and to wonder at their various angles of vision. She's a wonderful biographer and a great writer. Its an easy read.

By the way, Jake Bowman passed on a link to a very nice blog--Good Reads. Ironically, they just interviewed Malcolm Gladwell in re: Outliers and Dennis Lehane in re: The Given Day, which is the book I'm reading now. More on that later.

Kayaking and Hiking

Kayaking has become my favorite outdoor past time, so naturally my library has a small collection of water trails and one-day kayaking excursions. Hiking has been a passion since I was about 12 or 13, so topo maps of this area and books on Northern California birds, trails, native trees and plants are all here. Not to mention a standing invitation to anyone who wants to take a hike to the falls behind our canyon.

Tales of the Beedle Bard

This arrived yesterday on my doorstep. I haven't even opened it yet, but if you like me are fascinated by anything Hogwarts, please share. I have the series if anyone wants to borrow a title.

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

Outliers is a term that means outside the normal statistical expectations, for example polls that provide data outside what other polls on the same subject are finding. In this case, very successful people or groups (Bill Gates, The Beatles, very high-IQ individuals) are the subject. There are several themes or patterns that result in unusual success. One is the good fortunate of an enriched environment, the other is the opportunity to put in a lot of effort or practice in the area of expertise, another is timing--being born at a time and in a culture that can take advantage of this effort and knowledge. The last half of the book explores the legacy of talent within specific cultures, families, locations, and the roadblock created within cultures that don't enrich its young people or provide opportunities for social maturity and intelligence.

The effort is described as 10,000 hours of intense focus on the area of expertise--computer programming, practicing music or whatever. But without the social intelligence usually only provided by better educated families for their children, no amount of IQ or innate ability or practice will provide success.

The book only takes a few hours to read, but its really important, especially for young people or their parents, to read it.

Astrology

People either shy away from the occult, or they find it irresistably interesting, nothing in between. For the interested, my astrology library is very complete, and if you would like to borrow a few books, its not a problem. For beginners, My World of Astrology by Sidney Omarr is still a classic, but add Astrology, Karma and Transformation by Steven Arroyo for a better understanding of the cosmology of astrology. The Complete Horoscope by Alan Oken is the best book I've read on how to read a horoscope. For specialties, Liz Greene's the Astrology of Fate concentrates on those difficult Saturn transits, and to find out every little thing about yourself, the Asteroid Book has an asteroid near your ascendant. For solar returns--the headline news for the coming year--the best is the Solar Return Book, and for progressions, Alan Leo's Progressions is the best. For transits, there is no one good book, but Rob Hand's Planets in Transit is a great reference work. There are many others that provide insight on relationships, events, career planning, etc. etc.

A good bathroom book

I know, what a crazy title, but there are such things, and I've got one: Tongue Fu!
In a one-minute read you can get some very valuable advice on how to deflect a difficult personality or deal with frustration without losing your cool, etc. etc. I love this book. Great bathroom companion.

Other good 1-minute reads are map books, like a USA map book with a different state on every page--unendingly interesting and informative. Or Europe, or Africa, or South America.

I'd love to hear other people's ideas on a good bathroom book.

Authors I've learned to love lately

I've always loved Malcolm Gladwell (Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers), and Thomas Friedman (Lexus and the Olive Tree, The World is Flat; Hot, Flat, and Crowded). But a new favorite is Barbara Kingsolver, writer of The Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven, and the Poisonwood Bible, among many others, and Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote Eat, Love, Pray and a book of short stories called Pilgrims.

Two very compelling authors who I have come to admire are Samantha Power, who wrote "A Problem from Hell, America's Handling of Genocide" which makes a strong connection between the actions of the public and the intervention of politicians in stop genocide. It is important, even necessary to pay attention to issues like Darfur, and to write to our representatives about them. John Perkins wrote "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," which made me realize just how much damage corporatocracy wreaks on the world, and that we have to stop it. We can only do that if we know it is happening. He provides an anatomy of the economic disruption of our corporations. He knew what he was doing when he helped one of them, and eventually he couldn't live with it, and had to write about it.

If anyone would like to borrow any of these books I'd be happy to lend them out.

Books I've read lately -1

I realize I've started reading two or three books a week, usually simultaneously, and most of them are worth sharing with friends and family. A few weeks ago I read, over the course of several days, 5 Jane Austen novels. She has a talent for inconspicuously introducing whole families and villages in a way that keeps everyone clear in your mind. Her characters are visually spare but the relationships they have are completely filled out and understandable.

In contrast I had to read, for my book club, a new author, Annie Vanderbilt, who wrote The Secret Papers of Madame Olivetti... The imagery got in the way of the characters, the plot, the relationships.

Most recently I read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which I recommend to everyone, but especially parents, on the real ingredients for a successful life.

I just finished reading Wesley the Owl by a biologist who fell in love with a rescue owl and what it taught her about animal intelligence.

Now I'm reading Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman.

Because I belong to a book club that specializes in mostly fiction, but my preferred reading is mostly nonfiction, my interests run the gamut. So I thought it would be fun to share my thoughts on different books and let my family and friends chime in with their recommendations.

I'm about to read Social Intelligence, the New Science of Success by Karl Albrecht (referenced in Outliers), and the Given Day by Dennis Lehane, a novel recommended by my Mom. As I feel the need to share and comment on these and other books, I'll post here, and everyone is welcome to post about what they have read that they find interesting and worth recommending or worth warning people away from.