HR Professional - April/May 2008 - (Page 49)

OFF THE SHELF B Y J AY S O M E R S E T WHAT’S WORTH READING Weird Ideas That Work: How to Build a Creative Company By Robert I. Sutton Free Press, 2002 Put the word “weird” into any book title and you’re bound to turn heads, especially when it pertains to company culture. And while Weird Ideas That Work certainly contains innovative or unorthodox recommendations, none of them are totally bizarre. Think-differently books abound, each one telling us to forget conventional wisdom and embrace innovation. The problem with these books is they tend to be high on platitudes and low on action plans. Sutton beats this pattern by backing his ideas with real examples. Sutton outlines 11 ways to beat conventional wisdom and spur change. The usual contenders are in here (use job interviews to get ideas, not to screen candidates; reward success and failure, punish inaction). But more novel ideas include hiring “slow learners,” those who don’t automatically understand the company culture; and encouraging people to ignore and defy superiors and peers (variance breeds innovation). The idea here is that innovation is messy and inefficient, but is ultimately the only road to long-term growth and w w w. HRT houghtLeader. c om advancement. Old ways are for making money now; new, weird ways are for making money over the long haul. From an HR perspective, this book is valuable for its hiring insights, including hiring people who make you uncomfortable, advice that may seem counterintuitive at first glance but when unpacked, makes sense. While not as strange as the title implies, this well-written, entertaining book will help you stay clear of the herd while fostering new ideas and approaches. Competing on Analytics: the New Science of Winning By Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris Harvard Business School Press, 2007 In the Information Age, differences between companies are no longer a matter of technical prowess; for the most part, quality products are relatively similar. What differentiates the best ﬁrms is attributable to analytics: decisionmaking based on statistical analysis, predictive modelling and forecasting. The book is divided into two parts: the definition and key attributes of analytical competition, and how it leads to better business performance, both externally and internally; and a how-to guide for firms looking to implement enterprise-wide analytics. A p r i l / M a y 2 0 0 8 49 365990_psychometric.indd 1 2/26/08 3:14:31 PM http://www.HRThoughtLeader.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - April/May 2008

HR Professional - April/May 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters By the Numbers On the Web Careers World Watch Accounting Health & Safety Foreign Professionals Management Office Life Legal Compensation Web 2.0 @ Work Talent Management Systems On Message Strategy HR 101 Interview With Colin Mackay Off the Shelf The Last Word

HR Professional - April/May 2008

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