Amazon.com updates it’s bestselling business book hourly. Here  is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, May 12.

1. The Post-American World (Hardcover) by Fareed Zakaria. “This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.” So begins Fareed Zakaria’s important new work on the era we are now entering. Following on the success of his best-selling The Future of Freedom, Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the “rise of the rest”—the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others—as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. This economic growth is producing political confidence, national pride, and potentially international problems. How should the United States understand and thrive in this rapidly changing international climate? What does it mean to live in a truly global era? Zakaria answers these questions with his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination.

2. The One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business (Hardcover) by Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson, and Ethan Willis. Ken Blanchard (coauthor of the #1 bestselling business classic The One Minute Manager), Don Hutson, CEO of U.S. Learning, and Ethan Willis, CEO of Prosper Learning, tell the story of one man’s challenges in creating his own business. Through an engaging narrative, the reader confronts many of the typical problems all entrepreneurs face in starting up their business, from finding new sources of revenue to securing the commitment of their people and the loyalty of their customers. More important, the keys to becoming a successful entrepreneur are discussed, including how to build a firm foundation, how to ensure a steady cash flow, and how to create legendary service. In addition, the book offers invaluable advice, delivered through “One Minute Insights,” from such entrepreneurs and thinkers as Sheldon Bowles, Peter Drucker, Michael Gerber, and Charlie “Tremendous” Jones.

3. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Hardcover) by Timothy Ferris. Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you: What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income, how to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair, what automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks, how to cultivate selective ignorance ?” and create time ?” with a low-information diet, what the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are, how to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50?“80% off, and how to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office.

4. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (Hardcover) by Dan Ariely.  Irrational behavior is a part of human nature, but as MIT professor Ariely has discovered in 20 years of researching behavioral economics, people tend to behave irrationally in a predictable fashion. Drawing on psychology and economics, behavioral economics can show us why cautious people make poor decisions about sex when aroused, why patients get greater relief from a more expensive drug over its cheaper counterpart and why honest people may steal office supplies or communal food, but not money. According to Ariely, our understanding of economics, now based on the assumption of a rational subject, should, in fact, be based on our systematic, unsurprising irrationality. Ariely argues that greater understanding of previously ignored or misunderstood forces (emotions, relativity and social norms) that influence our economic behavior brings a variety of opportunities for reexamining individual motivation and consumer choice, as well as economic and educational policy. Ariely’s intelligent, exuberant style and thought-provoking arguments make for a fascinating, eye-opening read.

5. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t (Hardcover) by Jim Collins.  Five years ago, Jim Collins asked the question, “Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?” In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11–including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo–and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn’t require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come.

6.  Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (Paperback) by David Allen. Offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do’s clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists–all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you’re working on. However, it still operates from the decidedly Western notion that if we could just get really, really organized, we could turn ourselves into 24/7 productivity machines. As whole-life-organizing systems go, Allen’s is pretty good, even fun and therapeutic. It starts with the exhortation to take every unaccounted-for scrap of paper in your workstation that you can’t junk, The next step is to write down every unaccounted-for gotta-do cramming your head onto its own scrap of paper. Finally, throw the whole stew into a giant “in-basket.” That’s where the processing and prioritizing begin; in Allen’s system, it get a little convoluted at times, rife as it is with fancy terms, subterms, and sub-subterms for even the simplest concepts.

7. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths (Hardcover) by Tom Rath. n 1998, the Father of Strengths Psychology, Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. (1924-2003), along with Tom Rath and a team of scientists at The Gallup Organization, created the online StrengthsFinder assessment. In 2001, they included the first edition of StrengthsFinder with the bestseller Now, Discover Your Strengths. In 2004, the assessment’s name was formally changed to “Clifton StrengthsFinder” in honor of its chief designer. In 2007, building on the initial assessment and language from StrengthsFinder 1.0, Rath and Gallup scientists released a new edition of the assessment, program, and website, dubbed “StrengthsFinder 2.0.” Rooted in more than 40 years of research, this assessment has helped millions discover and develop their natural talents.

8. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (Hardcover) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.  Bestselling author Nassim Nicholas Taleb continues his exploration of randomness in his fascinating new book, The Black Swan, in which he examines the influence of highly improbable and unpredictable events that have massive impact. Engaging and enlightening, The Black Swan is a book that may change the way you think about the world, a book that Chris Anderson calls, “a delightful romp through history, economics, and the frailties of human nature.”

9. The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crash of 2008 and What It Means (Hardcover) by George Soros. In the midst of the most serious financial upheaval since the Great Depression, legendary financier George Soros explores the origins of the crisis and its implications for the future. Soros, whose breadth of experience in financial markets is unrivaled, places the current crisis in the context of decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity. “This is the worst financial crisis since the 1930s,” writes Soros in characterizing the scale of financial distress spreading across Wall Street and other financial centers around the world. In a concise essay that combines practical insight with philosophical depth, Soros makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the great credit crisis and its implications for our nation and the world.

10.

The Three Signs of a Miserable Job

By Patrick Lencioni

A review by Paul Knoch

I first became interested in reading The Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni after listening to him speak at a leadership conference. Lencioni told the story of how he grew up watching his dad drag himself to a job he did not enjoy each day. Even as a young man, Lencioni began to wonder why anyone would spend eight hours a day doing something that makes them miserable.

Years later, as a highly sought out business consultant and engaging speaker, Lencioni decided to find out why some companies like Southwest airlines and Chick-fil-A have positive, attractive company cultures while their competitors struggle with low morale and high turnover rates.

In The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, Lencioni identifies the factors that create misery in the workplace. These factors have nothing to do with compensation or the type of work performed. In his research, Lencioni found that highly paid professional athletes were often more miserable than the janitors who cleaned their locker rooms. By identifying these three causes, managers can seek out to address each one and help create a culture that invigorates and challenges employees to reach their fullest potential.

The book is comprised of two parts. The first part is a fictional account of a recently retired executive named Brian Bailey. Bailey was CEO of a successful sporting goods company that was bought out by a competitor. After buying a cabin in Lake Tahoe, Bailey enters retirement with the goal of skiing and enjoying time with his wife. While picking up some Italian food at a nearby restaurant, Bailey encounters a disheartened crew who appear truly miserable. It’s hard for Bailey to imagine how or why these people keep coming to work each day.

After a skiing accident, Bailey finds himself feeling restless. His thoughts go back to his success as a CEO. Was it just a fluke? Was he truly an effective manager? Could he do it again? Eventually he decides to prove to himself that his theories which were so successful at his former company could work even in an environment as negative as the Italian restaurant. He convinces the owner to let him be the weekend manager and begins the process of addressing the three signs of a miserable job.

Now you may be thinking “Why would I want to read a fictional novel about a management?” Surprisingly, Lencioni has created a story that is actually quite compelling. By utilizing short chapters and several “cliff hanger” endings, I found myself drawn into the story and eager to find out what would happen to Bailey and his motley crew of restaurant employees. Lencioni includes enough realistic scenarios and details to make his story plausible while still communicating his message.

The second part of the book is a more traditional discussion of the three signs of a miserable job. In this section, Lencioni addresses how a manager should attempt to deal with each of the causes of employee dissatisfaction in practical terms that can be applied in any industry.

So what are the three signs? Lencioni argues that the three signs of a miserable are:

• Anonymity - the feeling that your managers and co-workers do not care about you as a person;
• Irrelevance - the feeling that your work does not matter to anyone; and
• Immeasurement - the inability to measure whether you are being effective or successful at work.

I believe Patrick Lencioni has created a compelling argument that miserable jobs are caused by factors that every manager can control. In a straightforward and simple manner, he has provided an intriguing and accessible handbook for any leader who wants to be better at managing their most valuable resource: their team.

Is this book for everyone? Probably not. Some readers may object to its simple message. Others may not enjoy the fictional section of the book (although I found that very effective in communicating the author’s ideas). I found the book highly readable and extremely thought provoking. If you are serious about creating a culture that maximizes the potential of your employees and infuses energy into your workplace, The Three Signs of A Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni is a good place to begin your journey.

I give this book four out of five stars.

Paul shares his “Insider’s Picks” of great books for HR in the right column.

Paul Knoch is the HRmanager for Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center and is a frequent poster on the HRHero.com Employers’ forum. Paul and his wife Carol live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with their two daughters ages 4 and 12.

1. Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel that you are both a person who gets things done and someone who offers penetrating analysis? Well, you can discover whether you are truly an “achiever” or an “analytical” by completing the online quiz. Then, the book will give you “ideas for action” and tips for how best you can work with others. More of a patiencetester than strengthsfinder, the quiz/book is probably best for those who have lots of time on their hands.

2. Women & Money by Suze Orman. Why is it that women need so many pep talks about money? In her eighth personal-finance book, Orman does little more than echo the now-tired sentiment that “women still don’t want to take responsibility when it comes to their money.” It seems that gals have “a totally dysfunctional relationship” with lucre, and therefore it’s necessary for more trees to die to help them get on top of the situation. There’s plenty of inspirational talk along with basic information on bank accounts, credit reports, retirement planning, and insurance. Strictly for beginners.

3. The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Author Ferriss isn’t shy about tooting his own horn: He says he “speaks six languages, runs a multinational firm from wireless locations worldwide, and has been a world-record holder in tango, a national champion in kickboxing, and an actor in a hit television series in Hong Kong.” Is this the sort of person you really want to be taking advice from? Anyway, Ferris offers recommendations and resources for everything from eliminating wasted time to oursourcing your job and getting cheap airfare. Discover your dreams and live them!

4. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden forces that Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely. “We are pawns in a game whose forces we largely fail to comprehend,” says MIT economist Ariely. The author then proceeds to demonstrate what he means by describing a series of his economics experiments, including ones in which subjects abruptly switch to a cheaper brand of chocolate when the price is discounted trivially from one penny to the “irresistible” price of zero. Entertaining and enlightening.

5. Made to Stick by Dan Heath. Calling Malcolm Gladwell: Just remember, it’s the sincerest form of flattery. In this “complement to The Tipping Point,” the brothers Heath set out to define just what makes some ideas stick in the mind while others melt away. They discover six principles that are essential to getting people to pay attention to, believe, and care about an idea. With a host of stories involving everyone from baseball great Leo Durocher to venture capitalist John Doerr, there’s plenty to keep marketing directors entertained during their next plane trips.

6. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. You probably don’t realize it, but life is a series of highly improbable yet earthshaking events. That’s the argument of The Black Swan, which in many ways is a re-do of the author’s 2001 best-seller, Fooled by Randomness. The highly entertaining new book, though, is longer, better-grounded, and with more advice about how to live in the presence of deep unpredictability. The core of The Black Swan argues that economists, journalists, and corporate planners behave as if they’re living in predictable “Mediocristan” when they’re really in “Extremistan.” It’s a richly enjoyable read with an important message.

7. How Come That Idiot’s Rich and I’m Not? by Robert Shemin. Self-professed “Rich Idiot” Shemin offers a narrative that describes his rise to riches and the lessons learned that can help readers. Does this sound like Robert Kiyosaki? Well, Shemin’s account isn’t so different, offering as it does an action plan and a set of rules for success.

8. Jim Cramer’s Stay Mad For Life by James J. Cramer with Cliff Mason. In this broad how-to, CNBC’s wild man advises readers to “free themselves” from the hunt for quick returns. Instead, he says, most people should focus on paying off credit cards, optimizing their 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts, and getting the right kinds of insurance. His “twenty new rules for investing” offer such tips as “don’t let short-term bad news scare you out of a good long-term stock” and “never buy the best house in a bad neighborhood.” It’s a down-to-earth primer for sobering times.

9. Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter, Holger Rathgeber. A simple fable about animals who face devastating change-and can’t bear to deal with it. Does this sound familiar? This year’s Who Moved My Cheese? maybe? Anyway, skip the story about icebergs and penguins and go directly to page 130 for the authors’ “eight step process of successful change.” Then, spend the time you’ve saved mulling over how these commonsense suggestions can be put into place at your organization.

10. It’s Your Ship by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff. When U.S. Navy Captain Abrashoff took over the U.S.S. Benfold, he came to understand that no matter how technologically advanced one’s enterprise, you have to motivate the crew to achieve. His recommendations: Reward high achievers, lead by example, create a climate of trust, and lots more. The lessons aren’t exactly original, but the unusual context makes this a worthy addition to the literature of motivation.

The CEO: Chief Engagement Officer: Turning Hierarchy Upside Down to Drive Performance

By John Smythe

A review by Ralph Gaillard

Employee engagement, the workplace phenomenon that propels employees to become passionate about their work, their employers and the company’s long-term objectives, is all the rage right now within the HR community, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The economy is just keeping its head above water, while news of layoffs and weak corporate profits currently dominate the headlines — which translates into a workforce that is nervous about loosing their jobs and less than focused on their daily work assignments. Enter employee engagement initiatives, which can go a long way in calming employee anxiety about their job status — and actually boost their morale and productivity.

However, like most workforce strategies, there’s a right and a wrong way to approach the engagement process. Luckily, John Smythe’s book, The CEO: Chief Engagement Officer, provides HR with a practical field guide for understanding the engagement process and how to actually pull it off.

The 226-book also contains interesting case studies of how companies are “living the dream” of engagement. What’s unusual is that these company examples are actually a captivating read — a rarity for most business books. Further, the case studies demonstrate how engagement can impact employee retention and workforce satisfaction rates as well as hard business metrics such as product quality and workplace safety benchmarks.

Thankfully, Smythe spends considerable time looking at the differences between employee communication and employee engagement, a common point of confusion for engagement novices. In explaining those distinctions, Smythe might have given HR, senior executives and communicators a new road map for getting employees to eat, sleep and drink the company. In the end, he finds that authentic employee engagement comes down to opening up the decision making process to folks outside the cozy, wood-paneled confines of the C-Suite.

The question is whether traditional business managers are ready and willing to embark on such a radical road. Smythe’s book gives HR managers, the true and rightful initiators of the organization’s engagement process, a compelling case for helping company leaders take the leap and realize that’s “ok” to share the decision making duties with their employees — who are eager for the opportunity.

I give this book four out of five stars.

Ralph shares his “Insider’s Picks” in the right column.

Ralph Gaillard is the Executive Editor of HR Insight and Group Publisher of the Strategic HR division for M. Lee Smith Publishers. For nearly 20 years, Ralph has worked in the publishing and marketing fields, with a specialty in creating executive education programs, building strategic partnerships and launching new products. Ralph has worked for various information publishers, including Lawrence Ragan Communications, a leading provider of corporate communication information and training. He was also an account executive for The PBN Company, an international media relations firm based in San Francisco. Early in his career, Ralph worked for the Chicago Tribune as an editorial researcher and at The Washington Post as the staff researcher for National News. He is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, the International Association of Business Communicators, and the American Society for Training and Development.

1     Women & Money, by Suze Orman. How women can achieve financial security.
2     Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely. An M.I.T. behavioral economist shows how emotions and social norms systematically shape our behavior.
3     The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferris. Because life isn’t all about work.
4     The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey. Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host.
5     Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. How to identify and develop your talents and those of your employees.
6     Jim Cramer’s Stay Mad For Life, by James J. Cramer with Cliff Mason. The host of “Mad Money” on CNBC explains how to get rich and stay rich.
7     How Come That Idiot’s Rich And I’m Not?, by Robert Shemin. A multi millionaire shares the secrets of the superwealthy.
8     Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. A scholar uses economics to explore the incentives that drive such disparate groups, including crack gangs, sumo wrestlers, school teachers, campaign fund-raisers and real estate agents.
9     Our Iceberg Is Melting, by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber. A fable about how to bring about change in a group, through the eyes of a penguin bearing bad news.
10     What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter. How to beat bad habits that hinder success.
11     Common Wealth, by Jeffrey D. Sachs. An economist argues for global cooperation around shared goals of sustainable development.
12     The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. A financial trader with an expertise in probability theory and statistics, debunks much about economic forecasting, and uses examples ranging from how a book becomes a best-seller to how an entrepreneur becomes a mogul.
13     Made To Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Principles that make some business ideas stickier (longer-lived) than others.
14     The Three Trillion Dollar War, by Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes. Litany of hidden costs withheld from U.S. taxpayers about the Iraq war is revealed by, Noble Prize winner Stiglitz and Harvard Professor Bilmes.
15     The Trillion Dollar Meltdown, by Charles R. Morris. Behind the credit bubble

The Good Black: A True Story of Race in America

By Paul M. Barrett

A review by Michael Maslanka

Ever wonder how a once successful and motivated employee becomes a party to an employment discrimination lawsuit? If so, a new book by Paul M. Barrett could give you the insight you crave. We highly recommend it. It provides a look into the minds of employees, employers, juries, and attorneys. It also provides a good description of the litigation process, from trial through appeal. Plus, it is well-written and based on a true case. If you work in employment law or supervise employees, this book will make you think!

Successful and motivated

Larry Mungin is an African-American who appeared to have “made it.” He grew up poor, raised by a single parent, in Brooklyn. His mother taught him, like most mothers do, that with hard work he could get ahead.

Mungin did work hard. During his senior year in high school, he applied to four Ivy League colleges — Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Cornell — and was accepted by all four.

It’s not easy being a poor black man in a rich white man’s world

Mungin went to Harvard, where he first began to recognize feeling “the pride of the insider and the discomfort of the outsider.” He wanted to be accepted into the mainstream of society, the majority of which was white. However, he never felt totally comfortable in the white student culture. He always felt as if he had to prove he was one of the “good blacks,” not a troublemaker, criminal, or drug dealer.

Even though Mungin was successful at Harvard, he felt the need to distinguish himself from the majority — who had grown up rich and privileged. He decided to take a break to join the Navy. While in the Navy, he made the decision to go to law school.

Mungin was accepted to Harvard Law. When he hit the job market, he was every recruiter’s dream: a distinguished military veteran with a double Harvard degree, and (as some employers would point out) a minority.

Houston-bound

Mungin started out his legal career in Houston, working in corporate law. During his first year, he was lured away by the Houston office of a large New York-based firm to work on bankruptcy cases. Bankruptcy was booming in Texas, and Mungin enjoyed working here. He did not, however, feel as if he had a good chance at making partner. His performance review noted that he seemed to be “coasting.”

Mungin took this as the hint it was meant to be and left Houston for what he hoped would be greener pastures.

They eat their young

Mungin eventually ended up at the Washington, D.C., outpost of Katten Muchin & Zavis, a Chicago-based firm that had 400 lawyers and was growing. Now, as anyone in the legal profession will tell you, associates at big law firms do not have it easy. They put in long hours to meet their billable hour quotas, handle the pressure of trying to bring in “new business,” and put up with the sometimes overgrown egos of the partners, all for the promise of the elusive partnership status. (To a young associate, it can feel like the billable hours are required so a partner can make his BMW payment or buy a new boat.)

In law, however, like any other business, there’s only so much room at the top. Not everyone is going to be a partner — even good performers may not make it. Mungin must have known this.

Treat me right

Simply put, while Mungin was at Katten Muchin, he was treated harshly. Of course, so were many other associates. White bankruptcy attorneys felt that Dombroff’s (the head partner in the D.C. office) treatment of them was “bullsh ” and left. Mungin hung on, hoping to hitch himself to the head partner’s rising star.

Mungin, however, felt indignities from both the D.C. and Chicago offices. For example, he traveled to Chicago to meet with the head bankruptcy partner, only to find that the head guy wasn’t going to meet with him, but some lower-level guys were. The firm cut his hourly rate to a level that was less than other associates with his experience. Further, the firm “forgot” to review him and give him his bonus.

When a partner yelled “as long as you get a paycheck, do as you’re told” to Mungin, he believed that that summed up the firm’s attitude toward him and other blacks.

Things come to a head

Things came to a head when Dombroff broke off from Katten Muchin to start his own firm. (By this time, a major client for whom Mungin did a lot of work substantially cut back on the work he sent the firm.) He took about 30 associates with him and let about six go. He was focused on insurance defense work and had no need for a bankruptcy attorney. That left a skeleton staff, including Mungin, at Katten Muchin’s D.C. office.

Quite frankly, no one at Katten Muchin knew what to do with Mungin. They halfheartedly offered him a position in their New York or Chicago offices. No one, however, ever sat down with him and directly discussed his options. He took a severance package and left.

A lawsuit is born

My dad was a judge for more than 25 years in Minnesota. When he left the bench, he had offers to join big civil law firms. He opted for criminal defense. When I asked him why, he told me, “People who sue are very angry people — my clients [criminals] are easier to deal with.” Dad was right; people who sue are angry.

Mungin was angry. Very angry. Like many other people who sue, he used that anger to sustain him through the lengthy and emotionally draining process of litigation. Though it may seem unfair to Katten Muchin, he was angry about all the racial indignities he had suffered over his whole life. The firm was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

Mungin’s day in court

Mungin’s strategy was simple. He was qualified and did a good job. Katten Muchin, however, isolated, ignored, and overlooked him. Because the firm had never complained about his performance, it must be because of his race.

The law firm used what lawyers call the “equal opportunity jerk” defense. It goes like this: We treat everyone equally poorly, regardless of race; therefore, we do not discriminate.

Mungin shone in the witness box: proud yet understated, a good son, a hard worker, a man not unlike the jurors.

Katten Muchin did not fare as well. The “equal opportunity jerk” defense went over about as well as a lead balloon. Look at it this way: If you were a criminal trial juror and the accused said, “Don’t convict me for robbing First National Bank (like I’m charged with) because I was robbing Second National Bank at the time,” would you let him off? I don’t think so. The same is true with civil juries. They will punish for unfairness and bad behavior. At least, in Mungin’s case they did.

The jury was out for about two hours. Their verdict for Mungin: $1 million in actual damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages (that’s $2.5 million total).

Race played a role — or did it?

Katten Muchin appealed, of course. The court came to a 2-1 decision. What did they decide? Consider this: Nine people (eight jurors and one trial court judge) had found evidence that Mungin was discriminated against. Those nine people got to look the lawyer and the law firm in the eye and judge their credibility.

So just what did the appeals court decide? Sorry, you’ll have to read the book to find out. What did the author conclude? Again, you’ll have to read the book for that. What do I conclude? Again, read the book, and you be the judge.

So what does it all mean?

What can we learn from Mungin’s story. Here are a few of my thoughts:

(*) If you don’t know where I’ve been, you can’t know where I’m coming from. One thing we hear frequently from our clients during an employee’s deposition is, “How can he lie like that?” Of course, sometimes a witness is blatantly lying, but more often than not, the differences can be explained by his perceptions. Here, Mungin’s perceptions were based on years of seeing and experiencing discrimination, sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle. Katten Muchin’s perceptions were based on their experience of being members of a discriminated-against minority group themselves (Jewish) and supporting equal rights. Whose perceptions were more valid? Think about that the next time an employee comes to you with a complaint before you dismiss it as invalid.

(*) It’s not the economy, stupid. One question we always like to ask first when teaching management about unions is, “What drives employees to join unions?” Inevitably, someone will pipe up with “MONEY.” Years of experience, however, have taught us that employees’ dissatisfaction isn’t based on money. Rather, it’s based on their perception that management cares, listens to them, and treats them fairly. Here, Mungin made a lot of money (more than $100,000 a year). Still, he was angry because he was ignored and treated harshly.

(*) Jurors need a reason to vote for you, not against you. They will punish you for treating an employee unfairly, whether or not they believe race was a factor. The “equal opportunity jerk” defense should be saved for arguments a jury will never hear.

(*) Little things mean a lot. Little things that may seem inconsequential to you can mean a lot to a jury and an employee. In Mungin’s case, for example, the firm made him drive two hours (from D.C. to Baltimore) to save a few bucks on the cost of a flight to Chicago. When he got to Chicago, his meeting with the lead bankruptcy partner about his career — which Mungin characterized as critical — was canceled. It may have happened for prudent business reasons. The jury, however, heard from a partner at the firm that Mungin “fell through the cracks” on his performance review and raise. This infuriates a jury. Employees need to be given information about career development, and performance reviews (especially if they are tied to promotions and pay raises) need to be done in a timely manner.

(*) Don’t assume that jurors will understand your industry conventions. Every attorney may know that high billables and client recruitment pave the road to partnership. However, no attorneys will be on the jury. The same is true for any other industry. The jurors are the peers of the employee, not of management. Jurors don’t buy into unwritten rules or things that go without saying. They believe the employee when he says, “Nobody told me X.” And you know, if the employee is a minority who didn’t have any mentors or close relationships with the whites in his office, it might be true. As we’ve said before, the more something goes without saying, the more it needs to be said.

(*) Lawyers make the worst witnesses. Just like doctors are the worst patients, lawyers are the worst witnesses. Don’t ever let your attorney become a fact witness if you can avoid it. Don’t hire your attorney to do the investigation (the lawyer, even if a good witness, will never be able to shake the image of a hired gun). Do it yourself. The jury will like you better.

(*) Watch out for reverse race discrimination. Here, when Katten Muchin offered Mungin the transfer, it terminated other associates. Those associates were white (all the other attorneys in the D.C. office were white). Those associates apparently went on their merry ways. The book never discusses the firm’s reason for this apparent disparate treatment in Mungin’s favor. The firm (and other employers) need to beware: More and more whites are suing and winning for “reverse” race discrimination.

(*) Don’t let decisions be made by inaction. Katten Muchin suggested to Mungin that he transfer to Chicago. The suggestion, however, was just that — a suggestion — couched in vague language with no details about the opportunity. (Perhaps the law firm really didn’t want him to move — at least that’s the message he — and probably the jury — got.) Here’s a rule: Hiding behind the log is not an option. If they wanted Mungin to move, they should have said so directly; if not, they should have said so. Here’s a second rule: Put the offer to transfer, including the important details (like salary and key responsibilities), in writing. This will clear up any misunderstanding at the time and stop the employee from having a different recollection of the offer during litigation. Make the letter user-friendly and suitable for a demonstrative aid at trial.

(*) A ‘favor’ can backfire. Here, Katten Muchin claimed it tried to “save” Mungin — like it was doing him some great favor. However, the best thing the firm could have done for him when the big client took the bankruptcy work away would have been to cut him loose. Instead, they made promises of future work and opportunities that never materialized. Remember, treating someone “favorably” (by not being truthful about opportunities or performance to spare him the harsh reality) is discrimination and can end up being harmful to his career (i.e., an adverse action).

(*) Don’t underestimate the employee’s jury appeal. Employees tell a simple and sympathetic story. Here’s how it goes: “I was treated badly, then I lost my job; it wasn’t my fault, and I’m suffering because of it.” Don’t assume that because an employee was difficult, the jury will see it the same way after a few hours of testimony. Remember, you hired the employee, sometimes after a day or more of interviews, and you didn’t see it then. So if your defense strategy is “a jury will see what a loser this guy is,” you might want to reconsider it.

(*) Discrimination is a subtle thing. We’ve come a long way since the 1950s, when whites and blacks had to use separate facilities. We’ve come a long way since the enactment of Title VII, when some unions had separate employment tracks for whites and blacks. In many ways, however, we’ve only just begun our journey to eliminate discrimination. This book will challenge you to think about the subtle ways your business may be discriminating — by inadvertently excluding people. Once you recognize it, you can begin to eliminate this subtle, unintended discrimination by including people in activities, providing mentors, and having open lines of communication.

Michael Maslanka is the managing partner of Ford & Harrison LLP’s Dallas, Texas, office. He has 20 years of experience in litigation and trial of employment law cases and has served as Adjunct Counsel to a Fortune 10 company where he provided multi-state counseling on employment matters. He has also served as a Field Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board.

Mike is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and was selected as a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Magazine in 2003. He was also selected as one of the best lawyers in Dallas by “D” Magazine in 2003. Mike has served as the Chief Author and Editor of the Texas Employment Law Letter since 1990. He also authors the “Work Matters” column for Texas Lawyer.

Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books people are buying on Monday, April 21.

1. The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash by Charles R. Morris. According to the author, the astronomical leverage at investment banks and their hedge fund and private equity clients virtually guarantees massive disruption in global markets. The crash, when it comes, will have no firebreaks. A quarter century of free-market zealotry that extolled asset stripping, abusive lending, and hedge fund secrecy will come crashing down with it. The book explains how we got here, and what is about to happen.

2. Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance by Marcus Buckingham. Research data show that most people do not come close to making full use of their assets at work — in fact, only 17 percent of the workforce believe they use all of their strengths on the job. This book aims to change that through a six-step, six-week experience that will reveal the hidden dimensions of your strengths.

3. Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism by Kevin Phillips. Phillips describes the consequences of our misguided economic policies, our mounting debt, our collapsing housing market, our threatened oil, and the end of American domination of world markets.

4. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely.  According to Ariely, our understanding of economics, now based on the assumption of a rational subject, should, in fact, be based on our systematic, unsurprising irrationality. He argues that greater understanding of previously ignored or misunderstood forces (emotions, relativity and social norms) that influence our economic behavior brings a variety of opportunities for reexamining individual motivation and consumer choice, as well as economic and educational policy.

5. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss.

6. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. In today’s world, yesterday’s methods just don’t work. Veteran coach and management consultant Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to tens of thousands of people across the country. His premise is simple: Our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective productivity and unleash our creative potential.

7. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.  In business and government, major money is spent on prediction. Uselessly, according to Taleb, who administers a severe thrashing to MBA- and Nobel Prize-credentialed experts who make their living from economic forecasting. A financial trader and current rebel with a cause, Taleb is mathematically oriented and alludes to statistical concepts that underlie models of prediction, while his expressive energy is expended on roller-coaster passages, bordering on gleeful diatribes, on why experts are wrong.

8. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins.  In what Collins terms a prequel to the bestseller Built to Last he wrote with Jerry Porras, this worthwhile effort explores the way good organizations can be turned into ones that produce great, sustained results.

9. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath.  From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths. To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced StrengthsFinder in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. In StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular online assessment.

10. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass Sunstein. The authors provides a crash course on how and why humans are prone to make bad choices, and what we can do about it. Through dozens of eye-opening examples, they demonstrate how “choice architecture”–a fancy term for the particular scenario or context in which we are asked to make a decision–can actually nudge us toward making better decisions.

Death to All Sacred Cows: How Successful Business People Put the Old Rules Out to Pasture

By Bill Schwab

A review by Michael Maslanka

I just finished reading a really funny book, Death To All Sacred Cows, by Beau Frasier, David Bernstein, and Bill Schwab. The subtitle of the book is How Successful Business People Put the Old Rules Out to Pasture. It’s as if the authors were channeled by Kurt Vonnegut in writing the book. It’s very funny and perceptive. One of the sacred cows they attack is “email saves time.” Here’s what they say:

In the old face-to-face world, we spoke our minds, had our differences, and resolved the dispute. In the brave new e-world, we just keep responding to endless e-mail chains that date back to the very first e-mail, which was probably about how useless e-mailing is.

They offer some really good ideas to stop the e-mail carnage:
• E-mail should be used to deliver news, not opinions.
• E-mail works when you use it to tell several people the same thing.
• Get out a stopwatch. If it takes longer than 20 seconds to read the e-mail, don’t send it. It’s inefficient.
• Don’t say something in an e-mail you wouldn’t say in person.
• Don’t send e-mails in all capital letters. It’s as if someone is shouting at you.

I’ll tell you, e-mails breed a-holes like swamps breed mosquitoes. (If you want my article on preventing workplace abuse, drop me an e-mail at mmaslanka@fordharrison.com.)
Here’s my favorite of their sacred cows because it’s something I passionately believe in: The sacred cow of “everyone deserves a second chance” needs to be sent toward the white light to the afterlife. Here’s what the authors have to say on the subject:

Too many businesses operate from a position of weakness and appeasement. When a new hire makes a mistake, he or she is given another shot. Fine. But frequently that new employee keeps getting shot after shot, no matter how many times the same mistake occurs. No one likes to fire people . . . . And certainly no one likes to get fired. But sometimes identifying a wrong fit at the workplace and dealing with it right away is in the best interests of everyone involved.

I couldn’t agree more. I truly believe that the most unethical thing a manager can do is to keep someone in a job for which he’s not suited. Every day an employee is in a job that he’s ill-suited for and cannot make a contribution to is one less day he could be in a job congruent with his skills to which he could make a contribution.
When managers are fearful about dealing with those situations, it’s because they’re making it about their own needs (it’s easier to let someone skate than to confront him) rather than the company’s needs. As long as corporate America is signing your paycheck, the ethical thing to do is to be a manager and make it about the company and not yourself. I really like the book and recommend it highly. Also, it’s only 206 pages, which is short enough to read on a long plane flight or long enough to stretch out for a week on the beach.

Michael Maslanka is the managing partner of Ford & Harrison LLP’s Dallas, Texas, office. He has 20 years of experience in litigation and trial of employment law cases and has served as Adjunct Counsel to a Fortune 10 company where he provided multi-state counseling on employment matters. He has also served as a Field Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board.

Mike is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and was selected as a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Magazine in 2003. He was also selected as one of the best lawyers in Dallas by “D” Magazine in 2003. Mike has served as the Chief Author and Editor of the Texas Employment Law Letter since 1990. He also authors the “Work Matters” column for Texas Lawyer.

How to Talk So People Listen: Connecting in Today’s Workplace

By Sonya Hamlin

A review by David Micah Kaufman

One of the keys to success for any organization is communication. I have consulted with several organizations where technology is not their issue — instead it’s people not able to communicate effectively with each other. HR cannot talk to Finance, Finance to IT, and the CEO can’t communicate with anybody.

When I confront this situation, I will often augment my consulting offerings with a communications module, and I always encourage employees to read How to Talk So People Listen: Connecting in Today’s Workplace by Sonya Hamlin (2005, HarperCollins Publishers). A communications expert and sometime talk show host, Hamlin’s major focus is on business communication — both verbal and visual. Her book gives practical advice on how to do a better job of transmitting our ideas, thoughts, and opinions to our co-workers. By better understanding how we communicate, we are more likely to successfully explain what we actually mean and reduce misperceptions and misunderstandings.

The book was first written in the 90’s, but it has been updated to include the demographic and technological forces impacting the current workplace. I especially like the notion of pre-thinking communications that Hamlin emphasizes. I am always amazed when business leaders craft communications or embark on having conversations with people without asking, for example, “What if they don’t agree with me?”

Thinking through the various consequences and responses of communications can not only make your communication more effective but also eliminate any surprises. I use the techniques discussed in the book myself and have known business people who have dramatically improved their communications by following Hamlin’s advice.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

David Micah Kaufman is the founder of BIGGER PIES! — a boutique professional services consulting firm in San Francisco — and a regular contributor to HR Insight and HRIT. You can reach him at david@biggerpies.com or (415) 272-8115.

Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work

By Paul Babiak, Ph.D. and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D.

A review by Celeste Blackburn

Babiak is an industrial and organizational psychologist, and Hare is the author of Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us and the creator of the standard tool for diagnosing psychopathy (the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)). Together, they examine how psychopaths are working their ways into corporate America. They interview well and often have impeccable resumes filled with impressive work experience. They can thrive in “fast-paced, high-risk, high-profit environments” and often manipulate the numbers (and the people around them) so that the havoc they’ve wrecked can’t be detected until it’s much too late. (After they’ve gone on to another employer or, worse, are sitting on the beach of a country that won’t expedite sipping margaritas paid for by their former employer’s retirement fund.)
Babiak and Hare use accessible language and real-world case studies throughout the book. In fact, during the discussion of what psychopathy is, you’ll likely find yourself thinking, “I know someone who has that trait. I know someone who has that trait. Wait, I have that trait . . .” However, the authors are clear that true psychopathy exists only in a very small percentage of the population. They compare studies done on prisoners whose crimes indicate psychopathy with studies done on heads of large corporations, and there are some striking similarities: Both groups tend to exhibit high levels of histrionic, narcissistic, and compulsive personality disorders.
Babiak and Hare do give employers advice on how to protect employees and their companies from these individuals. They cite the interview process as the best place to weed out these snakes. They write, “Companies accelerate their hiring practices to attract, hire, and retain new, high-potential talent before their competitors do. Gone are the days of the painstaking vetting process. Competition is fierce and qualified candidates few.”
While Babiak and Hare stress repeatedly that “there is no evidence that psychopaths derive any benefit from treatment or management programs,” the do say that using an assessment based on an in-depth interview and clinical records (similar to Hare’s PCL-R) could go a long way toward keeping the snakes out of your office.
Overall, this is a fascinating and informative read. It would make a great tool in any HR professional’s arsenal, but especially anyone who is involved in the interviewing process.

I give this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Celeste Blackburn is managing Editor of HR Insight.