Category Archives: Rankings

The 10 Douchiest Job Titles in America

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The 10 Douchiest Job Titles of 2012

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to keep my business cards free of my title. I feel this way for a couple of reasons: primarily, I don’t want those outside of my company getting hung up on my title; also, I really don’t give a shit what you call me inside the company; so long as the work is challenging and fun – and that my role can somehow influence the company’s results.

Of course, I understand I’m in the minority here. There’s an episode of Cheers that humorously magnifies America’s love for important sounding job titles when Woody, Sam and Carla individually go into Rebecca’s office to demand a raise; only to come out overly satisfied with nothing more than artificial titles.

So, while I get why some people want a title and want to proudly display it on their business cards, I struggle to understand why anyone would want a title that basically screams to the world “Hey, look at me: I’m a major douchebag.”

Do you have a douchie title or do you know someone with a douchie title? If so, please share them here. For now, here is my list of The 10 Douchiest Job Titles of 2012:

10. Lifetime Value Business Leader – This title is douchie for so many reasons, not the least of which is that I have no fucking idea what it means. To me, this title sounds more like something that would be inscribed on a crappy award you get from the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Chamber of Commerce than something you would print on a business card. Chances are, if you’re a Lifetime Value Business Leader, you probably can’t lead and likely provide no value to your business (even in the short term).

9. Talent Acquisition Expert – I have two major problems with this total douche bag title: first, if your title shows that you are an “expert” anything it means you are exactly the opposite; and second, the title “Talent Acquisition Expert” springs from the same political correctness that brought us such classic douchebag titles as “Sanitation Engineer” and Subway’s oxymoronic “Sandwich Artist.”

8. Director of Customer Experience – Taking care of customers should be Job One for everyone at your company; but if your business actually names someone their Director of Customer Experience, your front line employees are likely just paying lip service to the actual customer experience. Of course, that’s not what makes this title so douchie. What makes this title really douchie is that the role can only be filled by complete and utter douchebags. Think about it: have you ever met a Director of Customer Experience who didn’t annoy the fuck out of everyone around them? Sickie sweet phoniness does not make for a great customer experience.

7. Chief Motivational Officer – Similarly to the Director of Customer Experience role, if your company needs anyone with any variation of the word “motivation” in their title, then you have a real motivation problem. In fact, your lack of genuinely motivated people will not be solved by giving some made-up title to someone who cannot execute; but he’s really fucking nice so you named him your Chief Motivational Officer. Fire this guy and use the money you save to buy the employees a pool table for the break room and pizza every Friday.

6. Entrepreneur – This title is certainly douchie on the surface: it screams “look at me; I’m a real risk-taking maverick.” Yet these risk-taking mavericks who call themselves entrepreneurs are using the more cultural (mostly incorrect) definition of the word as “someone who starts a business that promises economic gain, but also entails great risk.” In fact, the word actually describes any manager or owner of a business – regardless of actual risk or gain. Putting “entrepreneur” on your card is equivalent to putting the non-descript “manager” as your title; only way more douchie.

5. Company Evangelist – The only people who should be allowed to have “evangelist” on their business cards are those hell-bent on saving our souls and taking our money. (Just taking our money is not enough to make you an evangelist.) In all seriousness, if you don’t spend your Sundays on television speaking to a bunch of sheep and fleecing them of their life savings, then you need to leave this off your business card.

4. Guru – The word is Sanskrit, and if you did not know that, then you’re not a fucking Guru. Moreover, this type of douchebag title is one of the “self-anointed” kinds. This means that no one ever called you a Guru (unless their tongue was firmly planted in their cheek) – you gave yourself this title; and for that, you are a douchebag of the highest order. In fact, you might just be the Guru of douchieness.

3. Mentor – What in the world would prompt someone to put this drivel on their card as their title? It is the job of everyone in your company to mentor to those with less seniority, knowledge or experience than themselves. However, if any douchebag put “Mentor” as their job title on their business card, then they are just announcing to the world that they really value their experience and opinions a whole lot more than the rest of us. I can honestly say that I have not learned a thing from a single person who ever “tried” to be a mentor to me. The true mentors in my life never tried, it just came naturally to them – and they gladly mentored without fanfare or the need to be officially called a mentor.

2. Visionary – Putting this on your card literally screams that what you lack more than anything else is vision. Because… if you had any vision at all, you’d see what a douchebag you look like with this on your card. Let me break this to you gently: being right about a few things does NOT make you a fucking visionary; knowing more than your boss about technology or the Internet does NOT make you a fucking visionary. “Visionary” is a title people bestow upon you at death (think Steve Jobs), not something you call yourself when you’re still alive and annoying the rest of us.

1. Thought Leader – The King of all douchebags, the “Thought Leader,” is another self-anointed position. Those who use this title to describe themselves really see their place in your industry as Socrates meets Einstein. They believe – generally because they have a below-average IQ – that they are both philosopher and genius. While the rest of us see the obvious for what it is, the self-proclaimed “thought leaders” point out the ordinary as if they’ve cracked the genetic code. Deep inside I think many “thought leaders” are truly just “do nothings” who gave themselves the title of “thought leader” because they don’t want to do any real work; they just want to regurgitate what others have published.

…

Generally speaking, I think the Internet magnifies the self-importance that the douchebags who proudly display any of my Top Ten douchie titles tends to feel and feed upon. Make no mistake, I get that many of you who read this think I’m a douchebag for my often ranting style of writing. The difference between me and the douchebags that might desire one of the above as their titles is that I know whatever I write will be douchie to someone.

Of course, if you happen to be one who thinks my writing is douchie, then I feel good that I could help you feel superior to someone; even if it is just some douchebag who rants when he writes…

Not all User Generated Content (UGC) is Valuable – Exhibit A: Mixtent.com

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If you have more than a few connections on LinkedIn, then you’ve surely been exposed to the most asinine website dedicated to UGC since CompanyNameSucks.com: mixtent.com. (You’ll have to learn why CompanyNameSucks.com is asinine all on your own, I’m going to use the rest of this blog to tell you why I think you should opt out of mixtent.com – and opt out quickly.)

I’m not the first to write it, but the Internet really is just one big bathroom wall. Often it’s just a place where anyone can express any opinion at any time with little or no recourse. The difference, as I see it, is the Internet is filled with small-minded billionaire wannabes who will gladly stomp on your privacy and dignity while they construct a new enormous bathroom wall and then encourage others to step up with their Sharpies and write whatever the hell they want without any regard to the veracity or value of their opinions.

This, my friend, is the essence of most sites 100% driven by user generated content. The rub for those of us who just want to live our lives in honest and ethical fashions is that without users generating content (any content) these sites will not be able to be flipped for the billions the founders expect. We, you see, get included in this content whether we deserve or even want to be included.

Enter mixtent.com

I doubt there has ever been a more ridiculous, misguided or pointless effort allegedly directed at professionals and cloaked in some misstated mission about helping sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to which person is better at what skillset. This site is nothing more than a HotOrNot.com for professionals, only this one ranks you without your permission.

The primary problems with mixtent, as I see them, are two-fold: 1) You are ranked as hot or not on a multitude of skillsets by those in your LinkedIn network – whether you want to be or not, and regardless of whether or not this particular contact has seen you demonstrate this particular skill; and 2) Like all ranking, rating and review sites, this one can be gamed. In fact, mixtent (in my opinion) seems to be actively participating in and encouraging the gaming by helping you send messages to everyone in your network that you’ve just ranked them… now will they please go and rank you.

Here is one such auto-generated message: “My Entrepreneurship percentile is 89%. Help me increase it and find out where you rank…” This is followed by a link to join mixtent so you can start ranking others.

The ranking process is really a joke because you are presented with two of your LinkedIn contacts (who may not have opted in to mixtent, but have certainly not opted out) and you are asked which of these two is better at __________. The tendency for most human beings is to give the nod to the person they like or know the best, not necessarily the person most deserving of the honor.

This means a well-liked dufus is likely to rank higher on most skills than a hard-charging doer. (My guess is that most hardened, yet accomplished women executives will be butchered on sites like this, as they generally had to step on one or two toes on their way through the glass ceiling.)

Okay, How Do I Opt Out of mixtent.com?

The greatest part about all of this nonsense is that you cannot opt out of mixtent.com without first granting them access to your LinkedIn profile. That’s right, you have to first let them suck all of the personal and other information from your LinkedIn profile before you can tell them you don’t want to play their shitty little game.

That, my friends, is ballsy. Of course, once you’ve opted in, you can (as of this writing) fairly easily opt out by clicking on the tiny “opt-out” link at the very bottom of the homepage.

Interested in mixtent.com’s About Us page?

I thought it would be fun to read between the lines of mixtent.com’s About Us page (the bold text in parentheses is mine):

About Us

Our goal is to help you connect with the most talented people. We want to help you hire, get hired and find talent to do amazing things. (We just don’t think you’ll be able to do that by using this website.)

Mixtent is building a professional reputation graph on top of the main social and professional networks. We believe we can become a driving force in making online recruitment and talent management materially more efficient. (Or, at the very least, we can help companies find unqualified people who have the most friends or don’t rock any boats… ever.)

Mixtent is built on the core notion that collective intelligence gathered through engaging experience can provide the right data to solve the hardest problems online. (That is, are they hot or not?)

Our mission is to reduce structural unemployment driving down asymmetries of information and increasing liquidity on the labor market. (What the fuck?)

We are looking for crazy talented engineers. Take a look at our jobs page (Why do they need to have anyone apply? Don’t they already know who the crazy talented engineers are by just looking at the ratings on their own website?)

We are located in Redwood City, CA. (Okay, finally something I can believe here.)

How about the geniuses behind this monstrosity?

Here are the links to the LinkedIn profiles of two guys listed as Founders at mixtent.com (in case you are a crazy talented engineer in Redwood City looking for work):

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6037432

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=23979582

Oh, and if they’re already in your network and haven’t opted out of mixtent just yet, be sure to rank them appropriately.

NY Times Hardcover Business Best Sellers – September 2009

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New York Times – Hardcover Business Best Sellers – September 2009

 

Ten months and counting for Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers as it continues to dominate the NY Times best seller rankings. To read our review of this outstanding book, check out our July 2009 best seller rankings.

 

Though not showing the staying power of Gladwell yet, two authors were able to hold their Top 5 rankings from last month: Mezrich and Ramsey. We have no comment on Ramsey’s “work,” expect to say that it likely should be moved from the NY Times business rankings. (How does dolling out credit card debt elimination advice to consumers with below average intelligence qualify as a business book?) Regarding Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires, we can actually recommend this read for those of you looking for something with a little more entertainment than “how to” advice. We enjoyed Billionaires almost as much as we liked Mezrich’s earlier offering, Bringing Down The House, and we were pleasantly surprised that we walked away feeling we learned a little something.

 

We have no plans to read anything written by former Lehman VPs (A Colossal Failure of Common Sense) or how Bernanke prevented the second Great Depression (In Fed We Trust), though we do welcome your comments about these final two of this month’s Top 5.

The Top Five – NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers September 2009 (to view the entire list, follow this link):

 

This
Month

 

Last
Month

1

OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.”

1

2

THE ACCIDENTAL BILLIONAIRES, by Ben Mezrich. (Doubleday, $25.) How two Harvard undergraduates created Facebook.

2

3

THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER, by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson, $24.99.) Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host.

3

 

4

A COLOSSAL FAILURE OF COMMON SENSE, by Lawrence G. McDonald and Patrick Robinson. (Crown Business, $27.) The inside story of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, from a former vice president of the firm.

8

5

IN FED WE TRUST, by David Wessel. (Crown Business, $26.99.) How Ben Bernanke and his Federal Reserve colleagues worked to prevent another Great Depression.

 

 

NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers – August 2009

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New York Times – Hardcover Business Best Sellers – August 2009

Nine months and counting for Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers as it continues to dominate the NY Times best seller rankings. To read our review of this outstanding book, check out our July 2009 best seller rankings.

Rounding out the rest of this month’s list, we can only recommend Jim Collins’ How The Mighty Fall – because we simply cannot find time in our busy schedules to read the other three. If we were forced to read one, however, we would likely sit down with Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires. If it’s anything like Bringing Down The House we can be assured of a mostly accurate, highly entertaining read. The Total Money Makeover, by contrast, appears as appetizing as stale bread; and we can certainly wait until December for the updated version of The 4-Hour Workweek.


The Top Five – NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers August 2009 (to view the entire list, follow this link):

This
Month

Last
Month

1

OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.”

1

2

THE ACCIDENTAL BILLIONAIRES, by Ben Mezrich. (Doubleday, $25.) How two Harvard undergraduates created Facebook.

3

THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER, by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson, $24.99.) Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host.

5

4

HOW THE MIGHTY FALL, by Jim Collins. (Jim Collins/Harper­Collins, $23.99.) Companies fail in stages, and their decline can be detected and reversed

2

5

THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK, by Timothy Ferriss. (Crown, $19.95.) Because life isn’t all about work.

7

NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers – July 2009

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New York Times – Hardcover Business Best Sellers – July 2009

Okay, how long can this thing last?

What will certainly be recorded as the most successful business book written in 2008, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers continues to dominate the best seller rankings for the eighth consecutive month. With success like this, Outliers truly stands to become an outlier itself. (For those who’ve read it, you may be asking whether Outliers would have performed so well had it been released in a bull market. Gladwell would likely argue in the negative.)

Given the unbelievable run normally reserved for motivational and self-help titles, we decided Outliers was due both a second read and a dedicated review this month. We even considered changing the title of this regular post to Outliers and the Other Hardcover Business Best Sellers.

What is the Best Book Released in 2008?

In January, we called Outliers “one of the best books released in 2008.” We can now definitively say after our reread that it is not one of the best books released in 2008… Outliers is the best book released in 2008; and second place isn’t even close.

Like similar mega-successful eye-opener Freakonomics, Outliers is not a “how to” book. In fact, it is unlikely that the book provides many readers with any practical knowledge that will easily translate into future success (for them). The only probable application of the lessons learned in Outliers is with future generations. Some readers of this book will certainly use the education gained to hyper-focus their progeny with 10,000 hours of hockey practice or computer programming. (Certainly this was not Gladwell’s intent.)

Outliers, like Freakonomics, is an interesting, enlightening and educational read. Its success during a recession is remarkable (since it provides little to no useful advice) and a testament to just how well Gladwell develops and presents its central theme and ideas. Gladwell knows his audience and he delivers what they want. He superbly delivers his educated observations in an entertaining and informative way.

Yes, But Will Pseudo-Intellectuals Enjoy Outliers?

Just like Freakonomics, Outliers has its detractors; and they are likely one in the same. Despite its success – or, more likely, because of it – there are those who declare they hate this book. (Hate is such a strong word, but it’s warranted here. Those who don’t find either of these books to their liking don’t simply recommend against them, they claim to literally and utterly despise them.)

Without detailing the most common complaints against a great read that (as of today) has spent 245 days on Amazon’s Top 100 list (currently at Number 15), let’s oversimplify it and say that those who dislike this book are mostly jealous, failed writers. Take this excerpt from an unbelievable 2,370-word diatribe masquerading as a review railing against Outliers on Amazon.com: “… McDonaldized salmagundi of information is itself is [sic] an inadequate account of the thesis proffered by Gladwell.”


Where do we start with this overly pretentious, unloved thesaurus user? His silly and revealing typographical errors? (Perhaps his book would be published if he would just proofread a little.) The length of his unreadable review? (This entire post is just 1,015 words long; 57% shorter than his Amazon attack.) His self-satisfying misuse of the made-up term “McDonaldized?” (I’m sure by his misapplication of the word coined by George Ritzer he means Outliers was written for mass consumption – shame on Malcolm for wanting to sell a couple of books.) Salmagundi? (Wasn’t that the guy who wrote The Satanic Verses?)

Okay, enough about the naysayers; other than to mention they remind me a lot of the fat guy in the Def Leopard T-shirt who told me in 1986 that “U2 sucks, man.” He was wrong, he knew he was wrong, but he couldn’t bring himself to like what others liked. His loss.

Alas, Outliers is not Perfect

Although it is the best book of 2008, Outliers is not The Old Man and The Sea and Gladwell is not Hemingway. Those expecting Hemingway or Salinger or Hugo are going to be sorely disappointed in Gladwell’s work; and in the work of the other 200,000+ authors who published books in North America in 2008.

…

Why do we read? People read for a number of reasons, though most would say they read to be entertained and/or informed; and Gladwell’s Outliers is entertaining and informative. That’s why it could very well remain Number 1 for twelve straight months. (Unless we just jinxed it.)

…

(While we said this article would be a review dedicated to Outliers, it would be disingenuous if we failed to brag that the cleverly titled 10-10-10, by Suzy Welch fell out of the Top 15 after just two months on the list. Way back in May, the AskTheManager.com editors bet that this tome and fellow May 2009 Top 5 read The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide, by Martin Weiss were headed straight for the bargain bin. Weiss’ drivel did not disappoint, and made it to the table-of-shame in June. It seems it took Welch’s formulaic pages a whole month longer. Look for either title on the clearance rack this month only if you’ve run out of good books to read.)

The Top Five – NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers July 2009 (to view the entire list, follow this link):

This
Month 		Last
Month
1 OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.” 1
2 HOW THE MIGHTY FALL, by Jim Collins. (Jim Collins/Harper­Collins, $23.99.) Companies fail in stages, and their decline can be detected and reversed 10
3 SHOP CLASS AS SOULCRAFT, by Matthew B. Crawford. (Penguin Press, $25.95.) A philosopher and mechanic argues for the satisfactions and challenges of manual work.
4 HOUSE OF CARDS, by William D. Cohan. (Doubleday, $27.95.) The fall of Bear Stearns and the beginning of the Wall Street collapse. 5
5 THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER, by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson, $24.99.) Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host. 4


NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers – June 2009

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New York Times – Hardcover Business Best Sellers – June 2009

The big story from the June 2009 New York Times Hardcover Business Best Sellers list has to be that Gladwell’s Outliers continues to dominate the rankings month-in, month-out. As we wrote in January, Outliers could be one of the best books released in 2008, and seven months at the Number 1 spot confirms it. (Damn, we like it when we’re right.)

We, of course, can also admit when we’re wrong; and it seems we were wrong about the cleverly titled 10-10-10, by Suzy Welch. Last month the AskTheManager.com editors bet that this tome and The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide, by Martin Weiss were headed straight for the bargain bin. The simplicity of the premise and the strength of a famous husband not only kept 10-10-10 in the Top 5, but also propelled it to Number 3. Oh well, perhaps we’ll stick to reviewing leadership books.




The best of the books not making the Top 5 this month has to be Peaks and Valleys, by Spencer Johnson. Number 4 last month, this easy-to-read selection from the co-author of the easy-to-read One Minute Manager and author of the easy-to-read Who Moved My Cheese helps readers cope with tough times by understanding how to make good and bad times work for you personally and professionally.

The Top Five – NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers June 2009 (to view the entire list, follow this link):

This
Month

Last
Month

1

OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.”

1

2

WHO’S GOT YOUR BACK, by Keith Ferrazzi. (Broadway, $25.) Achieving goals by building close relationships with a small circle of trusted individuals.

3

10-10-10, by Suzy Welch. (Scribner, $24.) Evaluating decisions based on how they will affect your life in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years.

5

4

THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER, by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson, $24.99.) Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host. (†)

7

5

HOUSE OF CARDS, by William D. Cohan. (Doubleday, $27.95.) The fall of Bear Stearns and the beginning of the Wall Street collapse.

2

NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers – May 2009

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New York Times – Hardcover Business Best Sellers – May 2009

The May 2009 New York Times Hardcover Business Best Sellers list looks a lot like what we saw the last few months with two exceptions: tomes ranked at Numbers 3 and 5. Of course, those previous lists also included books ranked at Numbers 3 and 5, the notable difference with this month’s contribution to those top spots will be how incredibly short-lived these two entries will be on the best sellers’ list.

Between Martin Weiss’ The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide and the cleverly titled 10-10-10, by Suzy Welch, the AskTheManager.com editors are taking bets on which one won’t make the Top 15 of any future list. Our best guess is that on sheer kitchyness and the strength of a famous husband, 10-10-10 won’t make the bargain table at Barnes and Noble for a few more weeks (we think The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide is probably already there).

Outside of the Top 5, we feel compelled to highlight Jonathan Lehrer’s How We Decide at Number 13. This terrific read is maintaining a presence on the NY Times list likely because we named it to our Ten Best Decision Making Books Ever list in March.

How We Decide introduces the reader to many concepts surrounding behavioral psychology and economics, and how these affect our decision making. This book is loaded with entertaining information that will stimulate your thoughts about how we think and make decisions in response to the complex situations we face. Although this book is enjoyable, it falls a little short in helping the reader uncover clear rules for making better decisions. (Still a recommended read, however.)

The Top Five – NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers May 2009 (to view the entire list, follow this link):


This
Month

Last
Month

1

OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.”

1

2

HOUSE OF CARDS, by William D. Cohan. (Doubleday, $27.95.) The fall of Bear Stearns and the beginning of the Wall Street collapse.

2

3

THE ULTIMATE DEPRESSION SURVIVAL GUIDE, by Martin D. Weiss. (Wiley, $27.95.) Strategies for protecting your money in the worst of times.

4

PEAKS AND VALLEYS, by Spencer Johnson. (Atria, $19.95.) Making both good and bad times work for you personally and pro­fessionally.

4

5

10-10-10, by Suzy Welch. (Scribner, $24.) Evaluating decisions based on how they will affect your life in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years.

NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers – April 2009

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New York Times – Hardcover Business Best Sellers – April 2009

 

It’s déjà vu all over again as the April 2009 New York Times Hardcover Business Best Sellers list looks a lot like what we saw in March and February. Just as those months revealed America’s concern over the economy through our reading choices, April continues this trend. In fact, both of the newcomers to the April Top Five deal specifically with the current financial turmoil; making Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers the only outlier on the list.

 

Besides Gladwell and the newbies, The Great Depression Ahead, by Harry Dent and Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover round out the Top Five. We, of course, recommend neither of these books, so we find it quite strange that they remain in the Top Five. Perhaps if we quit pointing out what we dislike about them, they will just go away.

 

Outside of the Top 5, we feel compelled to highlight Jonathan Lehrer’s How We Decide at Number 6. This terrific read is moving the NY Times list likely because we named it to our Ten Best Decision Making Books Ever list last month.

 

How We Decide, as we revealed last month, introduces the reader to many concepts surrounding behavioral psychology and economics, and how these affect our decision making. This book is loaded with entertaining information that will stimulate your thoughts about how we think and make decisions in response to the complex situations we face. Although this book is enjoyable, it falls a little short in helping the reader uncover clear rules for making better decisions. (Still a recommended read, however.)

 




The Top Five – NY Times Business Hardcover Best Sellers April 2009 (to view the entire list, follow this link):

 

This
Month

 

Last
Month

1

OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Why some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point.”

1

2

HOUSE OF CARDS, by William D. Cohan. (Doubleday, $27.95.) The fall of Bear Stearns and the beginning of the Wall Street collapse.

 

3

THE GREAT DEPRESSION AHEAD, by Harry S. Dent Jr. (Free Press, $27.) A financial prognosticator anticipates further market crashes and an extended downturn, but sees a way for savvy investors to prosper.

2

4

PEAKS AND VALLEYS, by Spencer Johnson. (Atria, $19.95.) Making both good and bad times work for you personally and pro­fessionally. (†)

 

5

THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER, by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson, $24.99.) Debt reduction and fiscal fitness for families, by the radio talk-show host. (†)

4