Business executive • MAY 11


Featured book


Global Cosmopolitans: The Creative Edge of Difference HH by Linda Brimm Palgrave Macmillan 252 pgs, £25, hb ISBN: 9780230230781


National boundaries have become very porous. There are amazing opportunities today for international careers and personal travel. A new breed of individuals reflecting those changes are likely to be the key players in the next stages of globalisation. These are the global cosmopolitans, prominent actors in this emerging drama; they have lived in different countries, learnt to speak several languages and are at ease in moving to new situations. But being a global cosmopolitan can result in complex issues of personal identity. Global cosmopolitans are a cutting-edge population with a great deal to contribute to the global landscape and our understanding of it. The challenges they


However, there seems to be some sort of fundamental scorecard for CEOs of public companies. Analysis of data, to see which leadership factors were most important, concluded that there was no clear country or industry advantage. Insiders promoted up to CEO, though, tended to do better than CEOs brought in from outside, (although this might be influenced by the fact that underperforming companies were more likely to bring in an outsider.) Also CEOs with an MBA tend to do better than those without; those who take over “a struggling company from a mediocre predecessor” tend to do better than those who inherit a strong company, performing well. But it is important to take a long-term view when measuring performance. Away from publicly listed companies it


Reviewers


sc is the Editor of Business Executive Lc is an independent reviewer HL is a publisher’s reader for business books tc is a professional management author


face, the unique perspectives they develop and the skills they learn can be particularly important in a world that is becoming increasingly global. Cosmopolitans can feel very alone. No one culture or language can clarify or define the identity of people who carry different pieces of the world inside them. Global mobility offers opportunities for


experimentation and reinvention. But questions arise about identity. Who am I really? How can I describe who I am? What is still developing? Which pieces of my identity travel everywhere with me? This book looks at identities as personal constructions. Along the road, situations and relationships might require different identities or roles. You need to know your own story to carry with you, to share with others. Learning to become aware of the story and learning to articulate it are significant skills for global cosmopolitans. Linda Brimm’s new book gives a wide


view into the world and experience of global cosmopolitans. She has combined their fascinating stories, told in their own words, with useful concepts for understanding their unique experience. The book contains a useful approach for


becomes harder to gauge leadership performance. Leadership here is definitely linked to a willingness to take substantial risks – and the company’s wealth becomes synonymous with successful risk-taking. Leadership for private companies typically means moving with high speed; there is no place for excessive bureaucracy here. We need to ask if companies that do not


deliver suffer from poor leadership. Or are high-performance firms better led? The numbers might focus, say, on one set of stakeholders, the stockholders – but a study of customers might tell a different story about the success or otherwise of an organisation. Organisational performance in itself is hard to define, so the link between good leadership and good organisational performance might be even harder to establish, particularly during periods of high turbulence. The author believes that we should have some level of confidence in measures of performance, as indicative rather than definitive. Leadership is directly engaged in management’s search for better organisational performance. Striving for organisational excellence is what makes good


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anyone experiencing the excitement and anxieties of change and for anyone interested in globalisation or, more precisely, how we can develop the “global mind”. This is an insightful investigation of the


developmental experiences of people in the corporate world whose life histories cross cultures and national borders. Crossing cultures to communicate or do business with people whose identities are different from our own is now commonplace. This exploration of the complexity that exists among people whose identities and skills have been shaped by their global experiences is relevant for anyone engaged in a multicultural business environment. The workbook at the end of the book can


be useful to all who wish to recognise key elements of their own unique identities and use this understanding to strengthen work and personal relationships. Lc


Global mobility offers opportunities for experimentation and reinvention


leadership so critical. Therefore good leadership leads to good organisational performance. sc


creative genius HH Peter Fisk Capstone 386 pgs, £16.99, hb ISBN: 9781841127897


Peter Fisk subtitles his latest book in the Genius series: The Innovation Guide for Business Leaders, Border Crossers and Game Changers. But this does not say it all because he asserts that “ideas are the new currency of success.” Your markets are transforming – often invisibly to you, but with immense implications. New technologies, economics and culture have changed people’s expectations and dreams. Survival and success impel you to explore places that no business has gone to before; to be more curious and creative; to see things differently, and think different things. This book gives many different views


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