Social Action

by Carol Zarrow

April 3, 2001 —

In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work

By Don Cohen and Laurence Prusak

Harvard Business School Press, 2001, $27.50

Ever thought that employee gossip could lead to revenue growth? Connections like this one (however unlikely a pairing gossip and growth are) are discussed in In Good Company, which examines the "" beneficial results of workplace interactions. As defined by authors Don Cohen and Laurence Prusak, social capital is "the stock of active connections among people, the trust and shared values and behaviors that...make cooperative action possible." When social capital is nurtured, a company can expect to see a return on its investment, just as it would if it built a new IT infrastructure.

The authors' examination of social capital covers everything, from the benefits of storytelling to the challenges of virtual connections such as e-mail. Along the way the book provides examples of companies whose devotion to social capital has paid dividends in the long run -- and it shows how ignoring the power of social interactions can prove costly. What is most refreshing about In Good Company is that the authors not only examine and clarify the benefits of social capital, they suggest ways to foster it.

-- Joe Kendall

And...

It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It's the Fast That Eat the Slow

By Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton

HarperCollins Publishers, 2000, $26

Drop those five-year plans to make your company successful, release the brakes, and bury the needle. When taking the fastest route, however, you need to be cautious and act smart. And although the authors fall short on the how (you'll find some of their rah-rahing too idealistic), this easy read is worth it for its commonsense tips (question everything and be ready to anticipate your next move), untapped tactics (acting dumb is actually smart) and tidbits from AOL and Hotmail executives. These pages are meant for absorbing -- fast -- and passing on to coworkers.

-- Sarah Johnson

What They're Reading

Steve Kolodney, director, Washington State Dept. of Information Services, Olympia Watts Wacker and Jim Taylor, The Visionary's Handbook: Nine Paradoxes That Will Shape the Future of Your Business (HarperCollins, 2000) "It makes sense of the paradox of living in the present and the future all at the same time."

David M. Cooper, CIO, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, Calif. Dorothy E. Denning, Information Warfare and Security (Addison Wesley, 1998) "I highly recommend the book as it is an excellent overview of the threats facing an 'owner' of information as well as how to best protect that information."

CIO Best Seller List

5. Hand-Me-Down Dreams: How Families Influence Our Career Paths

by Mary H. Jacobsen

Three Rivers Press, 2000

4. The Future of Success

by Robert B. Reich

Alfred A. Knopf, 2001

3. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

by David Allen

Viking Press, 2001

2. The Art of Possibility

by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

Harvard Business School Press, 2000

1. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras

HarperCollins Publishers, 1994

SOURCE: January 2001 data compiled by WordsWorth Books. Cambridge, Mass.

CIO