Interview with Jack and Todd: 100 Best Book

It’s my pleasure today to be the post 2 post virtual book tour stop for Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten, authors of the wonderful resource guide, er book, The 100 Best Business Books of All-Time.

The premise of this book is simple: find the 100 best business books of all-time, fit them into 12 categories, and offer a review of each book. Definitely no easy feat, but Jack and Todd are the guys for the task. As the founder and president, respectively of the world’s GREATEST business book store (800-CEO-READ), these guys KNOW business books. So if you’re looking for 1 business book to buy this year to add to your bookshelf as a resource, look no further!

Without further ado, I bring you my interview with Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten, with a behind-the-scenes look at the 100 Best Business Books of All-Time.

Phil Gerbyshak: Slacker Manager is focused on management and leadership. If you each could pick 1 book in either category for new managers, which would it be and why?

Todd Sattersten: I would pick First Break All The Rules. Gallup’s Q12 Survey is one of the best assessment tools I have seen for organizational engagement. It also happens to perfectly align with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. “[Great managers] help each person become more and more of who he [or she] already is.” Think about the great people you have worked for and tell me that statement doesn’t ring true.

Jack Covert: The Essential Drucker would be my choice. This is the premier business thinker who has something to say to senior managers and newly minted ones also. Plus it is really well edited for easy reading.

PG: At $25.95 MSRP, this is $.26 per book you review. Why would someone NOT want to buy this amazing little book?

JC: Exactly. Why wouldn’t they?!

TS: I would turn that one a little and say The 100 Best helps people find books they should read but also helps people recognize books that aren’t right for them. That could easily save them $25 or $100 by avoiding a book that isn’t right for them.

PG: 800-CEO-READ is going through a mini-recession and have had to let some of your friends go. What advice do you have for managers who are also going through this? Is there a book in your book that talks about dealing with this?

TS: There is nothing mini about it. Publishing has been struck hard by the difficulties in the economy. Random House and HarperCollins both went through major restructuring already this year. The retail side of our company, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, is closing at the end of the month after 82 years in business. Our business sells books to organizations of all sizes and people are hesitant and worried right now.

JC: My advice for managers is to share information. Jack Stack wrote a book called The Great Game of Business and pioneered the idea of open-book management. He was able to turnaround an engine rebuilding plant that he and a group of managers bought from International Harvester. Stack started sharing the financials to show people how they affected the bottom line. It has been the way we have always run 800-CEO-READ. The decisions we had to make were gut wrenching, but everyone knew what was going on well before we announced layoffs.

PG: I think the books you selected are all still in print (fantastic for those of us who want to buy all 100 books). Can you share a few books did you have to cut from the list because they weren’t in print or were no longer relevant?

TS: There are actually two books out of print: American Steel and The Republic of Tea. American Steel you can still find used at various outlets and The Republic of Tea can still be purchased at the company’s website (http://tinyurl.com/bbkg7y)

JC: I am not sure we left anything off because it wasn’t in print. We really didn’t let that stop us from choosing a book. As a matter of fact we were able to get some things brought back with the impeding publication of our book. A Business and Its Beliefs by Tom Watson was put back into print by McGraw-Hill after we informed them of its selection. With the advent of print on demand, it is very easy to make titles available that use to be economically infeasible.

PG: What is the best part about having a published book? What’s the hardest part?

JC: The best parts were getting the sales catalog and seeing our book represented with two pages. That is a big deal in publishing. And then seeing the book on the shelves of bookstores. I have been in retail for all of my adult life and seeing my freakin’ book on the shelf is amazing.

TS: The best part for me is when people come up and talk about business books. Maybe it is one they just read that they are really excited about. Or maybe they are looking for a suggestion for the next book. It allows me to get even better at my job.

Both (in unison): People who disagree with our choices! [is the hardest part]

PG: Peter Drucker is known as the “father of modern management” and you included two of his books (The Essential Drucker and The Effective Executive) in your book. Who would you say is the mother of modern management?

TS & JC: Sorry. We got nothing on this one. Not sure there is an equivalent. Yet!

PG: Fair enough. My choice: Lisa Haneberg, with Rosa Say a close second!

PG: What’s the biggest surprise readers will find from your book?

JC: I think people will be surprised to find that we recommend movies for salespeople, children’s books for business advice, and a choose your own adventure at the end of each review. That’s the cool stuff we worked on to make this book different.

TS: And I think they will be surprised by the elegant design. We spent a lot of time working on a layout that would allow people to quickly get the information they needed whether browsing or studying. It sets the book apart.

PG: Thanks guys! I REALLY appreciate you making time from your book tour to stop at Slacker Manager!

Additional Resources:

• 100 Best Biz – The official website of the 100 Best Business Books of All-Time
• All the best – A complete listing of the 100 Best Business Books of All-Time
• 8CR YouTube channel – for author interviews and talks about the 100 Best Business Books of All-Time
• Post 2 Post – another insightful look at this book, courtesy of John Moore at Brand Autopsy

FUTURE STOPS on the tour:

• March 4th at Chris Taggart’s CrowdSpark
• March 5th with Eric Taylor
• March 6th at Biz Growth News with Krishna De

Special deal for Slacker Manager readers:

From now until March 7th, 2009, if you buy a copy of The 100 Best Business Books of All-Time from 800-CEO-READ, you can get one of the three books below FREE!

• Leadership Moment by Michael Useem – clash (http://800ceoread.com/products/?ISBN=9780812932300)
• Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono – csq9t (http://800ceoread.com/products/?ISBN=9780316178310)
• Growing A Business by Paul Hawken – xtjpt (http://800ceoread.com/products/?ISBN=9780671671648)

Just put the book in their cart and then apply the code in bold.  Remember: A copy of The 100 Best (http://800ceoread.com/100best) must also be in your cart for the offer to be valid.

Book cover image courtesy of 800-CEO-READ