Thirteen is my lucky number. I’m dead serious. Last year it was Friday the 13^th and I offered up my top 13 books of 2012. This year I’ve decided to update the list. Here is my 2013 collection of 13 books that I believe every business leader would benefit from reading. Enjoy!

1.	The Drucker Lectures: Essential Lessons on Management, Society and Economy (2010) by Peter Drucker and Rick Wartzman I’ve read Drucker since I started my career. He’s a voice and mind I go back to often. Fortunately there are dozens of Drucker books to choose from. This, a collection of lectures compiled after his incredible long life, is a wonderful way to meet him for the first time, or remind yourself of his wit and brilliance and guidance for your business.
2.	Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior (2009) by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman Sway is one of those books that returns to mind time and again. I recommend it to everyone whenever we are talking books. So often we see businesses, individuals, governments, non-profits doing things against their own interests. Why? Read Sway and understand.
3.	The Phantom Tollbooth - now in its 50thanniversary edition! (1961) Written by Norton Justerand illustrated by Jules Feiffer And for something completely different – yes, a children’s book. Ah, but look more closely. At a simplistic level this is a book about the awakening of one bored kid, Milo. For the rest of us the lessons underpin long-term strategy and every day necessary decisions.
4.	The Hare with Amber Eyes (2012) by Edmund de Waal Described as a strange and graceful family memoir – this is a book I keep recommending over and over again. It addresses family, war, love, art, loss, geography from Vienna to Japan, through the history and journey of a one-of-a-kind inherited collection of ornamental Japanese carvings known as netsuke. The netsuke are tiny and tactile--they sit in the palm of your hand. de Waal is drawn to them as "small, tough explosions of exactitude" – which in the end is a great description of his book.
5.	Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (2007) by Chip Heath and Dan Heath I found this book a couple years ago – and like the entire message of the book – it stuck! For any leader at any level that needs to communicate ideas to anyone else, this is the book for you.
6.	Five Frogs on a Log: A CEO's Field Guide to Accelerating the Transition in Mergers, Acquisitions and Gut Wrenching Change (1998) by Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt For as many merger and acquisition deals that happen each year, why do so many end up underwhelming? We’re sitting at a point in time at the edge of economic recovery when M & A activity is predicted to heat up even more. Wouldn’t it be great if they actually added to shareholder value? If you see or are planning any M & A activity, read this book.
7.	Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011) by Daniel Kahneman An Aveus board member recommended this book to me and boy am I glad he did. This Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences (don’t let that scare you away!) elegantly helps unravel the mysteries of judgment and decision making. There is good reason it made the Best Books of 2011 lists.
8.	The Madonnas of Leningrad (2007) by Debra Dean I don’t know if you’re like me, but if I buy a book in digital form and love it, I also end up buying it in print. This is one of those books. War, love,  Rembrandt, Raphael, the Hermitage, and Alzheimer's intertwine in this story. A book about Alzheimer’s that actually left me feeling – hopeful.
9.	Ted Levitt on Marketing (2006) by Ted Levitt Ending with a legend, just as I began. There are many great minds and thousands more books I could have chosen. Levitt, however, I’ve carried with me through every chapter in my career. This, his last book, brings decades of wisdom and insight together for us. Whether you are a marketer or not, if you’re a business person and you haven’t read any of his earlier work, start here and then work back. It will be worth your effort.
10.	How Will You Measure Your Life (2012) by Clayton Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon From the author of The Innovator’s Dilemma (another great book) here is an unconventional book of inspiration and wisdom for achieving a fulfilling life. Christensen’s book is spiritual without being preachy. For high achievers (business or not and totally capable of getting in their own way!) this is a book that challenges you to live a more meaningful life in accordance with your values.
11.	The Elegance of the Hedgehog (2007) by Muriel Barbery To quote one of the online reviewers “It is one of those rare books with a special inner quality that makes you ponder over life in a way only very few others can.” You just should read this book.
12.	The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel (2003) by Jasper Fforde This is the first in a series of fun, silly mystery/sci-fi/time-bending novels that incorporate literature at every turn.  For any book-lovers, this is a series for you!
13.	If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit (2011) by Brenda Ueland (B. 1891, D. 1985 at the age of 93) Who doesn’t have a book inside them? Brenda believed “everybody is talented, original and has something important to say.” Generations of readers have found valuable lessons far beyond the craft of writing in this book – reprinted time and time again. Brenda lived to 93 by observing two rules: to tell the truth and not to do anything she didn’t want to do. Aren’t those great rules for your business? Your life?

What about you? What books would you add to the list of “must reads” for today’s business leader?

HGST, a Western Digital Company: HGST was formed in 2003 from the strategic merger of the storage technology businesses within IBM Corporation and Hitachi, Ltd. Since that time, the company has built on the heritage of both industry pioneers to grow profitably as a major contributor in the global storage industry. HGST drives are used by students and families; small-office/home-office workers; leading-edge, high-transaction enterprises and major computer, consumer electronics and automotive system manufacturers throughout the world. HGST was acquired by Western Digital in 2011.

About Steve: This interview was conducted while Steve was the CEO of HGST. He had been at HGST since September of 2007, entering as the CFO. “Being in the hard drive business requires innovation and rapid execution. It is that combination that is interesting and very challenging.” This year after the merger of HGST with Western Digital, Steve became the CEO of Western Digital.  

What is different today from when you started?

“Let’s see, I have to put myself back in the 2007 mode. Just by way of background, in fiscal 2007, HGST lost money - $400 million. For the first five years of its existence, it lost money and only had 4 non-sequential quarters of profitability. When I arrived in 2007, costs were out of control. We didn’t have an efficient supply chain, we had limited flexibility, and we weren’t even playing as a competitor in the non-commodity space.

“In fiscal 2010, we made over $600 million. The shift from losses to profit is about a $1 billion swing in three years. So a pretty dramatic change.”

As one of his first assignments as president, Steve led a strategic planning effort to build a new understanding about the business in two parts:

• The ‘commodity’ based business that serves a specific segment of the market (and how most of the external world sees the disc drive business); and the
• ‘Non-commodity’ based part of the market where technology innovation is really more relevant and a driver in all key decisions.

“On the commodity side, we have to be cost competitive; we have to have a supply chain that can deliver at a fast pace that is predictable; and we need scalable technology.

“On the non-commodity side, product differentiation makes all the difference. You have to start with the customers and build an understanding of what they are trying to do. Then solve for that. And you have to have the flexibility to be able to see, design and execute on these new requirements quickly. Engineers can solve any challenge, as long as they have a clear understanding of the need they are solving for.”

Let’s talk about HGST’s performance chain, in terms of speed, flexibility, predictability and leverage. 

“We need to optimize the core – all six key elements – of the hard drive business. We have to move fast. Commonality allows us to be flexible. Leverage is critical – each one of these has a reason they are important to every aspect of our business.

“Conceptually, my view is that we spent a lot of time at the functional level across the company dealing with the interaction of all these things – speed, predictability, flexibility and leverage.”

Do you have a performance chain process in place now that you feel is well oiled or well defined?

“Yes, we have a process. I assume it is never very well oiled. You always have to worry about what you don’t know and be willing to adjust. This business is always dynamic. The only time you get caught is when you think you’ve got it nailed.

“Always assume the unexpected will happen and be ready to act on it. Something happens – now you need speed – now you’ve got to be quick in adapting. And you’ve got to set the capability for speed before you need it.

“You can’t wait until something happens to worry about flexibility. Then it is too late. Flexibility built in is what gives you speed to recover.

“Balance across the performance chain is a dynamic process.”

Summing up your performance chain journey?

“We were not flexible. We were not predictable. We didn’t respond in a speedy way. We had to revamp all of that. We’ve now progressed to the place where we are flexible, we are predictable, we have the speed we need and we are helping customers solve bigger problems and opportunities.

"We are the quality leaders – we can take what a customer is doing and help them make it better. That is how we win.”

Read more of my conversation with Steve Milligan in ROAR: Strengthening business performance through speed, predictability, flexibility, and leverage. www.roarthebook.com

When you meet John Dunlap, director at the San Diego Zoo, it is clear he is a very organized thinker and action-oriented guy. Zoo staff members say that on any given day you can find John out front at the Zoo, meeting people, engaging with visitors and demonstrating the experience he works so hard to deliver. 

A few months ago, I had the pleasure to sit down with John to interview him for my book, ROAR: Strengthening business performance through speed, predictability, flexibility, and leverage. What I learned about John, as well as the performance chain and customer experience the Zoo delivers, was so inspiring. Following is a short excerpt of that interview, and I really encourage you to check out the full story by picking up or downloading a copy of ROAR. 

In the meantime, let’s hear how John, and the San Diego Zoo, handle the seemingly Herculean challenges a performance chain filled with different stakeholders—and different species!—throws at him each day.

What brought you to the San Diego Zoo? 

"I joined the Zoo in 2008. Prior to the Zoo, my career was in hospitality with the Starwood Hotel and Resorts where I developed a commitment to both quality (John is a Six Sigma Black Belt) and customer experience. Following a recruiter call, I made an initial visit and with my wife’s help, began to assess the experience. I could clearly see a world-class focus on animals. I also saw very clear opportunities for quality and experience improvements on the visitor side.  

"What I realized was that this incredible organization with its global brand created a singular opportunity to have a unique impact in the world. I collected a binder full of research and background that would form the basis of my initial playbook when I entered as the Zoo’s director."

How have you translated your operations and Six Sigma background from your previous hospitality industry experiences to the needs of the Zoo? 

"I hired 2 people since I came to the Zoo to focus on process improvement: one to enhance revenue opportunities, the other for expense-side opportunities. The Zoo has also been building Lean and Six Sigma capabilities. 

"While the Zoo is very innovative on the animal side, they were not used to a lot of change otherwise. As I began to introduce the concepts and employees could see how positively the guests reacted, literally witnessing the validation, enthusiasm has built. 

"Within 60 days of starting I personally worked in every area of the Zoo – learning the organization and exactly what work happens across the entire performance chain. From that experience and through our employee teams, we began to build the visitor experience to match the world-class animal experience."

How have the needs and performance requirements evolved since you arrived? 

"We have tackled most of the early obvious list. Now we are developing and working on the next level of performance and experience improvement. Our first job was alignment of changes and basic facilities upgrades: paint, fixing anything that was broken, paving the parking lot, new way-finding – the Zoo is on its third map based on both guest and employee input. We now have the base from which to build a world-class experience. 2016 is the 100-year anniversary of the Zoo. We are using this as an opportunity to raise capital for more improvements. One simple example – we are replacing temporary stages with permanent structures that can be used year-round."

I know you can relate to how the four lenses of speed, predictability, flexibility, and leverage play a role in the way the Zoo operates. But, can you talk more about how the “speed” lens impacts your work? 

"Perfection is the enemy of done. We need to move fast. But it is easy to get caught in over-analyzing decisions. Or letting an assumption of what is ‘right’ slow a process down. 

"For example, our tour buses were in great need of repair and replacement. They were old, the paint was dull, seats were torn, and they run on gasoline. The assumption was that we needed to upgrade to electric buses – and we had been studying the options, literally for decades. The reality is that we could buy and replace ONE bus for $1 million, or we could spend $100,000 per bus to upgrade our current fleet. 

"I just put the question to our team: what kind of conservation are we deciding on? In fact it turns out it was ‘greener’ to reuse our gasoline buses than to purchase new electric ones. We now have most of our buses converted and all will be done by March of 2013. Ten for the price of one. They are colorful, comfortable, cool – the kids love them, and more energy efficient. Everybody benefits. This is a Lean approach: How do you stretch your capital for most advantage and do it as quickly as possible?"

What role does flexibility play in your performance chain?

"Flexibility is what extends the strategic view. You can’t anticipate everything you will run into so you need the people, process and skills to adapt when the unexpected happens. Probably our most visible recent example: We had a fire at 2 a.m., I’m standing watching one of our highest revenue retail outlets (our panda store) burn to the ground. Within 24 hours from the fire, after the fire department released the site to us, we had the remains of the burned building completely gone and a base for a new temporary store established. The timeline was:

• Monday: Fire
• Tuesday: Removal
• Wednesday: Reconstruct temporary store
• Friday: Restocked and open for business

"Our employees have to squeegee water out of the facility when it rains and everything is on carts so it has to be assembled every day. But they don’t mind. They understand that this is an important part of the Zoo. They are making the store work and our revenue from this location is back up to nearly where it was.

"You can’t make these flexible kinds of actions happen if you don’t have the culture in place, the relationships in place, to make things happen immediately when a crisis or opportunity occurs.  These characteristics have to be built into your performance chain long before any event."

Wrapping up, what is a favorite Zoo story of yours that you’d like to share with readers?

"We are tested with unpredictable challenges every day. And we take them on: bringing the California Condors back from the brink of extinction – we were down to less than two dozen, now we’re up to 394 (as of October 30, 2011) and growing – people said it couldn’t be done."

In the United States we are in the season of giving thanks. 

Today I want to suggest giving thanks for performance problems.  Seriously? Did she just say that?

Yes, I did.

Be thankful if your speed has hit a bump; your cycle times are giving you a bit of heartburn; if time to close individual sales seem to be too long.

Be thankful if your predictability has become, well, unpredictable; your customers are demanding improved quality; your neat plan for the year is a step off course.

Be thankful if your organization is locking up over some new flexibility enhancements; competitors are keeping you on your toes and forcing you to adapt.

Be thankful if you are under leveraged; you have some leftover capacity; you have some downtime in your team.

Why be thankful for problems? For a few reasons:

• Problems with speed, predictability, flexibility, and leverage mean that your performance chain is in motion. You are advancing work and responding to demand. 
• Problems give you fresh opportunities to look at your organization, maybe look underneath the covers to find the root cause of any slippage and make adjustments before they become major catastrophes.
• Problems are perfect opportunities to rally your teams around better outcomes. They give you the reasons (some call them burning platforms) to drive changes you need to make.

If business performance is too perfect, too calm, too prescribed, chances are you are missing opportunities and leaving growth and profitability on the table.  Safe is nice, but not the way to create urgency and creativity in your organization.  So give thanks that you are in a position to spot and act on problems.

Even more, celebrate with a ROAR when you find better answers and problems become performance enhancements.  

I recently had the chance to speak on-air with Robert Thompson, the host of Thought Grenades. We talked about ROAR, the four lenses and their respective animals, and how to align customer experience to business performance. If you’d like to listen in to our conversation, as well as learn about some of the wonderful business leaders I had the opportunity to interview during my research, click here.