organizational leadership – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results

By Scott J. Pearson | October 16, 2026October 16, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Because AI is such a new field, most good books about it are grounded only in experience. Higher reflection, grounded in academic theory, is left to the AI engineers, and organizations and individual workers are left to flounder in how to use this transformative software. However, in this book, Gleb Tsipursky attempts to ground his experiences consulting with companies about AI into rigorous psychology. He seeks to show how organizations can position themselves so that…

Leadership Management-Business

Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration

By Scott J. Pearson | October 9, 2026October 9, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

The days of a lone genius pioneering world-changing ideas are behind us (the so-called Great Man theory); most new discoveries today come from working in teams. Therefore, fostering healthy collaborative environments and attracting top-line colleagues have become essential skills for today’s organizational leaders. That topic is worthy of a deep dive. In this book, Authors Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman combine to look at several use cases to extract key principles of what make…

Leadership

On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic

By Scott J. Pearson | September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

First, the good: This book lives up to the cover’s hype. Its ten chapters take a deep look at the character of everyday leaders. What’s true in 1989 remains true in 2009, at the time of the text’s republishing, and it remains true in 2026, at the time of my writing. The word “classic” is not hyperbole. Warren Bennis provides a script and a set of principles to build everyday leaders. A clinical psychologist by…

Leadership Management-Business

The Leadership Pipeline: Developing Leaders in the Digital Age

By Scott J. Pearson | May 21, 2026May 21, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Developing a leadership strategy is tough for any organization. Leaders have to function at various levels and lead in different ways, depending on the task at hand. Many leaders become stuck by doing their previous job instead of embracing the new charter of their new responsibilities. Leaders must simultaneously be kept happy doing their present work while being ready to accept different responsibilities when needed. Leadership must no longer be viewed as an ascent but…

Leadership Management-Business

Working Backwards: Insights, Stories & Secrets from Inside Amazon

By Scott J. Pearson | May 9, 2026May 9, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

In over two decades of its existence, Amazon has changed the business landscape. After its founding, many investors made fun of the company for reinvesting its profits – or even running at a loss – so that it could position itself better in the future workplace. Once the home of just bookselling, it has become a powerhouse of logistics, web development, eBooks, and digital devices. The authors, former senior leaders at the company, team together…

Leadership

A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership

By Scott J. Pearson | April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Leadership as a CEO is among the most demanding roles in a business environment. Everyone hangs on your every word, for better or for worse, and people are reticent to criticize the leading leader, even when the leader needs desperately to hear critical feedback. The promises of making an impact are great, but so are the opportunities to make a mistake. The authors, senior partners at the McKinsey & Company business research firm, seek to…

Management-Business Society

The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise & the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers

By Scott J. Pearson | February 10, 2026February 10, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Organizational silos occur when groups of people in the same organization do not rely on each others’ insights because of various cultural reasons. While the division of labor that silos create is essential for any business, silos can inhibit an organization’s creativity and innovation. They have been weak points in or even downfalls of many great business empires. Through case studies across many organizations and industries, anthropologist Gillian Tett describes negative results silos can create…

Leadership Management-Business

Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness

By Scott J. Pearson | November 15, 2025November 15, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

When observing the world, many see that true leadership does not reflect positions of power; rather, it reflects a quality of personal character. Robert Greenleaf looked at 1970s America and the 1970s world and observed a lack of leadership. We had educated talent out the wazoo, but lacked people able to usher in lasting, good change. He wrote this book to cultivate such leadership qualities in its readers. Leadership, to him, was of a servant’s…

Leadership Management-Business

Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas

By Scott J. Pearson | October 30, 2025October 30, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

I work in software research, so much of my professional life centers around introducing ideas into others’ organizations. I am always trying to anticipate roadblocks that they might have. While my own work environment is relatively open to change and dialogue, not everyone has that kind of workplace. The authors share dozens of strategies to help regular individuals lead change in their organizations. Two stipulations are clear for this book’s audience: Their organization must be…

Biography-Memoir Management-Business

Principles: Life & Work by Ray Dalio

By Scott J. Pearson | October 18, 2025October 18, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Ray Dalio became famous through founding and building his company Bridgewater Associates into an economic powerhouse over decades. Of course, many became interested in how he did it. This book narrates his personal story, but it does more. He ran his company through a series of principles as if it were a machine he and his associates built. This book also chronicles those principles at length to communicate Dalio’s and Bridgewater’s vision of how a…