Smith School Releases Annual Summer Reading List

Each year, faculty and administrators from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business puts out a list of their favorite books in the ” Top-10 Summer Reading List for Business Leaders” for 2014.

This is the 11^th year of reading recommendations from the Smith School, so if you’re heading off to business school as an MBA or you are already climbing up the corporate ladder, these books will keep you up-to-date on current trends. Here are a few of the books that made the list, you can find the full list here.

1. “The Art of Choosing” by Sheena Iyengar, 2010

“‘The Art of Choosing’ by Sheena Iyengar looks at how we make choices and how that shapes our lives,” says Amna Kirmani, director of doctoral programs and professor of marketing. Iyengar is a psychologist and professor at Columbia University. “One of her findings is that too much choice is demotivating,” says Kirmani. “Sometimes we prefer limited choice.”

2. “The Clash of the Cultures” by John C. Bogle, 2012

“A financial adviser who has often spoken to my classes said there are only two reasons to take risks in investing: because you want to or because you have to,” says Susan White, Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow of Finance. “‘Have to’ refers to choosing high-return, high-reward investments because that is the only way to potentially achieve future savings goals. Jack Bogle, retired CEO of the Vanguard Group, discusses the ‘want to’ reason for taking risks in ‘The Clash of the Cultures.’ His book lambasts publicly-traded financial firms that have performed poorly because of risk-taking. Bogle believes many of these companies had speculative rather than investment mindsets, emphasized short-term vs. long-term profitability, and traded frequently without regard to the costs vs. benefits of the trades. He contends such speculation created value for management at the expense of shareholders and clients. His message in this book, which reinforces his message in his earlier books, is that investing in index vs. actively managed funds is better for investors because of the lower costs of index funds.”

3. “The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know” by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, 2014

“In ‘The Confidence Code,’ Katty Kay and Claire Shipman use neuroscience to examine and discuss research on the roots of confidence in our brains,” says Joyce Russell, vice dean of the Smith School. “In a practical, reader-friendly style, they provide examples of women leaders from all types of industries (e.g., politics, sports, military, arts) to show how confidence impacts leadership and success. They offer some great tips to women about building confidence, such as taking more action and more risks, and avoiding all the people-pleasing and perfectionistic behaviors. As an executive coach, I would highly recommend this book to all of my women leaders, and encourage them to share it with women colleagues, friends, and, yes, even their daughters!”

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