John V. Petrocelli's 3 favorite reads in 2023

I love this book because it provides all the detail a reader interested in the cornucopia of bullshit that was the Enron scandal of the 1990s, desires. 

The book reveals the fates of all the key players in the scandal by delving into their thinking and flawed reasoning.  This comprehensive case study examines the downfall of one of the most revered companies in America. It reveals that while the Enron failure was undoubtedly facilitated by the common corporate vices of greed and moral indifference, its core problem laid in its exceptional proficiency in the very skill that garnered it the most admiration: corporate finance. 

McLean and Elkins demonstrate that Jeff Skilling, a Harvard Business School alumnus who swiftly climbed the ranks at McKinsey, possessed a fervent dedication to corporate finance. 

He instilled this mindset as the prevailing ethos of the company and successfully promoted it to the financial entities that supported Enron, including investment banks, analysts, and advisors who shaped modern business rationality.

The only thing I wish the authors had included was about three-dozen more dates to help contextualize the key events of the story.

Bryce Hoffman's investigative journalism is top-shelf. The book, primarily focused on business, is written in a style that resembles a gripping novel, complete with an engaging plot, character development, and a healthy dose of suspense. 

The author's exceptional writing skills make it a highly enjoyable read, and I eagerly anticipate any and all books by Hoffman. The author leveraged his unique access to the key figures in this tale. 

While the book concludes with Ford's successful turnaround, it leaves room for a possible epilogue in the near future or perhaps a follow-up discussing the search for a successor to Mulally (one Mark Fields) and how a new leader will steer Ford to either uphold or adapt Mulally's legacy. 

Business leaders can learn heaps from Hoffman's account of Mulally.

In working with others, Steve Jobs was a neurotic, narcissist, and asshole—there is no disputing that. But, somehow, Isaacson provides so much detail into the real life of Steve Jobs that I almost liked Jobs—just a bit—here and there. 

Sprinkled throughout is a description of Jobs’ reality distortion field, whereby he would be confronted with using other people’s great ideas and claiming they were his very own—on Monday, he would tell a colleague their idea was shit and that no one would buy it, yet by Friday he was presenting the idea back to the original source as a great one and claiming it as his (Jobs’) own.

There are several books out in the past few years that offer a silver lining to the reality distortion field as if there are potential benefits—but Isaacson sets the reality straight and suggests there are many more social and interpersonal downsides to using a reality distortion field in one’s life.