Summer 2022 Reading Recommendations by The Graduate School of Business and Leadership Faculty at National Louis University

by Ignacio Lopez, Ed.D. Dean of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership National Louis University, Chicago IL

At the end of each academic year I find myself reflecting on the great work that our NLU students and faculty have accomplished. It has been a year of growth and reflection for the Graduate School of Business and Leadership at National Louis University. As we get ready to find some time to rest and recharge this summer, I find myself wondering what our faculty will be reading this summer to help them recharge?

Last year, as a Graduate School of Business team, we read the book Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology by Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank – which I still highly recommend, especially for leaders in the public sector attempting to make big change in organizations where innovation and change go against the grain. The application of human centered design (design thinking) to solve organizational problems, grounded in empathy, is key.

This year I decided to ask our graduate program directors to share what’s on their summer reading list. It is interesting to hear how our program leaders are pulling from a wide range of materials in the business sector, the technology sector, and beyond to inform their thinking, their teaching and leadership.  I found their summer reading recommendations to be great so I decided to share them. I hope you enjoy their recommendations as much as I did and that you add some of these books to your summer reading list!  

I asked our program chairs, what is on your Summer 2022 reading list. Here’s what they had to say:

Jacqueline Samuel, Ph.D., Faculty Member and Director of the Master of Public Administration program recommends:

Book: "Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism" by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira

I found this to be a great read and exercise for me as I question and reflect on the acceleration of dissonance and corruption we are experiencing in this world.  Basically, we have all been through many and various types of traumas over the past couple of years.  This is a book that you do not have to read in order because this is also an exercise and for some a challenge. However, I do recommend that you read Part 1 Chapter 2 "Prep Work" first to determine whether this book is the right book for you. 

Machado de Oliveira breaks down archetypes of cognitive dissonance, which include the “do-gooder” who does "good enough," then retreats to business as usual; the “incognito capitalist” who, at first glance, may seem like a radical change-maker but is not. The author explains how our habits, behaviors, and belief systems can hold us back...and why it's time now to change and invest in ourselves for the greater public good. A great read for teachers, practitioners, global change-makers, and public administrators.  

David San Filippo, Ph.D., Faculty member and Director of the Master of Health Administration program recommends:

These books are on my Summer 2022 reading list. I am very interested in how we as a U.S. society may be able to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic a stronger, better society. 

Book: Salzman, M. (2022). The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption. Currency.

I have found this book helpful in providing a clear vision of how the author sees future trends and technology impacting our lives personally and professionally. Many years ago I read John Naisbitt’s book, “Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives.” This book provided a backdrop to my involving professional career. Forty years after the publication of this book, Saltzman has written a new view of the future which is enthralling and exciting. This is book is valuable for any leader who wants to prepare to lead into the future.

Book: Nundy, S. (2021), Care After Covid: What the Pandemic Revealed Is Broken in Healthcare and How to Reinvent It - 1st Edition. McGraw Hill.

If the U.S. healthcare system was not challenging pre-COVID-19, the pandemic has revealed many of the broken aspects. Dr. Nundy discusses how the healthcare delivery system has changed in its distribution, approaches, and challenges in future healthcare delivery. Today’s leaders in healthcare need to be cognizant of the past and be a part of healthcare’s future.

Book: Zakaria, F. (2020). Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World. W.W. Norton & Company.

The author provides a view of our post-COVID-19 world in 10 lessons that address how the people and institutions of the world are evolving from the pre-pandemic way to a post-pandemic way that could lead to good or chaos, dependent on the paths that our leaders choose.

Jacqueline Callery, Ed.D., Faculty member and Director of the new Master of Business Data Analytics program recommends:

Book: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from A Secret World (The Mysteries of Nature, 1) by Peter Wohlleben

I love trees! Trees are resilient; they stretch to greet the sun and whisper in the wind. This book is a new find, and I am looking forward to understanding how trees communicate and create social networks to inform my conversations regarding the invisible energy of organizational cultures. Organizations and individuals can learn something from trees - how to share, grow, and support each other so everyone thrives.

Book: "The Moment of Lift" by Melinda Gates

For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear: If you want to lift society up, you need to stop keeping women down.

In this moving book, Melinda shares lessons she's learned from the inspiring people she's met during her work and travels around the world. As she writes in the introduction, "That is why I had to write this book: to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live."

Melinda's unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention, from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world, and ourselves. 

When we lift others up, they lift us up, too.

Rebecca Albertini, Faculty member and Director of the Master of Organizational Leadership and Doctor of Business Administration programs recommends:

Book: “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know” by Adam Grant

In this book, Adam Grant masterfully blends psychology with real-life stories to encourage the reader to critically think about why we think the way we do.  He speaks to personal and guarded concepts around the thought processes we have, old ideas we cling to, and potential reasons why we hesitate to change our minds without eliciting those defensive feelings we can experience when someone challenges us!  I was hooked as soon as the book started with a riveting example of how quick, out-of-the-box thinking saved a smokejumper’s life. Adam speaks to not only opening yourself up to changing your own mind but how to communicate with others to help open them up to potentially changing their minds. While the book does delve into psychological concepts, the practicality of the examples and stories shared make this a powerful addition to anyone’s summer reading list!

Janice Nilsen, Ph.D., Faculty member and Director of the Master of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Master of Human Resources Management programs recommends:

Book: The Art of Travel by Alain De Botton

I recently took a creative writing class, and my writing submission largely explored some of my travels, those very close (the trails behind my home) and those quite far. (my ancestral home of Ireland) My classmates and instructor provided feedback that I was an “observer” when I travel and recommended that I read The Art of Travel. I am only halfway through and am enjoying the book immensely as I believe that the author, like me, views travel as exploration and much more about mindset than the ultimate destination.   

Book: The Year of Living Danishly, Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country by Helen Russell

In the field of Human Resources, we are challenged more than ever in this post-pandemic time of the Great Resignation to create and sustain workplaces that help employees thrive. Year after year, the Nordic countries rank as the world’s happiest places to live and work. Every year, I add a book to my list that delves into this and shares some of the aspects of the Nordic culture that enable a happy life. While some aspects are not transferable to the United States, many are. As Human Resource Professionals, it is important to think out of the box and I am looking forward to learning from the insights that Helen Russell shares during her ventures moving to Denmark, the happiest country in the world.  

Ewa Wodzinska, Executive Director in the Graduate School of Business and Leadership Dean's Office at National Louis University recommends:

Book: Genghis Khan and “The Making of the Modern World”

It’s a fascinating read since European and Chinese history have basically minimized, if not erased, his (and his successors) contributions to the development of society, growth of commerce, and probably the first use of paper money and banking (that’s business, right?) and unbelievable contributions to the growth of arts and sciences. Khan was basically the first ruler that introduced the idea of religious tolerance and also established the belief that no ruler is above the law. 

Also, if you want to talk about “self-starter” (entrepreneurship and leadership) he was a self-made man who rose from poverty and obscurity to establish an empire that was greater than Alexander the Great’s conquest and definitely way more enduring and important in terms of impact (and creation) on the modern world. Fascinating book.