Frank Coates says…….”read more
books!”
I believe that one basic requirement for life enrichment and professional development is to do a fair amount of
reading, but knowing who and what to read is the tricky part.
Over the years, I have built most of my library on the recommendations of others who I admire and respect. I’m
always asking friends, colleagues, and business leaders what they’re reading now, both fiction and non-fiction.
My goal is to share with you some recommended reading in the areas of personal improvement, improved leadership
skills, continuing education, and career advancement.
This deck includes 20 recommendations by some of the most influential leaders of the financial services industry and
I have categorized the books as follows: finance, financial crisis, company culture, leadership, and personal growth.
Each slide includes the cover and a synopsis of the book, as well as a link to purchase the book on Amazon. Below is
a list of the contributors.
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•
•
•
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Noreen Beaman, CEO - Brinker Capital
Andrew Provencher, CFA EVP - Dreyfus
Matthew Schiffman, Head of Global Marketing - Legg Mason
Ron Fiske, Managing Director - Envestnet
James Patrick, EVP of Advisor Managed Programs - Envestnet
Jim Seuffert, Senior Partner – Wheelhouse Analytics
I hope you find reading these books to be as helpful, insightful, and joyful as I do.
Sincerely,
Frank Coates, CFA CEO
Wheelhouse Analytics
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My
Eyes Shut!"
Category: Finance
Recommended by: Ron Fiske, Managing Director – Envestnet
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143116800/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143116800&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=YMVIX355G2PUKESY
The current financial crisis has only one parallel: the
Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent Great
Depression of the 1930s, which crippled the future
of an entire generation and set the stage for WWII.
As Liaquat Ahamed reveals in Lords of Finance, it
was the decisions made by a small number of
central bankers that were the primary cause of that
economic meltdown.
As yet another period of economic turmoil makes
headlines today, Lords of Finance is a potent
reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions
of central bankers can have, their fallibility, and the
terrible human consequences that can result when
they are wrong.
Category: Finance
Recommended by: Frank Coates, CEO – Wheelhouse Analytics
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071813659/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0071813659&linkC
ode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=SQIQHUAG6M4FW2A2
The go-to guide for anyone seeking long-term gain in
the stock market, Winning the Loser's Game was
referred to by the great Peter Drucker as "by far the
best book on investment policy and management."
Dr. Charles Ellis, dubbed "Wall Street's Wisest Man" by
Money magazine, has been showing investors for three
decades how stock markets really work and what
individuals can do to be sure they are long-term
winners.
Now, in this new edition of his investing classic, Ellis
helps you succeed in a market that's becoming more
unpredictable by the day. Applying wisdom gained from
half a century of advising many of the leading
investment managers and securities firms around the
world, Ellis explains how individual investors can avoid
common traps and get on the road to investment
success.
Category: Finance
Recommended by: Ron Fiske, Managing Director – Envestnet
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143034758/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143034758&linkCod
e=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=3XTNJLQOOXP7PHV7
Few figures in American history have been more
hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood than
Alexander Hamilton.
Chernow’s biography gives Hamilton his due and
sets the record straight, deftly illustrating that the
political and economic greatness of today’s America
is the result of Hamilton’s countless sacrifices to
champion ideas that were often wildly disputed
during his time. “
To repudiate his legacy,” Chernow writes, “is, in
many ways, to repudiate the modern world.”
Chernow here recounts Hamilton’s turbulent life: an
illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the
Caribbean, he came out of nowhere to take America
by storm, rising to become George Washington’s
aide-de-camp in the Continental Army, coauthoring
The Federalist Papers, founding the Bank of New
York, leading the Federalist Party, and becoming the
first Treasury Secretary of the United States.
Category: Finance
Recommended by: Frank Coates, CEO – Wheelhouse Analytics
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393340740/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393340740&linkCod
e=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=2I3DA6TWGYTKWPWI
A Random Walk Down Wall Street is todays bestselling, authoritative, and gimmick-free guide to
investing.
Burton Malkiel evaluates the full range of investment
opportunities, from stocks, bonds, and money markets
to real estate investment trusts and insurance, home
ownership, and tangible assets such as gold and
collectibles.
This edition includes new strategies for rearranging
your portfolio for retirement, along with the book’s
classic life-cycle guide to investing, which matches the
needs of investors in any age bracket. A Random Walk
Down Wall Street long ago established itself as a mustread, the first book to purchase before starting a
portfolio.
So whether you want to brief yourself on the ways of
the market before talking to a broker or follow Malkiel’s
easy steps to managing your own portfolio, this book
remains the best investing guide money can buy.
Category: Finance
Recommended by: James Patrick, EVP of Advisor Managed Programs - Envestnet
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1611634091/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1611634091&linkC
ode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=YCKWH36MXNOVS3QA
The definitive work concerning Warren Buffett
and intelligent investment philosophy, this is a
collection of Buffett's letters to the shareholders
of Berkshire Hathaway written over the past few
decades that together furnish an enormously
valuable informal education.
The letters distill in plain words all the basic
principles of sound business practices. They are
arranged and introduced by a leading apostle of
the "value" school and noted author, Lawrence
Cunningham.
Here in one place are the priceless pearls of
business and investment wisdom, woven into a
delightful narrative on the major topics
concerning both managers and investors.
These timeless lessons are ever-more important
in the current environment.
Category: Finance
Recommended by: Frank Coates, CEO – Wheelhouse Analytics
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439163367/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=143916336
7&linkCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=ECMGS4JVLXSOK2PW
Why do so many otherwise smart people make
foolish financial choices?
Why do investors sell stocks just before they
skyrocket -- and cling to others as they plummet?
Why do shoppers overspend when using credit
cards rather than cash?
What do our habits of tipping or buying lottery tickets
indicate about our relationship with money?
In this fascinating investigation of the ways we
spend, invest, save, borrow, and waste money, Gary
Belsky and Thomas Gilovich reveal the
psychological causes -- the patterns of thinking and
decision making -- of irrational behavior.
Most important, they focus on the decisions we
make every day and, using entertaining examples,
provide invaluable tips on avoiding the financial faux
pas that can cost thousands of dollars each year.
Category: Corporate Culture
Recommended by: Noreen Beaman, CEO – Brinker Capital
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422133311/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1422133311&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=HQOULZ7EVDOWEVVS
Most companies treat service as a low-priority
business operation, keeping it out of the spotlight until
a customer complains. Then service gets to make a
brief appearance – for as long as it takes to calm the
customer down and fix whatever foul-up jeopardized
the relationship.
In Uncommon Service, Frances Frei and Anne
Morriss show how, in a volatile economy where the
old rules of strategic advantage no longer hold true,
service must become a competitive weapon, not a
damage-control function. That means weaving
service tightly into every core decision your company
makes. The authors reveal a transformed view of
service, presenting an operating model built on tough
choices organizations must make:
Practical and engaging, Uncommon Service makes a
powerful case for a new and systematic approach to
service as a means of boosting productivity,
profitability, and competitive advantage.
Category: Corporate Culture
Recommended by: Andrew Provencher, CFA, Head of Intermediary Distribution - Dreyfus
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610390539/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1610390539&linkCode=as2
&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=7PMK3A74SVJJW4WR
Veteran journalist Koller goes inside Lincoln Electric, a
Cleveland arc-welding equipment manufacturer dating
back to 1895, a company that promises that no
permanent employee who meets the firm's
performance standards will ever be laid off due to lack
of work. This promise is so sacrosanct, it's included in
the employee handbook and in the organization's
annual report.
The company has also paid out profit-sharing bonuses
without fail since 1934, bonuses which almost always
exceed 60% of an employee's basic earnings. Koller
offers a fascinating glimpse into this remarkable yet,
in many ways, ordinary organization, which survives,
even thrives, in a sunset industry where overseas
outsourcing is the norm.
Readers follow the company through the days of
Carnegie and Rockefeller, recessions in the 1950s,
and the present crisis, and witness how it weathers
challenges. Instructive and heartening, this book offers
a proven model for companies that not only want
healthy bottom lines but also satisfied, dedicated
employees.
Category: Corporate Culture
Recommended by: Noreen Beamon, CEO – Brinker Capital
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446576220/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0446576220&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=F3OZ3A4NSEJV4H2M
Now in trade paperback, the hip, iconoclastic CEO of
Zappos shows how a different kind of corporate
culture can make a huge difference in achieving
remarkable results -- by actually creating a company
culture that values happiness --and then delivers on
it.
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•
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Pay brand-new employees $2,000 to quit
Make customer service the responsibility of the
entire company-not just a department
Focus on company culture as the #1 priority
Apply research from the science of happiness to
running a business
Help employees grow-both personally and
professionally Seek to change the world
Oh, and make money too . . .
Sound crazy? It's all standard operating procedure at
Zappos, the online retailer that's doing over $1 billion
in gross merchandise sales annually.
Category: Leadership
Recommended by: Jim Seuffert, Senior Partner – Wheelhouse Analytics
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743213882/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0743213882&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=J5EQUCDSRSDTGDOB
John Wooden is arguably the greatest coach of all
time. But few of us have had the chance to benefit
from his tutelage. In Andy Hill's inspiring, deeply
personal account, those of us who only watched the
legendary Bruin dynasties finally have a chance to
learn from the master.
The lessons are all the more illuminating because
they are told from the viewpoint of a player who,
while not a star, was a keen observer of Wooden's
unique system.
Wooden clearly didn't just teach basketball skills.
His lessons apply to all aspects of life - business,
family and community. Hill not only illuminates
Wooden's insights, he imbues the book with a
warm, very personal sense of humanity and caring.
If you liked 'Tuesdays With Morrie', you'll connect
with 'Be Quick - But Don't Hurry'.
Category: Leadership
Recommended by: Andrew Provencher, CFA, Head of Intermediary Distribution - Dreyfus
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761513698/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0761513698&linkCode=as2&t
ag=wheelh-20&linkId=XIHUNEASX3VYRZZR
In this absorbing tale, you watch the timeless principles of
servant leadership unfold through the story of John Daily, a
businessman whose outwardly successful life is spiraling
out of control.
He is failing miserably in each of his leadership roles as
boss, husband, father, and coach. To get his life back on
track, he reluctantly attends a weeklong leadership retreat
at a remote Benedictine monastery. To John's surprise, the
monk leading the seminar is a former business executive
and Wall Street legend. Taking John under his wing, the
monk guides him to a realization that is simple yet
profound: The true foundation of leadership is not power,
but authority, which is built upon relationships, love,
service, and sacrifice.
Along with John, you will learn that the principles in this
book are neither new nor complex. They don't demand
special talents; they are simply based on strengthening the
bonds of respect, responsibility, and caring with the people
around you.
Perhaps this is why The Servant has touched readers from
all walks of life—because its message can be applied by
anyone, anywhere—at home or at work.
Category: Leadership
Recommended by: Noreen Beaman, CEO – Brinker Capital
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812974492/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812974492&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=XFI36IR4BORLB32U
In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible
delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance
into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had
carried him to the Berlin Olympics.
But when World War II began, the athlete became an
airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed
flight on a May afternoon in 1943.
When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the
Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived,
adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay
thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks,
thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a
trial even greater.
Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would
answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with
hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His
fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended
on the fraying wire of his will.
Category: Leadership
Recommended by: Andrew Provencher, CFA, Head of Intermediary Distribution
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1576759776/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1576759776&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=F22HTJSOM522R36Q
Since its original publication in 2000, Leadership and SelfDeception has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Its
sales continue to increase year after year, and the book’s
popularity has gone global, with editions now available in over
twenty languages.
Through a story everyone can relate to about a man facing
challenges on the job and in his family, the authors expose
the fascinating ways that we can blind ourselves to our true
motivations and unwittingly sabotage the effectiveness of our
own efforts to achieve success and increase happiness.
This new edition has been revised throughout to make the
story even more compelling. And drawing on the extensive
correspondence the authors have received over the years,
they have added a section that outlines the many ways that
readers have been using Leadership and Self-Deception to
improve their lives and workplaces—areas such as team
building, conflict resolution, and personal growth and
development, to name a few.
Read this extraordinary book and discover what millions
already have learned—how to consistently tap into an innate
ability that dramatically improves both your results and your
relationships.
Category: Personal Growth
Recommended by: Matthew Schiffman, Head of Global Marketing - Legg Mason
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385509758/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0385509758&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=ORXF4SKV2KLL37DJ
Drawing from his own success as an entrepreneur, as
well as from the stories of scores of companies and
individuals who have flourished as a result of an 80/20
mind-set, Koch offers a step-by-step method to
remodeling a career or existing business, or creating a
new one – one that most benefits you.
He provides valuable insights on finding 80/20
partners, hiring 80/20 employees, and running an
80/20 business.
By building a team that supports your efforts and
excels in areas where you lack experience or
knowledge, you’ll be able to focus your time and
energy on your strengths.
Productivity and profits will soar because you’ll be
doing what you do best and enjoy the most. By using
the 80/20 strategies outlined in the book, you can take
control of your career and financial future.
Category: Personal Growth
Recommended by: Jim Seuffert, Senior Partner – Wheelhouse Analytics
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006G7YQB0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006G7YQB0&li
nkCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=VSFR2S2MXA3P657U
In a book that's one part prophecy, one part thought
experiment, one part manifesto, and one part survival
manual, internet impresario and blogging pioneer Jeff
Jarvis reverse-engineers Google—the fastest-growing
company in history—to discover forty clear and
straightforward rules to manage and live by.
At the same time, he illuminates the new worldview of
the internet generation: how it challenges and destroys,
but also opens up vast new opportunities. His findings
are counterintuitive, imaginative, practical, and above all
visionary, giving readers a glimpse of how everyone and
everything—from corporations to governments, nations
to individuals—must evolve in the Google era.
Along the way, he looks under the hood of a car
designed by its drivers, ponders a worldwide university
where the students design their curriculum, envisions an
airline fueled by a social network, imagines the opensource restaurant, and examines a series of industries
and institutions that will soon benefit from this book's
central question.
The result is an astonishing, mind-opening book that, in
the end, is not about Google. It's about you.
Category: Personal Growth
Recommended by: Matthew Schiffman, Head of Global Marketing - Legg Mason
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671027034/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0671027034&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=54MEA3G5UVJZKK4F
You can go after the job you want...and get it! You
can take the job you have...and improve it! You can
take any situation you're in...and make it work for
you!
Since its release in 1936, How to Win Friends and
Influence People has sold more than 15 million
copies. Dale Carnegie’s first book is a timeless
bestseller, packed with rock-solid advice that has
carried thousands of now famous people up the
ladder of success in their business and personal
lives.
As relevant as ever before, Dale Carnegie’s
principles endure, and will help you achieve your
maximum potential in the complex and competitive
modern age.
Learn the six ways to make people like you, the
twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking,
and the nine ways to change people without
arousing resentment.
Category: Personal Growth
Recommended by: Matthew Schiffman, Head of Global Marketing - Legg Mason
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812932188/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812932188&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=GIB4HSZMJRQLULDA
“Explorers depend on the North Star when there are
no other landmarks in sight. The same relationship
exists between you and your right life, the ultimate
realization of your potential for happiness. I believe
that a knowledge of that perfect life sits inside you just
as the North Star sits in its un-altering spot.”
Martha Beck has helped hundreds of clients find their
own North Star, fulfill their potential, and live more
joyfully. Now, she shares her step-by-step program
that will help you take the exhilarating and frightening
journey to your own ideal life.
Finding Your Own North Star will teach you how to
read your internal compasses, articulate your core
desires, identify and repair the unconscious beliefs
that may be blocking your progress, nurture your
intuition, and cultivate your dreams from the first
magical flicker of an idea through the planning and
implementation of a more satisfying life.
Martha Beck offers thoroughly tested case studies,
questionnaires, exercises, and her own trademark wit
and wisdom to guide you every step of the way.
Category: Personal Growth
Recommended by: Jim Seuffert, Senior Partner – Wheelhouse Analytics
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878424319/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1878424319&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=5Y3DWYSCLPRGEAVY
In the best selling book The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz gives four principles to
practice in order to create love and happiness
in your life.
Adopting and committing to these agreements
is simple. Actually living and keeping these
Four Agreements can be one of the hardest
things you will ever do. It can also be one of
the most life changing things you will ever do.
Sign Up For The On Line Study Course in Self
Mastery As you practice living these four
practices your life will dramatically change. In
the beginning these new habits will be
challenging and you will lapse countless times.
With practice these agreements become
integrated into your being and every area of
your life and become easy habits to keep.
Category: Financial Crisis
Recommended by: James Patrick, EVP of Advisor Managed Programs - Envestnet
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393338827/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393338827&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=W3TXJHT72QXN6VY4
The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder
markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC
doesn't dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate
derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable
securities to profit from the misery of lower--and middle-class Americans who can't pay their debts. The smart
people who understood what was or might be happening
were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they
weren't talking.
Michael Lewis creates a fresh, character-driven narrative
brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting
sequel to his #1 bestseller Liar's Poker.
Out of a handful of unlikely--really unlikely--heroes, Lewis
fashions a story as compelling and unusual as any of his
earlier bestsellers, proving yet again that he is the finest
and funniest chronicler of our time.
The #1 New York Times bestseller: "It is the work of our
greatest financial journalist, at the top of his game. And
it's essential reading."
Category: Financial Crisis
Recommended by: James Patrick, EVP of Advisor Managed Programs - Envestnet
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804138591/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0804138591&lin
kCode=as2&tag=wheelh-20&linkId=KG62PGW5D7U2M55K
Stress Test reveals a side of Secretary Geithner the public
has never seen, starting with his childhood as an American
abroad. He recounts his early days as a young Treasury
official helping to fight the international financial crises of the
1990s, then describes what he saw, what he did, and what
he missed at the New York Fed before the Wall Street boom
went bust.
He takes readers inside the room as the crisis began,
intensified, and burned out of control, discussing the most
controversial episodes of his tenures at the New York Fed
and the Treasury, including the rescue of Bear Stearns; the
harrowing weekend when Lehman Brothers failed; the
searing crucible of the AIG rescue as well as the furor over
the firm’s lavish bonuses; the battles inside the Obama
administration over his widely criticized but ultimately
successful plan to end the crisis; and the bracing fight for
the most sweeping financial reforms in more than seventy
years.
Secretary Geithner also describes the aftershocks of the
crisis, including the administration’s efforts to address high
unemployment, a series of brutal political battles over
deficits and debt, and the drama over Europe’s repeated
flirtations with the economic abyss.