Literature To Lead By How to be a 21st-century boss-and how it can go wrong

No matter how trendy the dotcoms get, these three new books showthat some elements of success never change: You need good ideas andthe ability to lead-and, no matter how smart or rich you are, youhave to accept the possibility of failure.

If you've come across a great book that's motivated,inspired or taught you ways to grow your business better, let usknow. We'll pass it on to other readers looking forsolutions-or mere inspiration. Write to us at entmag@entrepreneur.com.

Leading The Revolution (Harvard Business School Press, $29.95)

Forget about continuous improvement and reengineering. Thoseinitiatives to reshape businesses ran out of steam long ago,according to strategy consulting firm Strategos' founder andchairman Gary Hamel. In the new century, says Hamel, you needradical new business concepts, à la Amazon.com's onlinemarketplace and Dell Computer Corp.'s direct-marketingapproach.

Hamel's sensible premise is that you'll get further,faster by making new rules than by trying to get better at playingunder the old ones. But it requires committing your organization tospinning a "wheel of innovation," he says. You'llhave to put your most talented people on new projects that promiseto create new business models, even if those projects won't payoff for years. You'll have to stop focusing on making justmoney, and put the emphasis on making ideas.

If all that sounds like more push than it ought to take for afew ideas, you're right. Hamel says tomorrow's winners willproduce torrents of innovations, of which a few of the most radicalwill provide the foundations for the Amazon.coms and Dells oftomorrow's world. Out of the torrent of business bookspublished these days, Hamel's is one of those good, if radical,ideas.

Leading The Revolution is available at Amazon.com.

The New Art Of The Leader (Prentice Hall Press, $23)

You might never have to lead troops into battle, but you canlearn a lot from those who do. That's the idea behind thisextensively updated version of the 1991 classic by William A. Cohenthat explains how great military officers lead-and how you can,too. Cohen presents examples of military leaders from Sun Tzu toGeorge Patton, including many encountered during his own days inthe Air Force Reserve. New material in the latest edition includesresearch from more than 200 new interviews and updated exploitsfrom such contemporaries as Desert Storm mastermind NormanSchwartz-kopf. Cohen is remarkable not only for his acumen but alsohis morality and humanity. Leadership does not involvemanipulation, he says, and many of the greatest leaders viewthemselves as the servants of their followers, not the other wayaround.

This is no philosophical treatise, however. Cohen is profoundlypractical, providing succinct, actionable advice on such topics as"How to Take Charge in Any Situation" and "How toDevelop Your Self-Confidence." Where Cohen leads, anyentrepreneur would do well to follow.

The New Art Of The Leader is available at Amazon.com.

When Genius Failed (Random House, $26.95)

Lack of money and management talent are two main reasonsstart-ups fail. But what if you start with $1.25 billion and yourstaff includes two future Nobel Prize-winning economists? Could yoube bankrupt in five years?

It happened to Long-Term Capital, a Connecticut investment fundstarted by former bond trader John Meriwether. Author RogerLowenstein tells the fascinating tale in his latest book.

Meriwether's geniuses got Long-Term Capital off to a greatstart, with returns of 40 percent per year for several years. Butthey needed lots of leverage to do it.

Everything came to earth in 1998, when the financial windsturned against Long-Term and its 100-to-1 leverage turned goldenprofits into leaden losses. In September of that year, the FederalReserve arranged a $3.6 billion bail-out of the insolvent firm.

This compelling tale offers entrepreneurs two lessons: Leveragecan kill, and you're never too smart to fail.

When Genius Failed is available at Amazon.com.

Familiar Faces

Think you can't be practical and stay loyal to your dreamsat the same time? Well, maybe you should check out The Practical Dreamer's Handbook: Finding theTime, Money, and Energy to Live the Life You Want to Live(Putnam Publishing, $21.95). Written by Entrepreneur columnistsPaul and Sarah Edwards, the book offers down-to-earth advice tohelp you reach the stars.
-Talicia A. FLint

What Are You Reading?

Business Is Combat: A Fighter Pilot's Guideto Winning in Modern Business Warfare by James D. Murphy(Regan Books, 2000)

"This book is written by an ex-fighter pilot who takes allthe things he learned in the Air Force and sets them to business.The book has really helped me make it a point to set and project mycompany's vision and goals to all my employees."
-Mike Manclark, president of Leading Edge Aviation ServicesInc., Santa Ana, California