THINK OUTSIDE THE BUILDING

5 stars out of 5

I have a love-hate relationship with books like this. Love: They make me think. Hate: They make me think. But no matter which way it goes, nobody does "think" books better than this author, whom I have admired ever since I read A Tale of"O: On Being Different in an Organization" way back in 1980 (and about five years later, Change Masters).


Most of us in the business world (or mostly retired from it, like me) have long since taken the "think outside the box" mantra to heart; but now, the author maintains, the world has outgrown that box and it's time to expand our thinking once again. People have come to view institutions, such as health care or religion, as buildings; when we think of health care, we see hospitals; think religion,  see churches or synagogues. The people inside these buildings - in particular, those who run them - for the most part have become accustomed to, and comfortable with, the way things are and resist meaningful change (i.e., that which can make a real difference in and to the world).

Illustrated by a ton of examples, mostly from participants in Harvard University's Advanced Leadership Initiative (which the author co-founded and directs), this book "reflects a search for new possibilities for positive change." This means going beyond conventional wisdom, and certainly making an end run (or perhaps a bottom-up) around institutional top-down toxicity. Especially amid the I'm okay but you're not, circle the wagons times in which we live, that seems to me to be a sound approach. Many of us are unhappy with the world as it is, yet still believe it can be made better; the trick, if you will, is in knowing how to make that happen.

To be sure, it's not easy; it's not enough to have a well-thought-out idea. Just getting started requires three "Cs" - capabilities, connections and cash - either well in hand or knowing how and where to obtain them. Detailed here are the processes, from concept to fruition, of several such ventures: what worked, what didn't, and what the rest of us can learn from these experiences.

Overall, this is an important book that isn't just for successful business men and women and those with plenty of money to spare. Rather, it's for anyone who sees a problem that needs addressed and envisions possible solutions that could make the world (or their little part of it) better. Highly recommended, and many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-publication copy.

Oh yes, I'm still thinking.

Think Outside the Building by Rosabeth Moss Kanter (PublicAffairs, January 2020); 352 pp.

CHAOS

4 stars out of 5

Perusing other reviews of this book, the 24th in the author's series featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, I was a bit surprised to see a few naysayers. Yes, I agree the story moves along slowly (sometimes almost excruciatingly so) until the very end, where I, at least, got a jolt. Yes, the esteemed doctor remains what I'd call paranoid egotistical - everybody's out to get her but since she's so good at what she does, she somehow never quite understands why. But that said, in many ways the writing here is the best I've seen in the past few books. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

In the beginning, Kay is prepping for a high-level presentation with a professional colleague. As she and hunky FBI profiler husband Benton Wesley stroll toward dinner in an exclusive Harvard University club, she discusses the upcoming unexpected visit from her not-so-beloved sister Dorothy - and, in typical fashion, tries to discern her motive for coming. Dorothy, for those who don't know, is the mother of Kay's technologically gifted niece Lucy - the one Kay pretty much raised as her own. Lucy and her partner, Janet, have settled down to take over the care and nurturing of Janet's late sister's son, Desi. While they play a key role in the book, Lucy is noticeably absent for most of it (not a problem for me since she's probably my least favorite recurring character, but other readers might miss her).

Just as Kay and Benton are about to sip their first glasses of fine wine, though, they both get calls that mean dinner will go on the back burner. A mid-20s woman, it seems, has been killed under rather mysterious circumstances as she rode her bicycle along the Charles River. At first, it appears she was struck by lightning; but no bad weather anywhere near the area coupled with other suspicious goings-on prompt Kay to conclude the death is no accident.

Meantime, Kay has been getting strange threatening messages from an anonymous source dubbed Tailend Charlie - someone who seems to have inside information about Kay's life that aren't public knowledge. When she gets another not long after the young woman's death, Kay begins to suspect there may be a connection - a suspicion she shares with her husband and longtime friend, investigator Pete Marino (who got a questionable phone call of his own). Evidence from the murder and the messages begins to converge, leading to the horrifying conclusion that long-time psychopathic nemesis Carrie Grethen may be the instigator, if not the killer. 

Most of the story takes place over a couple of days, and many chapters are spent on processing the murder scene before the murdered bicyclist is even taken back to Kay's lab at the Cambridge Forensic Center (much less positively identified). As usual, there's tension between Kay and Benton, who necessarily must keep certain details of their cases to themselves even when those cases overlap. And in the end, the killer's modus operandi does turn out to be something a little far-fetched, but it's grounded enough within the realm of possibility that I found it both intriguing and a bit unsettling.

Chaos by Patricia Cornwell (William Morrow, November 2016); 400 pp.