55PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANK FRANCES FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
YEAR IN REVIEW Bloomberg Pursuits December 21, 2020That Will Never Work:
The Birth of Netflix
and the Amazing
Life of an Idea, by
Marc Randolph ($29;
Little, Brown & Co.)
“A must-read for any
leader—especially
during this time,” says
Marc Metrick, president
and CEO of Saks Fifth
Avenue Inc. “We must
empower our teams to
make bold decisions and
take risks, freely and
confidently. Regardless
of what industry you’re
in, you must never lose
sight of the power of
confidence in both your
ideas and yourself to
take a leap of faith.”
The Passion Economy:
The New Rules
for Thriving in the
Twenty-First Century,
by Adam Davidson
($27.95; Knopf)
“Entrepreneurship is
the most powerful force
for progress the world
has ever known,” says
Robert Reffkin, founder
and CEO of Compass.
“One of the core ideas
in the book has been a
driving force in my own
life: You don’t have to
choose between earning
a living and pursuing
your passions—you
can do both. It’s like the
‘shower test’: If you’re
not excited enough
about your work to think
about it in the shower,
find a new career.”
Connected
Strategy: Building
Continuous Customer
Relationships
for Competitive
Advantage, by Nicolaj
Siggelkow and
Christian Terwiesch
($32; Harvard Business
Review Press)
“This book challenged
my thinking about how
to address the potential
disruptive impact of
technology on banks,”
says Ather Williams III,
senior vice president
and head of strategy
for digital platforms
and innovation at Wells
Fargo. “By focusing on
meeting the customer
where they are andproviding value-added
services as their needs
arise, we can form a
more connected and
relevant relationship.”
Capital and Ideology,
by Thomas Piketty
($39.95; Belknap Press
of Harvard University)
“From the economist
who convinced the
world that inequality
is worsening, Piketty’s
follow-up exposes
the beliefs behind our
‘hypercapitalist’ system,”
says Sarah Cannon,
a partner at Index
Ventures. “His assertion
that the ideology of
entrepreneurship itself,
manifested in Silicon
Valley, drives these
economic outcomes hits
close to home. It raises
a profound question:
Have we, as a global
society, developed
any compelling
alternative systems?”The Tyranny of Merit:
What’s Become of the
Common Good?, by
Michael J. Sandel ($28;
Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
“It’s certainly a page
turner with many
provocative ideas,”
says Chow-Kiat
Lim, CEO of GIC, the
sovereign wealth
fund of Singapore.
“This book sheds light
on the dark side of
meritocracy, which has
been turbocharged
by the market economy
and globalization.
I was inspired to bring
about a system for the
common good—through
fostering dignity of
work, reframing of
success and failure, and
more public discourse
of policy choices.”
Responses were edited
for space and clarity.
Reporting by Katherine
Chiglinsky, Amanda
Gordon, Nico Grant,
Jason Kelly, Kate Krader,
Justina Lee, Yoolim Lee,
Hannah Levitt, Janet
Lorin, Sarah McBride,
Chris Nagi, Lananh
Nguyen,JanetPaskin,
MichaelPatterson, and
JamesTarmyA startup
storySuccess,
redefined