New Reviews: Business & Finance

Both authors do a credible job of narrating their research on how to manage today's diverse and quirky workforce. Their eagerness to help is palpable. Their audiobook focuses less on collaboration than on the dynamics of hierarchies--how leaders can help their teams by adjusting their approaches to a variety of individual needs. The authors found, for example, that younger... Read More

With the confidence of a news anchor, Emily Chang delivers the unsurprising news that Silicon Valley is built upon a sexist "frat boy" culture. She carefully details the boorishness (the venture capitalist who insists that entrepreneurs make their pitches in a hot tub), cluelessness (eschewing child care, companies offer the freezing of fertile eggs), and misogyny (the... Read More

Tom Parks's reading has the measured enthusiasm and phrasing clarity needed for a top-shelf audiobook on entrepreneurs, this one written by the former head of a foundation that rigorously studies why start-ups succeed and fail. His vocal personality blends seamlessly with the author's enlightening stories and surprising data on entrepreneurs. Schramm says most founders spend... Read More

Financial pundit and TV personality Ben Stein is known for his sardonic personality and common-sense approach to personal finance. When speaking, his excellent comedic timing helps audiences make sense of his stream-of-consciousness sentences. Blake Swihart's narration of this compact audio on the joys of owning stocks takes the wind out of Stein's entertaining writing. Though... Read More

Narrator Will Damron's warm tone fits Coyle's audiobook, which extols the virtue of connectedness in our work culture. The title refers to that hard-to-define space where members of a team find their relationship with each other safe and welcoming, rather than anxiety inducing and competitive. Damron provides examples of key organizations, including Pixar Studios, where... Read More

A behavioral economist and a financial comedian offer an attention-grabbing look at our worst financial instincts. Without sounding like he's performing, narrator Simon Jones's dramatic flair and wry personality add color to the material. His phrasing is slow, but his beautiful melodic palette and superb timing make every sentence clear and full of impact. The authors say our... Read More

When New York City's expensive urban liberalism collided with the flight of manufacturing and the broad economic downturn of 1975, the real possibility of a city bankruptcy captured attention across the nation. Narrating this well-documented account of the city's policy and leadership missteps during that time, Pam Ward captures the intensity and broader importance of how... Read More

If you've ever wanted to work with an executive or career coach, the author's discussion of how to use mindfulness strategies in the office could be a good substitute. Caroline Slaughter's delivery is upbeat and laced with positive energy. She'll sweep you along with this short volume's suggestions on how to overcome workplace toxicity and find your purpose. She does this in... Read More

You won't find a better narrator for this type of business book than Charlie Thurston. He's clear-voiced, comfortable with the material, and full of interesting pitch and phrasing patterns that he adjusts to every nuance in the writing. Author Soon Yu and contributor Dave Birss offer coherent insights about how people form deep attachments to iconic brands and products. These... Read More

The world is getting older, and MIT Age Lab founder Joseph F. Coughlin wants to contribute to a new narrative on how to live. In an upbeat narration, Kiff VandenHeuvel voices the the author's case that age isn't a problem. VandenHeuvel adds urgency and excitement to Coughlin's consideration of quality-of-life issues such as socializing and achievement and raises his voice to... Read More

Using vivid stories of functional and dysfunctional teams they've worked with, four consultants describe the values and practices that characterize high-performing work groups. Elisabeth Rodgers's performance captures the authors' confidence and delivers their advice with fsensitivity to the arc of each story and the principles behind their recommendations. She speaks to... Read More

Distinguished financial reporter Rana Foroohar offers penetrating arguments and plenty of evidence that American banks and businesses are threatening our economy by prioritizing investment over actual work. The author reads the forward and introduction with such relaxed confidence and skill that when voice-pro Rachel Fulginiti begins narrating, the transition is seamless. Both... Read More

The author's backstory of leaving his career as a high-powered trial lawyer to start a craft chocolate factory will remind listeners of the power of redemption and inspire them to reconfigure the way they work and do business. With his relaxed speaking voice and audible sincerity, he describes the joys of connecting directly with his suppliers and other business partners,... Read More

How can you move items from your to-do list to your done list? Narrator Ray Porter offers Haden's pearls of wisdom in a tenor voice that sounds more like a pep talk from a life coach than a well-researched book on motivation. Porter's warm and personal performance makes this engaging listening. The tracks speed by as listeners are immersed in his energetic delivery. His style... Read More

Narrating this timely guide to new-age and old-world paradigms for social change, Andrew Fallaize provides a pitch-perfect performance with its own blend of new and old. As he reads with an effective Australian accent, you can hear his British theater roots alongside his youthful enthusiasm for the power revolution going on today. The authors, both activists, point to a variety... Read More

Narrator Nancy Wu's beautifully lilting speaking voice brings to mind the tone and youthful curiosity of NPR's Terry Gross. Variations in pacing and intensity make the author's complex sentences come alive and reveal great sensitivity to the pathos of the broader story of how industrialization disrupts societies. More than Chinese entrepreneurs shifting manufacturing capacity... Read More

Written with the rigor of a behavioral engineer, this management guide would be difficult to absorb without the skills and vocal personality of narrator Sunil Malhotra. When the author's writing is dense with acronyms and decision matrixes, Malhotra's youthful voice and enthusiasm make it easier to stay focused and follow the author's reasoning. Prasad lays out five types of... Read More

Developed from a Stanford MBA course, this well-crafted analysis is made even more accessible by narrator Grace Angela Henry's audible connection with the authors' ideas. Her serious tone fits the topic--global threats to business security and economic stability--but her warm and comfortable delivery keeps the weighty subject matter from sounding too heavy. Political scientists... Read More

It's refreshing to hear a superstar tech executive speak so frankly and so personally about how important honesty is to a company's success. Her relaxed performance delivers not just a valuable management tool but also a fascinating look at who she is and how she operates. Her equally pleasing narrating partner, Alex Hyde White, reads summaries of key ideas at the end of each... Read More

Narrator Jeff Hoyt's deep pitch and carefully timed phrasing are critical to delivering the message that purposeful leadership and individual empowerment are necessary for any capitalist enterprise to be successful. His confidence and sensitivity to nuance make the authors' message memorable, their invitations hard to resist. Izzo and Vanderwielen say that the way a company... Read More

A Harvard business professor and creative researcher explains the benefits of resisting cultural expectations in all realms of life. Narrator Tamara Marston has a satisfying vocal timbre, but her narration doesn't capture the nuance and personality in the author's colorful stories. Though her phrasing is true to meaning, her repetitive pitch patterns make her performance sound... Read More

Dozens of voice professionals could have performed this well-organized guide with more vocal appeal and energy than the author does. She's a comfortable speaker, friendly and easy to understand, but her slow reading lacks the energy that her message of empowerment deserves. She knows her field well and covers a lot of choices that retirees will face without making her book... Read More

Narrator Chris Ciulla's energetic phrasing and obvious enthusiasm for Leonard Gentine's story will keep listeners engaged with the many detailed anecdotes that lead up to the heart of his story--how one man's moral compass and respect for others lifted the lives of the many people who came to work with him at Sargento. Gentine owned a variety of businesses before he began... Read More

Dr. Cristal Glangchai, engineer, entrepreneur, and CEO of a tech startup, shares her recommendations for giving young girls the tools to pursue STEM fields and entrepreneurship. Engagingly narrated by Sandy Rustin, this audiobook is full of ideas, activities, and information. Rustin keeps listeners interested by adding depth to text that could conceivably overwhelm the... Read More