Hooks Book Event - Blog

A Forgotten Hero, The Quiet Heroes Among Us, and Why Words Are Not Always Our Best Tools

How well do you know yourself? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? How does that affect how others value you? Do you ever tire of too many words and want to communicate more simply – with a picture instead?

Self knowledge, the value of quiet people, and the overuse of words are just a few of the subjects explored by participants at HBE events in the first two weeks of February.

At a February 2 Department of the Interior University’s Career Diversity & Leadership event, author Stephen Shapiro had employees play Personality Poker, a game he designed. They held cards representing their personality traits, played "poker" with their colleagues and in the process learned about themselves and how others perceive them. "It's a fun thing, and people love it,'' HBE CEO Perry Pidgeon Hooks said."But it's also important. When you are looking to succeed, you have to start by knowing yourself. A lot of people never take the time."

Author Susan Cain explored the differences between introverts and extroverts and why introverts are undervalued. "I am an extrovert," Hooks admitted. "I learned a lot from Susan Cain. I think we all did." Author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Cain is in great demand by corporate America, is working on a TED conference and is scheduled to appear on The Colbert Report soon.

"We are so lucky to work with these authors when their books are hot off the presses," Hooks noted. "We are able to bring these thought leaders to our clients for these amazing private events, early on in the life cycle of the book. Bringing the right speaker to the right client at the right time, that is what we are trying to do."

Dan Roam discussed his latest book, Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Won't Work at three events in one marathon day. Participants got to try out Roam's celebrated method of illustrating ideas with a simple picture on the back of a cocktail napkin, a practice now in use at the White House, among other places, following the publication of Roam's previous book The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures.

At an event in observance of Black History Month, speaker Elizabeth Dowling Taylor told the story of Paul Jennings, a slave who worked in the White House and later helped others escape slavery. Taylor also discussed A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons, with Jon Stewart on January 4 on The Daily Show.

There's more on tap for February, and March is absolutely chock full of events, including HBE friend Bob Shiller discussing his latest book, Finance the Good Society and our new gal pal, Liza Mundy, with The Richer Sex. Check out the calendar -- there may be room on an author’s schedule to come to your office for conversation and idea sharing.

One event Hooks is especially looking forward to is the author “meet and greet" at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on March 22. Author Siobhan Fallon will share her book You Know When the Men Are Gone with wounded soldiers and their families. "We have a wonderful event planned,'' said Hooks, who is busy raising funds to pay for the books for this and two future Walter Reed events planned for May and June.

January 2012 Month in Review: History, Leadership, Trust, Risk and Behavioral Economics

The New Year is off to an inspiring start, and 2012 promises to be a busy year for HBE and HBE's CEO Perry Hooks. "January's themes were leadership, trust, risk, vulnerability and how history repeats itself," Hooks said. "All of these themes came together in an amazing sort of way."

On January 10, Steve Fenberg shared his biography, Unprecedented Power: Jesse Jones, Capitalism & The Common Good, with Treasury Department officials. Fenberg discussed the Reconstruction Finance Corp., a federal agency created to lend money during the Great Depression and expanded by Jones as Secretary of Commerce under FDR. The parallels between RFC and today's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) are unmistakable, which is why Timothy Massad, Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability, "loves the book," Hooks said. Massad is responsible for overseeing the implementation and wind down of TARP. "This book shows that it has all been done before, it is history repeating itself, and in fact, that RFC probably went further than TARP. It is always a good idea for today's leaders to look back at what other leaders have done to solve similar problems."

On January 17 and 18, two events featured health care legislation expert Jonathan Gruber speaking about his book, Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works. "Gruber is a really smart, energetic proponent of the Obama health care reform legislation...he helped to write it," Hooks said. "If you are curious about health care reform legislation, this is the book for you. It is in comic book form, so it's an easy read, and chock full of great information."

Also on January 18, Robert Hurley, author ofThe Decision to Trust "hit a real nerve, a real chord, talking about trust in the workplace," Hooks recounted. "He has already been asked back. He will be here for four events in March, and he may have some room in his schedule" for additional events. "Hurley's message is that if it is not a trustworthy environment, the workplace is greatly diminished. Also, that as individuals in the workplace, we need to be more careful about whom we trust." Hooks noted Hurley's reference tying his ideas to those of Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, who spoke at a December 7 HBE event. "His point is that if you think too fast, you may trust someone you shouldn't. Think slow, don't trust too fast. Don't be a victim."

The themes of trust and victimization led right into another January 18 event, at the Spy Museum, where Joel Brenner discussed his book America the Vulnerable, New Technology and the Next Threat to National Security "Brenner is quite dapper, highly intellectual, a really smart guy, a former NSA insider," Hooks detailed. "Brenner's message is that there is so much information out there it is hard to know who and what to trust. It is our responsibility not to be a victim. Justice got hacked. I was attacked this week as a Zappos customer. As individuals, the U.S. government, employees of corporations, we are all vulnerable to these attacks." Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, coincidentally an author HBE has worked with, responded quickly to let customers know how to safeguard their e-mail accounts, Hooks added. Brenner will be back for another event in March.

"All of this relates in an odd sort of way," Hooks said of January's speakers and themes. "We are connecting the dots from history and leadership to trust, risk and behavioral economics. What keeps me going is the knowledge that new ideas help to fix problems; new ideas enhance whatever you are thinking about."

Looking ahead, February and March should be just as interesting. Among the upcoming highlights: author Elizabeth Dowling Taylor will discuss her book, A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons in February, which is Black History Month, and Stephen M. Shapiro, Best Practices are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition will be featured at several events in February, March and April.

Book TV/Fall Give Back and More!

A Message from Partners In Health

On Monday, September 12 2011, we were thrilled to realize an effort we launched earlier this year to bring a topic of global impact to our local community in DC.

Our Friends at Partners In Health asked us to share this message with you:

Thank you to all who attended the HBE event with Paul. It's heartening to know that so many people are invested in seeing Haiti build back better. Haiti After the Earthquake is a tool we can all use to educate friends and family about the challenges and opportunities facing Haiti in the months and years ahead. We hope that you'll share the book widely.

As advocates for Haiti, we'd like to keep you informed about Partners In Health's progress on the ground. Visit the link below to sign up for updates from PIH and to invite friends and family to join the fight for global health equity: www.pih.org/stay-up-to-date

And, be sure to watch the full event on Book TV starting this weekend! Click here to get the schedule. http://www.booktv.org/Program/12816/Haiti+After+the+Earthquake.aspx

HBE Speaker Muhammad Yunus to be Featured at Global Microcredit Summit-Spain
The HBE team is a big fan of microfinance and the organizations that help fund this important global effort. Our two public book events with Dr. Yunus have supported Fonkoze and the Grameen Foundation. We recently found out that Dr. Yunus will be one of more than 300 speakers at the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit to be held November 14-17, 2011 in Valladolid, Spain.

To view a complete list of the workshops and confirmed panelists, and to have all your registration-related questions answered, go to the website at http://globalmicrocreditsummit2011.org/. If you are lucky enough to be in Spain in November.. check it out!

Stand Up For Heroes! NYC-November 9...Jon Stewart...Bruce Springsteen...

Our good friend Lee Woodruff is back at it with husband Bob. They and the team at the Bob Woodruff Foundation are busy producing the 5th annual Stand Up For Heroes Event in NYC. This great event supports their work with our returning warriors. If you are not able to attend in person, please consider a donation! Click here to learn more. http://remind.org/events/stand_up_for_heroes/invitation

And on a side note, we are looking forward to working with Lee on her new spring fiction title!

In our back yard...Kitchen Renovation at The Children's Inn at NIH
The Inn is a private, non-profit, family-centered residence for pediatric patients and 59 families who are participating in groundbreaking treatments and biomedical research at NIH.

As you can imagine, with so many families using the kitchen to prepare family meals with special dietary and other restrictions, the hub of The Inn is well used. A campaign to raise funds to renovate the kitchen, in partnership with The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show in November, is underway. Included is an opportunity to meet, mingle with and hear Paula Deen in conversation with Cokie Roberts at the Washington Convention Center on November 5th. HBE will be donating signed copies of We are Our Mother's Daughters by Cokie Roberts to the first 100 who purchase tickets. Email Fern Stone at The Children's Inn to get more information - stonefj@mail.nih.gov .