Issue No. 631 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting wonders if your family or friends think you need a “fun” book to read over the Christmas break. If so, read on! Plus, click here to see book recommendations in all 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for more book reviews. Also, read my recent review of Glad I Didn’t Know.
My wife, Joanne, urges me to read a few “fun” books occasionally—something outside my too-narrow niche of leadership and management. She APPROVED this one: The Spy and the Traitor. Yet…LOL!
Christmas Gift Idea #3:
John le Carré: “The best true spy story I have ever read.”
John le Carré: “The best true spy story I have ever read.”
If your family and colleagues are bugging you incessantly that you read too many leadership and management books—and that you should lighten up!—then here you go. Ask them to give you Christmas Gift Idea #3:
The Spy and the Traitor:
The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
by Ben Macintyre (Sept. 18, 2018)
It’s possible that, perhaps…maybe, my wife may have urged me recently to “read something fun for a change.” So…I did. If you like spy novels, you’ll love this 368-page blockbuster. John le Carré called it, “The best true spy story I have ever read.” The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
by Ben Macintyre (Sept. 18, 2018)
This New York Times bestseller is the classic page-turner. I read it on vacation last month. I couldn’t put it down! If you’ve enjoyed this genre over the years, I guarantee you’ll rank this true spy story high on your all-time best-reads list.
There’s only one spoiler alert in this review—because I don’t want you to miss the fun of reading the harrowing twists and turns. (Will he make it?) I’ll just give you this 2.5-minute video blurb by the author. Ben Macintyre introduces us to Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB officer who ultimately agrees to spy for London’s MI6 during the Cold War.
View author Ben Macintyre talk about the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB officer who spies for London’s MI6 during the Cold War (2 minutes, 30 seconds).
BY THE WAY…to one of my faithful readers who recommended this book, thank you! (I failed to note your name. Sorry.) I first discovered Ben Macintyre when I read another true story he documented, Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory. (I named this Book #78 of 100 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.)
I titled my review of Operation Mincemeat, “The Twin Frailties of Wishfulness and Yesmanship.” It was also a “fun” book to read—but I couldn’t help myself. I noted dozens of brilliant leadership lessons and management missteps! You might also enjoy the movie, starring Colin Firth, which premiered in 2022. Click here to view the movie trailer for Operation Mincemeat (rated PG-13).
In The Spy and the Traitor, Ben Macintyre’s deep dive into the nature of spies and traitors is a graduate level semester in Psychology and Theology. Examples:
• “The KGB used the acronym MICE to identify the four mainsprings of spying: Money, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego.”
• “Malcolm Muggeridge, former MI6 officer and journalist, wrote: “Intelligence agents, in my experience, are even bigger liars than journalists.”
• The author describes an Oxford grad, a Catholic, who was recruited by MI5 (and later converted to Marxism): “…a man with a considerable sense of inferiority and insecurity.” And this: “Raging insecurity is not an ideal quality in an officer of the Security Service…” The traitor was also noted for his “air of superiority and bumptiousness.” (Attn: Psych Majors, Pastors, and Priests: You’ll love this book!)
• “In a craven and hierarchical organization, the only thing more dangerous than revealing your own ignorance is to draw attention to the stupidity of the boss.”
MORE “FUN” STUFF:
KGB: frowned on inebriation. “Unlike other branches of government, secret services tend to recruit imaginative people who have what Winston Churchill called ‘corkscrew minds.’” The author adds, “If the marks of potential treachery are being clever, eccentric, and inclined to have a few too many drinks, then half the wartime and postwar spies in Britain and America would have been suspect. But in this respect the KGB was different, since it officially frowned on both inebriation and individuality.”
“Church leaders and top bankers!” You won’t believe this. A KGB top-secret document instructed their agents and spies in NATO countries to watch for signs that a nuclear-missile attack on the USSR was imminent. Various indicators to be reported: lights on in government buildings late at night; number of cars in government parking lots at night, and close surveillance of “key nuclear decision-makers” including, “bizarrely, church leaders and top bankers.”
“Two all-beef patties, special sauce…” Even more bizarre (my opinion)—the KGB monitored cattle slaughterhouses. “If the number of cattle killed…increased sharply, that might indicate that the West was stockpiling hamburgers prior to Armageddon.”
SPOILER ALERT! I would urge you NOT to watch the video below, but—per the editorial policies of this publication—we’re here to inform leaders and readers and let them decide what’s best for themselves. Do you want to know how the book ends?
[ ] Option #1: VIEW this heart-pounding video...“The Gripping Tale of Britain's Greatest Spy,” from “True Life Spy Stories” (43 minutes). SPOILER ALERT!
[ ] Option #2. DO NOT VIEW THIS VIDEO…until you’ve read the entire book and learned why MI6 officers brought along a cassette tape of “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius. (Also used as the tune for “Be Still My Soul.”)
Need More Fun? Just last week, The Wall Street Journal reviewed a book, Counterfeit Spies: How World War II Intelligence Operations Shaped Cold War Spy Fiction, by Oliver Buckton (Oct. 1, 2024). Read the WSJ review, “‘Counterfeit Spies’ Review: Craftier Than Fiction. Before he created James Bond, Ian Fleming helped devise a plan to mislead the Germans about the Allied invasion of Sicily.”
And LOL—for the record—the book, The Life of Ian Fleming, by John Pearson, was written by some other guy using my name!
TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre. Listen on Libro (13 hours, 19 minutes).
BONUS BOOK! AND SPEAKING OF WARS…when I reviewed the book by the founder of Trader Joe’s, Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys, I noted how the book checked all 20 of my management buckets. Example: in the Book Bucket...
Joe Coulombe praises the book, The Guns of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About the Outbreak of World War I, by Barbara Tuchman. He writes, “It’s the best book on management—and, especially, mismanagement—I’ve ever read.” So far, I’m at page 197 of this 640-page gem. (I can’t stop underlining the good stuff!) Watch for my review in 2025. Elon Musk recommends the audiobook (19 hours, 9 minutes).
Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:
2) True or False? No way! I would never ask AI to suggest “10 Leadership and Management Lessons from the book, The Spy and the Traitor,” by Ben Macintyre. (LOL! See my response here!)
SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!
Book #1 of 99: Turning Goals Into Results
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #1 of 99 in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books and niche chapters still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.
Turning Goals Into Results:
The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms
by Jim Collins (Feb. 7, 2017)
Harvard Business Review Press, 96 pages
The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms
by Jim Collins (Feb. 7, 2017)
Harvard Business Review Press, 96 pages
Jim Collins created two catalytic mechanisms to limit his consulting work—so he could concentrate on research, writing, and teaching. The first: “The come to Boulder, Colorado, rule.” The second: Collins allocates a maximum of four days to any one organization per year. Read why time is more valuable to CEOs than money and why “invoices just don’t hurt."
• Read my review (May 25, 2019).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #1 of 20: The Results Bucket
My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas:
I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. Jim Collins writes, “Consider also the highly effective catalytic mechanism that a colleague of mine has been using for the past three years to attain her BHAG: to lead a full and active life as a mother, wife, professional writer, and church volunteer, without going crazy.”
“One day, my colleague was lamenting her situation to her sister, who came up with an effective catalytic mechanism. Every time the woman took on work beyond a certain level of revenue—a comfortable annual salary, in essence—she would pay her sister a $200-a-day-penalty fee.”
Are you using catalytic mechanisms in your organization—and your own life?
• Read my review (May 25, 2019).
• Order from Amazon.
• Management Bucket #1 of 20: The Results Bucket
My SECOND READ Insights/Ideas:
I missed this brilliant idea the first time I read this. Jim Collins writes, “Consider also the highly effective catalytic mechanism that a colleague of mine has been using for the past three years to attain her BHAG: to lead a full and active life as a mother, wife, professional writer, and church volunteer, without going crazy.”
“One day, my colleague was lamenting her situation to her sister, who came up with an effective catalytic mechanism. Every time the woman took on work beyond a certain level of revenue—a comfortable annual salary, in essence—she would pay her sister a $200-a-day-penalty fee.”
Are you using catalytic mechanisms in your organization—and your own life?
Song #43 of 45: “Time After Time"
Listen to “Time After Time,” sung by Cyndi Lauper, Song #43 of 45 in our blog series, Johnny Be Good. Our guest blogger, Callista Dawson, adds her personal reflections to this song. She notes that there are currently 177 songs that cover or sample this track!
10 Leadership Lessons from a Spy book!
I couldn’t help myself! I asked ChatGPT to suggest 10 leadership lessons from the book, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre. Next, I asked AI to “review” those leadership insights in a podcast. Read and listen here. For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.
Your Weekly Staff Meeting is emailed free two to four times a month to subscribers. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As an Amazon Associate, we earn Amazon gift cards from qualifying purchases. As a Libro.fm Affiliate, we earn credits. PRIVACY POLICY: Typepad, Inc. hosts John Pearson's Buckets Blog. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform for Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews. By clicking (above) to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy policy here.
Comments