What the movers and shakers are reading
Fidelis Goetz, head of international division and executive committee member, Bank Sarasin
I enjoy reading and wherever I am, either at home or travelling, I always keep a book next to my bed. Quite often these days, I spend time reading to my five-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, which I really enjoy. A strong favourite is The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. I can understand why The Gruffalo, a rhyming story about a mouse that invents a mystical creature to scare off his enemies, has become a modern children's classic. It is a great children's book and fun for parents to read to their children.
As far as my personal taste in books extends, I like books that combine finance, leadership, different aspects of social responsibility and attributes that make people different or able to think beyond the edge. I read in both English and German, but more so in English these days because I think English-language books tend to be written with a little more fluidity.
At the moment I am reading Good to Great by Jim Collins. It offers fascinating insights as to why some companies can make the leap to outperform market leaders where others fail. Of particular interest is the way CEOs and general managers turn in truly exceptional results. In most cases they do not display big egos. In fact they are not very visible. But the attribute they have is a clear view about their companies rather than a focus on themselves. The book reminds readers that success can breed success, but success can also breed disaster if it is not controlled. An all-time favourite is Love in the Time of Cholera, or El Amor en Los Tiempos Del Colera as the book is titled in Spanish, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Set in the late 19th century, the author writes about a 50-year love triangle and explores the idea that suffering for love is a kind of nobility. The best-seller, The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman is another remarkable book I enjoyed because, in an easy-to-read style, it examines commerce and competition from the perspective of a level-playing field or an environment where all competitors have an equal opportunity. It also looks at the different ways that countries, companies and individuals try to position themselves to remain competitive in a global market where historical, regional and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant.
Another all-time favourite is Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. This superb piece of work looks at the various ways people are often tricked, mainly by the thoughts coming from their own minds, into thinking that things that happen at random are actually happening by design.