Business

• Clayton M. Christensen, Jerome H. Grossman and Jason Hwang. The Innovator’s Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care. McGraw-Hill, 2008.
• Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler. Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. Copyright © 2009 by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler.
  Published by permission of Little, Brown and Co., 2009.
• Scott A. Snyder. The New World of Wireless: How to Compete in the 4G Revolution. Wharton School Publishing, 2009.
• Seth Godin. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. Copyright © Do You Zoom, Inc. 2008
  Summarized by arrangement with Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2008.

Audio

• Mark H. McCormack. What They Still Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School: . Copyright © 1989 by Mark H. McCormack Enterprises, Inc.
  Published by arrangement with The Bantam Dell Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., 1990.
• Alexander Green. The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy…and Get on with Your Life . John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008.
• Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter. 12: The Elements of Great Managing. Gallup Press, 2006.
• Anita Bruzzese. 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy*: *And How to Avoid Them. Copyright © 2007 by Anita Bruzzese
  Used by arrangement with Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
  www.penguin.com (1-800-253-6476), 2007.

Lá fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh go léir. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all. On March 17 every year, Irish people around the world celebrate the life of their patron saint who brought Christianity to Ireland in the second half of the fifth century. St. Patrick’s day is becoming an increasingly globalized festival: Ireland, New York, Boston, Melbourne and Sydney boast the largest celebrations, which traditionally include a parade and much merrymaking. This year, festivities will take place as far afield as Quebec, Dubai, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Let’s raise our glasses to the Irish. Click on the following links to see how two Irish companies have contributed to global business:

Guinness

Ryanair

If you are a citizen of the U.K., Ireland, Hong Kong or anywhere else that uses a three-pronged plug, you will more than likely be familiar with the pain that comes with accidentally trodding on a plug while in your bare feet. In fact, the painful phenomenon even has a Facebook page devoted to it entitled “Standing on a plug in your bare feet is the worst pain imaginable.” Luckily, those days may be over. London student Min-Kyu Choi has won the Brit Insurance Design of the Year Award for his innovative plug, which you can fold flat when it is in storage or simply disconnected from the wall. Choi’s design was inspired by the MacBook Air: He felt it was impractical to carry a bulky, cumbersome plug for such a slim, lightweight device. “Thought-through, responsive and modest, the folding plug shows how intelligent, elegant and inventive design can make a difference to everyone’s life,” says Antony Gormley, the award program’s judge.

Take a leaf out of Choi’s innovation book. Make design the very essence of your product. Click on these links to find out how:

Baked In

The Design of Everyday Things

Emotional Design