Were you shocked when you learned that the US didn’t make the top ten in healthcare, based on criteria of quality, access, efficiency, equity and healthy lives?

It’s fairly well accepted that the U.S. is the most expensive healthcare system in the world, but many continue to falsely assume that we pay more for healthcare because we get better health (or better health outcomes).

The top ten in order are United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Germany & Netherlands (tied), New Zealand & Norway (tied), France and Canada.

The US has long been the subject of global envy for the financial strength of our middle class, but no more.

While the wealthiest Americans are outpacing many of their global peers, a New York Times analysis shows that across the lower- and middle-income tiers, citizens of other advanced countries have received considerably larger raises over the last three decades.

What does this mean for those who graduated into the 2008 financial meltdown, one in five of whom have moved back with their parents?

And while much of the discussion about economic inequality has centered on the top 1 percent, it’s the gap between the top 20 percent and the rest that’s more salient to young people. (…) This uncomfortable fact, which many economists have recently accepted, suggests that we are living not simply in an unequal society but rather in two separate, side-by-side economies.

But cheer up; you only have to be in the 95th percentile, not the 1%, to be back among the envied.

How can that be? What about all the jobs created by companies such as Google and Facebook?

It’s easy to understand if you consider what the fastest growing jobs in the US are.

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As to American inventiveness and the much ballyhooed entrepreneurial spirit so richly displayed by a few Millennials, consider which actually is the most innovative country in the world.

Germany does a better job on innovation in areas as diverse as sustainable energy systems, molecular biotech, lasers, and experimental software engineering. (…)  But the fairy tale that the U.S. is better at radical innovation than other countries has been shown in repeated studies to be untrue. Germany is just as good as the U.S. in the most radical technologies.

What’s more important, Germany is better at adapting inventions to industry and spreading them throughout the business sector. Much German innovation involves infusing old products and processes with new ideas and capabilities or recombining elements of old, stagnant sectors into new, vibrant ones.

Perhaps it’s time for us—business leaders, religious leaders, politicians of all flavors and just plain folks—to take our collective heads out of the sand and do what it takes to turn things around.

Image credit: BLS

I have a stack of books waiting to be read, some I buy and some are sent by publicists for me to review.

Then there is the constantly growing list of books I hear about or see a review and want to read.

But I have only so much reading time and it’s shrinking as we get closer to the launch of our new product (stay tuned).

So I created a new category called Reviews and Recommendations and included MAPping Company Success’ ‘Book Reviews’ and Leadership Turn’s ‘Reading Recommendations’. I hope you find it useful.

Today, I have some interesting recommendations for you.

The first is from Jeffrey Krames, a literary agent who tells the fascinating story of a self-published book that sells for nearly $50 with an unwieldy title that instantly became a top Amazon seller. Whether or not you want to tackle the book you’ll enjoy its story.

Two European authors—Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur—spent years putting together a stunning book on business models entitled BUSINESS MODEL GENERATION. The two authors had a great deal of help with the design and content of the book, as it was  co-authored by 470 Business Model Canvas practitioners from 45 countries… Within 48 hours the book ranked as high as #74 on Amazon, an amazing feat for most any business book and especially this one. Since then, the two versions of the book have occupied two of the top 25 slots on Amazon’s list of bestselling management books every single day.

After reading dozens of day-by-day articles and commentary on the financial meltdown, none of the myriad of books written about it really grabbed me. However, when I read a review of Henry Paulson’s newly published On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System in Business Week I was intrigued.

What got my attention (and made me ill) was the following quote.

“All were concerned with excessive risk taking in the markets and appalled by the erosion of underwriting standards,” he writes in his penetrating memoir, On the Brink. Yet they felt forced by competitive pressure to make loans they didn’t like, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary says.

“Isn’t there something you can do to order us not to take all of these risks?” was the gist of a question posed by Chuck Prince, who was still running Citigroup as the bank bumbled toward disaster.

This from some of the most powerful business “leaders” in the country.

Image credit: ginnerobot on flickr

There is a dangerous assumption out there that ‘leaders’ are chuck full of positive traits and on the side of the angels, but I’m here to tell you that it ain’t necessarily so. Just as leaders come in all shapes, colors and sizes they come with a wide variety of traits, not all of them positive. But it seems as if succession is tough all over.

Italian police have caught the Sicilian Mafia’s number two, the latest in a string of top-level arrests that has given the crime group that once terrified Italy problems with rebuilding its leadership.

The hero CEO who will save the company easily morphs into the imperial CEO. An intelligent, thoughtful opinion piece by Ho Kwon Ping in Singapore considers the dangers of this happening and assumes it will continue in the US—and it probably will.

The leadership of any company is critical to the success of its mission — but no one individual is mission-critical.

Yesterday I wrote Real Leaders are Fair, which means applying rules equally, but that rarely happens, especially when a government is involved and ours is no different. Consider the non-application of a federal law backed by a presidential proclamation that prohibits corrupt foreign officials and their families from receiving American visas. But business interests always seem to trump fairness.

“Of course it’s because of oil,” said John Bennett, the United States ambassador to Equatorial Guinea from 1991 to 1994, adding that Washington has turned a blind eye to the Obiangs’ corruption and repression because of its dependence on the country for natural resources. He noted that officials of Zimbabwe are barred from the United States.

Finally, on a lighter note, I found the answer given by Ask the Coach to this question to be classic.

Q: I am having a difficult time leading my team. The team members will not follow my instructions, which I am sure would make our project much more successful. What am I doing wrong?

A: What you’re doing wrong is very simple: you have simply forgotten that your team is more critical to the success of your project than you are.

Take a moment and read the whole post, I guarantee you’ll like what you learn.

And if you want more of my picks you’ll find them here.

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Image credit: nono farahshila on flickr

Grab a cup of coffee (or a beer it the sun is over the yardarm) because I have 4 superb items for you today.

First up is McKinsey’s Economic Survey one year after the official meltdown. You may have to register (it’s free), but it’s worth it.

Next is a must read article from Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist and professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University in which he explains, as Bruce Nussbaum says, “how economists, especially the math-based, market-manic Chicago-school economists, have hurt the US and much of the rest of the world.” The title is How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? and it’s a must read.

Third is an interview with Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs. Blankfein talks abut management and how Goldman survived the financial crisis—this is not your typical imperial Wall Street CEO. You have a choice between a video of the interview or the transcript.

Finally, for some fun and a good laugh, check out this slide show of specially designed T-shirts and the CEOs who inspired them.

Enjoy!

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Image credit: nono farahshila on flickr

Leadership, oh leadership. Wherefore art thou, oh leadership?What does this list have in common?

Leadership. Each person on this list has been held up as an example of leadership; lauded by the gurus of leadership for their vision, skill at articulating it and ability to attract followers.

• Alan Fishman, Washington Mutual
• Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide
• Bruce Karatz, KB Homes
• Chuck Prince Citigroup
• Douglas Ivester, Coca-Cola
• Frank Newman, Bankers Trust
• Franklin Raines Fannie Mae
• Gregory Parseghian, Freddie Mac
• Hank McKinnell, Pfizer
• James Cayne, Bear Stearns
• John Mack, Morgan Stanley
• Ken Thompson, Wachovia
• Kerry Killiger, Washington Mututal
• Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman
• Michael Ovitz, Disney
• Philip Purcell, Morgan Stanley
• Richard Fuld, Lehman
• Richard Grasso, New York Stock Exchange
• Robert Nardelli, Home Depot
• Stanley O’Neal, Merril Lynch
• Stephen Hilbert, Conseco

What else does this list have in common? Over the last 5 years every one of them has been ousted from their role.

The majority of their visions helped architect the current financial mess.

Oh yeah, and their parachutes ranged from gold to diamond-encrusted platinum. (Payouts listed here and here)

Take me to your leader.

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Image credit: greyman  CC license