In 2023, CCEI launched its inaugural Book Club, featuring Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. Our Book Club aims to share books authored by entrepreneurs who offer unique perspectives on business, life, and everything in between. Our goal is to engage our community in meaningful conversations and events, fostering connections and learning together.
This summer, we did things a little different: we took a page out of Erin Hatzikostas’ new book, The 50% Rule — but more on that later.
In June, full-time staff at CCEI embarked on a unique reading journey. Each of us selected one book related to business or entrepreneurship that we believed would enhance our professional roles at CCEI. So, instead of focusing on a single book, we were able to explore ten different books simultaneously — gaining a wealth of diverse insights.
The team embraced the challenge wholeheartedly, choosing books that resonated with both their personal and professional interests. This experience not only broadened our overall knowledge, but deepened our understanding of one another. Over several weeks, we delved into our chosen books and shared insights and takeaways with one another. Below, check out the books we selected and why we chose them.
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The CCEI Summer 2024 Book Club List:
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman (Jennifer Mathieu’s book club pick)
This book has been on my “to read list” for a while, and I quickly moved it to the top for this summer’s book club. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman is a valuable read for entrepreneurs and leaders as it provides strategies to maximize team potential and foster a positive, high-performance culture. I am looking forward to diving deeper into the book to learn more about the distinction between “Diminishers” and “Multipliers,” and how certain behaviors enhance productivity, innovation, and leveraging collective intelligence for problem-solving and personal growth. My hope is that it offers a framework for effective leadership that can support the process of building and maintaining motivated teams.
Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Rory McGloin’s book club pick)
Arnold has always been a fascinating figure, from his immigration to the United States as a young man, driving bodybuilding into mainstream cultures, becoming a leading movie action hero, and then diving into the world of politics – Arnold embodied the American Dream. And while he was not without fault along the way, his open candor and direct communication was also something that resonated with me. Be Useful spoke to me – it was a candid reflection from a man who has always felt out of place and made it his mission to be comfortable in that space. Arnold speaks about his father’s advice of always being useful and provides concrete examples where his commitment to his core values proved rewarding in the face of difficulty and disbelievers.
The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr (Alycia Chrosniak’s book club pick)
As my background is in the hospitality industry, I’ve been interested in learning more about the grocery and CPG side of things for a while now. Specifically, to assist our entrepreneurs that are building in that category. The Secret Life of Groceries is a great way to get an overview of all the complexities involved. The book shares everything from success secrets from the founder of Trader Joe’s to the dark realities of the trucking industry and entrepreneurs’ journeys to get their products on the shelves. I’m hoping to have a better idea of how the grocery industry functions by the end of it.
Slim and None by Howard Baldwin (Nick Martinelli’s book club pick)
Howard Baldwin stated that there was never a challenge he met that he did not overcome. I chose this book because his words resonate with me due to my Army background. Military life is full of challenges, and you must learn to adapt quickly to be successful. Howard was the owner and founder of the WHA New England Whalers, a team he built with none of his own money. He was able to get his peers to invest due to his persuasive ability. The book also describes how he negotiated a merger between the WHA and the NHL in 1979 which led to Hartford gaining its own major league team. Howard eventually moved on and became the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins where he won the Stanley Cup and then moved successfully into the film industry, producing several films.
They Call Me Supermensch by Shep Gordon (Rachel Borden’s book club pick)
I chose this book because as one of the few non-entrepreneurs working at CCEI, typical stories of entrepreneurship and business don’t really inspire me — everyday people who don’t set out to become entrepreneurs, but wind up with entrepreneurial success stories by following their gut and their passions do inspire me. The autobiography of Shep Gordon details his foray into entrepreneurship (which he never truly calls it) by making mistakes, blazing his own trail, and doing business and living life by his own moral compass- making him quite possibly the biggest pop culture success story you’ve never heard of.
Built with Purpose by Bill Roark (Mehgan Williams’ book club pick)
Built with Purpose is the story of Bill Roark realizing his dream. After losing his job and vowing to never experience that again, Roark, along with a team of talented entrepreneurial engineers, set out to challenge the status quo by building a company whose success benefits everyone who works there – not just the founders. Every single employee earns the opportunity to become an owner. I was interested to learn if these employees were truly more motivated to go above and beyond in making the company successful. As it turns out, not only were they more motivated, but they were also more aligned and felt secure in their work, which translated into more time and energy to give to others in their community. Roark and his team created a blueprint that disrupts the traditional way of growing a business and tackles the growing wealth gap in this country.
Funny Farm by Laurie Zaleski (Michaela Hartl’s book club pick)
I chose the book Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals to gain insights into the entrepreneurial journey of starting and running an animal rescue. While I may not yet consider myself an entrepreneur, I have a lifelong dream of opening my own dog rescue one day in honor of my own rescue dogs. If you’re an animal lover with a passion for helping those looking for a second chance and have a keen interest in entrepreneurship, this book will captivate you with its unique and inspiring story, guiding you through the challenges and triumphs of building a rescue from the ground up.
For The Culture by Marcus Collins (Kate Savinelli’s book club pick)
For The Culture explores the impact of culture on human behavior and how it can be leveraged for business success. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, he demonstrates how aligning with cultural nuances can create meaningful connections and sustainable growth for organizations. I’ve always found a fascination in social sciences/experimentation, human behavior, and culture … in simplest terms – why people do what they do. Learning from successful brands intrigues me, and since I believe marketing and culture go hand-in-hand, I hope to learn tangible ways that I can use my experience in marketing to increase engagement and overall reach.
Scary Smart by Mo Gawdat (Michelle Cote’s book club pick)
Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, we’ve seen remarkable proliferation in the uses and applications of AI across our society. Now available in plain language format, we no longer have to question whether AI will change the way that we work, and live, but rather—how it will do so. In his book, Scary Smart, Mo Gawdat, the former Chief Business Officer at Google [X], offers incredible insight into the forces that have come together to build AI over the last 65 years, and some pretty startling predictions about the way that human interactions with this new form of intelligence will change within our lifetimes. He also raises some questions that are critical for those of us who champion technological innovation to ponder: When will machines transition from being a tool developed for human benefit, to an entity that is more intelligent than humans? When that happens, how will we govern the machines, who gets to use them, and for what purpose? Once machines develop superiority to humans, will humans be relevant at all? But, most importantly, he offers us an opportunity to start to think differently about how we shape our tech-infused future. For Mo, it’s not how we build AI anymore. That part is almost done. Instead, our future depends on how we shape AI in the next 5-10 years: the information that we encourage it to consume; the behavior that it learns from those that train it; and even the way that we interact with it. He insists, that instead of a tool, we start to treat it like a child – nurturing and shaping it with our values, and rewarding it for behavior consistent with the future that we want to create. And then, and only then, do we have a shot at ultimately benefitting from the development of an intelligence that iis greater than our own.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Rachel Ayers’ book club pick)
I picked up The Tipping Point because I was interested in understanding how certain trends suddenly explode in popularity. The “tipping point,” is a critical moment when an idea, trend, or behavior crosses a threshold and spreads widely. The book provides insight into the mechanisms behind social change and discusses how seemingly minor factors can create a significant impact. An interesting concept from the book is the “Stickiness Factor,” which explains that for an idea or message to “stick” and become memorable, it needs to be presented in a way that resonates deeply with people, making it impossible to ignore or forget. This book is a great read for entrepreneurs who want to learn effective, science-backed strategies to make their messages stick!
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While we had fun with our summer CCEI Book Club, we’re looking forward to the next chapter and engaging our community in reading along with us. We’re going to shelf the rules of a typical book club — read the book and come together to discuss — for something more exciting.
Picture an evening where a book club event meets a college football tailgate: filled with lively discussion, yard games, a food truck, and great beer. We invite you to join us for the first stop of the The 50% Rule Tailgate (Book) Tour: Half ridiculously authentic, half rampantly extravagant.
CCEI’s friend, UConn alumni, entrepreneur, podcast host (the list goes on!) Erin Hatzikostas is launching her second book, and we partnered up to celebrate and kick off the next CCEI Book Club pick. Whether you’re a seasoned professional, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about maximizing your potential, The 50% Rule offers a fresh perspective that promises dazzling results with only half the effort!
Join us on Thursday, October 3rd from 5:00-7:00 PM at Rule of 3 Brewing in East Hampton, CT to take part in book signings, a meet-and-greet, tailgate games, food, beer, merch, and more!
This event is sure to sell out, so grab tickets today: BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY