Blog — Book Reviews
September 19, 2026
The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Review for Academic Medicine
Ben Horowitz's brutally honest account of CEO-level decision-making applied to the hard realities of academic medicine leadership — from making unpopular decisions to leading through uncertainty to managing your own psychology.
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July 25, 2026
The Lean Startup — Review for Academic Medicine
Eric Ries's build-measure-learn framework applied to academic medicine — from launching new clinical programs to piloting educational initiatives. Why the MVP mindset can save physician leaders from over-planning and under-executing.
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May 9, 2026
Radical Candor — Review for Academic Medicine
Kim Scott's framework for caring personally while challenging directly — and why most physician leaders default to ruinous empathy.
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April 11, 2026
The First 90 Days — Review for Academic Medicine
Michael Watkins' playbook for leadership transitions and why every new physician leader should read it before day one.
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March 18, 2026
Quiet — Review for Academic Medicine
Susan Cain's case for introverts and why it matters in a profession that rewards loud confidence.
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February 22, 2026
Quiet — Review for Academic Medicine
Susan Cain's Quiet reviewed for academic medicine — why introverted physician leaders bring unique strengths that medical culture often overlooks.
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February 18, 2026
The Coaching Habit — Review for Academic Medicine
Michael Bungay Stanier's seven essential questions and why every physician leader should read this book.
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February 14, 2026
Mindset — Review for Academic Medicine
Carol Dweck's Mindset reviewed for physicians — why fixed mindset is seductive in academic medicine and how growth mindset changes careers.
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February 8, 2026
Measure What Matters — Review for Academic Medicine
John Doerr's OKR framework reviewed for physician leaders — how objectives and key results can align teams in academic medicine.
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January 31, 2026
Turn the Ship Around! — Review for Academic Medicine
A Turn the Ship Around review for physician leaders exploring L. David Marquet's intent-based leadership in academic medicine.
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January 23, 2026
The Culture Code — Review for Academic Medicine
A review of The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle for physician leaders building team culture in medicine and academic departments.
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January 16, 2026
Multipliers — Review for Academic Medicine
Liz Wiseman's Multipliers reviewed for physician leaders — how to stop being the smartest in the room and start amplifying your faculty.
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January 9, 2026
The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Review for Academic Medicine
A hard thing about hard things review for physician leaders — what Ben Horowitz's leadership memoir teaches about crisis decisions in academic medicine.
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January 1, 2026
Radical Candor by Kim Scott — A Review for Physician Leaders in Academic Medicine
A review of Radical Candor by Kim Scott for physician leaders — how to build a feedback culture in academic medicine without losing trust.
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December 25, 2025
Essentialism by Greg McKeown — A Physician's Guide to Prioritization Strategy
Greg McKeown's Essentialism reviewed for academic medicine — a physician prioritization strategy for doing less but better in faculty life.
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December 18, 2025
Crucial Conversations — Why This Book Still Matters for Faculty Communication
A crucial conversations review for academic medicine — why this communication skills book remains essential for physician faculty in 2029.
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December 11, 2025
The Coaching Habit Review: Seven Questions That Changed How I Coach Physician Leaders
A coaching habit review for academic medicine -- how seven deceptively simple questions can transform physician leadership conversations.
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December 4, 2025
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team — Review for Academic Medicine
Patrick Lencioni's five dysfunctions of a team reviewed for physician leaders. Why your faculty team is stuck and what to do about it.
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November 26, 2025
Peak — Review for Academic Medicine
Anders Ericsson's Peak reviewed for academic physicians — why deliberate practice matters more than talent for building expertise in medicine.
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November 18, 2025
Leadership on the Line — Review for Academic Medicine
A leadership on the line review for academic physicians. Why Heifetz's adaptive leadership framework belongs on every faculty leader's shelf.
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November 9, 2025
Thanks for the Feedback — Review for Academic Medicine
A review of Thanks for the Feedback for academic medicine physicians — why receiving feedback well is the skill most physician leaders never learned.
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October 31, 2025
Quiet Leadership — Review for Academic Medicine
A quiet leadership David Rock review for physicians — why helping people think beats giving them answers in academic medicine.
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October 24, 2025
Multipliers — Review for Academic Medicine
A multipliers Liz Wiseman review for physician leaders — why the smartest person in the room may be making everyone else dumber.
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October 16, 2025
Never Split the Difference — Review for Academic Medicine
Chris Voss's FBI negotiation tactics applied to academic medicine — salary negotiations, resource allocation, committee dynamics, and the art of tactical empathy for physician leaders.
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October 6, 2025
Quiet — Review for Academic Medicine
Susan Cain's Quiet reviewed for academic medicine — why introverted physician leaders are often the most effective.
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September 20, 2025
Essentialism — Review for Academic Medicine
Greg McKeown's Essentialism reviewed for academic physicians — a practical framework for doing less but better in faculty life.
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September 11, 2025
The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Review for Academic Medicine
Ben Horowitz's startup survival guide reviewed for physician leaders navigating crises and hard decisions in academic medicine.
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September 4, 2025
Crucial Conversations — Review for Academic Medicine
Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, and Switzler's Crucial Conversations reviewed for physician leaders — dialogue tools, safety frameworks, and mutual purpose concepts for difficult conversations in academic medicine.
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August 27, 2025
Radical Acceptance — Review for Academic Medicine
Tara Brach's Radical Acceptance reviewed for physicians — how mindfulness and self-acceptance can help academic faculty break free from perfectionism and self-criticism.
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August 20, 2025
Mindset — Review for Academic Medicine
Carol Dweck's growth mindset framework reviewed for physicians — why the fixed mindset thrives in medicine and practical ways to cultivate a growth orientation.
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August 9, 2025
Thanks for the Feedback — Review for Academic Medicine
Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen's framework for receiving feedback — the three types of feedback (appreciation, coaching, evaluation), why we resist it, and how physician leaders can get better at hearing hard truths.
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July 27, 2025
Man's Search for Meaning — Review for Academic Medicine
Viktor Frankl's classic on finding meaning in suffering, reviewed through the lens of physician identity and purpose — why this book resonates deeply with physicians navigating burnout and career uncertainty.
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July 19, 2025
The Coaching Habit — Review for Academic Medicine
Michael Bungay Stanier's seven coaching questions applied to academic medicine — better questions for physician leaders who want to develop their teams.
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July 10, 2025
The Culture Code — Review for Academic Medicine
Daniel Coyle's research on what makes great teams tick — safety, vulnerability, and purpose — applied to academic medicine. Why culture isn't about pizza parties, and what physician leaders can actually do to build it.
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July 2, 2025
Crucial Conversations — Review for Academic Medicine
Crucial Conversations reviewed for academic medicine — a framework for high-stakes dialogue that every physician leader needs to master.
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September 11, 2024
Extreme Ownership — Review for Academic Medicine
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink reviewed for academic medicine — how radical ownership applies to physician leadership and medical teams.
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August 28, 2024
So Good They Can't Ignore You — Review for Academic Medicine
Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You reviewed for academic physicians — why career capital beats passion in building a meaningful faculty career.
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August 14, 2024
Four Thousand Weeks — Review for Academic Medicine
Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks offers a radical take on time management that busy academic physicians need to hear.
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July 31, 2024
Dare to Lead — Review for Academic Medicine
Brené Brown's Dare to Lead reviewed for academic medicine — why vulnerability matters for physician leaders building trust and driving change.
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July 17, 2024
Grit — Review for Academic Medicine
Angela Duckworth's Grit reviewed for academic physicians — how passion and perseverance shape long medical careers.
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July 3, 2024
Thinking, Fast and Slow — Review for Academic Medicine
Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow reviewed for academic medicine — how cognitive bias shapes clinical and career decisions for physicians.
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June 19, 2024
Range — Review for Academic Medicine
A review of David Epstein's Range and why his case for generalists matters for academic medicine careers.
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June 5, 2024
Leaders Eat Last — Review for Academic Medicine
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek reviewed for academic medicine — how trust and safety apply to physician leadership and medical teams.
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May 22, 2024
Atomic Habits — Review for Academic Medicine
James Clear's Atomic Habits applied to academic medicine — how small habit changes drive career growth for physicians.
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May 8, 2024
Deep Work — Review for Academic Medicine
Cal Newport's Deep Work makes a compelling case for focused work. Here's what it means for academic physicians juggling clinic, research, and teaching.
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July 18, 2023
Outliers - Review for Academic Medicine
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell has several themes that help physicians in academic medicine grow their careers. Recommended!
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