Learning to adapt to resource scarcity

Each week, we will delve into the reading list of finance professionals from around the world. This week, we hear from Sandra Hulteen, CPA, CGMA, director of finance at Townsend Security, a provider of encryption software based in Olympia, Washington. Here is a sampling of content that has resonated with her:

• The Business Blockchain: Promise, Practice, and Application of the Next Internet Technology: This book by William Mougayar is Hulteen’s first extended look at the business impact of blockchain. “If it will be as fundamental a change as predicted, I want to understand as much as possible as early as possible,” she said.


• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking: Hulteen found the book useful for understanding the implications of introverts in the workplace. She has used the book by Susan Cain (watch her TedTalk here) to “evaluate and implement ways to structure the office physical environment, social events, and meetings that foster support for both the introvert and the extrovert.”


• Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much: Hulteen calls Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir’s work the most “impactful and useful book I’ve read in many years.” Understanding the effect of scarce resources, from a financial and time-based perspective, has changed the way Hulteen approaches life. She’s also observed scarcity’s effects on how companies make decisions. “I’ve been preaching about this book to everyone I know,” Hulteen said.
  

For more reading recommendations from leaders and business insights in a flash, sign up for the free CGMA Advantage newsletter.