Audiobooks narrated by Christopher Douyard

Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI

Consumers want personalized experiences, but few companies are rising to the challenge. To be done effectively, personalization must be a critical element of an organization's strategy. Personalized is a playbook for delivering true personalization at scale. In this book, Boston Consulting Group's Mark Abraham and Harvard Business School's David C. Edelman describe Five Promises of Personalization: Empower Me: Understand each customer's needs and how best to meet them. Know Me: Win customers' trust and permission to use their data to improve their experience. Reach Me: Reach out to the right customer, in the right channel, at the right time. Show Me: Tailor unique content to be relevant to each customer, enabled by generative AI. Delight Me: Design new ways of working and ensure continuous improvement, so a customer's experience feels magical. With detailed examples across industries—including retail, health care, banking, technology, and travel—this book will help executives learn how to put personalization at the center of their strategy, accelerate growth, and capture their share of the $2 trillion personalization prize.

David C. Edelman, Mark Abraham (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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Negotiation: Harvard Business Essentials

Harvard Business Review, Richard Luecke (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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The Myth That Made Us: How False Beliefs about Racism and Meritocracy Broke Our Economy (and How to

The Myth That Made Us exposes how false narratives—of a supposedly post-racist nation, of the self-made man, of the primacy of profit- and shareholder value-maximizing for businesses, and of minimal government interference—have been used to excuse gross inequities and to shape and sustain the US economic system that delivers them. Jeff Fuhrer argues that systemic racism continues to produce vastly disparate outcomes and that our brand of capitalism favors doing little to reduce disparities. Rather than merely laying blame at the feet of both conservatives and liberals for aiding and abetting an unjust system, Fuhrer charts a way forward. He supplements evidence from data with insights from community voices and outlines a system that provides more equal opportunity to accumulate both human and financial capital. His key areas of focus include universal access to high-quality early childhood education; more effective use of our community college system as a pathway to stable employment; restructuring key aspects of the low-wage workplace; providing affordable housing and transit links; supporting people of color by serving as mentors, coaches, and allies; and implementing Baby Bonds and Reparations programs. Fuhrer emphasizes embracing humility, research-based approaches, and community involvement as ways to improve economic opportunity.

Jeff Fuhrer (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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Most Honorable Son: A Forgotten Hero's Fight Against Fascism and Hate During World War II

The first comprehensive biography of unjustly forgotten Japanese American war hero Ben Kuroki, who fought the Axis powers during World War II and battled racism, injustice, and prejudice on the home front. Ben Kuroki was a twenty-four-year-old Japanese American farm boy whose heritage was never a problem in remote Nebraska—until Pearl Harbor. Among the millions of Americans who flocked to military stations to enlist, Ben wanted to avenge the attack, reclaim his family honor, and prove his patriotism. But as anti-Japanese sentiment soared, Ben had to fight to be allowed to fight for America. And fight he did. As a gunner on Army Air Forces bombers, Ben flew fifty-eight missions spanning three combat theaters: Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific, including the climactic B-29 firebombing campaign against Japan that culminated with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He flew some of the war’s boldest and bloodiest air missions and lived to tell about it. In between his tours in Europe and the Pacific, he challenged FDR's shameful incarceration of more than one hundred thousand people of Japanese ancestry in America, and he would be credited by some with setting in motion the debate that reversed a grave national dishonor. In the euphoric wake of America's victory, the decorated war hero used his national platform to carry out what he called his 'fifty-ninth mission,' urging his fellow Americans to do more to eliminate bigotry and racism at home. Told in full for the first time, and long overdue, Ben's extraordinary story is a quintessentially American one of patriotism, principle, perseverance, and courage. It's about being in the vanguard of history, the bonding of a band of brothers united in a just cause, a timeless and unflinching account of racial bigotry, and one man's transcendent sense of belonging—in war, in peace, abroad, and at home.

Gregg Jones (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle

In 1799, at the behest of President George Washington, Patrick Henry came out of retirement to defend the Constitution that he had once opposed and to thwart Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, whom Washington accused of putting party over country and threatening the fragile union. For the People, For the Country tells the remarkable story of how the most eloquent public speaker of the American Revolutionary era and a leading antifederalist during debates over ratification of the Constitution reemerged on the side of the federalists and once again changed history. Much more than a fire-breathing demagogue, the Patrick Henry we encounter here comes to life as a principled leader of the young nation who believed above all in working with a government elected by the people, advocating for political change in 'a constitutional way'-at the ballot box. A gripping narrative, this book will change long-held views of this great Founding Father.

John A. Ragosta (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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Liberalism as a Way of Life

Where do you get your values and sensibilities from? If you grew up in a Western democracy, the answer is probably liberalism. Conservatives are right about one thing: liberalism is the ideology of our times, as omnipresent as religion once was. Yet, as Alexandre Lefebvre argues in Liberalism as a Way of Life, many of us are liberal without fully realizing it-or grasping what it means. Misled into thinking that liberalism is confined to politics, we fail to recognize that it's the water we swim in, saturating every area of public and private life, shaping our psychological and spiritual outlooks, and influencing our moral and aesthetic values-our sense of what is right, wrong, good, bad, funny, worthwhile, and more. This eye-opening book shows how so many of us are liberal to the core, why liberalism provides the basis for a good life, and how we can make our lives better and happier by becoming more aware of, and more committed to, the beliefs we already hold. A lively, engaging, and uplifting guide to living well, the liberal way, Liberalism as a Way of Life is filled with examples from television, movies, stand-up comedy, and social media-from Parks and Recreation and The Good Place to the Borat movies and Hannah Gadsby. Along the way, you'll also learn about seventeen benefits of being a liberal and practical exercises to increase these rewards.

Alexandre Lefebvre (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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Authenticity, Identity, and Being Yourself at Work

Just be yourself, right? We're complex people. Professionally, we're recent graduates, employees, star performers, and first-time managers. But we're also best friends, devoted family members, sports fans, plant parents, social justice warriors-or any other combination of these and other traits. But how much of ourselves should we really bring to the workplace? Authenticity, Identity, and Being Yourself at Work is filled with practical advice from HBR experts that can help you answer this and other questions like: What does authenticity really mean at work? What values do I want to live into? How do I take control of my professional identity? How should I disclose personal information without oversharing? In what ways can I overcome feelings of impostor syndrome? When should I conform to my company's culture-and when should I stand out? This book will help you figure out how much of 'you' to bring to work so that you feel more comfortable and confident-and ensure you're presenting yourself as you want to be seen.

Harvard Business Review (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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The City Is Up for Grabs: How Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Led and Lost a City in Crisis

Chicago is a world-class city, but it is also a city in crisis. Crime is up, schools have repeatedly shut down due to conflict between City Hall and the powerful teachers' union, and COVID-19 only deepened the entrenched poverty, institutional racism, and endless tug of war between the city's haves and have nots. For four years, the person at the center of this storm was Lori Lightfoot. A groundbreaking figure-the first Black, gay woman to be elected mayor of a major city and only the second female mayor of Chicago-she knew the city was at a critical turning point when she took office in 2019. But the once-in-a-lifetime challenges she ended up facing were beyond anything she or anyone else saw coming. Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Royal Pratt offers the first comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at the tumultuous single term of Mayor Lightfoot and the chaos that roiled the city and City Hall as she fought to live up to her promises to change the city's culture of corruption and villainy, reform its long-troubled police department, and make Chicago the safest big city in America.

Gregory Royal Pratt (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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The Siege of Fort William Henry: A Year on the Northeastern Frontier

The opening years of the French and Indian War were disastrous for the British. Hindered by quarrelsome provincial councils, incompetent generals, and the redcoats' inability to adapt to wilderness warfare, Britain was losing the war. Learning that most of Britain's military resources were allocated to Louisbourg, the French launched a campaign along the weakened frontier. French Commander Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and his American Indian allies laid siege to Fort William Henry; Monro could not hold out and was forced to surrender. As part of the terms, the British regiment, colonial militia, and their camp followers would be allowed safe passage to nearby Fort Edward. The French watched in horror, however, as their Indian allies attacked the British column after it left the fort, an episode that sparked outrage and changed the tactics of the war. Seen through the eyes of participants such as Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a scholarly young aide-de-camp, Jabez Fitch, an amiable Connecticut sergeant, and Kisensik, a proud Nipissing chief whose father once met Louis XIV in the marbled halls of Versailles, The Siege of Fort William Henry uses contemporary newspaper reports, official documents, private letters, and published memoirs to bring the narrative to life.

Ben Hughes (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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When Washington Burned: The British Invasion of the Capital and a Nation's Rise from the Ashes

Perhaps no other single day in United States history was as threatening to the survival of the nation as August 24, 1814, when British forces captured Washington, DC. This unique moment might have significantly altered the nation's path forward, but the event and the reasons why it happened are little remembered by most Americans. When Washington Burned narrates and examines the British campaign and American missteps that led to the fall of Washington during the War of 1812. Watson analyzes the actions of key figures on both sides, such as President James Madison and General William Winder on the United States side and Rear Admiral George Cockburn and Major General Robert Ross on the British side. He pinpoints the reasons the campaign was such a disaster for the United States but also tells the redeeming stories of the courageous young clerks and the bold first lady, Dolley Madison, who risked their lives to save priceless artifacts and documents from the flames, including the Constitution. The British invasion was repulsed over the coming weeks and months, and the United States ultimately emerged stronger. General listeners interested in the history of Washington, United States history, and military history will be fascinated by this book.

Robert P. Watson (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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Germany, 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler's Pusch and Democracy in Crisis

From a New York Times bestselling historian comes a gripping account of the crisis that threatened to unravel the Weimar Republic. The great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig confided in his autobiography: “I have a pretty thorough knowledge of history, but never, to my recollection, has it produced such madness in such gigantic proportions.” He was referring to Germany in 1923, a “year of lunacy,” defined by hyperinflation, violence, a political system on the verge of collapse, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and separatist movements threatening to rip apart the German nation. Most observers found it miraculous that the Weimar Republic-the first German democracy-was able to survive, though some of the more astute realized that the feral undercurrents unleashed that year could lead to much worse. Now, a century later, bestselling author Volker Ullrich draws on letters, memoirs, newspaper articles, and other sources to present a riveting chronicle of one of the most difficult years any modern democracy has ever faced-one with haunting parallels to our own political moment.

Volker Ullrich (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West

Just a few years ago, people spoke of the US as a hyperpower-a titan stalking the world stage with more relative power than any empire in history. Yet as early as 1993, CIA director James Woolsey pointed out that although Western powers had 'slain a large dragon' by defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War, they now faced a 'variety of poisonous snakes.' In The Dragons and the Snakes, the eminent soldier-scholar David Kilcullen asks how, and what, opponents of the West have learned during the last quarter-century of conflict. Applying a combination of evolutionary theory and detailed field observation, he explains what happened to the 'snakes'-non-state threats including terrorists and guerrillas-and the 'dragons'-state-based competitors such as Russia and China. He explores how enemies learn under conditions of conflict, and examines how Western dominance over a very particular form of warfare since the Cold War has created a fitness landscape that forces adversaries to adapt in ways that present serious new challenges to America and its allies. Within the world's contemporary conflict zones, Kilcullen argues, state and non-state threats have increasingly come to resemble each other, with states adopting non-state techniques and non-state actors now able to access levels of precision and lethal weapon systems once only available to governments.

David Kilcullen (Author), Christopher Douyard (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Christopher Douyard