Books

Charlie Baker’s first book sounds like the opposite of a juicy tell-all

"Results" will be published by Harvard Business Review Press in May.

Gov. Charlie Baker, left, once said of his chief of staff Steve Kadish, "I love this man." Now they're co-authors. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

By Peter Chianca

February 10, 2022

When we heard that Gov. Charlie Baker was releasing his first book, we thought, “At last! The juicy Massachusetts State House tell-all we’ve all been waiting for!”

And then we remembered the person writing it was … Charlie Baker.

Never one to stir up unnecessary drama, Charlie Baker the author sounds a lot like Charlie Baker the politician: sensible and pragmatic. Here’s an excerpt from the Amazon.com description for “Results: Getting Beyond Politics to Get Important Work Done,” which the moderate Republican Baker wrote with his former chief of staff, Steve Kadish, a Democrat.

Distilled into a four-step framework, Results is the much-needed implementation guide for anyone in public service, as well as for leaders and managers in large organizations hamstrung by bureaucracy and politics.

If you immediately tuned out when you got to “four-step framework” — you know who you are — then “Results” is probably not the book for you. You’ll have to wait for some other whistle-blower to dish about what Charlie really thinks of Mass. GOP head Jim Lyons, or the story behind that time Baker accidentally accused Rep. Ayanna Presley of “ranting,” because we’re assuming they won’t be in this book.

“Results,” by Charlie Baker and Steve Kadish, will be published in May 2022. – Harvard Business Review Press

That said, “Results” may be just what the government and business worlds need during these divided times. According to the description, Baker and Kadish “show how to move from identifying problems to achieving results in a way that bridges divides instead of exacerbating them. They show how government can be an engine of positive change and an example of effective operation, not just a hopeless bureaucracy.”

(For the wise guys out there questioning whether the book might be found in the “Fiction” section based on that description, remember that Republican Baker has been one of the most popular governors in the country in this very liberal state for most of his time in office, which probably didn’t happen by accident.)

Meanwhile, The Boston Globe reports that Baker is donating proceeds from the book to Massachusetts Wonderfund, which provides grants and funding for children involved with the state’s Department of Children and Families. Baker’s wife, Lauren Baker, serves on the Wonderfund’s board, according to the Globe.

And — to keep the buzz to an absolute minimum, apparently — the governor says he has no tour or events planned around the book’s publication by Harvard Business Review Press this May.