Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink (Author) Drive is based on a wealth of research and psychology experiments which explain the driving factors for motivation, and how most business incentive systems are actually counter productive. Basing your organization on Autonomy, Master, and Purpose will improve team engagement and performance. For […]
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t by Jim Collins Good to Great is a must read for all business people. Jim Collins and his research team examined public companies in the same sector to determine why some companies dramatically exceeded expectations, where their peer tracked with the market or […]
Inside the Magic Kingdom : Seven Keys to Disney’s Success
Inside the Magic Kingdom : Seven Keys to Disney’s Success by Tom Connellan Based on Disney’s old management tours, the book follows a set of participants who discover several key lessons to Disney’s park success. The lessons are easy to apply and will change your outlook on business, positioning, and operational excellence. Rating: Must read
Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun
Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun Paperback by Wess Roberts (Author) This book is a great introduction or supplement to leadership development. The historical stories provide a nice background for the leadership tips presented. It’s a fast read, and great gift for interns. Rating: Recommended
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Paperback by Seth Godin Are you a person that wants to make a significant difference? Maybe you don’t understand why your work isn’t valued at your current company. Seth Godin (master of marketing) does an outstanding job helping the reader understand how companies go the way they are from the factory model, and […]
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath, Dan Heath Must read for anyone who has a message they want others to understand and adopt. Chip and Dan are masters of storytelling, using the easy to follow advice. The book is also an entertaining read where you can discover why you can […]
Recommended Reading List for Business Professionals
This is not a comprehensive list, but my top recommendations for business and IT professionals. I’m working on a detailed post on each one and why it is important. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath, Dan Heath The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni […]
Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big
Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham While many companies define success as revenue growth, public stock price or market penetration. Others decided to take the turn and be the best in their market instead of the biggest. Small Giants uses cases studies to show the common steps that […]
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath, Dan Heath The second book from Dan and Chip Heath is another must read. Switch provides an easy to follow model to help you facilitate organizational changes. You understand not only the important steps, but the key obstacles which cause changes to fail. You will […]
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable 1st Edition by Patrick Lencioni (Author) Lencioni does an amazing job explaining why teams collectively fail, even though individually they are achieving their goals. The book is primarily told as a fictional story which helps make the points more tangible. This is one of the books […]
