Top Ten Books

Leadership/Business Books

	Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don't Jim Collins, Coauthor of Built To Last, 2001. One of our top favorite business books because it's chock full of well-researched characteristics of leadership, culture and strategy that take companies from good to great. Use this book to take your own organization from good to great!
	The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization Peter Senge, 1990. A classic on applying the "fifth discipline" - systems thinking. Systems thinking is understanding how inter-related parts of an organization, or system, impact each other - for good or for bad. Teaches critical thinking skills for anyone working in a complex, dynamic organization. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook is a companion book with lots of ideas on how to use the concepts.
	Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail Daryl R. Conner, 1992. One of the best books on change, resiliency and beyond. Pay particular attention to Chapter 7, "The Roles of Change." Translate that to the Roles of Authority and you have the basis for solving 80% of organizational problems. Anytime you feel like you're hitting your head against the wall, LOOK HERE FIRST for resolution.
	Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, 2002. If you know where you want to go, the next challenge is getting there. Bossidy and Charan combine the experience of executive leadership with the insights of academic theory to give you a practical, hands-on walk through to successful execution.
	The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership-Powered Company Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter and James Noel, 2002. As managers go up the rungs of the corporate ladder, many make a common mistake; they don't change their focus. Consequently, they fail to leverage their new position to its fullest potential and the whole organization produces less success than they are capable of. Make sure each level of your management team is operating at its greatest level.
	First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, both of The Gallup organization, 1999. If you only read one book to understand what makes a great manager, read this book. The findings come from one of the largest studies ever done on what attributes make a great workplace. Bottom line is "people don't leave companies, they leave their managers." Developing great managers is a high leverage place to focus time and attention.

Development for Self or Others

	Now, Discover Your Strengths Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D., 2001. If you read Buckingham/Coffman's book, First Break All the Rules (listed above), you know that we get the best results by playing to our strengths, not our weaknesses. Buckingham and Clifton provide a great, inexpensive way to learn more about your own strengths and the strengths of team members. The work is based on a Gallup study of over two million people. When you buy the book, you get a code that you can use to go on line and take a quick assessment. It will then immediately tell you your top five dominant strengths. Very enlightening.
	The Last Word on Power: Executive Re-Invention for Leaders Who Must Make the Impossible Happen Tracy Goss, 1996. Tracy explains that we all have developed a "Winning Strategy" that has gotten us to a certain level of success in life. While we are grateful for that success, our winning strategy can become a limiting paradigm when we're ready to get into a much bigger game. Goss provides insight and technology that will help you break through your own internal glass ceiling.
	How Can I Get Through to You? Closing the Intimacy Gap Between Men and Women Terrance Real, 2001. This book is not exactly a traditional book about business self development. Nonetheless, we feel it is important reading for a well-rounded life. Real, who is a marriage therapist, explains - with great courage, compassion and insight - the barriers between genders that keep us from being our fullest, healthiest selves. Critical information for anyone who ever comes in contact with the opposite sex.
	The Human Element: Productivity, Self-Esteem and the Bottom Line Will Schutz, 1994. Schutz, one of our elders in the human potential movement, has boiled human behavior down to an elegantly simple model. He says it best: " . . . aimed at helping you increase your self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-esteem and thus realize your full human potential, both individually and as a member of a group. " This book will significantly grow your understanding and acceptance of who you are, and who others are.