Home  Updated July 2010  David Mays

 

My Favorite Books on Management            

 

Execution, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, Crown Business, 2002

One of the biggest problems facing many good companies is regularly failing to produce promised results.  Execution is the biggest issue facing business.

 

Fierce Conversations, Susan Scott, Viking, 2002

Fierce conversations are about making every conversation count, about moral courage, clear requests, taking action, an attitude, a way of conducting business, a way of leading, a way of life. 

 

Fifth Discipline, Peter M. Senge, Doubleday, 1990      

This landmark book included seminal thinking on systems and vision.  Five disciplines must be integrated to learn faster than the competition: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision, and team learning.

 

First, Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, Simon & Schuster, 1999 

Based on 25 years of Gallup research, the book explains how to keep your top performers.  The 12 questions are priceless.

 

First Things First, Stephen R. Covey, Simon & Schuster, 1994     

A principle-centered approach to time management based on “Quadrant II” thinking, building your life around what’s truly important.

 

In Search of Excellence, Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Harper & Row, 1982                

The first million-dollar management book, it set the standard for identifying characteristics of excellent, innovative companies. See also The Pursuit of WOW!,  Liberation Management, and the Tom Peters Seminar.

 

Leading from the Sandbox, T. J. Addington, NavPress, 2010

There were two things you learned about the sandbox as a child.  Everyone could have a good time as long as you got along and kept the sand in the box.  Similarly in teams, we do well to get along with our teammates and stay within the boundaries. 

 

Managing in a time of Great Change, Peter F. Drucker, Dutton, 1995

The implications for management, organizations, the economy and society of the emergence of information as a key factor.

 

Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Peter Drucker, HarperBusiness, 1999

This is a straightforward, logical, insightful, and therefore, powerful book about management issues rushing over the horizon.  Drucker deals with new paradigms in management, strategy, change leadership, information, productivity and self-management.

 

Mastering the Management Buckets, John Pearson, Regal, 2008

A sea of management material categorized as cause, community and corporation. 

 

Tom Peters Seminar, Tom Peters, Vintage Books, 1994

If you judge a book by how many questions and ideas it sparks, this book rates tops.  See also, In Search of Excellence, The Pursuit of WOW!, and Liberation Management.

 

Managing by Values, Ken Blanchard & Michael O’Connor, Berrett-Koehler, 1997   

Key principles for making tough decisions and choosing the right thing over short-term payoffs are illustrated in a short, deceptively simple story.

 

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