Here is a list of related authors, periodicals, and books that I personally recommend:
Books
In Search of Excellence
Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman
"In observing excellent companies, and specifically the way they interact with customers, the consistent presence of obsession was most striking. This characteristically occurred as a seemingly unjustifiable overcommitted to some form of quality, reliability, or service."
First published in 1982, this book went on to become the first management blockbuster. Based on research into America's most successful companies, the authors identify eight management principles common to each of them:
- A bias for action, active decision making - "getting on with it"
- "Close to the customer - learning from the people served by the business
- Autonomy and entrepreneurship - fostering innovation and nurturing "champions"
- Productivity through people - treating rank and file employees as a source of quality
- Hands-on, value-driven - management philosophy that guides everyday practice - management showing its commitment
- Stick to the knitting - stay with the business that you know
- Simple form, lean staff - some of the best companies have minimal HQ staff
- Simultaneous loose-tight properties - autonomy in shop-floor activities plus strong centralized values
This book was groundbreaking both for it's highly readable style and for it's rejection of the rational model of management. The insights from this book still resonate today and the influence of the research-based approach can be seen in other authors work.
Good To Great
Jim Collins
"Good is the enemy of great."
The most influential management book of the last decade. Jim Collins asks the question, can a good company become a great company and if so, how? Based on his research of consistently successful companies, Collins concludes that making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy.
"Built to Last" and "How The Mighty Fall" by the same author are also recommended as companions to this book.
Rework
Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
No-nonsense practical advice on running a business.
- Start a business, not a start-up
- Learning from mistakes is overrated
- Embrase constraints
- Interruption is the enemy of productivity
- Underdo your competition
- Planning is guessing
- Marketing is not a department
- Put everyone on the front line
- Decisions are temporary
- Inspiration is perishable
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Charles Mackay
"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
First published in 1841, this Informative and entertaining book is the definitive history of manias. From ancient alchemy, to the crusades at the turn of the first century, witch-hunts during the 1400s to 1600s, tulip mania in 1624, and the Mississippi scheme and South Sea bubble of the 1700s, Mackay provides insights into human behavior which help explain the Great Crash of 1929, the Dot-Com bubble of the 1990s, and the recent global economic meltdown.
Getting Things Done
Dave Allen
"The big problem is that your mind keeps reminding you of things when you can't do anything about them."
Most efforts to get organized fail or are unsustainable. Calendars only capture a fraction of our responsibilities and to-do lists are inadequate to deal with the volume and variability of our workload. Distractions disrupt conscious thought, and poorly defined to-do's force the brain into repeating loops of alternatives. Getting Things Done (GTD) shifts the focus from commonly defined problems of time, information, and priorities to action. By defining and managing actions, ambiguous tasks are turned into clear next steps. Once these actions are captured using a reliable system, the mental noise clears allowing space for more substantive thought.
Periodicals
The Economist is the definitive weekly news and business magazine. Each issue explores domestic and international issues, business, finance, current affairs, science, technology and the arts. While a strong advocate of free trade, the magazine provides balanced and unbiased reporting of issues that affect the business community.
The McKinsey Quarterly is the business journal of the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Consultant written articles provide interesting perspectives and research into current business issues.
