Recommended Books
These are the books that have given us ideas. We hope you get something from them too. The image of the bookcover is a link to Amazon's listing of the book, so a quick click will let you buy it straight away.
Maverick
Ricardo Semler
The story of the 'world's most unusual workplace', according to the cover. How Ricardo transformed his father's company from one where workers were searched on the gates to one where they are trusted to decide all aspects of their jobs, and most aspects of how the company runs. A great read and full of ideas and challenges.
Flight of the Buffalo
James A. Belasco & Ralph C. Stayer
Buffalo are totally leader-dependent. Geese work as teams as they fly in formation. Find out how to make your buffalo fly! This book tells how Johnsonville Foods (and other companies) transformed themselves by giving the front-lines workers real power over their job - and by putting in place the measurements so they know how they are doing.
Built to Last
James C. Collins & Jerry I. Porras
'Successful habits of visionary companies' - What distinguishes the very best companies (long-term) from the second best: Clock building, not time telling; more than profits; preserve the core values; big hairy audacious goals; cult-like cultures; try a lot of stuff & keep what works; home-grown management; good enough never is.
Zapp: The Lightning of Empowerment
by William C. Byham with Jeff Cox
With 'Heroz' (see below), two of the most readable management books around, based on fairy tale settings with castles, magic spells and dragons galore. Byham & Cox use these imaginary settings to give a clear picture of how to empower people and (in Heroz) give them full control over their jobs.
Heroz: Empower Yourself, Your Coworkers, Your Company
William C. Byham with Jeff Cox
The sequel to Zapp.
The Customer Comes Second
Hal F. Rosenbluth
Guess who comes first? Hal argues that if you hire good people and treat them well, then they will do a great job for the customers. He has built a $20 million travel business into a $2 billion empire, winning customer service awards.
The Pursuit of Wow!
Tom Peters
The follow-up to Crazy Times. Some good ideas, though not as readable.
Raving Fans
Ken Blanchard
Customer service principles as told through a fictional story - easy reading but lots of truths.
The Manager's Bookshelf
Jon L.Pierce & John W.Newstrom
Summaries of some of the best management books in just twenty pages each, or so. Become a management expert reading only one book!
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen
Books of feel-good stories, guaranteed to warm your soul and bring the occasional tear to your eyes.
Managing To Have Fun
Matt Weinstein
Work should be fun and the author comes up with 56 ideas for how to make it fun. Being American some are a bit financially based (bonuses and rewards) but there are still lots of ideas to brighten up your workplace.
The Tao Of Coaching
Max Landsberg
A clear, simple and readable explanation of key coaching principles and methods.
Frontiers Of Excellence
Robert Waterman
Waterman wrote the classic 'In Search of Excellence' with Tom Peters. This one is based on examples today, of companies which empower the workforce and give them control over their work - with impressive results. Currently out of print.
The following titles are also recommended but are unavailable through Amazon:
Sid's Heroes: Uplifting business Performance and the human spirit, Sid Joynson & Andrew Forrester
Sid is a rare breed, a British management guru. Sid's heroes is the story of his television series, where he made two day visits to companies. He claims 40% instant productivity improvements from empowering the workforce to change and improve workplace themselves. Based on Zen and Japanese Kaizen methods.
75 Best Business Practices for Socially Responsible Companies,Alan Reder (Puttnams, New York, 1996)
Packed full of ideas for how successful businesses and other organisations can be socially responsible. Highly recommended.
Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organisations: The Tom Peters Seminar
Tom Peters is probably the world's leading management guru. Avoid paying £500 to attend the seminar and read the book instead. Packed with challenging thoughts and ideas.