Mike’s Top-10 Workplace Books
Mike’s Top-10 Workplace Books for 2009
I read something in the order of 60-70 books a year, two newspapers a day, and 15 magazines and academic journals a month to seek out new ideas and relevant content so that I can continue to be a relevant expert resource on your behalf. I am always looking for ways to help you improve the quality of your workplace and to help have more fun so you can get more done!
The following books are just some of the better books I read in 2009. I think most would make a great addition to your office library, some would even make a great gift item for your team mates.
Happy reading! And I wish you much success and humor in 2010!
Mike
1. What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management, Jeffrey Pfeffer, 2007
By the author of “Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense” (another great book). Great contrarian viewpoints that remind us just how often conventional wisdom about workplace practices is wrong, and how much workplaces need to change to get out of the “20th Century!”
2. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin and Robert B. Cialdini, 2008
Great insights and real-world examples of how we can all learn to communicate more effectively and more persuasively. Short, easy-to-read chapters make it a fun read, and the examples are truly offbeat and inspiring.
3. The Dip, Seth Godin, 2007
At 76 pages, this pocket-sized book is something you can knock off on your bus ride into work. Anything by Seth Godin falls onto my recommended reading lists, and this little book offers some interesting advice on one of the toughest challenges innovative organizations face: how to know when to stick with a new idea, and how do you know when to stop beating the proverbial dead horse?
4. Confessions of a Radical Industrialist, Ray C. Anderson, 2009
Ray C. Anderson, the CEO of Interface, redefined his company’s vision at the age of 65. Their inspiring vision is to turn his modular carpet company into the first truly 100% sustainable organization on the planet. And the results thus far are ridiculously inspiring and offer real hope for substantive change in the world.
Now this book is definitely not for everyone! There is some very heavy slogging in this book through some often tedious details around environmental management, but for the hard core environmentalists on your team, this is a must read, OR for anyone interested in reading about the impact of creating a radically new vision for your organization and just how motivating that can be, then I strongly recommend reading at least the first and last parts of this book.
5. Silos, Politicos and Turf Wars, Patrick Lencioni, 2006
6. Death by Meetings, Patrick Lencioni, 2004
7. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lenciono, 2002, Wiley
Okay, so I admit it, I’m a big Patrick Lencioni fan, and any self-respecting workplace library should stock all of his books. The books are easy to read, fictionalized accounts of workplace challenges. The chapters are incredibly short so it’s one of those great back-of- the-toilet kind of books. After the story, the last part of each book summarizes the solutions to the problems in easy to apply steps. The books do a masterful job of simplifying (but not dumbing down) complex workplace issues and offering clear roads maps for success.
8. Why is Everyone Smiling? The Secret behind Passion, Productivity and Profit. Paul Spiegelman, Brown Press, 2007
Paul Spiegelman is the CEO of Beryl, and this book highlights the tremendous success the company has had incorporating humor and fun into their workplace culture. It’s a great book for people who doubt that simply focusing on a positive workplace culture can affect real change.
9. Firms of Endearment, Raj Sisodia, Jag Seth and David B. Wolfe, 2007.
What a great title! With real-life examples, this book shows the way work can and should be at its ultimate best, and reminds us that no matter what business you are in, it is possible to make a real difference, do the right thing, and make heaps of money (if that’s your thing) all at the same time.
10. Made to Stick, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath, 2007.
Okay, so I read this a few years ago, but I thought I’d bring it back onto this year’s list, just because I’m such a fan of the concept and of the Heath brothers’ writing (you can read their column regularly in Fast Company, a magazine you should subscribe to if you are half way serious about changing how your workplace works). Great, inspiring and occasionally hilarious real-life examples of how to stand out from the herd and communicate and sell new ideas effectively. A fun, insightful read.
Copyright Michael Kerr 2010, mike@mikekerr.com, www.humoratwork.com, www.humoratwork.tv
