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RESOURCES
What We’re Reading
What We’re Speaking About

Yes, we can’t deny it—we’re voracious readers. We tell ourselves we’re screening resources for our clients, but the truth is we’d be doing this anyway.

The following is a small sampling from our current reading list and from our bookshelf of favorites. Simply click on titles to see more complete reviews and to order on Amazon.

Managing Transitions (2nd Edition): Making the Most of Change, William Bridges (2003).  A classic guide to dealing with the hardest work within a transition - getting people to change.  Bridges provides models, checklists, and an array of quotes to help you guide your team through organizational change.

Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever (2003). An insightful resource both for women who are interested in reframing their negotiations and men who are working with women.  Advice from the book has helped clients of both genders expand their options at work and in their home life.

 
Guns, Germs, and Steel:  The Fates of Human Society, Jared Diamond (1997).  A Pulitzer Prize winning look at 13,000 years of history that provides an explanation for the different development of societies on different continents.  Reading it shifts your world view and creates a new look at humankind’s possibility.
 
  

Smart Choices, John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney and Howard Raiffa (1999).  When our decisions result in favorable outcomes, we often believe we’re good decision-makers rather than simply lucky.  However, true decision-makers use a disciplined process that increases the likelihood of good consequences. This invaluable book provides a practical framework for making choices that enables readers to take charge of events in their lives.

Leadership Presence: Dramatic Techniques to Reach Out, Motivate, and Inspire, Belle Linda Halpern and Kathy Lubar (2003).  A fresh look at the subject of leadership presence from a new perspective—the world of acting. The authors provide a wealth of tips on how to communicate authentically and persuasively.

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, Daniel Goleman (2006).  Another likely bestseller from the author of the groundbreaking Emotional Intelligence. Goleman reviews the latest findings in neuroscience and provides numerous examples of how we assess, connect, and influence others through such channels as emotion and empathy—and in turn are assessed and influenced ourselves.  A thought-provoking text for anyone who needs to motivate others to follow his or her lead.

Never Eat Alone : And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship At A Time, Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz (2005).  An easy read on building strong networks and relationships. Often razzle-dazzle in style, Ferrazzi nonetheless has many worthwhile tips on how to connect with others who can help build your career and business.

The Seven Stages Of Money Maturity:  Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money In Your Life, George Kinder (2000).  A guide to eliminating the stress and anxiety that money can create in our lives. Kinder encourages readers to achieve a more balanced and fulfilling relationship with money.


What You Don’t Know About Making Decisions, David A. Garvin and Michael A. Roberto, Harvard Business Review, September 2001.  When you treat decision making as an event rather than a process, you can limit options and stifle innovation. This article explains how a process of inquiry rather than advocacy can lead to higher quality decisions.


Who Really Matters:  The Core Group Theory of Power, Privilege, and Success, Art Kleiner (2003).  Kleiner convincingly argues that all organizations have core groups who are the real arbiters of power and culture. When you know how to identify these groups and then appropriately manage your relationship to them, you increase the odds of your personal success.

The Art of Possibility:  Transforming Professional and Personal Life, Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander (2002 reprint).  To see what possibilities are open to you often requires a shift in mindset. This book is packed with ideas on how to reframe issues so that you can expand your options and find breakthrough solutions.

The Extraordinary Leader:  Turning Good Mangers Into Great Leaders, by John Zenger and Joseph Folkman (2002). Like Good to Great, this book is based on extensive empirical research, and its findings contradict some popular leadership assumptions.  One of its best known conclusions is that leadership is best cultivated through leveraging existing strengths.

The Economist.  You know those colleagues who seem so well-informed about world trends and how they can impact business? They’re reading The Economist and similar magazines. This weekly periodical is well-written, insightful, and has a refreshing global rather than simply US-centric perspective. Check www.economist.com for subscriptions.


The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels, Michael Watkins (2003).  A roadmap for accelerating your effectiveness in the first months of a new role.  While other books may explore particular strategies in more depth, Watkins provides an excellent overview of all the key tasks confronting a new leader. 

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t, Jim Collins (2001).  The now classic study of what distinguishes truly great companies from their peers. Relying on extensive research, Collins authoritatively makes the case for common sense and enduring principles rather than following the latest business fad. One of its many helpful findings—first, get the right people on the bus.


Level 5 Leadership:  The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Jim Collins, Harvard Business Review, January 2001.  In this article based on the Good to Great research, Collins elaborates on the various stages of leadership and how they correlate to sustainable organizational success.


The Highest Goal:  The Secret That Sustains You In Every Moment, Michael Ray. Through exercises and reflections, this book helps readers to identify and connect with the particular goal that will bring them the most personal satisfaction and success.  Ray’s course in Personal Creativity in Business at Stanford University has been a defining experience for many now successful graduates, including Jim Collins.


How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work, Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey. An informative guide to the ways in which both our internal language and our social language can either limit or broaden our possibilities. A change in language can lead to a change in results, a significant point for those looking to become even more effective in the workplace.

The Real Reason People Won’t Change, Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, Harvard Business Review, November 2001. An article addressing one topic in their book—how an unrecognized competing commitment can sabotage one’s best intentions. Kegan and Lahey provide a process for surfacing and resolving such conflicts.

Leadership and The Art of Conversation, Kim Krisco.  This now out-of-print classic is a secret asset for a handful of successful leaders. Simple, practical advice on how to shape your conversations to motivate and lead others.  Almost impossible to find in the US, but English language versions are still being printed in India and can be easily ordered at www.khazana.com.  Scoop it up.

Leading Change:  Why Transformation Efforts Fail, John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Review, March-April 1995. Kotter assesses change initiatives and the pitfalls that derail them. A valuable resource for anyone who is committed to ensuring successful organizational change.


Marshall Goldsmith Library.  A collection of free articles, including many on leadership, by the well-known behavioral coach.  Packed with simple effective tactics to ensure behavioral change. Be sure to read Leadership Is A Contact Sport and Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback.

The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (2003). A useful guide to building personal resiliency.  Relying on work done with athletes, Loehr and Schwartz explain how managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance in corporate and other settings.


The Making of a Corporate Athlete, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, Harvard Business Review, January 2001. A condensed version of The Power of Full Engagement that targets corporate executives.

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