Book Reviews
Strategy
Requisite Organization: A Total System For Effective Managerial Organization And Managerial Leadership For The 21st Century: Amended by Elliott Jaques (1998). Cason Hall & Co.
Art Of War by Sun Tzu & Thomas Cleary (Preface) (1988). Random House.
Change
Implementing Your Strategic Plan: How to Turn Intent into Effective Action for Strategic Change by C. Davis Fogg (1998). Amacom.
Managing Transitions: Making The Most Of Change by William Bridges. (1991). Perseus Press.
Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail" by John Kotter. Harvard Business Review, March-April 1995. Reprint #95204.
Project Management
The Machine That Changed The World: The Story Of Lean Production by James P. Womack, Daniel T Jones, & Daniel Roos (1991). HarperCollins.
The Project Workout by Robert Buttrick (1997, 2000). Pitman Publishing.
Other Favorites
Leadership From An Operant Perspective: People And Organizations Judith L Komaki (1998). Routledge.
Analyzing Performance Problems: Or You Really Oughta Wanna by Robert F. Mager & Peter Pipe (1997). Center for Effective Performance, Inc.
Systems Of Survival: A Dialogue On The Moral Foundations Of Commerce And Politics by Jane Jacobs (1994). Vintage Books.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (2003). Penguin USA.
Locus of Control : Current Trends in Theory and Research by Herbert M. Lefcourt (1982) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Links to free, on-line locus of control tests
Strategy
Requisite Organization: A Total System For Effective Managerial Organization And Managerial Leadership For The 21st Century: Elliott Jaques (1998). Cason Hall & Co.
Jaques is the most completely original thinker on the management scene. Based on 50 years of empirical research, Jaques has developed a complete system of management. Companies that follow his advice - not always an easy road - reap huge benefits. He will instruct the executive on exactly how many layers to have, exactly how cross-functional relationships should be established, and exactly how to develop and nurture a talent pool, and much more. Requisite Organization is laid out in an unusual style. Each concept is presented as a "page pair": a narrative on the left side and a diagram on the right side. It usually works. Because his system is so comprehensive (and his thinking is so radical), careful study is required. And rewarded.
Art Of War by Sun Tzu & Thomas Cleary (Preface) (1988). Random House.
This is one of the greatest works on leadership ever written. Sure, it was intended for warfare. But thoughtful reading (and rereading) rewards the reflective executive with timeless truths as applicable in business as on the battlefield. Readers who have tired of bloody metaphors in business will be interested in Sun Tzu's dictum: "To win without fighting is best."
Change
Implementing Your Strategic Plan: How To Turn 'Intent' Into Effective Action For Sustainable Change by C. Davis Fogg (1998). Amacom.
Not much is theoretical about this book. It's a very hands-on guide to implementing strategy. Mostly sound and sensible, its logical layout make it easy to read and refer to. His chapter on communication is worth the price of the book, which isn't cheap. In a nod to team mania he does make the mistake of assigning accountability to teams, a diffusion of accountability that will only slow organizational change. Otherwise, Implementing Your Strategic Plan deserves a place on every change meister's bookshelf.
Managing Transitions: Making The Most Of Change by William Bridges (1991). Perseus Press.
William Bridges made his name some years ago with Transitions, a powerful little book about personal change. Managing Transitions clearly has its roots in that earlier work, reflecting concern and understanding for the individual in organizations undergoing change. This more recent work has been extremely popular among our clients. Most readers find this book a quick read with pithy insights into why employees resist change and what to do about it.
"Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail" by John Kotter. Harvard Business Review, March-April 1995. Reprint #95204.
You can read Kotter's book Leading Change, but why bother? He says it all in this HBR article. He offers eight steps for transforming organizations and cites eight classic mistakes. Nothing earthshaking, but it is a good, high-level summary of the current thinking in the field.
Project Management
The Machine That Changed The World: The Story Of Lean Production by James P. Womack, , Daniel T Jones,. & Daniel Roos (1991). HarperCollins.
This well written classic describes the shift in manufacturing from mass production to lean production, a shift as significant as that from craft production to mass production. The book was commissioned by several automotive companies who wanted to know why they were getting clobbered by the Japanese. Project managers and their bosses should especially focus their attentions on Chapter Five, "Designing the Car." In it the authors compare the design of the Honda Accord with the design of a new GM car known internally as the GM-10. Both design projects were huge and unbelievably complex. However one of them finished on time and on budget. The other was dreadfully late and over budget. The authors cite the causes for the discrepancy. One of them was a vast difference in the two rival project managers' authorities.
The Project Workout by Robert Buttrick (1997, 2000). Pitman Publishing.
From the author: "This book is about driving change in your organization by selecting the RIGHT projects and managing them in the RIGHT way. My approach is to keep things simple, stick to some basic principles and minimize the "rules". In this way, the likelihood of success is increased dramatically and you, as an executive, will have to freedom to direct and manage." Update: I now have the second edition (2000) of Mr. Buttrick's excellent book on my desk. About 10 books are in front of it, but a quick thumb-through indicates that he continues to advance his unusually clear-headed approach.
Other Favorites
Leadership From An Operant Perspective: People And Organizations. Judith L Komaki (1998).
Don't be put off by the arid title of this important book. If you want to know what effective leaders really do, pay heed to this famous behavioral scientist. Employing precise methods of observation and measurement (NOT surveys, NOT interviews, none of that) she compared the behaviors of effective leaders with those of their less effective peers. The studies were conducted in a wide variety of organizational settings, from branch banking to sailing regattas to the New York stage. Komaki's results time and again turned up the same elevating differences: a simple set of concrete behaviors available to anyone who wants them.
Analyzing Performance Problems: Or You Really Oughta Wanna by Robert F. Mager & Peter Pipe (1997). Center for Effective Performance, Inc.
When employees don't perform up to expectations, managers start spinning - and acting on - theories that are often just plain wrong. This book not only counters wrong-headed theories, it serves as a precise guide for what to do when employees perform below expectation. This book offers clear, simple, and practical thinking, with applications from the loading dock to the executive suite.
Systems Of Survival: A Dialogue On The Moral Foundations Of Commerce And Politics by Jane Jacobs (1994). Vintage Books.
Jane Jacobs offers some of the freshest thinking on government and business since Adam Smith. She suggests that there is one "moral syndrome" that characterizes government and another that characterizes business. She describes each syndrome explicitly and wages a strong argument that each syndrome works well but that mixing them is disastrous (so much for making government work more like business!). Her book consists of a series of dialogs á la Plato. It makes for an easy read but takes a few pages to get used to.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (2003). Penguin USA.
David Allen has a terrific approach to improving personal productivity. All of his tactics are sound, but some of his thinking on "time management" is truly profound - simple, but not simplistic, as his wife, Kathryn, says. Incorporating even a little of his approach has already decreased my stress while increasing my productivity. Highly recommended.
Locus of Control: Current Trends in Theory and Research by Herbert M. Lefcourt (1982) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
There are thousands of research articles on the subject of locus of control (LOC). However, students and clients often ask for referral to a book that summarizes the topic. Well, apart from the fact that LOC is an uncredited starring player in many works (e.g., Steven Covey's first habit of highly effective people), there aren't many books on the subject. Lefcourt's book, dated though it may be, is the best available book summarizing research on the topic. Although much has happened in the field since the publication of this book, Lefcourt nevertheless gives a readable and still relevant overview of the topic.
For kicks, take a Locus of Control test at http://www.queendom.com/tests/personality/lc_access.html. It's cheap ($4.45), fun, allegedly valid, and scored on line. Or try http://itech.fgcu.edu/cgi-bin/lchallenges/survey/locus.html, which is free and a little more oriented toward people in business, but provides a much less detailed readout.