Booklist There are 111 recommendations (so far!), with a few duplicates which are so worthy, they appear more than once! At this time the links are to Amazon UK. Our favourite books have an asterisk! Leading with Vision
Leadership Styles
"*Leadership and the One Minute Manager" - Ken Blanchard "The Extraordinary Leader" - Zenger and Folkman
Delivering great employee performance is quite a skill, some might say an art. You could do far worse than to invest in this great little book, which is a delightful read. In this early book from Ken Blanchard, he is able, through a very precise focus on what makes leaders (and, I think in this case, managers), get the very best from those they employ, to describe a simple process for success. For many, 'The One Minute Manager' is a revelation and I have no doubt that it works. In my long management career, I was able to achieve this goal eventually, but it is, inevitably, easier to read than deliver. This is because, like most things, it requires practice and focus. And if any manager were able to do these things easily, they would be already. That being said, it's a great aspirational (and inspirational) book, focused on delivering, through people, great success in business and organisations. Rather than trying to do it all yourself and either failing, or burning yourself out in the process (tried it myself - once!). Because of that, it is a very useful read for anyone who wants to make management a career. I especially like the simplicity of 'The One Minute Manager', a feature I have included often in the ideas and tips on this website. "*First Break All the Rules" - Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman "The E-myth Manager" - Michael Gerber
"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood) - Stephen Covey "How to Talk to Anyone" - Leil Lowndes
"The Highest Goal" - Michael Ray "*Time to Think" - Nancy Kline
"*The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook" - Peter Senge If you ever wanted a book that contains almost everything you would ever want to develop your management skills, this is it. A book to take on a desert island with you to enjoy. This is a different iteration of the original book 'The Fifth Discipline', (both are by Peter Senge) - itself a breakthough book. The work Senge created in the Fieldbook version is practical and do-able, with the focus on individual exercises in as wide a range of management applications as you could need. I think it's a leap ahead of the original for that reason. That being said, there are some more up to date areas that have evolved, such as, for example, Succession Planning, but with the vast array of components in this book, many of these will be covered off anyway. For anyone who wants both a dip-in workbook as well as a groundbreaking comprehensive manual, this book must be in your library, it will serve you well for the whole of your management career. By the way, if you buy it on Amazon, don't be put off by the number of pages. If you buy it (after trying to pick it up!) in a bookshop, don't be put off by it's weight! If you take it a 'module' at a time, you will find it remarkably readable and fun - but I wouldn't attempt to read the whole thing in one go - just take your time. Enjoy meandering around it, it's a truly fascinating read! "Change Management in a Week" - Mike Bourne & Pippa Bourne
"*Slack" - Tom De Marco "Sun Tzu: The Art of War for Managers" - Gerald A. Michaelson Making Time
Managing Meetings
"Managing Meetings (Essential Managers)" - Tim Hindle "How to Make Meetings Work: The New Interaction Method" - Doyle & Straus
"Real Problem Solving - How to Turn Obstacles into Solutions" - Karen Smart "The Thinker's Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem Solving" - Morgan Jones "Six Thinking Hats" - Edward de Bono "Edward de Bono's Thinking Course" - Edward de Bono
"Decision Traps: Ten Barriers to Brilliant Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them" - Ed Russo & Paul J.H. Schoemaker "Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions" - John Hammond, Ralph Keeney & Howard Raiffa
"Project Management (Essential Managers Series)" - Andy Bruce, Ken Langdon "*The Project Management Pocketbook" - Mike Applegarth & Keith Posner
"*The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey" - Ken Blanchard "Time Tactics of Very Successful People" - B. Eugene Griessman Building Your Best Team
Team Building
"Zapp! - The Lightening of Empowerment" - William Byham "Maverick!" - Ricardo Semler "Fish!" - Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul & John Christensen
Delivering great employee performance is quite a skill, some might say an art. You could do far worse than to invest in this great little book, which is a delightful read. In this early book from Ken Blanchard, he is able, through a very precise focus on what makes leaders (and, I think in this case, managers), get the very best from those they employ, to describe a simple process for success. For many, 'The One Minute Manager' is a revelation and I have no doubt that it works. In my long management career, I was able to achieve this goal eventually, but it is, inevitably, easier to read than deliver. This is because, like most things, it requires practice and focus. And if any manager were able to do these things easily, they would be already. That being said, it's a great aspirational (and inspirational) book, focused on delivering, through people, great success in business and organisations. Rather than trying to do it all yourself and either failing, or burning yourself out in the process (tried it myself - once!). Because of that, it is a very useful read for anyone who wants to make management a career. I especially like the simplicity of 'The One Minute Manager', a feature I have included often in the ideas and tips on this website. "Real Delegation: How to Get People to Do Things for You - and Do Them Well" - Karen Smart "How to Delegate (Essential Managers Series)" - Robert Heller & Tim Hindle
"1001 Ways to Energize Employees" - Bob Nelson "*First Break All the Rules" - Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
"Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances"- J. Richard Hackman "The Wisdom of Teams : Creating the High-Performance Organization (esp. Chapter 7)" - Jon R. Katzenbach, Douglas K. Smith
"The Complete Facilitator's Handbook" - John Heron "The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers and Coaches" - Roger M. Schwarz Stunning Customer Service!
Delighting Customers
"Delivering Knock Your Socks off Service" - Ron Zemke "Customer Centered Growth" - Richard Whiteley & Diane Hessan
"Guerrilla Marketing" - Jay Conrad Levinson "Successful Marketing in a Week" - Eric Davies, Barry Davies "*How to Drive Your Competition Crazy" - Guy Kawasaki
"Moments of Truth" - Jan Carlzon "Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless : How to Make Customers Love You, Keep Them Coming Back and Tell Everyone They Know" - Jeffrey Gitomer Delivering Great Results
Budgeting
"Successful Budgeting in a Week" - Malcolm Secrett "Understanding Business Accounting for Dummies - UK Edition" - Colin Barrow & John Tracy
"*Who Says Elephants Can't Dance"" - Lou Gerstner "Why the Bottom Line ISN'T!: How to Build Value Through People and Organization" - David Ulrich & Norm Smallwood
"Streetwise Motivating and Rewarding Employees" - Alexander Hiam "The Peon Book: How to Manage Us"" - D. Haynes "*Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge" - Gary Bellman "*The Tao of Motivation" - Max Landsberg Developing Each Other
Coaching
"The Tao of Coaching" - Max Landsberg "Co-Active Coaching" - John Whitmore (Foreword), Laura Whitworth, Henry Kimsey-House, Phil Sandahl
"Fast Feedback" - Bruce Tulgan "Fierce Conversations" - Susan Scott (advanced)
"Career Anchors: Discovering Your Real Values" - Edgar H. Schein "*Transitions" - William Bridges "How to Be Brilliant" - Michael Heppell
"The Tools of Leadership" - Max Landsberg "The Fifth Discipline Workbook" - Peter Senge If you ever wanted a book that contains almost everything you would ever want to develop your management skills, this is it. A book to take on a desert island with you to enjoy. This is a different iteration of the original book 'The Fifth Discipline', (both are by Peter Senge) - itself a breakthough book. The work Senge created in the Fieldbook version is practical and do-able, with the focus on individual exercises in as wide a range of management applications as you could need. I think it's a leap ahead of the original for that reason. That being said, there are some more up to date areas that have evolved, such as, for example, Succession Planning, but with the vast array of components in this book, many of these will be covered off anyway. For anyone who wants both a dip-in workbook as well as a groundbreaking comprehensive manual, this book must be in your library, it will serve you well for the whole of your management career. By the way, if you buy it on Amazon, don't be put off by the number of pages. If you buy it (after trying to pick it up!) in a bookshop, don't be put off by it's weight! If you take it a 'module' at a time, you will find it remarkably readable and fun - but I wouldn't attempt to read the whole thing in one go - just take your time. Enjoy meandering around it, it's a truly fascinating read! "The One Minute Manager" (to keep it very, very simple and very, very effective) - Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson Delivering great employee performance is quite a skill, some might say an art. You could do far worse than to invest in this great little book, which is a delightful read. In this early book from Ken Blanchard, he is able, through a very precise focus on what makes leaders (and, I think in this case, managers), get the very best from those they employ, to describe a simple process for success. For many, 'The One Minute Manager' is a revelation and I have no doubt that it works. In my long management career, I was able to achieve this goal eventually, but it is, inevitably, easier to read than deliver. This is because, like most things, it requires practice and focus. And if any manager were able to do these things easily, they would be already. That being said, it's a great aspirational (and inspirational) book, focused on delivering, through people, great success in business and organisations. Rather than trying to do it all yourself and either failing, or burning yourself out in the process (tried it myself - once!). Because of that, it is a very useful read for anyone who wants to make management a career. I especially like the simplicity of 'The One Minute Manager', a feature I have included often in the ideas and tips on this website.
"*Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?" - Lou Gerstner "*Maverick!" - Ricardo Semler
"*Fierce Conversations" - Susan Scott "Coping with Difficult People" - Robert Bramson "How to Deal with Verbal Aggression" - Robert Agar-Hutton "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handling Difficult Employees" - Robert Bacal
"Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You: Do What Needs to Be Done" - Ken Blanchard and Bob Nelson "*Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment" - Byham & Cox "Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute" - Blanchard, Carlos and Randolph "The 3 Keys to Empowerment: Release the Power Within People for Astonishing Results" - Blanchard, Carlos and Randolph "*The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey" - Ken Blanchard Keeping In Balance
Being a Model
"*Gung Ho!: Turn on the People in Any Organization" - Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson "*Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment" - Byham & Cox
"Managing to Have Fun" - Matt Weinstein "*1001 Ways to Reward Employees"" - Bob Nelson "*Training to Imagine" - Kat Koppett
"*Loving What Is" - Byron Katie "*The Highest Goal" - Michael Ray "The Dark Side of the Light Chasers" - Debbie Ford "Morrie: In His Own Words" - Morrie Schwartz
"*Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" - Susan Jeffers "*Transitions" - William Bridges "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" - Deepak Chopra "Coach Yourself to Success" - Talane Miedaner "*Excuse Me - Your Life is Waiting" - Lynn Grabhorn Into the Future
Creating a Winning Culture
"Jack: Straight from the Gut" - Jack Welch "Maverick!" - Ricardo Semler "Moments of Truth" - Jan Carlzon
"Fish!" - Harry Paul, John Christensen, Stephen C. Lundin "Gung Ho! Turn on the People in Any Organization" - Ken Blanchard, Sheldon Bowles Back to Top - Booklist © 2006 Coaching Businesses to Success. Permission is given for non-profit use of the information from this web page provided it is acknowledged as follows:- "Used by permission of www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com" Requests for other uses will be considered if you contact us via the website. Thank you. 
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