Recommended Leadership Books:
An Annotated Bibliography

Click on any book title to order it from the Amazon.com online bookstore

 

R.E.Brown Co. and Associates have reviewed the following leadership books. These include classics in the field and the latest bestsellers. We continuously add new and important books on leadership and management development. So please check with us often.
If you're not sure about the title of a book or full name of the author, use this index to find it quickly. Just click on the letter below that matches the first letter of the author's last name. We will locate the right place in the bibliography to find the authors beginning with that letter.

 

A]	B]	C]	D]	E]	F]	G]	H-I]
J]	K-L]	M-O]	P-R]	S]	T-U]	W-Z]

Argyris, Chris. Knowledge For Action: A Guide For Overcoming Barriers To Organizational Change. Jossey-Bass. 1993.
Argyis presents a step-by-step description of how to assess an organization's capacity to learn, analyze the data, and design and implement effective interventions that help create a more dynamic and innovative organization. This current work concentrates on defensiveness that leads to skilled work incompetencies in which people develop behavior patterns that overprotect them from perceived threats or embarrassment. He analyzes defensive routines in detail and describes exercises (right-hand, left-hand columns contrasting implicit and explicit thoughts) that uncover these processes. Teams cannot be truly empowered if their members are operating with underlying defensive positions.

Baker, Wayne E. Networking Smart: How to Building Relationships for Personal and Organizational Success. McGraw Hill. 1993.
Real world tips on how to increase your network and make it work for you. Covers basic networking principles; the salutary effects of well-established and well-maintained networks; managing relationships with peers, subordinates, and superiors within an organization; breaking bottlenecks and building bridges between organizational units; encouraging creativity; tapping the power of diversity; networking throughout the organizational life cycle; and managing relationships outside an organization. The latter section discusses how to use networking to find good people to hire; to change jobs; to establish relationships with customers and clients; to develop positive word-of-mouth in marketing; to build partnerships with suppliers; and to co-operate with competitors. Also a description of how to start or join a networking club.

Barlow, Janelle and Claus Moller. A Complaint Is A Gift: Using Customer Feedback As A Strategic Tool. Berett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 1996.
The authors argue that complaints are statements about expectations that have not been met. More importantly, they can be viewed as gifts and utilized for continuous feedback. Part One introduces the "Complaint as a Gift" concept, claiming a complaint is the biggest bargain in market research. Part Two offers eight steps for dealing with complaints: 1. Say "thank you." 2. Explain why you appreciate the complaint. 3. Apologize. 4. Promise to do something immediately. 5. Ask for information. 6. Correct the mistake; 7. Check customer satisfaction. 8. Prevent future mistakes. Part Three is crucial for leaders and explains how to use complaints as the basis for future organizational development.

Bennis, Warren and Burt Nanus. Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge. 2nd Edition. Harperbusiness. 1997.
Originally hailed as a seminal work on leadership, this revised edition is updated, featuring a new foreword, and an important new chapter on the future of leadership. Bennis and Nanus predict technological change will be one of the most important challenges facing future leaders. In the face of such quick and pervasive change, organizations will consist of "knowledge workers," expert in specialized disciplines and demanding a high degree of independent responsibility. The leader of this organization must be able to manage successfully rapid changes in technology itself as well as the organizational and structural development such changes bring to the organization. Successful leaders will still master and display the same basic skills identified by the authors in their first edition of Leaders. Here they use in-depth interviews with leaders from public and private sectors to challenge traditional myths about leadership. They show that it constitutes a set of skills that can be isolated, studied, and mastered. In Leaders, they describe how leadership differs from management; identify vision, communication, positioning, and "the creative deployment of self" as the key strategies employed by leaders; and show how leaders use those skills to empower others.

Bennis, Warren. On Becoming A Leader. Rev/2nd Edition. Addison-Wesley Pub Co. 1994. Cassette Edition: 1995. Simon & Schuster
Author of numerous books, psychologist, sociologist, economist, and USC professor, Warren Bennis has spent years intensely studying 150 leaders, -mostly corporate chiefs. In this book, he depicts the differences between managers and leaders. Managers focus on: 1. doing things right, 2. people as liabilities, 3. control, 4. rules, 5. how things should be done, 6.compliance, 7. secrecy, and 8. formal authority (hierarchy). By contrast, leaders focus on: 1. doing the right things, 2. people as great assets, 3.commitment, 4. outcomes, 5. what and why things could be done, 6. sharing information, and 7. networks. A leadership-management self-test is presented, along with some tips for crossing over from management to leadership practices.

Bennis, Warren and Joan Goldsmith. Learning To Lead: A Workbook On Becoming A Leader. Updated. Addison-Wesley Pub Co. 1997.
A workshop in print. The first half has exercises that help you examine your organization, the differences between managers and leaders, and your past experiences with learning. The second half helps you create a vision for your organization, develop qualities that engender trust, and write an action plan for achieving your leadership goals. By presenting a thorough self-assessment section and more than 30 one-day skill-building exercises, this updated version walks readers through the basics of leadership.

Bennis, Warren. Why Leaders Can't Lead: The Unconscious Conspiracy Continues. Reissue Edition. Jossey-Bass Pub. 1997.
In the original Unconscious Conspiracy (1976), Bennis raised questions of leadership and how it evolved over time. He distinguished between true leadership and managing, exploring the problem of why leaders seemingly cannot lead. And focusing the issue in four parts: ordeal by leadership; the options; the image and the realities; and "mortal stakes." And he offered insights on possible solutions for the future. In this continuing version, he explores the current state of leadership, analyzing difficulties in the path of anyone who tries to take charge of an organization, giving advice on keeping inertia and turmoil from destroying their impact.

Blanchard, Kenneth, Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi. Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership. William Morrow & Company. 1985.
Blanchard's book is a classic and definitely worth a read more than ten years after initial publication, especially in the age of self-directed work teams. The authors explain thoroughly the appropriate leadership styles that fit the task and person according to his or her abilities. Most managers tend to get stuck in one leadership style, a coach or director, for example, without being sensitive to the needs of the particular task at the time and abilities of the person who will perform the task. Reading this book for the first time, or re-reading it will definitely improve your leadership effectiveness and communication skills. Others will also perceive your leadership qualities as you demonstrate situational leadership skills

Blanchard, Kenneth H. and Sheldon Bowles. Gung Ho!: Turn on the People in Any Organization. 1st Ed. William Morrow and Company. Cassette Edition: 1997. Random House.
The co-authors of Raving Fans, a New York Times business bestseller provide a new management tool that outlines ways to increase productivity. They concentrate on stimulating excellent morale in the workplace. Their stories of how two managers saved a failing company are interesting and the book uses three metaphorically described principles of motivation: The Spirit of the Squirrel: Practice worthwhile work; The Way of the Beaver: Be in control of achieving the goal; The Gift of the Goose: Cheer each other on. The book has a clear game plan for instituting their ideas that should boost enthusiasm and performance.

Blanchard, Kenneth with Sheldon M. Bowles, and Harvey MacKay. Raving Fans : A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service. William Morrow and Company. 1993. Cassette Edition: 1998. Random House.
Using the parable style of The One Minute Manager, the authors use this technique to teach how to define a vision, learn what a customer really wants so that he or she is a raving fan, and institute effective systems that continue responding to customers. Offers a map from which you can create your own clear customer service ideals, not just okay customer satisfaction but really inspired responses from customers.

Brown, Shona L. and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt. Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos. Harvard Business School Press. 1998.
Another great, new book on CHANGE from a McKinsey consultant (Brown) and a Stanford University professor (Eisenhardt). They offer 10 distinct ideas about strategy, organizational structure, and leadership that will help you compete on the Edge. This is their new paradigm for companies to survive in the instability, competition, and constant change. Competing on the edge means to continuously reinvent on what might be called the edge of chaos, exploiting the creative tension between order of the past and the uncertainty of the future. The book explain theory, but more importantly translates that theory into practice, with chapters focusing on specific management problems and possible solutions. And they open up new possibilities in management: improvisation, co-adaptation, regeneration, experimentation, and time pacing. The book, like its subject is fast-paced and fun to read.

Burgoyne, John and Mike Pedler. Towards The Learning Company: Concepts and Practice. Books Britain. 1994.
A collection of 21 chapters using Peter Senge's ideas about learning organization. Authored by 25 management experts. An interesting chapter by David Sutton deals with the issue of how people in groups work and learn together.

Clemens, John K., Steve Albrecht, and Earl N. Shulman. The Timeless Leader. Reprint Edition. Adams Pub. 1997.
The authors relate management concerns to classic works in ancient literature, the Renaissance, and the Industrial age, claiming that current management issues are universal problems. They then discuss how each era dealt with their respective management and leadership issues. According to the authors, the classical age searched for balance between the individual and institutions; the Renaissance exulted in the individual; and the industrial age focused more strongly on the organization. Each era addressed a slightly different aspect of leadership, and each solution illuminates current dilemmas. An interesting look at the problem of leadership.

Collins, James C. with Jerry I. Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. Harperbusiness: 1997. CASSETTE edition: 1994 Harper Audio
Collins and Porras, from Stanford's Graduate School of Business look closely at how companies endure. Based on five years' research, they offer six characteristics of the BEST American institutions: (1) first in their industry, (2) widespread admiration from peers, (3) had numerous CEOs, (4) made a significant mark on society, and (6) had pre-1950 roots. Their stories of enduring companies from IBM, 3M. P & G, J & J, Motorola and others uncover patterns for long-lasting success built into the very culture of the organization. A New York Times business bestseller, this paperback edition includes a new chapter on building vision exploring the ways in which a company can identify core values and beliefs in order to achieve its vision. book explores and eliminates myths about success. Also a bestseller in cassette version, though some of the stories are deleted. In both versions, the authors take a different look at vision, discounting the tendency to associate vision with individual single leadership. Collins and Porras argue vision is a part of great companies, having endured through organizational goals, through process, and through the people who work there. In other words they argue that vision is part of the culture and that culture more than single visionary leaders defines success and sustainability. Along the way, they explore numerous myths about what constitutes success. Their examples of great companies built to last is worth the read.

Covey, Stephen R., Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill. First Things First: Every Day: Because Where You're Headed Is More Important Than How Fast You're Going. Fireside. 1997. Cassette Edition 1994. Simon and Schuster Books
Combines good insights with clear ideas about how to overcome debilitating habits, learn to distinguish what is truly important in life, and focus on people and relationships instead of things and schedules. The authors remind us that where we're headed is more important than how fast we're going. The time management techniques of are presented in an easy-to-use format for daily use.

Covey, Stephen J. The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Reprint Edition. Fireside. 1990. Cassette Edition: 1997. Covey Leadership Center
A guidebook to achieving peace of mind by seeking the roots of human behavior in character and by learning principles rather than just practices. Clearly written and provides useful end of the chapter exercises.

Cunningham, Ian. The Wisdom Of Strategic Learning: The Self Managed Learning Solution (Developing Organizations). McGraw-Hill. 1994.
The author focuses on strategic learning and its links direction to cultural change by exploring the design, development, and implementation of self-managed learning. In this new book, he writes about his pioneering work in developing strategic learning. Showing the need to go beyond vague definitions for 'learning organizations', Cunningham advocates the value of a 'learning business' which integrates learning with the strategic direction of the organization. He offers practical examples of implementing strategic learning, using self managed learning. For the organization, self managed learning has a strategic advantage in creating a focused, active and committed team. His approach is backed by evaluation research evidence and by its success in organizations such as Shell in the Netherlands, the Hiram Walker Group in the UK, and Valmet in Finland.

De Geus, Arie and Peter M. Senge. The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment. Harvard Business School Press. 1997.
De Geus, a former Royal Dutch/Shell Group executive, and Senge, catalyst of the learning organization, stress that the longest-surviving companies view their organizations as "living work communities" rather than mere economic machines. As a strategy book, the Living Company identifies critical characteristics that ensure survival and success in a turbulent business environment.

Downes, Larry, Chunka Mui, and Nicholas Negroponte. Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance. Harvard Business School Press. 1998.
A killer app is as a product or service that displaces older products or services, and in the process destroys some industries but also creates new ones. Some people call this emerging technology which nowadays is changing far more rapidly than any time in the future. The authors, thus, deal with CHANGE and how companies can harness it for their own use. Specifically, Downes and Mui cite the doubling power of the CPU (Moore's Law) and the power of network extensions (Metcalfe's Law) as the basis for this phenomenal period of change, and they offer twelve points for identifying and designing your company's own digital strategy. The book also includes many concrete examples of how companies discovered killer apps and implemented them successfully. Most managers and executives are aware of the vast technological changes with e-mail, the internet, and video-conferencing. This book is particularly enlightening for technology-averse managers and executives, giving them insight into the new power of this new kind of strategy and offer them some tools with which to bring their organizations forward in a digital future. Read excerpts of the book on the Amazon.com page.

Drucker, Peter F. The Executive in Action: Managing for Results, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Effective Executive. Harperbusiness. 1996.
Combines the three books mentioned in the title with a new preface. Drucker identifies and explains the practices, decisions, and priorities for achieving executive effectiveness." Managing for Results explains business strategy, showing how the existing business needs to focus on opportunities rather than problems. Innovation and Entrepreneurship analyzes the challenges and opportunities of America's entrepreneurial economy, explaining what businesses, public institutions, and new ventures have to know, learn, and do to create the successful business of the future. The Effective Executive discusses the five practices and habits that must be learned for executive effectiveness. The book is a great compilation of Drucker's seminal management/leadership ideas.

Drucker, Peter F. Managing in a Time of Great Change. Truman Talley Books. 1995. Paperback Edition: Plume Books. 1998. Cassette Edition: 1995. Dove Entertainment Inc.
In his preface, Drucker writes that there are the fundamental and unpredictable changes that can happen such as the establishment of the European Economic Community leading to economic stagnation and a weaker world economy than the one of 1985. He is concerned about commitment to action which takes place in the present yet leads to the future. And he analogizes this larger economic perspective to executives who are paid to take effective action. He claims they can only take effective action by contemplating the present and by exploiting the changes that have already happened.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo with Richard Whelan (Editor). Self-Reliance: The Wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson As Inspiration for Daily Living. Random House. 1991.
Sometimes we ignore seminal works from authors of the past, authors who have transformed our lives. We include Emerson's Self-Reliance because the book stands out in quiet memory as a way to live one's life amidst frenetic changes and another way to develop inner strength that is essential in full leadership development.

Fitz-Enz, Jac. The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies: How Great Organizations Make the Most of Their Human Assets. AMACOM. 1997.
The importance of developing people in business is often acknowledged but rarely fully understood or practiced. Jac Fitz-Enz offers concrete proof from many case studies on how exceptional companies get such quality. The focus here is on human relationships, or the white space in organizational charts, as a way of increasing profits. There is a direct correlation between people and profit. So the best practices described touch upon the fundamental of high-performance companies and their real operating strategies that bring together the human element with the need to increase profits. Four of the 8 best practices include: commitment to a core strategy, massive two-way communication, innovation and risk, never being satisfied. Perhaps most important is how the author shows managers to shift their attention from short-term process improvement (reengineering, benchmarking, quality) toward developing people, which is the only way to create long-term success.

Geraghty, Barbara with Michael Larsen and Fred Hills. Visionary Selling: How to Get to Top Executives -- And How to Sell Them When You're There. Simon and Schuster Books: 1998
The authors present a new look at success in sales by focusing on developing a long-term alliance with their customers. Specifically, Visionary Selling shows how to sell effectively to top decision makers by aligning yourself with the broader vision of top management rather than giving a hard sell of a specific product The book also explore ways to help you think like a CEO or other top-level executive. Illustrated with lots of stories from experience, Geraghty explains how to turn corporate gatekeepers into allies, how to use Internet to research industries, how to approach executives through e-mail, and how to create a great presentation that will interest key executives.

Goleman, Daniel P. Emotional Intelligence. Revised Edition. Bantam. 1997. Cassette Edition: 1995. Audio Renaissance
Goleman is a psychologist and science writer who details new discoveries in brain research that support the importance of emotional stability for success. He describes the discovery of a single neuron recently discovered that bypasses the neocortex, where rational decisions are made, and goes straight to the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain where the primitive fight responses occur and are stored for future use. Goleman contends that the more emotional dissonance stored up during one's early years, the more the brain causes one to overreact. If however, the emotions stored include restraint, empathy, self-motivation, hope, optimism, then we acquire emotional intelligence that serves us well for our whole lives. Goleman makes the case for "emotional intelligence" being the strongest indicator of human success. People who possess high emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well as play, building flourishing careers and lasting, meaningful relationships. From a larger perspective, Coleman offers insight into our "two minds"--the rational and the emotional-- how they together shape our destiny. The best news is that "emotional literacy" is not fixed early in life. Every business leader has a stake in this compelling vision of human possibility.

Hesselbein, Frances, Goldsmith, M., & Beckhard, R., Eds. The Leader of the Future: New Visions, Strategies, and Practices for the Next Era. Jossey-Bass Publication. 1996. Paperback Edition: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1997
The book is about the future quality of our lives, businesses, organizations, and society. It documents the leadership needed to move us into the future. Twenty innovative leaders share their views on successful leadership in business, government, and nonprofit organizations. Assembled by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation, the book contains 25 never-before-published leadership essays by today's top players in the field, including Peter Drucker, Stephen Covey, Peter Senge, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter.


Huffman, Jack. Beyond Tqm : Tools and Techniques for High Improvement. Lanchester Press. 1997.
Huffman as director of quality management programs at the School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison wants to the perceived value of customers and increase day-to-day effectiveness organizations since natural resources are becoming more limited. He broadens the definition of customer to include employees and suppliers or investors within the organization. He defines "effectiveness" as the way of doing the right things right, with a minimum use of resources provided, and he distinguishes this term from efficiency which mainly measures output: the output versus input model. The authors is concerned with improving all processes and improving customer satisfaction He describes a number of tools that are useful in a team setting as well as by individuals.

Jaworski, Joseph, and Betty S. Flowers (Editor), Peter Senge (Introduction). Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership. Berrett-Koehler Pub. 1996.
A guide to developing an essential leadership capacity: how we can collectively shape our future. Jaworski defines leadership broadly, including leaders in the community as the public and top level business figures normally seen as leaders. The book has a moral basis probably because the author's father was special Watergate prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who discussed with his son the absence of moral and ethical standards at high levels. He uses his own story to create an entirely new view of what leadership can be. When leaders are in a state of commitment and surrender, he says, they begin to experience what is called "synchronicity," or predictable miracles. By shifting from viewing the world as made of things to seeing the world primarily composed of relationships, leaders can enter a realm of endless possibilities. The author wants us to see that leadership is about the release of human possibilities.

Kaner, Sam with Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sara Fisk, and Duane Berger. Facilitator's Guide To Participatory Decision-making. New Society Pub. 1996.
The authors explain how an effective facilitator navigates a group through the "groan zone" of decision making and creates "participatory values that lead to sustainable agreements." After reviewing the basics, that is, the importance of listening, brainstorming, dealing with difficult dynamics, and designing agendas, the authors focus on the facilitator's most difficult task: building a consensus.

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. The Change Masters: Innovation & Entrepreneurship In The American Corporation. Simon & Schuster. 1985.


Kanter, Rosabeth Moss. When Giants Learn to Dance. Rep Edition. Touchstone books, 1990.
The definitive guide to today's new management strategies and techniques. Kanter shows how the truly innovative companies are leading the way, and how "giants" are actually joining this "post-entrepreneurial revolution."

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, Barry A. Stein, and Todd D. Jick. The Challenge Of Organizational Change: How Companies Experience It and Leaders Guide It. Free Press. 1992.
The authors examine the organization most amenable to change and show how this kind of organization is best able to meet the challenges of Change Management. They discuss individuals, teams, and group work as well as the organization itself. They also discuss managers who should have a new team-oriented approach.

Karp, Hank. Personal Power: An Unorthodox Guide To Success. New York: American Management Association. 1985. (out of print but used copies can be searched through Amazon.com)
Defining power as "the ability to get all you want from the environment, given what is available," Karp further claims that there is nothing evil or awesome about power. Rather, he asserts, power is the foundation of organization effectiveness and one of the essential forces in maintaining and developing strong, productive organizations and positive working relationships.

Karp, H.B. The Change Leader: Using a Gestalt Approach With Work Groups. Pfeiffer & Co. 1995.
More about change management and leadership and a new method for getting others to understand and appreciate change.

Katzenbach, Jon R. Teams at the Top: Unleashing the Potential of Both Teams and Individual Leaders. Harvard Business School Press. 1997.
A good follow-up to the author's best-seller, listed below: The Wisdom of Teams. Here Katzenbach argues with interesting descriptions and a clear conceptual framework how important it is for CEOs to create executive teams in actions not just words. The notion of teamwork at the top level is difficult because of cultural bias on individual accountability, but the author shows how and when to alternate among three types of management structures: individual leadership, single leader with work groups (the more common forms of management structure), and real executive team efforts (that often occur behind the scenes in crises). Perhaps most important is the author's description of how to recognize when executive team effort is preferred and when single leadership directing a working group fits best. There are lots of stories and examples that prove good reading.

Katzenbach, Jon R. and Douglas K. Smith. The Wisdom Of Teams: Creating The High-performance Organization. Harperbusiness. 1994. Cassette Edition: 1994. Harper Audio
These authors group teams into three types according to their function: teams that do things (an operational team), teams that recommend things (an advisory group), and teams that actually run things (a quality team). They also examine five types of groups � working groups, pseudo-groups, potential teams, real teams, and high-performance teams. In addition, they offer a definition of a team as "a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and [an] approach for which they hold themselves accountable." Most valuable are the examples. They discuss 45 teams, 20 in close detail.

Kerr, Steven. Ed. Ultimate Rewards: What Really Motivates People to Achieve. Harvard Business School Press. 1997.
A great collection of articles on harnessing the power of people to do their best work. Edited by GE chief learning officer, Kerr, this includes known contributing authors such as Peter Drucker, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ronald Heifetz, and others. The articles examine the sources of motivation and offer numerous strategies for compensating employees and driving organizational excellence: power, accountability, responsibility, organizational culture, coaching, team work, incentives, goal setting, and employee ownership. The book tackles many of the hard issues and controversial questions about how to reward, what to reward, and who should reward.

Kotter, John P. Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press. 1996.
Kotter looks closely at why change often fails in corporations. Arguing that change is often imposed from the outside without consideration to behavior, Kotter identifies common mistakes made when trying to bring about change, and he offers an eight-step solution: 1) increase a sense of urgency with competition analysis and potential crisis identification, 2) create a change team, 3) articulate your vision;, 4) communicate that vision along with strategies and expected behavior, 5) identify and remove obstacles to change all the while encouraging risk taking, 6) recognize and reward short-term successes, 7) identify people who are able to implement the change, and 8) dovetail the change into the culture for long-term success. Most importantly, Kotter links change with a new kind of leadership and encourages the process of life-long learning. And he backs up his theory with examples of companies who have managed change for the better.

Kouzes, James M., Barry Z. Posner, and Tom Peters. Credibility: How Leaders Gain And Lose It, Why People Demand It. Reissue. Jossey-Bass. 1995. Cassette Edition: 1995. Simon and Schuster Books
Lots of concrete details and stories. Based on surveys of more than 15,000 people, 400 case studies, and 40 in-depth interviews, the book shows why leadership is above all a relationship�with credibility as the cornerstone. The authors reveal the six key disciplines and related practices that strengthen a leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility.

Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster. Anchor Books. 1998. Cassette Abridged Edition: 1996. Random House.
Why would a bestseller personal account of an expedition to Everest being a leadership bibliography? Precisely because it offers a deep look at inner motivation, the desire to succeed, and the failure to assess larger consequences that might have been foreseen. In writing the book, Krakauer also admits to that failure and forces us to take a larger look at risk-taking, multiple options, and our vision�especially as it might affect others. You can't put the book down as Krakauer describes his experience on this disastrous 1996 climb that ultimately led to the deaths of friends and other climbers, all involved in the new commercialization of mountain climbing. We see the author's passion for climbing and desire to scale this legendary peak. We see that passion in others. And we also see how little help technology is when confronting this challenge on the edge of the world. A true adventure story that allows us to look at leadership and the lack of it, all without endangering our own lives.

Mattimore, Bryan W. 99% Inspiration: Tips, Tales & Techniques for Liberating Your Business Creativity. AMACOM. 1993.
One of R.E. Brown's Nine Leadership Behaviors includes creativity, which is being seen more and more as a valuable resources for unleashing new ideas in business. Mattimore's book is a practical guide to help unleash creative strength in a business setting. And the author's stories are great examples of how creativity has opened up new possibilities in the past. Combining concepts and examples, the author uses an engaging style to make the reading fun and informative, and more importantly it stimulates your own ideas about how to increase creativity in your own organization. See a related book on creativity by Denise Shekerjian.

Mellander, Klas. The Power Of Learning: Fostering Employee Growth. IPM. 1993.
Co-published with the American Society for Training and Development, this book details five aspects of learning that enrich the concept far beyond common definitions of it as an abstract term. It describes the discovery process and how to find your own path to learning and knowledge. Particularly good is the section in chapter 4 on collaborative learning and mindmapping. It gives the practicalities and business benefits of learning with an emphasis on how individuals, teams, and organizations actually learn.

Meyer, Christopher and Stan Davis. Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy. Addison-Wesley Pub Co. 1998.
Meyer and Davis examine closely the changes facing corporate reality. They argue for a period of unprecedented change that requires immediate, creative attention. Their examples of new kinds or different kinds of success - including amazon.com and selling manias- show the necessity of steeping away from conventional thinking if companies are to be successful. They call this new economy, "Blur," since it is known by its speed (time shrinks because of instantaneous communication), by its interconnections (space shrinks with emerging technology such as the Web, e-mail, pagers, etc.) and by its intangibles (mainly knowledge made mobile through the other two). Certainly a guide to surviving in the new economy, and one whose title emphasizes what we all feel at times, dizzy from the blur of things.

McCall, Morgan W. High Flyers: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders. Harvard Business School Press. 1997.
Challenges conventional wisdom about grooming executives for top positions. Presents a strategic framework for identifying and developing future executives. Helps in finding the hidden talents among senior managers which includes looking for people with capabilities to run the business in the future, not just for today. High flyers are people who have the ability to learn from their experiences and remain open to continuous learning.

Peters, Tom and Robert Waterman. In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies. Reissue Edition. Warner Books. 1988.
This book became one of the "Bibles" of American management since it was originally published in 1982. Peters presents eight specific management principles common to successful companies based on extensive research and case studies.

Peters, Tom. Thriving on Chaos: Handbook for a Management Revolution. Reprint Edition. HarperCollins. 1991. Cassette Edition: 1987. Random House
Peters offers 50 specific courses of action essential to corporate survival in the (turbulent economic/political world. Useful as a hands-on guide to coping with uncertainty and change. His style, as always, is energetic and provocative.

Rackham, Neil. Spin Selling. McGraw-Hill Book Company: 1988. Cassette Edition Abridged. HighBridge Company: 1998
The SPIN method of sales is researched based � more than 35,000 sales calls over 12 years-- shows why more complex sales require a new and different set of skills from those used for small sales. SPIN is an acronym for Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff. Rackham explains the SPIN strategy, using real examples and case studies. The SPIN method has been successfully used by many sales people since the book first appeared in 1988.

Rackham, Neil. The Spin Selling Fieldbook: Practical Tools, Methods, Exercises, and Resources. McGraw-Hill Book Company: 1996.
An easy-to-read field book that takes you through the process of Rackham's classical 1988 sales book, Spin Selling. With lots of stories about big customers (Motorola, AT&T, and Johnson & Johnson), this guide first summarizes and updates the basics of the original book on his research-based sales method. There are plenty of individual and group exercises which allow salespeople and their managers to assess their selling strengths and identify areas for improvement. An excellent planning tool for complex service sales that usually lengthy process.

Schwartz, Peter. The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World. Doubleday. 1996.
An essential guide for leaders from a futurist and head of an international think tank. A powerful tool for developing strategic vision, this book reveals how to navigate the future by applying the intuitive story-telling skills. Schwartz contends that only stories, or scenarios, increase our ability to visualize different kinds of futures. The author outlines the scenario approach, describing the process and tools for any company or organization to develop a strategic vision. The techniques, originally developed within Royal/Dutch Shell, are based on many of Schwartz's firsthand scenario exercises with leading institutions and companies such as the White House, EPA, Bell South, PG&E, and the International Stock Exchange. This paperback edition includes a User's Guide and a summary of each major section.

Schwarz, Roger M. The Skilled Facilitator: Practical Wisdom for Developing Effective Groups. Jossey-Bass. 1994.
Schwarz draws on his own extensive facilitation experience and insight to bring together theory and practice, creating a comprehensive reference for anyone whose role is to guide groups toward realization their creative and problem-solving potential. The book includes simple but effective ground rules for governing group interaction. Specifically, he describes what to say to a group and when to say it so they stay on track and keep moving toward the goal. He also offers techniques for starting and concluding meetings well, and many practical methods for handling emotions when they arise in a group context,. He details a diagnostic approach for helping facilitators and group members identify and solve problems that can undermine the group process. Overall, the book provides a clearly defined set of basic principles to help facilitators develop sound responses to many unpredictable situations. It also includes an interesting section on facilitative leadership.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The Art And Practice Of The Learning Organization. Doubleday. 1990. Paperback Edition:Currency/Doubleday. 1994. Cassette Edition: 1994. Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub
Senge proposes to change organizations with five disciplines that will make them competitive: systems thinking, mental models, personal mastery, team learning and shared vision. These disciplines create an organization that taps into the creative potential of employees and encourages building a learning organization. Unlike many management books with quick fixes, this book delves deeply, is well written, and full of stories and examples of how to generate leaders as well as new levels of thinking, of managing, of personal and inter-personal integrity.

Senge, Peter M. (Ed.), Charlotte Roberts, Richard B. Ross, Bryan Smith, and Art Kliner. The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization Currency/Doubleday. 1994.
The sequel to Senge's original Fifth Discipline and a guide book for people who want to know how to build a learning organization. Moves elegantly between concepts and every day reality. Bridging the gap between text and context, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook offers everyone a deep and refreshing look at what work can be and should be. The authors ground their stories, examples, exercises in five conceptual touchstones�personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. And these disciplines accurately reveal three core tasks in leadership: looking at self, developing others, and seeing the larger picture in order to chart a meaningful course. Stories enliven the ideas while examples and exercises offer practical models to use in any organization. Generous side margins, different colored ink, and graphic icons are visual treats as well as immediate graphic guides. And the narrative references to related issues make reading the book more intuitive, more interesting. In fact, these physical details model the whole point of the book--that learning is essential for sustainable growth, for organizational and personal development.

Shekerjian, Denise. Shekerjian, Denise. Uncommon Genius: How Great Ideas Are Born. Reissue Edition. Penguin. 1991.
When we speak about increasing creativity and learning within the framework of business, we tend not to think of the genius awards given each year by the MacArthur Foundation. Yet, it is precisely in this unusual place that we see how leaps of creative thinking by single individuals can transform their world. In her book, Shekejian interviews forty MacArthur recipients in an attempt to discover "how great ideas are born." And all the attributes of great leaders we discuss in our Nine Behaviors of Leadership Program can be seen: being open to multiple options and new possibilities; taking risks; being able to motivate and empower others; and displaying vision and passion for work that is ignited with stretching personal creativity. More important than these common, abstract leadership characteristics, however, is Shekerjian's ability to tell their stories that reveal concretely how the creative process works with different people in different fields. Nurturing your own creative genius is an essential part of developing leadership, and this book offers engaging tales of people who broke barriers, boxes, and formal structures to do new and exciting things. Though she makes no direct applications to the business world, her description of the creative process is directly analogous to the kind needed in today's business world as continual unexpected challenges present themselves. See a related book on creativity in business by Bryan Mattimore.

Stewart, Thomas A. Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations. Doubleday. 1997.
As an editor of Fortune magazine, Stewart brings knowledge and insight into his definition of intellectual capital. By coupling the notions of intellect with capital, he stimulates the reader to look deeply at a real balance of products, process, and people. Understanding the true nature of intellectual wealth, helps companies achieve the synergy, flexibility and strength they need to stay competitive. His book describes trends and offers stories and interwoven more personal guidelines for leaders and followers and many different types of organizations. Despite its new ways of looking at things theoretically, the book is practical showing a different perspective on what companies do and how to lead them.

Tichy, Noel M. and Eli Cohen. The Leadership Engine: How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level. HarperBusiness. 1997. Cassette Edition: 1997 HarperCollins Publisher
Offers insightful examples of winning companies who develop dynamic leadership at every level with a strong commitment of leaders teaching leadership. These companies become a leadership engine that perpetuates success because teaching leadership habituates everyone to the practice of developing good ideas, instilling those values that support implementation of ideas, and generate positive energy in themselves and others. Includes a useful appendix with leadership activities.

Watkins, Karen E. and Victoria J. Marsick. Sculpting The Learning Organization: Lessons in the Art and Science of Systemic Change (Jossey-Bass Management). Jossey-Bass. 1993.
The authors emphasize the practice rather than theory of team learning, describing five processes: framing, reframing, integrating, experimenting, and crossing boundaries. But they also acknowledge that the process is messy, fragmented before or during the process as it becomes synergistic and continuous. The book shows how people learn and how Human Resources or managers can support that learning. Individual learning stimulates group and organizational learning in areas such as employee involvement, self-directed teams, and balance between work and home life. There are eighteen case studies featuring companies such as AT&T, IBM, and Esso Petroleum that provide detailed examples.

Waterman, Robert H., Jr. What America Does Right: Learning From Companies That Put People First. W.W. Norton & Co. 1994.
Co-author of In Search of Excellence, Waterman. presents several case histories of top-quality companies dramatizing how people have been unleashed as the ultimate business weapon. His book convincingly shows the best top executives are those who rely on the power in people throughout the organization. Waterman also shows that innovation is the route to quality, sales, and profitability.

Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership and the New Science: Learning About Organization from an Orderly Universe. Reprint Edition. Berrett-Koehler Pub. 1994. Cassette Edition: 1996. Ten Speed Pr Audio
The author shows how the revolutionary discoveries in quantum physics, chaos theory, and biology provides insights for transforming how we design, lead, and manage organizations. Just as our understanding of the universe is being radically altered by these new discoveries and theories, Wheatley applies the insights of the new sciences to help us apply these concepts to management issues of organizing work, people, and life. She looks at dialectical issues that most of us find difficult: change versus order, autonomy versus control, flexibility versus structure, innovation versus planning. The book is useful for organization going through Change Management or trying to incorporate Intelligent Risk-Taking and use Multiple Option Thinking.

Wilson, Jeanne M., Jill George, Richard S. Wellins, and William C. Byham. Leadership Trapeze : Strategies for Leadership in Team-Based Organizations. The Jossey-Bass Management Series. Simon & Schuster. 1994.
Helps managers understand their changing roles in creating a more empowered culture through self-directed teams. Using interviews with leaders of self-directed teams, the authors show how others have successfully embraced change and acquired new behaviors to succeed as their teams have developed and matured.

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