Top tips for cracking management books.
Purpose
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Not a management book at all. Just a brilliant book for anyone hesitating in their search to do what they want in life. The key character started out as a shepherd – just like our Bert here at Corporate Culture. It’s the search for personal soul and the universal soul.
Branding
The big idea by Robert Jones
Very decent book indeed. It’s a simple practical book on how companies can develop a brand which stands out. It’s easy. You have just one big idea. It reflects your soul. You project it. It aligns very closely with our thinking here. We’re fans of strong brands which operate with integrity.
Customer satisfaction
12 steps to success through service by Barris Hopson and Mike Scally
Still one of the best books on customer service. Here are the 12 steps:
- decide on your core business
- know your customers and your competitors
- create your vision
- define your moments of truth
- give good service to one another
- create the customer experience
- profit from complaints
- stay close to your customer
- design and implement the service programme
- set service standards
- recognise and reward service excellence
- develop the service programme
Culture change
Who moved my cheese? By Dr Spencer Johnson
Brilliant little book about seeking change. It continues the way it begins: “Once, long ago in a land far away, there lived four little characters who ran through a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.”
Maverick! By Ricardo Semler
Imagine a business where decisions are devolved so far that managers set their own salaries and shopfloor workers set their own productivity targets. This is a book about how cutting the umbilical chords on employees is truly liberating….and helps in a surprising way reduce risk and improve control.
Thinking differently
Six thinking hats by Edward de Bono
Try on the six thinking hats. They are a great way of resolving complex problems or making creative breakthroughs.
Here are the hats:
- white is facts and figures
- red is emotions and feelings
- black is thinking about what might not be right about a possibility
- yellow is speculative, constructive, open thinking
- green is creative and lateral
- blue is planned and controlled thinking
Reputation management
Waltzing with raptors by Glen Peters
Here is a practical roadmap for protection your company’s reputation. We have a different roadmap from Peters but a shared conviction that reputation can be managed. It would be good even without the use of John’s continuum of stakeholder engagement on page 10.
Continuous improvement
The Team Handbook by Peter Scholtes
We advocate continuous radical improvement. But this is still a cracking book on the tools and techniques of getting teams to improve their quality and work together effectively.
Public Purpose marketing
Doing Best by Doing Good
by Dr Richard Steckel and Robin Simons
This is a practical book about how to create campaigns and partnerships which combine social and commercial benefits. Richard (our old friend and associate) has been pioneering this for decades. He’s a man before his time.
Word of Honor
by Nelson Demille
A fantastic read and a great story structured around a court-martial. It's about principle and war and it's a cracker recommended by our buddy Richard Stechel
The Wind Singer
by William Nicholson
This is the first of a children's trilogy called The Wind On Fire. If you like Philip Pullman you'll like this. It's another brilliant modern children's classic that every parent will want to read.