5 great books in 2 short weeks
I recently received a suggested list of books from someone I admire. I absolutely devoured them. I was travelling a lot and working daily, yet they still flew into my mind.
They were so great that I feel compelled to share them with the world.
Please enjoy.
1. The Goal — Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Do you know what the Goal is? Why are you working? Why are you writing? A surprising number of us are completely unaware of this critical answer.
Even more of us believe we know — but we don’t.
This book takes you on a journey of intellectual discovery for a factory manager in 80’s America. It gets the message across in a story format, rather than a lecture. Fantastically written, incredibly interesting. Highly recommended.
My take away: “Not only 10% or 20% improvements are hidden all around us. 2X or 10X improvements are waiting to be discovered.”
2. Great by Choice - Jim Collins
As we all probably know by now, considering the incredible amount of times he is referenced on Medium — Jim Collins is an amazing author and meticulous researcher. I’ve read both Built to Last and Good to Great before — but this one was certainly my favourite of the three.
My take away: “Luck exists but is far less of defining factor for success than one may think. Being prepared to get a return, on both good and bad luck, is far more important.”
3. Bringing out the best in People - Aubrey C. Daniels
I’m a partner in a company of 29 employees. I’ve never read something better on people management before.
We missed the mark on so many of these but if any books have ever changed my approach to work it is this and Scaling Up by Verne Harnish.
Two absolute must-reads for any entrepreneur.
My take away: “Positive, immediate and certain rewards and recognition do far more for daily motivation than rewards which are further away. If you want the best out of people, you need to positively reinforce good behaviours daily. You simply cannot wait for a quarterly review.”
4. The ten faces of Innovation - Jonathan Littman
So often we hear someone say: “I’m just playing Devil’s advocate” as if that gives them license to shoot down ideas. Why aren’t we playing other roles? Why not play “The Director” or “The Anthropologist”.
In this insightful book from one of the greatest companies in the world we discover the power of playing other roles to unlock innovation.
My take away: “I will never tolerate the Devil’s advocate again. We can do so much better than that.”
5. The Starfish and the Spider - Rod Beckstrom
When you cut a spider’s head off it dies — but what about the starfish? A fascinating look at leaderless and loosely structured organisations. From Apache’s to E-Mule. How they impacted the world. Why they’re hard to kill, and how some still killed them.
My take away: “We can all benefit from the principals adopted by leaderless organisations without losing all leadership. A compromise is possible and promises strength and opportunity.”
6. Hidden Champions of the 21st Century - Hermann Simon
Currently reading this one and it’s amazing so far. Will update with another post next week.
Call to Action
Have you been reading ferociously lately? Anything brilliant? Please share in the comment section below. I can’t get enough at the moment.
