It’s September. School is starting up again, and that always makes me think of books. Even if the classroom is not in your plans this year, your learning never stops, and now that summer vacations are over, it’s a good time to catch up on your reading.
For that reason, I thought I would list some books you might find helpful if you are looking to build your professional skills in a variety of areas. These are books I typically use when I design communication, supervisory or leadership skills training. None of them are textbooks; they’re very readable, and some are available as audio books.
Michael D. Abrashoff, It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy. Warner Business Books, 2002.
(This is a good book on leadership and bringing about change, written by a naval commander.)
Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Freedom Press/Simon & Schuster, 2004.
(A ground-breaking book on personal and professional effectiveness, covering a variety of topics from values and personal mission statements to time management, communication skills, dealing with differences in people, and problem-solving.)
Edward de Bono, Six Thinking Hats. Little, Brown and Company, 1999.
(A very interesting book on our thinking and decision-making patterns. The main idea is that when we are faced with an important decision to make, we have to think in a variety of ways—that is, wear of variety of different "hats.")
Ferdinand F. Fournies, Coaching for Improved Work Performance. McGraw-Hill, 2000.
(Good book on coaching and motivation. Various discussions on how to handle employees who are not performing well.)
John Whitmore, Coaching for Performance. Pfeiffer & Company, 1994.
(Another impressive book on coaching people, one that advocates coaching by asking questions.)
Spencer Johnson, M.D., Who Moved My Cheese? G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998.
(This well-known book is a short but thought-provoking fable about anticipating and adapting to change. It can be read in about an hour.)
David W. Merrill and Roger H. Reid. Personal Styles & Effective Performance. Chilton Book Co., 1981.
(This book profiles four personality types—"analytics," "drivers," expressives," and "amiables"—and how they interact with each other.)
Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen, Fish! Hyperion Books, 2000.
(A short, immensely popular book that is based on the exceptional customer service philosophy and practices of an innovative business, Pike Place Fish Market, in Seattle, Washington.)
Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, MD., The One Minute Manager. Berkley Books, 1982.
(The business classic, which distills management practices into one-minute goals, praisings and reprimands.)
Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. Jossey-Bass, 2002.
(Another "story" book, this one dealing with teamwork, and why teams fail.)
Happy reading! If you read one of these books and would like to discuss it with me, I can be reached at 508-482-5906 or rblunt@neppa.org.