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ResourcesArticles & Stories Workshops & Training “Meeting the Challenge of Excellence” Program Books That Matter They are a small part of the knowledge base that shape what we do and how we do it as we work with individuals, teams and organizations. Charles Alday reads numerous books, journals, articles each year. He uses what he learns for practical applications and connecting the lessons to the particular business issue. Greenleaf says that if you want to be a leader, be a servant first and foremost. Demonstrate what you believe by how you act. Serving others is important, even though it might only benefit an individual, and not some large group or organization. Take care of the little things. If you want to build a high-reliability organization and a mindful culture, this book is full of practical advice and examples. It is particularly relevant for those in hazardous industries, which includes most businesses in today’s complex world. The Moment of Complexity: Emerging Network Culture: Mark C. Taylor Is everything connected? If it is, what does that mean to organizations and to the world? This philosophical work can help one understand the accelerating pace of change and the increasing complexity of life. The usual practice is to separate the whole, to attempt to simplify, to organize by breaking things into pieces. It is often better to look at the whole and to work with what is emerging. We lose value when we break things apart. Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents: James Reason Dr. James Reason is the expert in human error and the creator of the “Swiss cheese” model of defenses against accidents. If your interest is building a safety culture, this book provides both big picture principles and guidance for the development of day to day practices. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Guide to Web Usability: Steve Krug One way to achieve operational excellence and assist organizational development is to make everything you do user-centered and user-friendly. One of our goals is to make people think in different ways. The more natural and intuitive any product or service is, the better it is for the people who have to use it. Thus the acceptance and adoption of necessary changes can occur more easily. That’s better for everyone! While some enjoy the theoretical and academic, most want to know what to do and how to do it. As more of us become knowledge workers, this book provides many ideas and practical ways to put knowledge to use and help the workers and the organization. And you learn even more as you put the ideas and tools into action. Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness-A Philosophy for Leaders: Philosophy, if applied in the workplace, would lead to more satisfying and more productive workplaces and lives. Leaders have to first examine themselves, get real, and elevate their own performance to excellence if they expect to achieve results. This “performance management” approach will serve any of us well. And bringing out the best in others and yourself may not be as difficult and complicated as organizations make it. Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future: All of her books are valuable, but this one provides great meaning about why talking and listening with one another is critical. It also provides practical ways to talk and listen to your self and to others. I have given this book to many people and used it with several groups. It proposes a four question process for having conversations and then provides 100 templates about a variety of workplace and personal situations. |
