Our Favorite Books
Below you’ll find some of our favorite books … and books that we highly recommend for your “must read” list. Note that if you click on the links or images below and purchase the book from Amazon.com, we get a few cents for your efforts. It’s not much, but it adds up and helps us with the Manager Tools bandwidth costs! Thanks in advance for the support!
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Management: Tasks Responsibilities Practices by Peter Drucker
The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, & Problem Solving
First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman
Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini
Managing With Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations by Jeffrey Pfeffer
The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First by Jeffrey Pfeffer
Winning ‘em Over by Jay A. Conger
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte
Say It With Charts: The Executive’s Guide to Visual Communication by Gene Zelazny
Say It with Presentations: How to Design and Deliver Successful Business Presentations by Gene Zelazny
Customers For Life: How To Turn That One-Time Buyer Into a Lifetime Customer by Carl Sewell, Paul B. Brown
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder
The Talent Solution: Aligning Strategy and People to Achieve Extraordinary Results by Edward Gubman
Heart of Change by John Kotter
John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do edited by John Kotter
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Love Is the Killer App : How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders
Never Eat Alone : And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Growing a Business by Paul Hawken
In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by by Eliyahu Goldratt, Jeff Cox
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by Harvey Mackay
January 12th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
I’m not a manager. Still, I have found your podcast to be invaluable in developing efficient work habits and communication skills. I have downloaded all of your shows and am slowly working though each and every one of them. Keep up the good work!
January 13th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Arildjensen-
Thanks for the kind words! Manager Tools is for people in your role, as well. Much of being a manager is about being a good communicator and being an overall contributor to organizational success.
It’s a privilege to serve you; let us know how we can help you.
Mark
January 31st, 2006 at 5:13 am
Great stuff guys - keep it coming. I’ve shared some of your podcasts with my CEO and suggested that maybe we work this into our management training program for the entire management staff (~60 people). I dont think our managers have received formal training in any of the areas that you’ve covered in the podcasts.
I look forward to each week’s presentation and have listened to several more than once!
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Gentleman,
You need to write a book! I love the podcasts but being able to reach for a book as a quick reference would be invaluable. I think both you have great ability to distill problems/issues to a few core principles. A book focused on core management principles and career advancement would be great.
I would buy one!
thanks,
Bill
February 14th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
That’s an interesting selection of books. I’d just like to add my request that you annotate each choice with a sentence or three on why you like them (you could use the SEER or SumEx technique
Thanks for an incredibly useful podcast and resources.
David.
June 18th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
I am reading ‘The world is flat’ and I am enjoying it so much
.
I discovered your podcast 4 months ago and I realize that I am a better manager nowadays.
Thank you very much!!
Greatings from Spain
June 19th, 2006 at 1:49 am
Thanks for the kind words! We’re glad you’re getting value from our work.
You know, with all the international discussions here, cannot believe there isn’t more World Cup banter!
Go USA!
Mark
December 11th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Mark,
Thank you so much for making this list of books you feel are important. It would be wonderful (I think) if you could keep an updated list of books whom you both think are worth reading, as a young, non-manager, I do my learning through your podcast and the books you recommend and hope to one day be in management.
Bryan
California, USA
December 14th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Bryan-
Thank you for your kind words, AND for the suggestion. The book list is something we have lagged on. I am still reading, and haven’t kept this list as up to date as I could.
We’ll do better in 2008.
Mark