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As a complement to "Preventing Strategic Gridlock®," I recommend the following books:
Book Review: Made to Stick by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
If you’ve ever wanted to know “why some ideas survive and others die” this is the book to read. Authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath combine their respective backgrounds in organizational behavior and educational research to explain why some ideas spread like wildfire while others - even important ideas – struggle to stay alive.
According to the authors,
ideas stick when they are “Simple, Unexpected,
Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and supported
by Stories.” The book explains these
concepts in a way that shows that the authors
are products of their product. It’s
clearly written, and contains interesting
stories and “clinics” to bring
theory down to earth and demonstrate how to
apply these concepts. The “easy reference
guide” is useful for making the ideas
stick long after reading the chapters.
Book Review: Accelerate by Dan Coughlin
Dan Coughlin has extensive experience coaching executives at major corporations. His book takes insights he has gained from working with these leaders to present “20 Practical Lessons to Boost Business Momentum.”
Written in a conversational tone, this book is packed with stories, candid interviews with leaders of major corporations, diagrams, questions, and tips to summarize chapters. Coughlin also includes an appendix of tools he used for coaching one of his clients.
I especially agree with Coughlin’s
point that accelerating business progress
on a sustainable basis starts with leaders
who are personally effective. As he states,
“the intersection of greatness is the
point where the manager’s greatest value
intersects with her organization’s most
important desired business outcomes and her
client’s most important business outcomes.”
Book Review: Fixing Performance Problems by Bud Bilanich
This is a book that delivers what it promises: a no-nonsense guide for recognizing and addressing some of the most frequent types of employee performance problems that exist in organizations. Dr. Bilanich draws upon his extensive experience working with diverse companies to describe these problems, offer reasons why each one may exist, and recommend guidelines for repair.
While all of the chapters offer down-to-earth advice, the chapter that I especially like is called “Dealing with Anger.” This acknowledges that, even when we know better, it’s easy for everyone to be derailed by their own emotions. Bilanich suggests steps for preparing in advance to handle anger so that it doesn’t interfere with resolving problems in the moment.
Written in a simple, easy to access style, “Fixing Performance Problems” is not simplistic in its message. Performance problems happen for a variety of apparent and not-so-apparent reasons. The best leaders are those who understand this reality and are prepared to handle these issues. In this way they can minimize problems when they do occur and continue to get the best out of their people going forward.
Book Review: Four Secrets of High Performing Organizations by Bud Bilanich
Bud Bilanich shares my view that we must go beyond “Flavor of the Month” solutions to achieve lasting, high performance results from our organizations. Rather than preaching his opinions, however, Dr. Bilanich uses an engaging, story-telling style to simplify complex concepts.
The book describes turning points in the ten-year journey of fictional Diamond Inc. from mediocrity to industry leader in order to show how applying his “four secrets” of Clarity, Commitment, Execution, and Relationships can help companies move forward on a sustained basis.
While the advice is “common sense,” I agree with Bilanich that achieving high performance results does not happen overnight. Because of this it’s easy to be seduced by the latest management fad, which causes more problems than it solves. Ultimately, leaders must take personal responsibility for success, uncover mistaken assumptions, and challenge themselves to think about their organizations in new ways. As Bilanich writes, with “persistence, dedication, and courage… your organization will grow and prosper.”
Book Review: Using Values to turn Vision into Reality by Bud Bilanich
Like Bud Bilanich’s other books, this one aims to simplify complex concepts so that they can be used on a regular basis. Unlike his other books, however, this one is in workbook format.
Filled with bullet point lists, charts, and graphics, this is a handy resource book that provides tools for leaders to use for group meetings and for one-on-one interactions. Straightforward and to the point!