Reading list for Dec-09

December!! Christmas holidays at work, more importantly our customers and bosses are also having holidays, so it appears there'd be "real" holidays. This is also the time to formally review the progress since my mid year retreat, do some introspection, read some thought provoking stuff and set goals for 2010, by religiously following a process that is working well for me for several years now.

I have lined-up a set of very interesting books and a couple of re-reads, taking confidence from the fact that I'm back to my habit of reading almost one book every week, thus completing the list of books I had for Nov'09.

Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life

Any manager/leader of some substance would have had heard/read Peter Drucker's wisdom. I'm no exception. I was intimidated at first when I read Drucker - he is so precise and prescriptive, and utterly relevant. You can't argue against much of what he has written. This book is a little different though. The author, Bruce Rosenstein, has synthesized all the works of Drucker and has come out with a guide that has Druker's profound core teachings related to personal and professional transformation. This work shows readers how to apply Drucker's recommendations to lead more fulfilling and meaningful lives. The book has lot of exercises for reflection and contemplation.

Building the Bridge as You Walk on It: A Guide For Leading Change

A mentor of mine introduced me to Robert Quinn and his much celebrated book "Deep Change", which influenced me a great deal. Quinn's fundamental contribution is telling leaders how they can lead themselves. In this new book, Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever-increasing integrity--reflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges you to assess yourself with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth.

Both this book and the first one (Living in More Than one world) were hand carried by my friend from the US. Thanks M.P Srivathsa.

Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within

This is a re-read. I read this book about 8yrs ago and continue to get back to it every now and then. Quinn's new book "Building Bridges ..." that I just described above, is rooted and has lot of references to "Deep Change". I just thought of reading this book again this month.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Cialdini - the name itself invites an appreciative nod from people that are well versed in his works. This particular book, is arguably the best ever book written on the science of persuasion. I always thought influencing mostly an "art", Cialdini thinks its science and introduces you to six principles of persuasion: reciprocity, scarcity, liking, authority, social proof, and commitment/consistency.  Each principle is backed by social scientific testing. The book is also filled with interesting examples that help you to apply these six principles.

Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization

Another re-read. I'm a big fan of Peter Senge and his concept of Learning Organization, so much that I'm a founder member of a not-for-profit "SoL South Foundation", which is affiliated to Senge's global SoL (Society for Organizational Learning). In this book, Senge presents an integrated corporate framework, which is structured around "personal mastery," "mental models," "shared vision," and "team learning." Using ideas that originate in fields from science to spirituality, Senge explains why the learning organization matters, provides a summary of his management principals, offers some basic tools for practicing it, and shows what it's like to operate under this system. The book's concepts remain stimulating and relevant as ever.