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  • BOOK ARCHIVE

    • The Team Formula: A Leadership Tale of a Team Who Found Their Way
    • The Team Formula: A Leadership Tale of a Team Who Found Their Way (discussed on 06/05/2014)
    • by Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, MX Publishing, 2014
    • An unusual management book that could help readers understand how to create an effective team by telling a story.

    • Employee Risk Management: How To Protect Your Business Reputation and Reduce Your Legal Liability
    • Employee Risk Management: How To Protect Your Business Reputation and Reduce Your Legal Liability (discussed on 16/07/2014)
    • by Helen Rideout, Kogan Page, 2014
    • The book introduces a process that allows organizations to identify, manage and reduce potential threats that come with employees, including contractors, volunteers, interns and temps.

    • How To Be A Productivity Ninja: Worry Less, Achieve More, Love What You Do
    • How To Be A Productivity Ninja: Worry Less, Achieve More, Love What You Do (discussed on 08/10/2014)
    • by Graham Allcott, Icon Books
    • This book seeks to eliminate information stress in the modern workplace, and examines ways to improve our relationship with information at work so as to boost our productivity.

    • Entrepreneur Revolution: How To Develop Your Entrepreneurial Mind-Set and Start A Business that Works
    • Entrepreneur Revolution: How To Develop Your Entrepreneurial Mind-Set and Start A Business that Works (discussed on 21/01/2015)
    • by Daniel Priestley, John Wiley
    • A book of challenges that could help the budding entrepreneur spot opportunities and turn them into a commercial success.

    • The Management Shift: How To Harness The Power of People and Transform Your Organisation For Sustainable Success
    • The Management Shift: How To Harness The Power of People and Transform Your Organisation For Sustainable Success (discussed on 15/04/2015)
    • by Vlatka Hlupic, Palgrave Macmillan
    • Organizations face challenges in the workplace that require a paradigm shift in management and leadership thinking. Problems are outlined and solutions offered in this book.

    • The Velvet Revolution at Work: The Rise of Employee Engagement, The Fall of Command and Control
    • The Velvet Revolution at Work: The Rise of Employee Engagement, The Fall of Command and Control (discussed on 22/07/2015)
    • by John Smythe, Ashgate Publishing
    • This book deals with delivering strategy through people and change through participative interventions that engage the right people.

    • PIXIE DUST V: A Tale of Combatting Corporate Burnout: Protecting Your Talent
    • PIXIE DUST V: A Tale of Combatting Corporate Burnout: Protecting Your Talent (discussed on 14/10/2015)
    • by Dr Howard G. Awbery, FastPrint Publishing
    • The book deals with corporate burnout in middle and senior leaders, and describes what to look for, how to deal with it and provides recovery strategies for coping with burnout.

    • Wake up and Dream: Stepping Into Your Future
    • Wake up and Dream: Stepping Into Your Future (discussed on 21/01/2016)
    • by Dr Peter Shaw, Canterbury Press
    • This book explores the creative power of dreaming, and in particular, how to build confidence by examining your inner self, and utilizing your ideas and visions purposefully in the workplace.

    • The Mindset of Success: From Good Management to Great Leadership
    • The Mindset of Success: From Good Management to Great Leadership (discussed on 20/04/2016)
    • by Jo Owen, Kogan Page, 2015
    • The aim of this book is to help you to fulfil your true potential, by showing you how to build your own mindset through a structured set of tools and techniques.

    • The Great Acceleration: How the World is Getting Faster, Faster
    • The Great Acceleration: How the World is Getting Faster, Faster (discussed on 20/07/2016)
    • by Robert Colville, Bloomsbury Business
    • The book deals with the impact of technology on our lives, as well as helping us to understand the worst consequences of change and how to embrace its best effects.

    • Risky Business: Unlocking Unconscious Bias in Decisions
    • Risky Business: Unlocking Unconscious Bias in Decisions (discussed on 26/10/2016)
    • by Mark Withers & Anna Withers, Libri Publishing
    • The book deals with decision-making and how unconscious biases can distort our thinking.

    • The Outstanding Middle Manager
    • The Outstanding Middle Manager (discussed on 11/01/2017)
    • by Gordon Tinline & Cary Copper, Kogan Page, 2016
    • The book seeks to defend the role of middle management and show how this has changed due to technological, commercial and generational influences.

    • Building a Culture of Innovation: a Practical Framework for Placing Innovation at the Core of your Business
    • Building a Culture of Innovation: a Practical Framework for Placing Innovation at the Core of your Business (discussed on 02/05/2017)
    • by Cris Beswick, Derek Bishop & Jo Geraghty, Kogan Page, 2015
    • The book provides an in-depth study of how to embed a culture of innovation in your business, using a six-stage framework as a practical tool to make it happen.

    • People with Purpose: How Great Leaders Use Purpose to Build Thriving Organisations
    • People with Purpose: How Great Leaders Use Purpose to Build Thriving Organisations (discussed on 18/07/2017)
    • by Kevin Murray, Kogan Page, 2017
    • Book shows how leaders who communicate a defined mission, with clear and genuine values, encourage their employees to feel a sense of purpose that inspires engagement, loyalty and higher performance.

    • Managing Uncertainty: Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Turbulent Times
    • Managing Uncertainty: Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Turbulent Times (discussed on 03/10/2017)
    • by Michel Syrett and Marion Devine, Profile Books 2012
    • The book looks at managing uncertainty and analyses the sources and triggers of business turbulence. Case studies are based on in-depth interviews with practitioners, academics and consultants from a variety of organisations.

    • Inclusive Talent Management: How Businesses Can Thrive in an Age of Diversity
    • Inclusive Talent Management: How Businesses Can Thrive in an Age of Diversity (discussed on 07/03/2018)
    • by Stephen Frost & Danny Kalman, Kogan Page, 2016
    • Diversity and talent are the themes addressed in this book, how they are managed in organisations, and the problems of homogeneity. They provide insights, based on case studies on how to redress the balance by encouraging better use of people’s talent and skills. The book offers a fresh perspective.

    • The Little Black Book of Decision Making: Making Complex Decisions With Confidence in a Fast-Moving World
    • The Little Black Book of Decision Making: Making Complex Decisions With Confidence in a Fast-Moving World (discussed on 01/05/2018)
    • by Michael Nicholas, John Wiley 2017
    • This book sets out to transform your understanding of decision making, how to use your brain differently to make better and faster decisions. Each of the 10 chapters ends with a decision-making principle setting out rules that challenges established concepts. A stimulating read.

    • Strategy Journeys: A Guide to Effective Strategic Planning
    • Strategy Journeys: A Guide to Effective Strategic Planning (discussed on 17/07/2018)
    • by David Booth, Routledge 2017
    • This book aims to demystify the concept of strategic planning so that those leading an organisation know where to start, what approach to take and how to go about the process. It seeks to demystify the process so that it has the flexibility to adapt and focus on what really matters.

    • Capitalism Without Capital: The Rise of The Intangible Economy
    • Capitalism Without Capital: The Rise of The Intangible Economy (discussed on 09/10/2018)
    • by Jonathan Haskel & Stian Westlake, Princeton University Press 2017
    • The argument is that intangible investment is fundamentally different, and by understanding its steady growth in our economy, it helps us to appreciate some of the key issues facing us today: innovation and growth; inequality; the role of management; financial and policy reform.

    • Keys to Success: 50 Secrets From a Business Maverick
    • Keys to Success: 50 Secrets From a Business Maverick (discussed on 27/11/2018)
    • by John Timpson, Icon Books 2017
    • The book describes a unique style for running a business, called “Upside down Management”. There is also a theme running through the book that management is about people not process; an art not a science.

    • Building Digital Culture: A Practical Guide to Successful Digital Transformation
    • Building Digital Culture: A Practical Guide to Successful Digital Transformation (discussed on 22/01/2019)
    • by Daniel Rowles & Thomas Brown, Kogan Page, 2017
    • Organisations operate in an environment that is changing quickly, and with it the technology; the question is, how can they succeed? This book aims to answer how, or how not to deliver this change through digital transformation.

    • Humane Capital: How to Create a Management Shift to Transform Performance and Profit
    • Humane Capital: How to Create a Management Shift to Transform Performance and Profit (discussed on 09/04/2019)
    • by Vlatka Hlupic, Bloomsbury Publishing 2018
    • This book encapsulates Vlatka Hlupic’s new thinking of a consensus philosophy that you can do well in business by doing good.

    • The Leadership Lab: Understanding Leadership in the 21st Century
    • The Leadership Lab: Understanding Leadership in the 21st Century (discussed on 23/07/2019)
    • by Chris Lewis & Pippa Malmgren, Kogan Page, 2019
    • These two writers teamed up to produce “The Leadership Lab”, which is based on exclusive interviews with senior leaders faced with critical decision making in a fast-changing global landscape, beset by economic challenges. They aim to provide leaders with additional insight and understanding that comes from joining things up. From their analysis they identified eight major paradoxes that could help leaders manage change more effectively.

    • “The Everyday Leader: how to motivate empower and influence those around you”
    • “The Everyday Leader: how to motivate empower and influence those around you” (discussed on 19/11/2019)
    • by John Cross, Rafael Gomez and Kevin Money, Bloomsbury Business
    • “The Everyday Leader”, is a practical book, which explains that everyone, whether they recognize it or not, is a leader; a leader of emotions, of behaviours, of values and beliefs.  This is a different slant from your normal leadership books that could help you to identify, understand and promote your own leadership skills

    • What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being A Better Leader
    • What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being A Better Leader (discussed on 21/01/2020)
    • by Alison Reynolds, Dominic Houlder, Jules Goddard & David Lewis, Kogan Page, 2019
    • In the book the authors have applied philosophy to the question of ‘what it means to live the good life at work’, which challenges readers to think differently about their role as leaders, questions conventional leadership thinking, and asks new questions that could help to change priorities and transform leadership practices.

    • “Culture Shift: A Practical Guide to Managing Organizational Culture”
    • “Culture Shift: A Practical Guide to Managing Organizational Culture” (discussed on 14/07/2020)
    • by Kirsty Bashforth, Bloomsbury Business
    • The book is about how to shift and manage organizational change, and outlines what it takes to oversee sustainable culture change in an organization. It explores how to do things differently so that culture does shift and is at the core of running a business. Investigates the communication of cultural expectations.

    • "Future Shaper: How Leaders Can Take Charge in an Uncertain World"
    • “Future Shaper: How Leaders Can Take Charge in an Uncertain World” (discussed on 13/10/2020)
    • by Niamh O'Keeffe, Kogan Page
    • Leaders currently face a series of unpredictable international and domestic economic unknowns, amplified by the ‘4th Industrial Revolution’.  This book highlights some of these issues with solutions of how to survive and thrive in such challenging environments.  It is about taking back control, by empowering leaders to take charge and shape the future.

    • Uncharted: How to Map the Future Together
    • Uncharted: How to Map the Future Together (discussed on 19/01/2021)
    • by Margaret Heffernan, Simon & Schuster
    • A thinking person’s book that makes us take a different look at the future and its ineradicable uncertainty. Life is complex and full of ambiguity so we are constantly looking for sources of certainty. Relying on technology and automation is not the answer so we need to find the freedom to forge our own identity and our future; this book tells you how – a very optimistic book.

    • Ego: Get Over Yourself and Lead
    • Ego: Get Over Yourself and Lead (discussed on 20/04/2021)
    • by Mary Gregory, Rethink Press
    • The book is about building relationships, how we manage our egos, our anxieties and fears so as to consciously enhance the impact we have on others. For the leader there are many useful insights addressing challenges in the workplace and the building of your own personal confidence to lead and make change happen.

    • Organizing for the New Normal: Prepare Your Company for the Journey of Continuous Disruption
    • Organizing for the New Normal: Prepare Your Company for the Journey of Continuous Disruption (discussed on 26/10/2021)
    • by Constantinos C. Markides, Kogan Page
    • This book is an essential read for leaders in our current climate of continuous and overlapping disruptions, and who at the same time have to prepare their organisations to be ready to engage in continuous radical change. The book poses questions and provides answers to situations where different skills and strategies are called for to replace those that served in the past. Thus, the focus is on the “how to” prepare organisations for the new normal, and to build on the agility required to succeed in such an environment.

    • Leadership in Complexity and Change: for a World in Constant Motion
    • Leadership in Complexity and Change: for a World in Constant Motion (discussed on 08/02/2022)
    • by Sharon Varney, Walter de Gruyter GmbH
    • Complexity and change in organisations is not new, but what makes the approach in this book different?  It explores complexity as a science making it easier for managers and professionals to grasp the implications of the science of uncertainty.  The book is timely, and a practical handbook of how to engage with complexity and work through it.

    • Elites: Can You Rise to the Top Without Losing Your Soul?
    • Elites: Can You Rise to the Top Without Losing Your Soul? (discussed on 05/04/2022)
    • by Douglas Board, Eye Books
    • “Elites: Can you Rise to the Top Without Losing Your Soul?” is written in the form of a detective story of sociological ideas. It provides an insider’s view of how to rise to the top of organisations or professional fields and explains why meritocracies produce glass ceilings. In his book Douglas seeks to solve these riddles, which are presented in his unique stye of writing.

    • Know Thyself: The New Science of Self-Awareness
    • Know Thyself: The New Science of Self-Awareness (discussed on 04/10/2022)
    • by Stephen M. Fleming, John Murray Press
    • The book, “Know Thyself: The New Science of Self-Awareness”, provides a guide to the building blocks of self-awareness, drawing on research from psychology, computer science, and neuroscience. A new science, its aim is to help us unravel the mysteries of how self-awareness works, and apply it in other areas of our lives. In addition, it explores the lack of metacognition in computers, and in machine learning for AI devices.

    • The Suite Spot: Reaching, Leading and Delivering the C-Suite
    • The Suite Spot: Reaching, Leading and Delivering the C-Suite (discussed on 29/11/2022)
    • by John Jeffcock, Bloomsbury Publishing
    • The book provides guidance on how to break into the C-Suite, and takes you through a combination of models, case studies, and tables that illustrate key points in a practical and meaningful way. The book challenges existing thinking, while bringing new ideas to corporations and digital giants.

    • People Before Tech: The Importance of Psychological Safety and Teamwork in the Digital Age
    • People Before Tech: The Importance of Psychological Safety and Teamwork in the Digital Age (discussed on 28/02/2023)
    • by Duena Blomstrom, Bloomsbury Publishing
    • The book presents a new way of working, thinking and investing is people by organisations. In her book, Duena Blomstrom explores team dynamics, using Psychological Safety as a high-performance lever; making HR great again; having an Agile mindset, etc. The emphasis in the book is on people, technology, and much more – a fascinating read.

    • The Power of Difference: Where the Complexities of Diversity and Inclusion Meet Practical Solutions
    • The Power of Difference: Where the Complexities of Diversity and Inclusion Meet Practical Solutions (discussed on 16/05/2023)
    • by Simon Fanshawe, Kogan Page
    • The Power of Difference weaves a story of the author’s personal experiences, plus insights from research to show how to build genuine inclusivity in the workplace. In addition, he describes what inclusivity means and how it works in practice. A very readable and timely narrative.

    • Lateral Thinking For Every Day: Extraordinary Solutions to Ordinary Problems
    • Lateral Thinking For Every Day: Extraordinary Solutions to Ordinary Problems (discussed on 04/07/2023)
    • by Paul Sloane, Kogan Page
    • Reading this book will act as a refresher and reminder of how to engage your mind to produce radical results for solving problems. Topics looked at include: the dangers of conformity, group think and conventional thinking, with examples to illustrate lateral thinking in practice.