December 21, 2010

Like many of you, I would be a happy camper if I could hide in a cave one week a month and do nothing but catch up on my reading backlog. Sadly, that isn’t going to happen, so each year I depend on the Christmas/New Year break to at least make a dent in the ever-growing pile of books. (It doesn’t matter if it’s a virtual pile on a Kindle or an actual pile on a desk—unread nuggets of wisdom are waiting to be consumed). Thinking that some of you might use your upcoming downtime for reading as well, I thought I’d share a few books that have been particularly influential for me this past year. In my opinion, they are worth adding to your pile regardless of when you get to them.

Actually, this is only the first installment of what I expect will be an ongoing list. When the idea surfaced to share with you a few books I have found both interesting and helpful to my practice, it seemed like an easy thing to do. To the contrary, narrowing down to a modest few turned out to be much more difficult than I anticipated—there are just so many to choose from. Finally, I negotiated a settlement with myself—instead of limiting this list to a few current recommendations, I’ll open with the starter kit below and keep adding to it as time goes on. I don’t know if we’ll ever get to all the ones I’d like to suggest, but let’s see how it goes.

So, here is the first volley:

• Managing Organizational Change during SAP Implementation—Luc Galoppin and Siegfried Caems

If you’re not involved in SAP, don’t let the title put you off. This is a great resource for change management practitioners…regardless of what your focus of application is.

• Immunity to Change—Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey

This is the best new thinking on resistance that I have run across in a long time.

• Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences—Nancy Duarte

By leveraging techniques normally reserved for cinema and literature, Duarte reveals how to transform any presentation into an engaging journey. This is an excellent reference for inserting new energy into your presentations.

• What would Google Do?—Jeff Jarvis

I’ll put myself at the top of the list of change practitioners who are desperately trying to catch up with the growing implications on our profession of web.2.0 thinking, social media and the general digitalizing of our society. This book is informative and sobering for those of us hoping to remain relevant to the emerging new business paradigm.

• Einstein’s God: Conversations about Science and the Human Sprit—Krista Tippett

Tippet interviews some fascinating experts from various disciplines regarding the relationship between science and spirituality.