My clients often request guidance on a publication that will assist them in tackling a specific problem area.
I have listed some books mentioned in this website. These books are not all that one should read, but I regard each as absolutely stimulating. Together they form a short reading list.
Support your local bookshop. Or shop around on kalahari.net, on take2.co.za, on amazon.com or on barnesandnoble.com - as book prices sometimes differ substantially from seller to seller.
David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, Michael Irwin Meltzer
This is an important and well-researched publication. It emphasises what companies should do to create enthusiastic employees, who energetically and routinely out-produce and out-perform comparable workforces elsewhere.
Publisher: Wharton School Publishing
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0131423304
Order: from Kalahari.net
Jim Collins
It is astonishing to see how many prominent authors quote Jim Collins. With two publications he has catapulted himself into the very small number of individuals who profoundly influence business thinking. This publication provides a powerful framework with which to evaluate any company. Are you on the right track?
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2001
ISBN: 0066620996
Order: from Kalahari.net
John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen
John Kotter is a business thinker and academic who regularly addresses major international conferences. He is an authority on managing change. This book is written with the businessman in mind. Its 185 pages is written in a business language meant to be assimilated quickly. Highly recommended.
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Published: 2002
ISBN: 1578512549
Order:from Kalahari.net
The Heart of Change Field Guide
Dan S. Cohen
This is the companion book to The Heart of Change. Cohen is a Deloitte consultant and this publication offers a practical approach. It is very applicable in any situation where a major expansion, a merger or a change in strategic direction is contemplated.
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Published: 2002
ISBN: 1-59139-775-8
Order: from Amazon.com
Chantell Ilbury & Clem Sunter
Clem Sunter, after Chantel Ilbury's disseration on scenario planning came to his attention, teamed with her to co-author The Mind of a Fox in 2001. The latter book has transformed scenario planning from an esoteric discipline into a practical model which became the basis for Games Foxes Play.
Publisher: Human & Rousseau Tafelberg
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0 7981 4509 9
Order: from Kalahari.net
Chantell Ilbury & Clem Sunter
The authors constructed an agenda of steps. They refined some of their approach as set out in the preceding publication. The two publications should be regarded as companion pieces.
Publisher: Human & Rousseau Tafelberg
Published: 2005
ISBN: 13: 979-0-7981-4905-1
Order: from Kalahari.net
The High Road: Where are we now?
Clem Sunter
This publication, after so many years, is a facinating read. The High and Low Road scenarios were presented to thousands of audiences in South Africa, including the political leaders and their chief negotiators. As many people can recall the historic events in the eighties and nineties, this lesson in history combined with scenario planning gives the latter real meaning.
Publisher: Human & Rousseau Tafelberg
Published: 1996
ISBN: 0 624 03527 1
Order: from
Strategy Maps
Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton
If one runs a large corporation, I would advise buying all four BSC publications: Balanced Scorecard (1996), The Strategy-Focused Organization (2001), Strategy Maps (2004) and Alignment (2006). However, if you run a small to medium-sized company, buy only Strategy Maps as it contains all the information that you would need. The authors have made a major impact on the business world since 1992 and I, for one, have not yet come accross a better planning cum perfomance measurement system.
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1591391342
Order: from Kalahari.net
The Execution Premium - Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage
Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton
This publication obtained advance coverage in an article by the two authors in the January 2008 issue of the Harvard Business Review. I recommend the acquisition of this publication for Kaplan and Norton's Closed-Loop Management System and for the excellent description of their Strategy Theme Map and the various examples of its use.
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Published: 2008
ISBN-13: 978-1-4221-2116-0
Order: from Kalahari.net
Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan with Charles Buck
Larry Bossidy, a superb practitioner and Ram Charan, a consultant, wrote one of the few books on the market specifically about execution. The setting is a large company but many of the principles relate to SMEs.
Publisher: Random House Business Books
Published: 2002
ISBN: 0712625984
Order: from Kalahari.net
Confronting Reality - Master the New Model for Success
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan wrote a strong companion book following the publication of "Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done." They describe their model for confronting reality and provide a huge range of examples of how their model was put to use. The model complements the Balanced Scorecard approach of Robert Kaplan and David Norton. Bossidy and Charan's examples, as in their preceding book, again cover large corporations but the principles are most definitely applicable to any business or organisation.
Publisher: Random House Business Books
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1 8441 3689 2
Order: from Kalahari.net
Getting to Yes - Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Roger Fisher and William Ury
This publication is a highly regarded world-classic on negotiation. It received the endorsement of prominent negotiatiors such as John Kenneth Galbraith, Elliot Richardson and Cyrus Vance. Roger Fisher in 1987 visited South Africa and made inputs accross the political spectrum on how to proceed with negotiation.
Publisher: Hutchinson and Co
Published: 1983
ISBN: 0 09 149371
Order: from Kalahari.net
Building Agreement - Using Emotions as You Negotiate
Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro
This is an important and well-researched publication. It emphasises the role of five concerns which everyone, including you, have. Heed these concerns not only in formal or informal negotations with clients, but in everyday discussions with your team members.
Publisher: Wharton School Publishing
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0131423304
Order: from Kalahari.net
InfoGuru Marketing
Robert Middleton
Written for service companies and service professionals. Middleton adresses the particular needs of such companies for positioning themselves and for getting clients. Middleton has developed a down-to-earth approach to marketing. The manual is downloadable from the Web. It can be ordered in printed format should you prefer the latter. I recommend purchasing this manual and also any of Middleton's other products.
Publisher: Robert Middleton
Published: 2005 and updated thereafter
Order: from Middleton
Ten Deadly Marketing Sins
Philip Kotler
Appropriately brief at 152 pages, Kotler based this publication on a series of lectures he gave to business audiences. MBA students the world over work through Kotler's prescribed academic publications. He is arguably the world's greatest authority on marketing.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Published: 2004
ISBN: 0471650226
Order: from Kalahari.net
Clued In - How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again
Lewis Carbone
This publication provides an intriguing perspective on the role which emotion plays in coming to a decision to buy. I incorporate his ideas into my approach.
Publisher: FT Prentice Hall
Published: 2004
ISBN: 0-3-101550-8
Order: from Kalahari.net
The New Rules of Marketing & PR
David Meerman Scott
The author is a much-quoted expert on the use of the social media tools of the World Wide Web. As the subtitle of his book indicates, the author covers the following topics: how to use news releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing and online media to reach buyers directly. This is a major publication on Internet marketing tools which most companies do not yet understand to use or to use well.
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2007
ISBN: 978-0-470-11345-5
Order: from Kalahari.net
Meatball Sundae
Seth Godin
Seth Godin is an influential author and blogger. He has produced a range of books containing stimulating ideas about the new mindset of consumers and for the need of companies to rethink marketing. I found this publication especially stimulating. Godin's writing style is unorthodox and takes getting used to.
Publisher: Piatkus
Published: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7499-2831-5
Order: from Kalahari.net
Walking the Talk
Carolyn Taylor
This publication very convincingly makes a case for any company investing in the development of a culture strategy. One spends 160 or more hours per month in a workplace. Taylor's value-based approach of creating a cultural environment which enables the people within a company to grow and thrive, is compelling. It also makes business sense. It is a remarkable publication. It is timeous as the workforce of the 21st century is different. I have not yet come accross a publication which addresses this important topic better.
Publisher: Random House Business Books
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1844138070
Order: from Kalahari.net
The New Leaders
Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee
Daniel Goleman and colleagues have drawn attention to the crucial role which emotional intelligence plays in the work place. This publication is well written and it manages to get CEOs and managers to think about their behaviours. I "prescribe" this publication to all my clients. The local bookshops normally have a sell out on this publication, whenever I get a new client in their area.
Publisher: Random House Business Books
Published: 2001
ISBN: 0751533815
Order: from Kalahari.net
The 8th Habit
Stephen R. Covey
This is a remarkable publication written in a fluent style. Covey describes the Industrial Age approach to leading and managing enterprises which still governs many if not most organisations in the 21st century. He proposes a shift to a Whole Person Paradigm covering four dimensions and four human needs. "Find your voice and invite others to find theirs." The Information/Knowledge Worker Age requires self-managed people, people who have found their voices.
Covey's The 8th Habit provides a framework against which all the publications in this reading list can be read and studied.
Execution is absolutely essential for personal and business success. For years Stephen Covey would seem to have depended on Ram Charan for material about execution. Covey addressed the matter personally in The 8th Habit by covering the topic in Part 2, Execution - Aligning and Empowering of this publication.
I regard this publication as essential reading.
Publisher: Free Press
Published: 2004
ISBN: 0743287932
Order: from Kalahari.net
The Performance Prism
Andy Neely, Chris Adams and Mike Kennerly
This publication is without question the most important to have appeared in recent years on the topic of performance measures. The authors link performance measures to the entire process of managing a business. Prof Neely has influenced me to adopt many of his measures and a part of his approach.
Publisher: Financial Times/Prentice Hall
Published: 2002
ISBN: 0273653342
Order: from Kalahari.net
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Partick Lencioni
Lencioni wrote this publication as a follow-up on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. He produced two thought-provoking publications. The field guide is concise and we all know the five dysfunctions. The teams of all organisations each month spend hours in meetings. One might as well learn how to eliminate the dysfunctions.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0787976377
Order: from Kalahari.net
Consider posting your comment about my reading list in contact us. I would also appreciate receiving your reading recommendations.
Last modified: 13-11-2009