Emotional Intelligence [ Daniel Goleman]
Benchmarking: a Tool for Continuous Improvement [C.J. McNair & K.Leibfried]
Calling a Halt to Mindless Change: a Plea for Commonsense Management [John Macdonald]
The One Minute Manager [Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson]
Assessing Business Excellence [Les Porter and Steve Tanner]
Total Quality Management [John Oakland]
The Power to Succeed: 30 Principles for Maximizing Your Personal Effectiveness [Dr Joe Rubino]
Deming Management at Work [Mary Walton]
Up Your Service! [Ron Kaufman]
Lean Thinking [James Womack & Daniel Jones]
The Goal: a Process of Ongoing Improvement [Eli Goldratt]
Looking for further insights into the behaviour of people around you - and of yourself?
This book, based on research into human behaviour and the workings of the brain, argues the 'emotional intelligence' is more important than a high IQ as a determinant of how we perform. It examines the relationship to excellence of qualities such as persistence, enthusiasm and self-motivation.
Goleman puts emotion into its true perspective; making clear what it is useful for, and what it is not. He shows how those of us who possess high emotional intelligence are the ones who truly succeed in work as well as in play, and in relationships.
Plus - it can be learned! Read more here.
The authors approach the subject of the assessment of business excellence first of all by reviewing the main assessment frameworks: ISO 9000, The Deming Prize, The Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, and the Benchmarking Awards and The European Quality Award, and by exploring the link between organisational activities and improved organisational performance.
They then move on to develop an overall view of self-assessment:
1 using the frameworks
2 key steps in self assessment
3 approaches to self assessment.
A very useful book, drawing on the main international models and synthesising them into a strategic framework for business excellence.
Read all about it here.
30 Principles for Maximizing Your Personal Effectiveness
This book is so great! You just need to read the reviews on Amazon to see the impact it's had on so many people - it gets 5 stars from almost every reviewer:
"A brilliant system for reaching great heights".
"This book should be read - no, it should be devoured! - by everyone".
"This is the book to read if you want to make lasting changes in your life".
It's short (only 150 pages) and easy to read. Leam how we can take control of our lives, set realistic goals, and create the life we really want! Also works well in use with groups.
Find out more here.
If you are in a service business - and who isn't? - this should be the number one reference book on your shelf. It's easy to read with simple, powerful and timely ideas that can be implemented immediately.
Kaufman reckons that "service is the currency that keeps the economy moving" and the very design and usability of this 300 page book shows that he knows how to put the theory into practice.
Packed with plenty of relevant examples of service, good and bad, each chapter has practical action steps giving valuable tips to improve customer service.
Recommended - read more
here.
a Tool for Continuous Improvement
Benchmarking is often talked about, but less often carried out systematically enough to really make a difference. It's not to be undertaken lightly but, done well, it can be a powerful tool for improvement.
Mcnair and Leibfried present the topic at the right level - as a management technique - and in an eminently readable form.
They cover every aspect of a business from new product development to operations and back office functions and include plenty of practical examples.
Read more about this book.
Non-UK readers, please click here to learn more about the book.
a Process of Ongoing Improvement
This is an exciting action-packed story about a manager's fight to save his plant from closure and about the management lessons he learned along the way.
Don't be fooled by the factory setting into believing this book is limited to manufacturing. If you are a manager in any industry, it will speak to you and help explain how 'lean techniques' get results while more traditional methods might be counter-productive.
The book introduces the author's Theory of Constraints in a series of insights gained by a hard-pressed management team. It makes crystal clear the connection between understanding and improvement of business processes and the achievement of strategic business goals.
No wonder this is recommended reading on top MBA courses (Cranfield, London Business School, Edinburgh University... )
Order
it here.
A Plea for Commonsense Management
Formerly an executive with Honeywell, John Macdonald also established one of Britain's largest consulting firms for quality guru Philip Crosby.
That background positions him ideally not only to put some consultants - "the swarms that suck the pollen from organisations" - in their place, but also to mount a scathing attack on management practices past, present, and future.
But this is a positive book, and of great value for those who will take the time to reflect on its insights. It gives examples of companies that have been successful by focusing on vision, customers, employees, communications, and ethics.
A 'must-read'
for any manager committed to continual improvement. Surely a future classic.
Read more here!
"I'm a One Minute Manager. I call myself that because it takes very little time for me to get very big results from people".
So says the hero of this truly classic best seller - little more than 100 pages long, but packed with home truths about excellence in dealing with people (example: catch people doing things right). No wonder many organisations make it required reading for managers.
Buy now at 20% discount (for not much more than the price of a couple of pints) and keep it by you - or keep the cassette in the car! Don't forget the extra copies for your management colleagues.
Order
the book
Order
the cassette
Non-UK
readers, please click here for the book ...
...
and here for the cassette.
W Edwards Deming has, in some circles, achieved a semi-God-like status, surrounded by myths (such as the myth that he was "the father of the Japanese revolution").
The value of his contributions to 'quality' are masked by the fact that his own presentation of his work is ... well ... poor.
And many of Deming's acolytes don't really help since they seem to be too blinded by the supposed greatness of the man himself to be able to articulate what his insights actually mean in practical business terms.
Deming, of course, has a lot to teach us - not least the importance of management's understanding of process variation. But he needs some help. So here's some advice: if you want to understand Deming, don't start with his own work.
Instead, start here by buying this book in which Mary Walton reviews how Deming's methods have been put into practice, examines six companies that have employed Deming's methods, and explains the relationship between the theory and practice.
The Route to Improving Performance
What can one say? This is the enduring British classic run-down of the subject. Don't be put off by the title; maybe the acronym TQM has fallen into disuse, but its messages are still not widely comprehended.
This book covers the subject thoroughly (although somewhat uncritically) and does a decent job of synthesising the conflicting views of the various 'quality' camps.
Author John Oakland aims at a whole raft of readers, from senior executives to students; a difficult undertaking, but well-executed. Its 450+ pages are packed with overviews of more concepts, tools and approaches than you'll need in a lifetime of continually improving!
It's a best seller and it's easy to see why. If it's not already on your shelf buy it now!.
"Muda. It's the one word of Japanese you really must know... because muda means waste". So begins this invaluable book, a guide to removing waste from business activities, making work more satisfying and making more profit.
It explores key concepts like value (what do the customers want? as opposed to what do they choose from the limited options we give them?), flow (continuous production is faster and more efficient than batch processing), pull (letting immediate demand determine what is produced rather than sales projections), and perfection (thinking through the ideal way to do things, rather than just improving a little from where we are today).
Full of examples - this stuff does work! Read more here.