Five Star Books for Bosses in 2009
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I love writing book reviews. I try to pick books that will interest and help the readers of this blog, whom I describe at "bosses at any level." And I try to write reviews that are fair in light of the author's intent and the publicity for the book.
Every time I post a book review on the blog, I post a similar review on Amazon. There I have to choose a star rating from one star to five stars, with five being the best. The average rating for all Amazon reviews is well above four. My average is slightly lower.
Here's a list of the books I gave five stars when I reviewed them in 2009. It is not a list of the best business books of the year.
I don't review great books by known authors that are already well-promoted. You did not need me to find the excellent books by Gary Hamel and Henry Mintzberg that were published in 2009.
This is simply as list of what I think are the best books for bosses from among all the books I reviewed in 2009. They're in chronological order of review, with one exception. The links are to the book review post.
That exception is 100 Best Business Books by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten. If there is a must-have book for almost everyone who reads business books, this is it.
Now, here's the rest of the books that got five stars from me.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
How We Lead Matters by Marilyn Carlson Nelson
The New Gold Standard by Joseph Michelli
How the Wise Decide by Aaron Sandoski and Bryn Zeckhauser
The Wisdom of the Flying Pig by Jack Hayhow
Collapse of Distinction by Scott McKain
The Alpha Factor by Wes Ball
Think Better by Tim Hurson
Being Strategic by Erika Andersen
Hip and Sage by Lisa Haneberg
Keeping Up in a Down Economy by Bob Nelson
Lead Your Boss by John Baldoni
Now it's your turn. What books (that you didn't write) would you recommend to "bosses at any level?" What books should I review in 2010?
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
Categories: Leadership Reading,Book Review
Tags: Leadership Reading Book Review
This is a bit pre 2009 - still love Speed of Trust by Covey Jr. It's relevency will never fade
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I agree, Debbie. Speed of Trust is among the most accessible and usable of the books on trust for business readers. Thanks for reminding me of it.
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The Four Conversations by Jeffery Ford and Laurie Ford was my favorite management book of 2009. The book is good for new managers, but even better for experienced managers. Anyone who has been leading people will recognize the types of communication the authors recommend.
For 2010, at a minimum you need to review Dan Pink's Drive, but I would also like to see your thoughts on Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath and Linchpin by Seth Godin. All three violate your popularity rule, but I think all deserve attention and critique.
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Thanks for adding those recommendations, Todd. The conversations book wasn't on my radar, but now it's on my list of books to acquire for review. It's especially apropos since I think that good leadership is all about conversations.
As for the other three, yes, they do violate my popularity rule. I may review Dan Pink's book, since my impression of his work in this area (mostly the TED talk) are that he takes one set of facts and uses them to make one point that may or may not be valid when you see the facts in context.
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Wally - thanks so much for including Hip and Sage on your list. I am most humbled. you list is great and there are a few I had not read yeat (Nelson, Hurson) and will check out.
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I think you'll enjoy both, Lisa.
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Wally, thank you for including my book The New Gold Standard in your recommended reading list. I am very much in your debt. Joseph Michelli
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