Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling business books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, October 6, in the “Organizational Behavior” category.
1. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
by Patrick Lencioni. The author targets group behavior in the final entry of his trilogy of corporate fables. When the instructional tale is over, Lencioni discusses the “five dysfunctions” (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results) and provides a questionnaire for readers to use in evaluating their own teams and specifics to help them understand and overcome these common shortcomings.
2. Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard . This story is about adjusting attitudes toward change in life, especially at work. Change occurs whether a person is ready or not, but the author affirms that it can be positive. His principles are to anticipate change, let go of the old, and do what you would do if you were not afraid.
3. A Sense of Urgency
by John P. Kotter. The author outlines four helpful tactics to create what he believes will enhance any business: a constant sense of urgency.
4. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Stephen R. Covey. Mainly about resolving conflicts and influencing people, this guide covers every conceivable aspect of talking with others. People hear facts and stories and turn them into shared knowledge when they’re not attacked or overpowered- – in other words, when they feel safe. No mushy mental health lesson, the program explains many types of communication errors and describes the best ways to achieve mutual purpose.
5. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck . The authors describe the building blocks–leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs–that need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. Both Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., and Charan, advisor to corporate executives and author of such books as What the CEO Wants You to Know : How Your Company Really Works
and Boards That Deliver: Advancing Corporate Governance From Compliance to Competitive Advantage
, present experience-tested insight into how the smooth linking of these three processes can differentiate one company from the rest.
6. The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
by Michael Watkins. Practical advice about undertaking new opportunities and understanding new vulnerabilities, quickly and without much upheaval. Anecdotes enliven the checklists and sample learning plans. Much content is human resources related, based on self-discipline, team building, and the availability of trusted advice and counsel.
7. Leading Change
by John P. Kotter. A comprehensive eight-step framework for leading through change that can be followed by executives at all levels.
8. Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen. Through a parable involving the fishmongers at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the authors aim to help employees find their way to a fun and happy workplace.
9. Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box
by The Arbinger Institute. In this fictional tale an executive learns the great secret of leadership effect-iveness: to get out of the self-deceptive box of narcissism and start connecting in empathic and respectful ways with others. We’re in the box when we treat others as objects or focus on what’s wrong with them instead of what we can do to help. Without discounting the value of strong managerial direction, the story reasserts something we know but don’t practice–that people are more likely to be enthusiastic and effective when they know we care about them.
10. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement
by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox. Alex Rogo manages a failing manufacturing plant. When his district manager tells him that profits must increase or the plant will be closed, Alex turns to Jonah, a former professor. With the help of the enigmatic Jonah and the plant staff, Alex turns the plant around while at the same time abandoning many management principles he previously thought were ironclad.
