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Posted June 9, 2006 5:34 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Start-ups - 800 CEO Read Blog
I have been getting on a kick lately to get people to read more classic business books. I classify these as books which are just as relevant as ever and can be read over and over.
I have been asking people lately if they have read anything by Peter Drucker and I am shocked by the number of people you have never read anything written by the Father of Modern Management. While I was getting my MBA, we were never assigned to read anything by him. I sit here shaking my head wondering how this can be.
I decided to do some more research. Last week, we asked the inBubbleWrap crowd two questions having to do with Drucker.
First, we asked if they knew who Peter Drucker was. It was hard to give you an exact answer by I would say 15% of the people did not know he is was. I don't consider that too bad considering the often reported polls showing people's lack of knowledge on current events and world geography.
The second question we asked was "Have you read any books by Drucker?". The following is a list of all the books that people listed and the number of times they were mentioned in the answers.
The Daily Drucker - 28
Innovation and Entrepreneurship - 18
The Practice of Management - 16
Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices - 11
Managing The Non-Profit Organization - 11
Managing in Turbulent Times - 5
Management in the 21st Century - 4
Temption To Do Good - 3
Classic Drucker - 2
Drucker On The Profession of Management - 2
Concept of the Corporation - 1
Effective Executive in Action - 1
It was good to see one of Drucker's complete works beat the two "best-of" books. For my money, I would recommend The Effective Executive and Innovation and Entrepreneurship (both of which I am going back and reading again).
We have some plans for bringing back some of the classics. Stay tuned for that...
Donna Fenn's Favorites
Posted March 21, 2006 7:50 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Small Business - 800 CEO Read Blog
I posted my interview with Donna Fenn over on the Podcasts Blog this afternoon. I also asked Donna what her favorite business books were. Here is the list she whipped up for me along with a thought on each.
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker. Still relevant after these years; still the entrepreneurs Bible!
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I know, I know its on everyones list. But as someone trying to market a book in a wildly crowded marketplace, the lessons are very relevant to me.
The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley. And anything else he writes because the guy is in the trenches at IDEO and understands innovation in a way thats up close and personal.
Trading Up: Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods... And How Companies Create Them by Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske. Provides great insight on how entrepreneurs can differentiate themselves by catering to consumer lust for new luxuries.
The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations by James Surowiecki. Thought provoking, highly original and superbly written.
Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell. Jack is one of the most successful independent retailers in the country, and hes also managed to keep the business in the family for three generations. Again, great wisdom straight from the trenches.
Design Thinking Books
Posted Feb. 28, 2005 11:15 a.m. by diego-rodriguez
In Design - 800 CEO Read Blog
We've started an interesting discussion about design books on this blog, and as the design thinker on the 800-CEO-READ Blog crew, I would like to add some fuel to the fire, as it were.
I teach a graduate-level class at Stanford's Institute for Design (aka the "d.school"). In this class we provide an introduction to a design process built upon three key themes:
- Empathy for humans
- Problem solving via iterative prototyping
- Undertaking opportunities from an entrepreneurial point of view
This class isn't about the "craft" elements one commonly thinks of when the word "design" is mentioned. We're not teaching people to draw, paint, or sculpt. Instead, we're teaching people to think in an integrative fashion, pairing left-brain analytics with right-brain synthesis. Mastering this way of thinking doesn't happen overnight. You get there by reading, hanging out with interesting folks, and generally living life out loud.
I can only help you with the reading part. Here's the "recommended reading" list for students in my d.school class. Enjoy!
Design Process
- Aesthetics of the Japanese Lunchbox, by Kenji Ekuan
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig
- Cradle to Cradle, by William McDonough
- Emotional Design, by Donald Norman
- Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud
Marketing
- Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore
- Purple Cow, by Seth Godin
- Marketing High Technology, by William Davidow
- Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
- The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
Business & Finances
- How to Read a Financial Report, by John Tracy
- Good Business, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- The Art of the Start, by Guy Kawasaki
- Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure, by Jerry Kaplan
- Getting Part No, by William Ury
Innovation
- The Innovator's Solution, by Clayton Christensen
- Weird Ideas that Work, by Robert Sutton
- The Art of Innovation, by Tom Kelley
- Innovation & Entrepreneurship, by Peter Drucker
Personal Brand
- The Brand You 50, by Tom Peters
- Brag: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It, by Peggy Klaus
- Learned Optimism, by Martin Seligman
- Zen and the Art of Making a Living, by Laurence Boldt
Creativity
- The Universal Traveler, by Don Koberg & Jim Bagnall
- Conceptual Blockbusting, by James L. Adams
- Creativity, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
