Dr Carol Dweck – Mindset

A real insight into the things that hold us back. Carol explores, the characteristics and consequences of a Fixed Mindset vs a Growth Mindset. The good news being that it is never too late to change.

Gail Hugman – 100 things to learn before you are 10

Gail has written this book for parents with troublesome children. We are in our own ways products for our own childhoods and I found Gail’s approach to helping children, insightful from a management perspective. I kept thinking I know someone who behaves like that. Sometimes it was me!

Nick Brown – Thrive and Survive in Business

I have written this book to help business owners think through the various growth stages of their business. I have included a lot of questions and some answers, hopefully with a smile.

Debbie Glinnan – How to employ your first 20 people

Debbie’s skills lies in using her years of experience to help you avoid the HR pitfalls that can hold up your business, and make it difficult to manage.

Roger Bootle “The Trouble with Europe”

OK we have a big decision coming up. In or Out of Europe. So it is best to be informed. Roger Bootle runs Capital Economics, and regularly contributes to Money Week. His analysis in laymans terms looks thoroughly into the history (How we got here) the Options and his recomendations. His fundamental conclusion is that getting out will be slightly painful in the Short term, beneficial in the medium and our salvation in the long term. Basically he says Europe is becoming less important, it is the emerging markets that matter. The Bureaucratic overhead of Europe will only get worse. We will be tied in with the Social Chapter that can only make us un-competitive. Innovation is the way forward, that is the domain of innovative businesses not multi nationals, Europe / Bureaucrats favour the Status Quo. We are a trading Nation, we always have been, we should get on with it. (This is slightly paraphrased by me. His arguments re far better structured)

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Tim Bell “Right or Wrong”

If there is one book to read this year for insight and amusement, it is Tim Bell’s irreverent tales of the Thatcher years and beyond. He is in a position to know what happened and has managed to maintain his independence so he can tell it like it is.

A remarkable man who sheds light on what we have lost since the 90’s and the honesty of spirit required to get it back. (See Page 47)

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Dr Spenser Johnson “Who Moved my Cheese?”

I first read this some 25 years ago, when as I young man and I thought I would not make the mistakes, looking back as a slightly less young man, I recognise, in myself, most of the unfavourable characteristics in this identified in this book. It only takes a few hours to read, So I think it is worth reading once a year, before you write next year’s development plan.

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Al Gore “The Future”

Al Gore, Nobel Prize Winner, Vice President of the United States, Author and observer of human kind, investigates the balance in our fast changing world. With a highly informed, structured and insightful approach Mr Gore looks at the variables, the drivers and how they might pan out. When he Quotes Moore’s Law ” Computing power doubles every 18 months” he is able to speak from a position of knowing Gordon Moore the Founder of Intel, personally.

This book will make you think, and realise, that it is all to play for. We just need the good guys to Win. That is Innovative business people who survive on their skills and wits, and do not rely on some outdated monopoly to survive.

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Gary Hamel “What Matters Now”

Gary was recently voted the most influential man in business today, by Forbes Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.

In his most recent book, Gary talks about a Post Bureaucratic world, where the values of the brand the staff and the customers align behind a belief in a force for good. In a social world this allows customers and staff to believe in and hence promote a permission based brand. He believes that those monopoly businesses that exploit staff and customers, we know who they are, will fail.

He also argues that brand aligned businesses can innovate effectively and hence survive in a fast changing world. Given that the UK Cabinet office estimate that 80% of UK businesses turning over around the £50 Million mark, go out of business within 10 years, innovation becomes important to our economy if the Monopoly organisations are going to fail. Purchase Here

Nancy Tennant Snyder “Unleashing Innovation”

If you think that Innovation is for Google and Apple, well it might well be, but if it works for a washing machine manufacturer, it can work for you.

Whirlpool embraced innovation and turned a one product one customer organisation into a brand leading, $10 billion turnover business selling into 170 different markets.

Nancy Tennant Snyder takes us inside Whirlpool, and shows us what it takes to make innovation a core competence in your business. In 1996 Whirlpool would not even be considered as Innovative, by 2006 Business Week voted them into the top 100 most Innovative busineeses in the world. Today there are three Harvard Business School case studies on Whirlpool as a best practice innovative organisation. Purchase Here