It’s that time of year again, with Booz & Company’s magazine, strategy+business (free registration), kicking off the ‘best business books’ listings in style with guest authors penning the reviews.
London-based business ‘guru’ and author Charles Handy — who predicted over a decade ago many of the changes to working life that we’re still grappling with today — has compiled his top leadership reads.
In keeping with Handy’s own social philosophies, his top reads have a strong streak of ethics in their message — the ‘Puritan Gift’ of the Hoppers’ book, for example, is “that rare ability to create and manage organizations that serve a useful purpose in society”. (Even though I’ve just started it, I might venture to add “Business at a Crossroads: The Crisis of Corporate Leadership” by Tom Lloyd to his list.)
But there’s plenty here of interest, as long as Gordon Gekko’s not your leadership pin-up. See what you think — and add your own favourites below.
- The Puritan Gift: Reclaiming the American Dream amidst Global Financial Chaos, by Kenneth Hopper and William Hopper.
- Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O’Toole with Patricia Ward Biederman (2008).
- Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help by Edgar H. Schein.
- Walk the Walk: the #1 Rule for Leaders by Alan Deutschman
- Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Buddhist Tzu Chi by C. Julia Huang
