We live in a world of words. Spending most of the time on meetings, calls and presentations – When was the last time you contemplated the content of your desk and shelves?
Let’s see if this sounds familiar to you … When you smell a book there is a kind of ‘magic’ which send you away from the reality for a moment; and once you have finished it, it becomes a treasure that somehow and in some point of your future life, it will find you at the correct time; exactly when you most need it.
(1) Leaders Eat Last
Simon Sinek 2014. On his second book, after the success on ‘Start with Why’, Simon makes an extraordinary detailed X-ray of What Means to be a Leader. His words are absolutely inspiring and the way he explains complex topics is refreshing. Reading this book will not only empower your leadership skills also it will help you understand how real Leaders think.
(2) Harvard Business School Confidential: Secrets of Success
Emily Chan 2009. First time I read this book I was analyzing tons of data and preparing a deck to C-suite for the first time. Whoever works in Consultancy will discover that each of the pages of this book are priceless. Emily explains very clearly in plain english the concepts studied in the prestigious HBS. After reading the whole text I ensure you that there will be a sea change on your career and the way you conceive the business.
(3) The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
Mikael Krogerus 2008. This is a reference handbook and his main purpose is to help you in the transition of a change; no matter you are a teacher, a professor, or a top manager. You will be confronted by the questions: How do I take the right decision? How can I change things? How can I work more efficiently? and so on. The models presented will make you THINK and even more, after this manual you will successfully plan almost everything in your life.
(4) Only the Paranoid Survive
Andrew S. Grove 1998. Written more than 20 years ago, his thesis still feels up-to-date. If there is a word to summarize Grove’s life as Intel CEO that would be ‘Inflection’. By following the business principle that everything will change, Andy teach us how to anticipate and to be prepared for any kind of disruption. It is a strong recommendation for everyone in management whether in high-tech or not.
(5) The Machine That Changed the World:
The Story of Lean Production
James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, Daniel Roos. 1990. “Machine” is probably one of the most fascinating cases of continuous Improvement in the modern capitalist history. From the groundbreaking Ford’s model of ‘Mass production’, the selective craftman production in Europe to finally the exemplary Efficient process of the Japanese company Toyota. Keep in mind that unlike other books, “Machine” is not a “how-to” manual, is the amazing consolidation of Facts and Stadistics on How Japanese production model revolutionized Automotive business Management.
Best wishes,
The Supply Chainer Report 