Buzzworthy Books
A Whole New Mind
By Daniel Pink
This powerful little book continues to inspire people and is a favorite of many leaders in the meetings industry. Chapters on empathy, design, story, symphony, play and meaning—all of which, Pink argues, are important for success in a technological world—support the subtitle, “Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.” In his latest book, “Drive,” he looks at what motivates us, pointing to autonomy, mastery and purpose as more important drivers than external rewards. Part philosophy, part workbook, both are fast, easy reads.
Strengths-Based Leadership
By Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
The authors identify three keys to being a more effective leader and what followers want and need from the leaders in their lives. Not surprisingly, the emphasis is on building well-rounded teams that include executors, influencers, relationship builders and strategic thinkers. More than half of the book is devoted to “strength-finder assessment.”
Minding the Store: Great Writing About Business from Tolstoy to Now
Edited by Robert Coles and Albert LaFarge
If you want a break from business manuals, you might enjoy this book with excerpts from well-known short story writers and novelists that often include lessons in doing business, or at least allow you to do some name-dropping at the next meeting.
Drucker on Leadership
By William A. Cohen
Subtitled “New Lessons from the Father of Modern Management,” this book draws on Drucker’s extensive writings, speeches, lectures, presentations and personal conversations. Cohen uses them to present a unified theory of leadership revolving around five major themes that he attributes to Drucker, who, despite writing more than 35 books about management and the modern corporation, never wrote a book about leadership.
