Books published in the noughties, in order of personal value to me:
- Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath - I can't get enough of this book. It is, in theory, about how to make ideas stick, but in practice it is soooo much more than that. It's about how to think successfully. I've nicked many ideas from this book and tried to pass them off as my own.
- The Choice by Eli Goldratt - Not the easiest of Goldratt's book and certainly not the one to start with. More for seasoned TOC Thinkers who understand the TOC thinking processes. A keeper, for me. But read "The Goal" and "It's Not Luck" first. Advise waiting for the next edition to hit the shelves.
- A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink - In short: the left-brained stuff that got you here, isn't enough. This isn't a feel-good, yet cheap, self-help book. It's far broader reaching that that. Go read the reviews on amazon - they'll do a better job of explaining why you must read this book.
- Trust Based Selling by Charles Green - At the end of the day, your success depends on whether people trust you and whether you can sell your ideas and/or products to them. This book changed my approach to life and work more than any other. It's practical and it took the ickyness out of having to do the "commercial" stuff.
- Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck I read an early draft of this book and it bought together my two professional worlds: Lean/TOC and Software development. I find it amusing that the 1 sentence which renewed my love of software development never made it into the published version.
- Writing Effective Use Cases - Alastair Cockburn - I should read this book again. And then again. Warning: if you develop software as a business and your business model relies on bums-on-seats then buy all the copies of this book you can and BURN THEM - you don't want your customers discovering how to deliver projects faster. Use Cases are often done very, very, very badly and this book is the cure. I'd like to see a second edition.
- Extreme Programming by Kent Beck - I haven't coded for years, but this book made soooooooooo much sense. It reminded me of how I coded when I coded for fun. Weird thing: I'm not sure that XP is the best way to build software, not for everyone anyway.
- Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin I preferred this to Purple Cow, mostly because it was more practical.
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin - "Be Remarkable" - Incredible advice, great examples, superb writing.
- Executive Briefing: The Power of Influence by Robert Cialdini (Audiobook). I've recommended this audiobook to all my friends and colleagues. It's one of the least expensive books on audible.co.uk but one of the most valuable. If you want to honourably influence people then listen to this 50 minute speech.
