Reading Room

	The World is Flat. Tom Friedman, 2005, Farrar, Straus and Giroux What is our new flat world? A place where technology and events have begun to level the playing field for many to enter the global supply chain, creating an explosion of wealth. How was our world flattened? Through interconnectivity of people and places, work-flow software, outsourcing, insourcing, offshoring and most of all, building collaborative working relationships and partnerships. From the self-organizing collaborative communities who built the first Internet browser (Apache) to back- office operations in Asia (Infosys), Friedman discusses how building collaborative relationships is changing the face of American business. As we move further into the 21st century, vertical reporting structures will be flattened as well to be replaced by horizontal collaborative teams coming together to fulfill a specific mission or project. And how you manage horizontally requires a whole different set of skills from top-down approaches to management (more in the adjacent segment). The Collaborative Partnering skills you experienced in our June workshop represent key management skills in the flat world.
	From Sage to Artisan, The Nine Roles of the Value-Driven Leader. Stuart Wells, 1997. Davis Black Publishing. Emphasizing the core values that are a prerequisite for success in any context, From Sage to Artisan shows how individuals, whether team members or top executives, exercise leadership not by having the loudest voice, but by creating order, inspiring action, or improving performance.
	Churchill on Leadership. Steven F. Hayward, 1997. Prima Publishing. The world of politics and the world of commerce. What business leaders can learn from the great statesmen.
	The Art Of Possibility. Rosamund Stone Zander, Benjamin Zander, 2000. Penguin Books. Through uplifting stories, parables, and personal anecdotes, the Zanders invite us all to become passionate communicators, readers, and performers whose lives radiate possibility into the world.
	The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Deepak Chopra, 1994. Amber-Allen Publishing. Deepak Chopra distills the essence of his teachings into seven simple, yet powerful principles that canciples that can easily be applied to create success in all areas of your life.
	Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't Jim Collins, 2001. Harper Collins Publishing. In Good to Great, Stamford Business School professor, Jim Collins states, “Good is the enemy of great.” And that is why we have so little that becomes great.” So, what makes a company great? Challenged by this question, Collins assembled a team of researchers who studied the Fortune 500 between 1965 through 1995, eventually identifying only eleven companies who met the Good to Great criteria. All eleven “great” companies followed a basic “flywheel” pattern, which broadly includes: disciplined people, disciplined thought and disciplined action. Good to Great includes some of the best coaching questions ever: What are you deeply passionate about? What drives your economic engine? What can you be the best in the world at? There is no silver bullet to greatness as Jim Collins and his team discovers. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. Good to Great the “prequel” to Built to Last, is a compelling business story that delivers surprising results. It is a must read!
	Men of Steel: The Story of the Family That Built the World Trade Center. Karl Koch III, Richard Firstman, 2002, Crown Publishing Group. Men of Steel chronicles the fascinating story of the creation of the World Trade Center, the politics behind its conception, the innovative thinking that went into its design, the drama of its construction and the truth behind its destruction. It also is a very compelling business story of the Koch family and their pre-imminent steel erecting business as told by Karl Koch III. Karl Koch’s drama of a family business gone awry from internal business conflict and betrayal is all too familiar across the landscape of America. However, Mr. Koch’s personal transformation as a result of his experience within this drama allows him to emerge as a true leader and as the de-facto narrator of the Koch family’s significant contributions to the steel industry and America.