…and the following are all books about human, systems, or agility worth reading. Loosely in descending recommended order for a manager to read them. (I’m sorry, I must do a summary of each one day…)
How Complex Systems Fail, Dr Richard Cook
– a brief paper readable online, or you can find it as downloadable PDF. Mandatory reading.
Slack, Tom DeMarco. Organisational “slack” — space and flexibility — is critical for innovation, agility, and resilience. . Amazon
No More Feedback, Carol Stanford. Challenges the pervasive culture of feedback, arguing instead for self-directed learning and developmental accountability . Amazon
The New Economics, W.Edwards Deming . Amazon. To show these ideas are not new (the book is from 1993, and is the culmination of Deming’s writing). A landmark text advocating for systemic thinking, profound knowledge, and intrinsic motivation to radically transform management.
Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change, April Rinne. Practical tools and mindsets to not just survive but thrive amid relentless uncertainty and disruption. Amazon
Nine Lies About Work, Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall. Debunks common myths about management and highlights the truths that enable people and organisations to flourish . Amazon
Team of Teams, Stanley McChrystal. Shows how decentralised trust and shared consciousness enable adaptability and success in complex environments . Amazon
The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps Between Plans, Actions and Results, Stephen Bungay. Military strategy meets organisational execution, centred on clear intent and decentralised decision-making.
Beyond Command and Control, John Seddon, 2019. Explains why traditional management structures are failing and how to design human-centred systems that work better. Read at least the first half. . . Amazon
The Open Organization, Jim Whitehurst. Demonstrates how openness, transparency, and decentralised decision-making drive organisational agility and engagement . . Amazon
Turn the Ship Around, L David Marquet . A leadership story illustrating how shifting control to those closest to the work unlocks extraordinary performance. Amazon
The Authentic Shift, Carl Lindeborg. A new book, almost perfectly aligned with what we say in The Open Executive . Advocates for courageous, human-centred leadership as the future foundation of effective organisations. . . Amazon
Higher Ground, Alison Taylor. An insightful new work on corporate ethics. Reframes corporate ethics as a strategic imperative for sustainable and responsible business leadership . . Amazon
Organizational Culture and Leadership, Edgar H. Schein. A classic text detailing how leaders shape, embed, and evolve the deep cultural assumptions within organisations.
Why Agile Works, Michael De La Maza, David Benz. Offers accessible insights into the science behind agile methods and why they succeed in complex systems. . Amazon
The Age of Agile, Steve Denning. An early classic of business agility. Argues that business success in a fast-changing world requires agility at every level of the organisation . Amazon
The Field Guide to Understanding ‘Human Error’, Sidney Dekker. Challenges the blame culture around mistakes and reframes human error as an opportunity for systemic learning . Amazon
Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, A foundational exploration of the two modes of human thinking — intuitive and deliberate — and their impacts on decision-making . Amazon
Thinking in Systems, Donella Meadows. A brilliantly clear guide to understanding systems thinking and its vital role in addressing complex problems. See also donellameadows.org
The Lean Startup, Eric Ries. Introduces lean principles for startups, focusing on rapid experimentation, validated learning, and pivoting quickly . Amazon
Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organisations, Harrison Owen. Explores organisational transformation through openness, self-organisation, and the spirit of emergence; available free online at www.openspaceworld.com
Inviting Leadership, Daniel Mezick and Mark Sheffield. Presents leadership as an act of invitation, unlocking greater participation, engagement, and innovation . Amazon
Lead Together, Brent Lowe, Susan Basterfield, Travis Marsh. A practical guide for building radically collaborative and self-managing organisations . Amazon
Cynefin framework, Dave Snowden. Provides a sense-making model for leaders navigating complexity, distinguishing between clear, complicated, complex, and chaotic systems
– A website not a book http://cognitive-edge.com
Toyota Kata, Mike Rother. A practical methodology for developing continuous improvement habits and scientific thinking at every level of an organisation . Amazon
Tribes, Seth Godin. Explores the idea that anyone can lead by creating and nurturing a community united by shared ideas and values. . Amazon
Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide, Harrison Owen. A handbook for facilitating Open Space events where self-organisation and emergent collaboration drive outcomes . Amazon
Making Work Visible, Dominica Degrandis. Highlights the hidden sources of work inefficiency and offers visualisation tools to expose and eliminate them. . Amazon
The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande. Demonstrates how simple checklists can dramatically improve outcomes in complex fields like medicine, aviation, and business. Amazon
How Knowledge Workers Get Things Done, ed. Layna Fischer. An anthology exploring approaches to empowering and enabling knowledge workers to be more productive . Amazon
Lean Enterprise, Humble, Molesky, O’Reilly. Guides large organisations on how to adopt lean startup principles to foster innovation and adaptability . Amazon
Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming. A golden oldie. A call for transformational change in business management focused on quality, systemic thinking, and respect for people. . Amazon
The Future of Management, Gary Hamel. Advocates for reinventing management itself to foster innovation, adaptability, and employee empowerment . Amazon
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni. A practical model for understanding and overcoming the fundamental obstacles to effective teamwork . Amazon
The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge. Introduces the concept of the learning organisation through systems thinking and five core disciplines . Amazon
Organize for Complexity, Niels Pflaeging. Proposes radical decentralisation and self-organisation as necessary responses to growing complexity . Amazon
Start With Why, Simon Sinek. Explores how leaders and organisations that focus on “why” — their purpose — inspire loyalty and success . Amazon
Antifragile, Nicholas Taleb. Presents the concept of systems that grow stronger through volatility, randomness, and disorder. . Amazon
(warning: I find Taleb unreadable)
Mastering the Unpredictable, Discusses adaptive case management as a method for navigating unpredictable work and knowledge flows. Keith Swenson
Joy, Inc., Richard Sheridan. Tells the story of how Menlo Innovations built a joyful, highly productive workplace through radical transparency and collaboration.
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer. A radical rethink of management, focused on freedom, responsibility, and removing unnecessary control.
First Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
The Infinite Game, Simon Sinek, inspired by Carse’s ideas. Sinek applies the infinite/finite distinction specifically to organisations and leadership:
Game On! Change is Constant, Karen Ferris. A practical guide for managing change in a way that embraces constant disruption as the new norm.
Dialogue, William Isaac. Explores dialogue as a tool for deep communication, collaboration, and collective thinking in organisations.
The High-Velocity Edge, Dr Steven Spear. Investigates the organisational capabilities that enable sustained excellence and rapid learning.
Product Development Flow, Don Reinertsen. A classic theoretical text – heavy going. Offers advanced principles for reducing waste and accelerating flow in product development.
Freedom from Command and Control, John Seddon. A critique of traditional command-and-control management, advocating for systems thinking and worker-driven change.
Systemantics. The Systems Bible, John Gall. A humorous but insightful exploration of why systems behave the way they do — often unpredictably and counterintuitively.
Response Taiji: The Standard+Case approach, Rob England. A flexible framework for managing work and incidents by blending structured standards and adaptive case management.