The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Why We Like This Book:

The greatest management book ever written. Drucker delivers here the most powerful and simple insight every manager must know - one’s time is one’s scarcest resource. This is a slim volume, and the best value on the list. You may quibble with Drucker’s insights on meetings, but it doesn’t matter - just the first 50 pages are worth 5 years of management development training.

Management: Tasks Responsibilities Practices by Peter Drucker

Why We Like This Book:

Don’t let its size be off-putting. It always makes us laugh that the definitive, deepest book about management is not required reading, let alone a course all by itself, at MBA schools today. Complex, layered, and complete. The War and Peace of management literature. Only better.

The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman

Why We Like This Book:

This will be the most influential business book of the first decade of the 21st century. Drucker is more powerful, and more helpful, but TWIF will be more talked about. You cannot be a professional manager and remain effective in today’s flat world without understanding the forces in this book. The forces discussed WILL impact your organization - being aware will make you better at what you do.

The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking and Problem Solving

Why We Like This Book:

The best book on business writing ever. Barbara Minto has given us a step by step process for producing clear, brilliant, simple writing that will persuade as well as inform. It is not cheap, nor easy - but neither is running a $100 million business. If you think you can do the latter, try the former first. Because we’ve read your writing, and it’s not very good. (Mike and Barbara are friends - she’s sharp and wonderful.)

Note: As Amazon doesn’t have the latest version of her book, the best way to get Barbara’s book is to order it direct from her (the links above will take you to her site for ordering information). Let her know you heard about her from Manager Tools!

First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman

Why We Like This Book:

We love data, and Gallup had a pile of it in developing the key insight here: great managers find people with the right skills for a job, and then focus on enhancing and rewarding what’s already there. They DON’T try to teach everything to everybody. Unlike In Search of Excellence, they didn’t fake this data. Gives detailed guidance, so we REALLY like it.

Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini

Why We Like This Book:

This book is fascinating. It will both intrigue you, and make you feel like you can trick anyone into doing anything. And, you would be able to. Cialdini lays out how to influence and persuade others by teaching basic principles about why we act the way we do, and why we respond to others the way we do. This is a core book for sales and marketing professionals, and any manager who has to use more than just positional power to make things happen (that would include YOU).

Managing With Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Why We Like This Book:

Pfeffer is the Dean of the People part of management, which is where we spend a lot of our time as well. This book lays out how to make things happen, step by step - how to analyze your situation, assess your strengths and weaknesses, whom to align with, whom to develop better relationships with. It’s so tactical, with help every step of the way, we wish we’d written it ourselves. MUST READ for Senior Managers, Directors and entry level VPs in large organizations. If you’re competing for a promotion with someone who uses these concepts, they will bury you.

The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Why We Like This Book:

A Pfeffer classic. He lays out the value of being a manager who focuses on getting the most from your team. If all you learn from this book is that layoffs are ineffective, it’s earned its value. (Though don’t assume you won’t ever see one again). He talks about specific things companies can do in hiring and development that relate directly to Manager Tools principles.

Winning ‘em Over by Jay A. Conger

Why We Like This Book:

Jay Conger has written the best book about how to present to a corporate audience that we have ever read. This book is DETAILED. If you’ve ever thrown together some slides, Winning will make you feel silly. It lays out how to analyze your audience, how to organize your information, how to prep in advance… in such detail you’ll feel like you’re reading a textbook. GREAT book for managers.

Say It With Charts: The Executive’s Guide to Visual Communication by Gene Zelazny

Why We Like This Book:

Same reasons we like “Say It With Presentations”: Gene Zelazny used to be the charts guy for McKinsey, and this book shows why. He walks through how to present ANY type of information, bowing to the predominance of PowerPoint. You’ll learn when to use bar graphs and pie charts, and how NOT to distort your message. It’s simple, slim, and FULL of stuff you can use THIS WEEK.