When you choose the next book to read, do you choose the newest and shiniest because you want to learn the latest methods, discoveries, tools, etc. or are you sticking with the old true and tested principles, methods, ways of doing things?
Classic or modern?
I was searching the other day through my library and I came across some old … er, older books on leadership and management.
While nowadays information becomes obsolete quite fast, there are some fundamentals that never change.
The same is valid for books.
There are some books that become obsolete soon after being published.
And there are others who still contain some valid knowledge even 50 or 60 years after the first edition (see Maslow on Management)
In no particular order, here are the 5 golden nuggets of wisdom:
The New One Minute Manager
A 2 years old reviewed and updated version of a 30-something years old book, this classic parable of a young man looking for an effective manager is more relevant and useful than ever. Look Inside >>>
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
The book is written back in 2010. Technology changed quite a lot since, but our minds still have the same in-built conflict when it comes to change. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. Look Inside >>>
An Austronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth
What going to space told him about ingenuity, determination, being prepared for anything, humility, good leadership in extreme conditions and much more. One of those books that motivates you to be your best self. And a very enjoyable read. Look Inside >>>
Maslow on Management
Some of Maslow on Management is, as Warren Bennis writes in the foreword, “hilariously innocent.” Reflecting on the power of well-managed workplaces to unleash creativity, Maslow suggests that the U.S. economy would benefit “if we kept all the factories running at full blast and simply gave things away.” Yet his deeper point–that good management leads to good psychological health–is startlingly advanced for 1962, when the business world was still widely thought of as nurturing nothing more than soulless conformity. Look Inside >>>
Behind Closed Doors
Great management is difficult to see as it occurs. It’s possible to see the results of great management, but it’s not easy to see how managers achieve those results. Great management happens in one-on-one meetings and with other managers—all in private. It’s hard to learn management by example when you can’t see it. Look Inside >>>
