What books to YOU recommend I should read in 2020?

You’ve probably heard it more times than you can count. “You’re the average of the five people spend the most time with,” a quote attributed most often to motivational speaker Jim Rohn. There’s also the “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future” derivative.

They say you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but can you judge people by their books. They’re practically taking a piece of their soul and waving it in front of you like a gigantic, colorful flag. It would be rude not to read something into what they’re reading. However, if you judge a person based on what they read, you have determined who and what they are based on your own prejudices about what people would read a certain type of book.

What do you think? Below is what I have read over the last 18 months. (The * means paper-book, the rest are audiobooks) On the basis of this list what do YOU recommend I should read in 2020?

BOOKS ABOUT PEOPLE AND PERSONALITY

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Techniques for Retraining Your Brain
2. Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion
3. The Good Psychopath's Guide to Success
4. Winners: And How They Succeed
5. Flipnosis
6. The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure
7. *The Idiot Brain
8. *Thinking fast and slow
9. *How the mind works
10. *Humble enquiry
11. *Sapiens

BOOKS ABOUT SOCIAL CHANGE AND HISTORY

1. Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis
2. WTF?: What have we done? Why did it happen? How do we take back control?
3. Inside Story: Politics, Intrigue and Treachery from Thatcher to Brexit
4. The Secret Barrister
5. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
6. Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics
7. The Cold War: A World History
8. The Great Economists: How Their Ideas Can Help Us Today
9. Bad Blood
10. Hitch-22: A Memoir
11. A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev
12. Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky
13. Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator
14. *1984
15. *Animal Farm
16. *History of world war 2
17. *The undoing project
18. *Life 3.0
19. *How to fix the future
20. *Utopia for realists
21. *The great economists
22. *Karl Marx and unreason
23. *This is going to hurt (Adam Kay)

BUSINESS BOOKS

1. War and Peace and IT: Business Leadership, Technology, and Success in the Digital Age
2. A Seat at the Table: IT Leadership in the Age of Agility
3. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
4. Product Mastery: From Good to Great Product Ownership
5. Scrum Mastery: From Good to Great Servant-Leadership
6. Scrum: The art of doing twice the work in half the time
7. Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
8. Principles: Life and Work
9. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
10. Key Person of Influence: The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry
11. The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations
12. The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership: Achieving and Sustaining Excellence Through Leadership Development
13. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant
14. Thinking in Systems: A Primer
15. Critical Chain: Project Management and the Theory of Constraints
16. Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
17. The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win 5th Anniversary Edition
18. Summary of Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
19. Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel
20. Lean Mastery Collection: 8 Manuscripts: Lean Six Sigma, Lean Startup, Lean Enterprise, Lean Analytics, Agile Project Management, Kanban, Scrum, Kaizen
21. *Liars poker
22. *Bad pharma
23. *Insecurity
24. Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street
25. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months
26. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Anniversary Edition

THE TOP 10 TIPS FOR PROJECT SUCCESS

The list of success factors for Projects, in rank order are….

1. Clearly defined objectives
2. Good planning and control methods
3. Good quality of project managers
4. Good management support
5. Enough time and resources
6. Commitment by all
7. High user involvement
8. Good communication
9. Good project organisation and structure
10. Being able to stop a project

Source: Sam Elbeik and Mark Thomas https://www.kobo.com/at/de/ebook/project-skills

If you want help with managing projects, programmes or change, get in touch.

Adapt Consulting Company - Consult, CoCreate, Deliver

Mob 447797762051  Skype timhjrogers Twitter @timhjrogers

If you want to influence people, get closer to them!

The Allen  Curve and the Dunbar Number suggest that if you want to influence people, get closer to them!

Allen Curve is frequently taught and cited in management literature about communication and innovation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_curve

Dunbar's number is a suggested limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number

If you want help with managing consultation, communication or innovation get in touch.

Adapt Consulting Company

Consult, CoCreate, Deliver

3 WAYS TO SECURE CHANGE

I was recently talking with a client about the importance of leadership in change and it reminded me of a story about teaching.

About 20 years ago I was asked “If you didn’t understand something at school who did you ask, the person next to you, a friend or the teacher?” I said I’d ask my friend before I troubled the teacher.

In that moment I realised that leadership is important (it would not be a successful class without a teacher) but perhaps it was not the most important factor, or indeed greatest motivator for my progress. Peer groups, colleagues and intrinsic (motivated by internal desire) and extrinsic (motivated by external reward or recognition) motivators are perhaps more important and the role of the teacher is as much to create the right environment as to give the right answer.

All this is part of the messiness of culture. I believe above Adrian Moorehouse’s Olympic Pool there is a banner that says “We create the environments in which success is inevitable”. So it is worth exploring some of the elements that help change stick.

ANCHORING THE CHANGE THROUGH ORGANIZATION’S STRUCTURE

Changing the structure and reporting can embed change. It immediately highlights where the problems are occurring, where there is resistance, and this allows management to focus their effort precisely on the point where it is needed. However, not all change can be managed through structure. Moreover structural change is complex and costly and often creates anxiety and unhelpful politics.

ANCHORING THE CHANGE THROUGH RECOGNITION AND REWARD SYSTEM

One of the main reasons why change initiatives do not stick is because the support systems are not aligned with the change. When a change is implemented, the support systems, including incentives, recognition, reward and performance measures, should support, encourage and reward successful change.

ANCHORING THE CHANGE IN THE ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE

The third method of anchoring the change is to combine hard change with a change in the organization’s culture. This is by far the most difficult type of change to achieve–creating organization culture is a book in itself–but when it does occur, the change can be most profound and widely owned and accepted.

The third method of anchoring the change is to combine hard change with a change in the organization’s culture. This is by far the most difficult type of change to achieve–creating organization culture is a book in itself–but when it does occur, the change can be most profound and widely owned and accepted.

To achieve this, you’ll need to

1.    Change all the symbols and stories of the old culture and create new ones. See Cultural Web https://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/artofchangemaking/theory/cultural-web/

2.    Make a bold statement about the new culture and both communicate and demonstrate it.

3.    Ensure all management and ,leadership model the new culture

4.    Systematically remove any people or impediments to new culture

5.    Align with organization’s recognition and reward system

6.    Regularly review using evidence from customers, staff, other stakeholders

I look forward to comments which are always welcome and am always grateful for recommended books, videos or research.

@TimHJRogers +447797762051

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/

MBA (Management Consulting) Projects & Change Practitioner,

http://www.timhjrogers.com

#LEADERSHIP #CHANGE #PROJECTS

USING A HOW DIAGRAM TO DISCUSS PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES

I have recently been running some workshops using a very simple technique. It’s not new, and it is not particularly clever. But it is simple and it does work.

The “How Diagram” is a simple concept. For each agreed objective you list all the possible “how can we do this”. The result is a long list of possible tasks which individually or cumulatively will explain “how we will do this” and ostensibly provide a menu of “how this can be done”.

A simple example:

Objective: I want to run a marathon in 4 hours

How? Get used to running distance.

            How? Run every day.

                        How? Wake early and go for a run, no matter how short or long

                                    How? Set alarm clock for 5:30am to wake and be ready

                                                How? Prepare the night before and go to bed early

The above forms a logical chain of tasks: A, then B, then C, then D etc

Of course, there may be many, many chains that cumulatively and incrementally help achieve a marathon in 4 hours from flexibility, fitness, diet, time, commitment, training buddies, good shoes, a training plan.  For each of these there may be a logical chain of tasks: A, then B, then C, then D etc.

Every one of these can be broken into simple “how would I do this” steps. With this type of simple easy-to-do approach success is as simple as following a recipe.  Whilst this is not a guarantee, such an approach significantly improves the probability of success.

I have been using this as a tool for industry consultation and it is rewarding to see the wide variety of different means to achieving the shared objectives.

Each separate chain of tasks (A, then B, then C, then D etc.) is evaluated for time, cost, resource, risk, feasibility, suitability and acceptability.

We also separate “quick wins” from “big -slower- wins” and the urgent (time critical) from important (strategically critical). So we can see which sequences of tasks are easy or hard, cheap or expensive, easy or hard to deploy and examine which are likely to have the best effect.

None of this is new, but I had such good feedback I thought I would share.

Comments and suggestions (including other tools, approaches and experiences) are always welcome.

@TimHJRogers +447797762051

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/

MBA (Management Consulting) Projects & Change Practitioner,

http://www.timhjrogers.com

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR - PERMISSION OR FAILURE?

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.

Source
https://www.lollydaskal.com/leadership/story-everybody-somebody-anybody-nobody/

REFLECTIONS ON COMMUNICATION

1.      Have a plan: think ahead, about (hard) facts and figures, and (soft) thoughts and feelings
2.      Know your audience (their interests, bias, fears) and who or what influences them
3.      Be clear about your role, and their role: who plays what parts in this performance
4.      Plan what you say (substance),how you say it (style) and here you say it (location)
5.      Repeat the same message for consistency, tailored to each audience for their understanding
6.      Listen, watch and learn from feedback, if necessary revise, adapt and adopt changes
7.      Appeal to the majority, don’t try to convert the extreme
8.      Acknowledge and manage dissent, don’t deny, defend or denigrate opposition


Original Source
https://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.com/2015/01/some-thoughts-on-communication-and.html

WHAT IS THE LADDER OF INFERENCE?

People are often lead by jumping to conclusions. These can be correct, but also wrong conclusions and can lead to conflicts with other people. The Ladder of Inference can help you to no longer jump to premature conclusions and to reason on the basis of facts.

This so-called Ladder of Inference was developed by the American Chris Argyris, a former professor at Harvard Business School, in 1970. In 1992, The Ladder of Inference became popular after being described in the bestseller The fifth discipline, which Argyris wrote in collaboration with the American scientist Peter M. Senge.

Unconscious
The Ladder of Inference provides insight into the mental processes that occur within the human brain. It describes the perception starting from senses to the series of mental steps that need to be taken to work towards an action. This human thought process only takes a fraction of a second. That is why people do not realise how they developed a certain action or response; it is done unconsciously. The Ladder of Inference shows how mental models are formed unconsciously. They determine what and how you see and how your thought process and behaviour is led. Every person gives meaning to observations and bases their actions on them.

From bottom to top
The Ladder of Inference consists of seven steps and the reasoning process starts at the bottom of the ladder. People select facts from events, which they translate from prior experiences. These interpreted facts form the basis for assumptions, which in turn lead to certain conclusions. Then a person proceeds to (inter)act. All the steps are listed below, starting from the bottom level:


1. Reality and facts
This level identifies what is directly perceptible. You observe all information from the real world.

2. Selecting facts
From this level, the facts are selected based on convictions and prior experiences. The frame of reference plays a role in this.

3. Interpreting facts
The facts are interpreted and given a personal meaning.

4. Assumptions
At this level, assumptions are made based on the meaning you give to your observations. These assumptions are personal and are different for every individual.

5. Conclusions
At this level, conclusions are drawn based on prior beliefs.

6. Beliefs
At this level, conclusions are drawn based on interpreted facts and prior assumptions.

7. Actions
This is the highest level. Actions are now taken based on prior beliefs and conclusions. The actions that are taken seem to be the best at that particular moment.

Source
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_91.htm
https://www.toolshero.com/decision-making/ladder-of-inference/

ANCHORING CHANGE

It is important to consider anchoring change through one of three perspectives:

Anchoring the change in the organization’s structure
Anchoring the change in the organization’s recognition and reward system
Anchoring the change in the organization’s culture

Each has strengths and weaknesses

Anchoring the change in the organization’s structure

Changing the structure and reporting can embed change. It immediately highlights where the problems are occurring, where there is resistance, and this allows management to focus their effort precisely on the point where it is needed. However, not all change can be managed through structure. Moreover structural change is complex and costly and often creates anxiety and unhelpful politics.


Anchoring the change in the organization’s recognition and reward system

One of the main reasons why change initiatives do not stick is because the support systems are not aligned with the change. When a change is implemented, the support systems, including incentives, recognition, reward and performance measures, should support, encourage and reward successful change.

Anchoring the change in the organization’s culture

The third method of anchoring the change is to combine hard change with a change in the organization’s culture. This is by far the most difficult type of change to achieve–creating organization culture is a book in itself–but when it does occur, the change can be most profound and widely owned and accepted.

The third method of anchoring the change is to combine hard change with a change in the organization’s culture. This is by far the most difficult type of change to achieve–creating organization culture is a book in itself–but when it does occur, the change can be most profound and widely owned and accepted.

To achieve this, you’ll need to
1. Change all the symbols and stories of the old culture and create new ones. See Cultural Web https://www.leadershipcentre.org.uk/artofchangemaking/theory/cultural-web/
2. Make a bold statement about the new culture and both communicate and demonstrate it.
3. Ensure all management and ,leadership model the new culture
4. Systematically remove any people or impediments to new culture
5. Align with organization’s recognition and reward system
6. Regularly review using evidence from customers, staff, other stakeholders