Recommended Resources: Books

Mission and Strategy

The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World

Peter Schwartz (1996)
A book on the topic of scenario planning that helps people envision the future and prepare for success.

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras (2004)
Lays out principles for effectiveness, longevity and financial growth.

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

Jack Trout (2001)
A handbook for identifying and developing the distinctives that make your organization unique.

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck (2002)
A critical treatment of the challenge of focusing organizational energies on what it takes to make things happen in an enterprise.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don't

Jim Collins (2001)
The first of Jim Collin's books to help companies move from mediocrity to excellence.

Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great

Jim Collins (2005)
Collins applies the lessons of his best-seller to the nonprofit sector.

The Knowing-Doing Gap

Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton (2000)
An insightful book on how leaders can break the all talk and no action cycle. The subtitle tells it all: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action.

Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask

Michael J. Marquardt (2005)
A book that equips leaders with tools to probe issues and lead enterprises to strategic solutions.

The Northbound Train: Finding the Purpose, Setting the Direction, Shaping the Destiny of Your Organization

Karl Albrecht (2003)
This book helps you get the roots of your purpose and is an easy-to-read roadmap for strategic thinking and planning.

Renovate Before You Innovate: Why Doing the New Thing Might Not Be the Right Thing

Sergio Zyman (2004)
A practical book on how to conduct a "strategic pause" before you move to innovation.

The Starbucks Experience

Joseph A. Michelli (2006)
Since 1992 Starbucks stock has risen 5,000 percent! This book from Joseph Michelli captures the essence of this phenomenon, explaining how success is found in the ability to create personalized customer experiences, stimulate business growth, generate profits, energize employees, and secure customer loyalty. It a book full of the ingenuity and philosophies that have made Starbucks one of the world's "most admired" companies. Readers find that in order to approach success, they must prepare their organization to reach out to communities, listen to workers and consumers, take advantage of growth opportunities, and design a satisfying experience that benefits all involved.

Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes

Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton (2004)
Visually map your strategy, and the people within your organization will better understand it, and therefore, be able to execute it more effectively.

Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement, 3rd Edition

John M. Bryson (2004)
A timeless and foundational overview of the fundamentals of strategic planning for nonprofits.

Strategic Thinking: A Step-By-Step Approach to Strategy, Second Edition

Simon Wootton and Terry Horne (2002)
A practical tool to developing a working strategy. Complete with worksheets and processes.

Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs: Enhancing the Performance of Your Enterprising Nonprofit

J. Gregory Dees, Jed Emerson, and Peter Economy (2002)
Offers valuable tools for thinking strategically about value creation, income generation, and growth.

Transforming the Organization

Francis J. Gouillart and James N. Kelly (1996)
A solid treatment on re-engineering, restructuring, and renewal to create a stronger organization.


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