They say you should be as careful with what you put in your mind as you are with what you put in your mouth. Just as we are what we eat, we are what we read about.
Inspired by a reading list created by Tom Moradpour (see the original here) this page is a record of the books and authors that got me here, the books I have visited recently and the books I am planning to read in 2011.
My reading library consists mostly of business, leadership and strategy books with a smattering of creative arts and biography thrown in for good measure. Not every book I read is a weighty tome of unique insight and inspiration. Some are chosen for their light entertainment value and some to match a particular need. Not all the books I choose are read in sequence. Sometimes I detour to take in a little extra sight-seeing along the route or return to well loved and familiar places to find a particular piece of insight or perspective needed to suit the occasion.
For each of the books I am planning to read during 2011, I will post a review as completed. For some of the old favourites or ‘recently inspired by’ titles, I will post a review as I am able.
If you have ‘must visit’ books to suggest for my adventures in reading, please post a comment and let me know.
20 of my all time favourites – the ones that got me here:
The Trusted Advisor – David Maister (with Charles H. Green and Robert M. Galford)
First break all the Rules – Marcus Buckingham
The Effective Executive – Peter Drucker
Competing for the Future – Gary Hamel & C.K. Prahalad
Leading the Revolution – Gary Hamel
Relationship Marketing – Helen Peck, Adrian Payne, Martin Christopher, Moira Clark
Marketing & The Bottom Line – Tim Ambler
The Leadership Pipeline – Ram Charan
Positioning, the battle for your mind – Al Ries
Blue Ocean Strategy – W Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne
Made to Stick – Chip and Dan Heath
Getting Things Done – David Allen
The Speed of Trust – Stephen Covey
Change the Way you Lead Change – David M. Herold & Donald B. Fedor
Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott
Recently Inspired by:
Rework – Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Business Model Generation – Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead – David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan
The Five Most Important Questions – Peter Drucker
Trust Agents – Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
The Now Revolution – Jay Baer and Amber Naslund [REVIEW]
Inside Steve’s Brain – Leander Kahney
How to be a Fierce Competitor – Jeffrey J. Fox
(check back frequently for more reviews – coming soon)
My current reading pile – just waiting for me to explore…
WikiBrands – Sean Moffitt and Mike Dover
Content Rules – CC Chapman and Ann Handley
How did I get Here? The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO – Tony Hawk
Practically Radical – William C Taylor
Real Time Marketing & PR – David Meerman Scott
The New How: Creating Business Solutions through Collaborative Strategy – Nilofer Merchant
Talent is Overrated – Geoff Colvin
Little Big Things – Tom Peters
The Design of Business – Roger Martin
A Whole New Mind – Daniel Pink
Igniting the Third Factor – Dr Peter Jensen
The Mirror Test – Jeffrey Hayzlett
The Wallace Effect 
People of the Lie – M Scott Peck – perhaps the most transformational book of my life.
Now Reality is Broken – Jane McGonigal
Great List – 🙂
Thanks for commenting Sam. I hadn’t heard of the Peck book, although I must confess I focus on the inherent good in (most) people rather than the evil (in the few). Perhaps I’ll have to take a look and have my mind stretched by an alternative view. The Jane McGonigal book also looks fascinating. So THATS where ‘#gamification’ is coming from then… I definitely believe in the purposeful learning power of games and role-playing. Mmmm my list keeps growing!
Just one: ‘The Art of Servant Leadership,’ by Tony Barron
(Redeemed my mind doldrums of pure disillusionment)
Yes – good addition. I take the level 5 leadership perspective from Collins but I understand Barron’s views are of a similar vein.