Here are 19 books that This is Lean fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’ve managed projects and programs for over forty years. I’ve seen the effects of both good and bad systems on the people who try to do their best work. These books help managers and teams see their systems. How long does a team need to deliver work that fulfills a good objective? Are there systemic blockages that prevent people from doing a good job? These books represent my philosophy: People want to do a good job. When they have clear objectives and know the principles of flow, they can succeed. That’s how I’ve succeeded in my career. You can, too.
When I read the very first page, I had an “aha!” moment. Singh explains that scaling flow, the flow of work through the teams, is the single most important idea in “scaling” agility. That means each team optimizes for their challenges, not a specific process.
I loved this book because Singh makes the principles of flow easy to understand and apply. That’s the “secret” to scaling agility.
If you are a large organization that has seen the benefits of Agile approaches on teams, you have either attempted to or talked about scaling Agile. Scaling has become synonymous with overburdened and cumbersome frameworks that create more problems than they solve. We need a simpler solution to the problem of scaling Agile. We need to break this problem down to its basic tenet - Optimizing the flow of value to customers. The strategy of Kanban can be applied to do exactly that. In doing so, we can discard the practices proposed by common Agile scaling frameworks and go to…
I’ve managed projects and programs for over forty years. I’ve seen the effects of both good and bad systems on the people who try to do their best work. These books help managers and teams see their systems. How long does a team need to deliver work that fulfills a good objective? Are there systemic blockages that prevent people from doing a good job? These books represent my philosophy: People want to do a good job. When they have clear objectives and know the principles of flow, they can succeed. That’s how I’ve succeeded in my career. You can, too.
I used to wonder why I “always” chose the wrong line—at the gas pump, the grocery store, and airport security. Then, I read this book and learned about Little’s Law. That changed how I saw the world. Instead of always looking for the shortest line, I learned to look for the line with the fastest throughput.
Seeing the world differently matters even more if we want effective product development—especially when the problem requires multiple teams to collaborate. The more collaboration we need across teams, as in a program of work, the more we need to look for throughput.
Read this book, and you, too, will see the world differently.
“When will it be done?” That is probably the first question your customers ask you once you start working on something for them. Think about how many times you have been asked that question. How many times have you ever actually been right? We can debate all we want whether this is a fair question to ask given the tremendous amount of uncertainty in knowledge work, but the truth of the matter is that our customers are going to inquire about completion time whether we like it or not. Which means we need to come up with an accurate way…
I’ve managed projects and programs for over forty years. I’ve seen the effects of both good and bad systems on the people who try to do their best work. These books help managers and teams see their systems. How long does a team need to deliver work that fulfills a good objective? Are there systemic blockages that prevent people from doing a good job? These books represent my philosophy: People want to do a good job. When they have clear objectives and know the principles of flow, they can succeed. That’s how I’ve succeeded in my career. You can, too.
I love goals that tell me where the product needs to go now and help me see the big, audacious goal at the end. While many other OKR books focus on the now, Kelly’s book also helps me see that end goal.
Kelly’s approach to OKRs supports larger efforts, such as programs, with this pragmatic idea: “Bigger team, fewer OKRs.” Why fewer? Because that focuses all the teams on one big goal at a time. The more we consider flow and Little’s Law, the more we realize one goal is the right number for an agile program.
Get aligned, work seamlessly and hit goals efficiently - what are you waiting for?
“This book is full of great insights and guidance around OKRs backed by multiple real examples that will be helpful in a number of domains" Nicolas Brown, Agile Coach
OKRs are about goals bigger than the next story, or even epic. They prioritise purpose and strategy over the ever looming, high maintenance backlogs we all know too well.
OKRs are important to agile teams because they deal with the big things, they inspire forward thinking, encourage engage senior leaders, and help debug strategy.
I’ve managed projects and programs for over forty years. I’ve seen the effects of both good and bad systems on the people who try to do their best work. These books help managers and teams see their systems. How long does a team need to deliver work that fulfills a good objective? Are there systemic blockages that prevent people from doing a good job? These books represent my philosophy: People want to do a good job. When they have clear objectives and know the principles of flow, they can succeed. That’s how I’ve succeeded in my career. You can, too.
I read the first edition of this book when I was in college after a disastrous “team” project. (We weren’t a team—and we didn’t finish the project.) I was just about ready to quit Computer Science. Then I read this book.
Programming—and all product development—is a human activity. How do people learn to work together, to collaborate, to create teams, and to release useful work? Those are the topics in this book. From egoless programming to personalities such as the Mad Bomber, Weinberg addresses how we could collaborate, from small efforts to large.
Every time I read (or re-read) a Weinberg book, I learn a little more. I bet you will, too.
This landmark 1971 classic is reprinted with a new preface, chapter-by-chapter commentary, and straight-from-the-heart observations on topics that affect the professional life of programmers.
Long regarded as one of the first books to pioneer a people-oriented approach to computing, The Psychology of Computer Programming endures as a penetrating analysis of the intelligence, skill, teamwork, and problem-solving power of the computer programmer.
Finding the chapters strikingly relevant to today's issues in programming, Gerald M. Weinberg adds new insights and highlights the similarities and differences between now and then. Using a conversational style that invites the reader to join him, Weinberg reunites…
Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School of Business and a partner at the RBL Group, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations and leaders deliver value. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 30 books. The organizations where we live, work, play, and worship affect every part of our lives. Organizations turn individual competencies into collective capabilities, isolated events into sustained patterns, and personal values into collective values. In short, organizations matter in our lives. By adapting their answer to “what is an organization,” leaders, employees, customers, and investors will be better able to improve their organization's experiences.
Ed Lawler has a lifetime of melding academic theory and organization practice. In this research based book, he and his colleagues not only recognize that agility matters, but they do research to validate processes that create organization agility. Agility is one of the emerging capabilities for a successful organization in today’s changing world. Anything El Lawler works is well thought out, researched, and usable.
A research-based approach to achieving long-term profitability in business What does it take to guarantee success and profitability over time? Authors Christopher G. Worley, a senior research scientist, Thomas D. Williams, an executive advisor, and Edward E. Lawler III, one of the country's leading management experts, set out to find the answer. In The Agility Factor: Building Adaptable Organizations for Superior Performance the authors reveal the factors that drive long-term profitability based on the practices of successful companies that have consistently outperformed their peers. Of the 234 large companies across 18 industries that were studied, there were few companies that…
I joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008 and by 2015 I was a Sergeant who had made all the same financial decisions most service members make…tattoos, alcohol, cars, chasing tail, etc., and had a negative net worth to show for it. Then I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and the light came on. I started buying houses, and by 2021 I exited the military as a financially free millionaire and spend my time helping service members and veterans learn how to build wealth. The military is one of the best places to set yourself up for success, and these books will help you get started on that journey!
Profit First is a banking system that accounts for the inevitable human error of “ooh, there is money in my account, I can afford that”.
This book helped me set my businesses up so that I was actually able to keep some of the income that was coming in from them, rather than continually getting to the end of the month and wondering where the revenue I had generated went.
This is a must read for self-employed and small business owners, and a solid read for personal finances too!
Author of cult classics The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur offers a simple, counterintuitive cash management solution that will help small businesses break out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability.
Conventional accounting uses the logical (albeit, flawed) formula: Sales - Expenses = Profit. The problem is, businesses are run by humans, and humans aren't always logical. Serial entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz has developed a behavioral approach to accounting to flip the formula: Sales - Profit = Expenses. Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by…
Hermann Simon is a world-renowned expert on price and profit management. He is the founder and honorary chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, the global leader in price and topline consulting with 1700 employees and 41 offices worldwide. He is the only German in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame of the most influential management thinkers. In China a business school is named in his honor. Profit is at the core of Hermann’s writing and consulting activities.
This book is very basic and aimed mostly at small business owners or readers who are interested in the fundamental mechanics of profit. It’s a hard-hitting book and controversial, e.g. with recommendations such as, “Never pay your vendors on time. Wear your control-freak badge with pride.” It shows that many little things influence profit and should be observed. Useful for start-ups and readers with basic economic knowledge. The obsession with profit as the only priority is, however, somewhat exaggerated.
Now more than ever, business owners need a reality check. As we see the economy flattening and businesses struggling to stay afloat, "Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing" is a wakeup call for the 23 million small businesses across America who need to get their business fundamentals in order. George Cloutier reveals 13 no-nonsense, tough-love maxims that small businesspeople may not want to hear at first, but will thank him for in the end. Among his controversial (yet proven!) ideas are: forget teamwork, micromanage like crazy; pay raises are over; fear is the best motivator; and, if your business…
Hermann Simon is a world-renowned expert on price and profit management. He is the founder and honorary chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, the global leader in price and topline consulting with 1700 employees and 41 offices worldwide. He is the only German in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame of the most influential management thinkers. In China a business school is named in his honor. Profit is at the core of Hermann’s writing and consulting activities.
This book addresses the highly topical discussion on the potential conflict between profit and purpose, fueled in particular by the 2019 Business Roundtable guidelines. In this sense, it is not a pure profit book but seeks to balance the social and financial goals of a company. Anyone who wants to have a qualified say in the current discussion about profit and purpose should read this book.
A Financial Times Book of the Year 2020! Should companies be run for profit or purpose? In this ground-breaking book, acclaimed finance professor and TED speaker Alex Edmans shows it's not an either-or choice. Drawing from real-life examples spanning industries and countries, Edmans demonstrates that purpose-driven businesses are consistently more successful in the long-term. But a purposeful company must navigate difficult trade-offs and take tough decisions. Edmans provides a roadmap for company leaders to put purpose into practice, and overcome the hurdles that hold many back. He explains how investors can discern which companies are truly purposeful and how to…
I’m Darius Foroux (pronounced Dare-eus For-oe), and thanks for exploring my recommendations. As a former mutual funds advisor, I understand the complexity of finance, a lesson driven home when I lost two-thirds of my investment in 2007. Not wanting to repeat my costly mistakes, I earned degrees in business and finance, launched a business, and continuously educated myself on investing. The biggest thing I learned? Investing and wealth-building aren’t logical but emotional. I'm passionate about helping others achieve financial independence and live on their terms. My book empowers you to manage your emotions, build wealth, and enjoy life, regardless of the stock market's ups and downs.
This is another book by a short-term trader. And it reads like a novel. It’s truly a fascinating book about making money in the stock market. Darvas is honest and talks about how lucky he has been on many occasions. What I love most is that this book is from 1960! It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme or whatever.
Darvas, who passed away in 1977, was actually a professional dancer who loved trading stocks. He didn’t try to sell his ideas. He simply wrote an honest account of how he made his money. Much of his knowledge on investing is self-learned, which is how most ordinary folks learn about the stock market. That’s why I highly recommend his book.
Nicolas Darvas was a world famous dancer and a self taught investor. He had never considered investing in the stock market until he was paid in stock for a performance. That stock shot up in value and he realize that there was a great deal of money to be made investing in stocks. Over the next few years he read widely about stocks and spent every free moment studying the market. In a very short amount of time he learned when to buy, when not to buy, and when to sell. This book spells out exactly how Nicolas Darvas made…
I was born in North Dakota and raised outside of Minneapolis in the 1980s and 1990s, a period marked by the ascendance of global trade and finance. I got hooked on reading, thinking, and talking about the politics of international economic relations in college. Sufficiently hooked, I guess, that I applied to graduate school to try and make it my vocation. My research and teaching to this point have focused on how key political and ideational forces in domestic and world politics – namely, international organizations, shared economic beliefs, social conventions, and material interests – shape the governance of globalized markets and the crafting of countries’ foreign economic policies.
Pistor’s book explains how global finance grew so large, powerful, and unstable. The short answer: elite lawyers did it.
Pistor argues that they did it by creatively devising legal instruments that could turn both tangible (land, for example) and intangible things (like intellectual property) into capital. When lawyers were able to make legal instruments enforceable around the world, capital could become truly global. Why did they do this? Simple: “minting” capital through creative lawyering is extraordinarily lucrative.
Before reading this book, I knew that elite contract lawyers were very well compensated, but I didn’t understand what they were doing and didn’t think of them as key players shaping the international economic order. Pistor’s book informed and corrected my thinking.
A compelling explanation of how the law shapes the distribution of wealth
What is it that transforms a simple object, an idea, or a promise to pay into an asset that creates wealth? Katharina Pistor explains how, behind closed doors in the offices of private attorneys, capital is created-and why this little-known activity is one of the biggest reasons for the widening wealth gap between the holders of capital and everybody else. A powerful new way of thinking about one of the most pernicious problems of our time, The Code of Capital explores the various ways that debt, complex financial…
