Books for Thinking Differently

Author: David Rock
Publisher: Harper-Collins

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long tries very hard to take current neuroscience research on the human brain, explain it at a very basic level, and make it actionable by the general population.

Author: Dr Peter Parkes
Publisher: BCS

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) for Project Managers in its purest sense is a book for any project practitioner who wants to improve on their behavioural competencies in project management. In other words it is that area of development that often gets neglected or overlooked in favour of more technical aspects of project management like process and methods.

Author: Elaine Douglas
Publisher: Gower

This manual is an easy and thought provoking read that includes many useful examples of good and poor practice. While the manual was published in 2001, Elaine Douglas’s advice still seems relevant to me as a manager of a wide range of professional staff but who is not an HR specialist.

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Author: Elizabeth Harrin
Publisher: PMI

A book aimed at Project Managers who want to explore social media as a project management communication and collaboration tool for their own projects.

Author: Duncan Bury, Jane Buick
Publisher: Management Books 2000 Ltd.

Project Managers who have been involved in organizational change initiatives may realize some of the deficiencies of the traditional approach to change in the fast pacing and evolving business environment of the 21_^st century. Changes are difficult, slow, uncertain, and often regress to the initial state or remain only on paper.

Author: Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Publisher: Vermilion

Just Another Self-Help Book? A big resounding No! A brilliant book that aims to "Change the Way You Work Forever" by imparting cute sound bites, words of wisdom and short advice pieces from the Basecamp creators (the project management software company).

Arras Book of the Month: June 2010

Author: David Allen
Publisher: Jossey Bass

Recommended by an Arras People website visitor

"This book is for all those who are overwhelmed with too many things to do, too little time to do them, and a general sense of unease that something important is being missed." Quote from Amazon

Author: Erik de Haan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Fearless Consulting clearly reveals that consultants can approach their profession and clients fearlessly – a range of philosophical inspirations for readers as well as specific intervention models and practical methodologies.

Author: Dr. David Fraser
Publisher: HotHive Books

Through the us of practical psychology, Neutro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and your life experiences, Relationships Made Easy offers its readers a practical and smart approach to attaining success by way of their relationships with other people.

Author: Jo Owen
Publisher: Kogan Page

EXTERNAL REVIEW: "'Jo Owen avoids the preaching and pseudo-science common to his genre... contains all that I wished I had known before presenting to CEOs.'" John Tate

Author: Guy Kawasaki
Publisher: HarperBusiness

EXTERNAL REVIEW: "Entertainingly written in collaboration with previous co-author Michele Moreno, it lays out Kawasaki's decidedly audacious (but personally experienced) strategies for beating the competition and triumphing in today's hyper-charged business environment." - Howard Rothman, amazon.com

Authors: Randy Komisar, Kent L Lineback
Publisher: Harvard Business School

A view of the world in starting a business for online funeral services. With an interesting twist relevant to the magic 3 constraints in projects; time, quality and money.

Editors: David Cleland, Bopaya Bidanda
Publisher: PMI

The immediate effect of Circa 2025's structure - 29 articles - together with the absence of a chapter attempting to bring all those articles together, is that the reader will have to draw their own conclusion as to what will be the overall shape of things to come for the project management profession.

Arras Book of the Month - February 2010

Author: Chris Goodall
Publisher: Green Profile

Like other works of Goodall, the ideas are not presented to the sceptical without acknowledging the beliefs that source their scepticism. Ultimately, you're best off coming to The Green Guide open-minded and ready to explore & determine what you need to do by thinking about it yourself.

Arras Book of the Month: September 2009

Author: C. Clinton Sidle
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

The Leadership Wheel offers an original approach for today’s swiftly changing business world - Sidles dynamic plan begins with a look into the inner work of leaders, the work of personal development and then it turns to external trials of developing healthy relationships, teams, and organisations.

Author: Peter M. Senge
Publisher: Random House

Senge, founder and director of the Society for Organisational Learning and senior lecturer at MIT, has found the means of creating a 'learning organisation'. In this book, he draws the blueprints for an organisation where people expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning together.

Author: Dale Carnegie
Publisher: Vermilion

If confidence is short, or if you find yourself middling, Dale Carnegie's revolutionary self-help book holds up so many years later as the pre-eminent motivational tome of its kind. The lessons remain applicable in both career and in everyday life practices.

Author: Lorraine Mavengere
Publisher: Paragon

Recommended by an Arras People website visitor

Lorraine tackles twelve foundational principles of success, the issues handled are all essential and vital to leading a successful life in business and otherwise. A fresh input is given to what are universal truths making them effective and achievable for anyone. Lorraine Mavengere not only spurs on the reader to pursue their dream but to create accountability for their life in the process.

Editors: Nick Hoare, Simon Melhuish
Publisher: Lagoon

A great compliment Edward De Bono's Lateral Thinking - a nifty book full of puzzles. Great little book where some of the puzzles could be introduced as ice-breakers in long meetings.

Authors: Romilla Ready, Kate Burton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

EXTERNAL REVIEW: "…aims to give you the skills to think clearly about your own actions and understand the motivations for other people′s..." - Independent on Sunday

Authors: Joseph O'Connor, John Seymour
Publisher: Thorsons

NLP or "Neuro Linguistic Programming" – what’s it all about? More and more people are attending courses and adding new skills and techniques which are being used in their project management or consultancy careers. All three books are designed as an introduction to NLP, so make your mind up about it.

Author: Dr. Raj Persaud
Publisher: Bantam Press

We all seem to be obsessed with advantage and disadvantage, fairness and the level playing field, without realising that in life, the ability to overcome obstacles is a key part of any success strategy - as is our inner drive and motivation. This book investigates the research on this subject - and comes to some surprising conclusions!!

Author: Stephen R. Covey
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

In the 7 Habits series, bestselling author Stephen Covey showed us how to become as effective as it is possible to be. In his new book, The 8th Habit, he opens up an entirely new dimension of human potential and shows us how to achieve greatness in any position and any venue - A new leadership model designed for today's world of rapid change.

Authors: Andy Gilbert, Nicky Frisby, Kathryn Roberts
Publisher: Go MAD Books

Whatever your position, occupation or current situation, this work should give you tips, tools and techniques all designed to help you go to work on your career and make a difference, whether you are stuck in a rut, or at a career crossroads.

Authors: David L. Edgell Sr., Maria DelMastro Allen, Jason Swanson, Jason Swanson, Ginger Smith
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann

If you enjoy psychology you'll enjoy this book - there are hundreds of reviews out there but the parts I particularly enjoyed are the types of people - are you a connector, maven or salesman? You'll be surprised just how it makes you think about yourself and other people you know.

Authors: Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Contemporary

"When stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong, you have three choices: avoid a crucial conversation and suffer the consequences; handle the conversation badly and suffer the consequences."

Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Allen Lane

EXTERNAL REVIEWS: "You will never again think as you did before about [success] ... This book deserves the gold star that adorns its front cover." - A. C. Grayling, The Times
"A global phenomenon, one of the most brilliant and influential writers of his generation ... there is, it sometimes seems, no subject over which Gladwell cannot scatter some magic dust." - The Observer

Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Abacus

A different read for the beach! If you enjoy psychology you'll enjoy this book - there are hundreds of reviews out there but the parts I particularly enjoyed are the types of people - are you a connector, maven or salesman? You'll be surprised just how it makes you think about yourself and other people you know.

Author: Edward de Bono
Publisher: Penguin

Edward De Bono's ideas on lateral thinking are world-wide now, so it's only fitting we include one of his most famous and still very popular books. A great book to read when encouraging your project team to contribute great ideas during brainstorming sessions.

Author: Edward de Bono
Publisher: Penguin

De Bono's work provides a clear five-stage structure as a framework for thinking, it aims to broaden the ability to respond to and cope with a vast range of situations.

Author: Peter Taylor
Publisher: Infinite Ideas

Peter has been able to enrich the content by using his stories and analogies to make a number of points, all of them common sense. Do the job, but do the job in the most intelligent way you can, so that you can be lazy when you can. That is my kind of project management. Peter’s book made this entertaining, yet useful for me.

Arras Book of the Month - October 2009

Author: Deborah Tom
Publisher: BBC Active

From BBC Books, Deborah Tom tackles the daunting task of managing everyday life. The book helps people from all walks of professional stature find time for personal or family commitments, and working long hours can result in decreased performance and stress-related illness.

Author: Stephen R. Covey
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

Widely recognised as one of the most influential books ever written, Covey's principles-laden guidebook is the go-to "how to" for solving problems both personal and professional. With anecdotes, insights and the wherewithall to have been translated into 34 different languages since it was first published in 1990, 7 Habits holds up for all levels of current or wannabe project manager 20 years later.