This is more of an internal blog entry, but if any of these resources are of interest to any of my blog readers I’d love to engage in that conversation!  I spend a lot of time on airplanes and since the space between me and the back of the seat in front of me does not always allow me to open my MacBook Pro (my 5th child) I tend to pick up a book or 2 for the flight.  Over the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to read several great books that are helping me see things a bit more clearly in terms of how a business can and should be run.

A few books that are helping me to solidify my thought processes around how I want to run my organization.  Please note that these books are completely outside of Information Security and focus on fundamental business practices, growing people and balancing Work and Life in a positive manner. 

Dan J. Sanders. Built to Serve: How to Drive the Bottom Line with People-First Practices
McGraw-Hill September 28, 2007
# ISBN-10: 0071497927
# ISBN-13: 978-0071497923
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Built-Serve-Bottom-People-First-Practices/dp/0071497927/

John C. Maxwell. Thinking for a Change:11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work
Center Street 1993.
# ISBN-10: 0446529575
# ISBN-13: 978-0446529570
Amazon Link : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446529575/

Malcolm Gladwell. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Company 2000,2002
# ISBN-10: 0316346624
# ISBN-13: 978-0316346627
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624/

Malcolm Gladwell. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Company 2007
# ISBN-10: 0316010669
# ISBN-13: 978-0316010665
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0316010669/

Stephen M.R. Covey The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything
Free Press 2008
# ISBN-10: 1416549005
# ISBN-13: 978-1416549000
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/SPEED-Trust-Thing-Changes-Everything/dp/1416549005/

American Management Association - Management Seminars and Training Courses
See: http://www.amanet.org/ or http://www.amanet.org/seminars/category.cfm?org=&cat=203
Some larger organization have internal training in these areas, but as far as training available to the industry at large these are the best courses I’ve experienced and I highly recommend them.

There are dozens more and eventually I’ll add them to this list (for my later reference or for my team).  I’ll also to try to provide a summary of lessons learned from each book as I have time.

The reality is that over the last few years I’ve realized that I love to find really difficult problems to solve, build teams working towards the same goal(s), enable people for success and that I really don’t like limitations (perceived or real).  I actively seek positive influences to help me solidify my management practices.  I’m not the traditional manager by any stretch of the imagination and I think people that work for me appreciate that…  I truly believe that by taking care of people the business will be taken care of in the long run. All of the above books have influenced, solidified or clarified my thoughts on those practices… 

Anyone have additional resources they’d like to share?

Rocky