Books
Consulting
Process Consultation - Volume One, 2nd Edition by Edgar H. Schein - This book focuses on process consultation and its role in organizational development. Schein, renown in the field has updated this classic since the first edition. The book defines process consultation and provides helpful reading on a variety of specific topics, including, methods of work, contracting, leading and influencing, and the roles of feedback in process consultation.
Process Consultation - Volume Two by Edgar H. Schein - This books helps us understand and describe a common consulting (and managerial) dilemma - do we give advice or help others figure out their own solution. Schein, one of the best OD minds of our time, writes this in a readable way. If I were to give new OD or performance consultants a short-list to read, this would be on the list.
High Impact Consulting by Robert H. Schaffer - This book is relevant for internal and external consultants as well as the clients of those consultants. The book focuses on three major areas: Why management consulting fails and how to make it succeed, the architecture of high impact management consulting and maybe most useful, creating high impact partnerships.
Flawless
Consulting - A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used
(Second Edition) by Peter Block - If I could own only one book
to help me become a better consultant, or if I could recommend
only one book to people thinking about making consulting a part
of their professional life, this would definitely be it. It covers
all the bases on consulting and the consulting process. If you
are consulting, or want to consult, this book must be on your
shelf.
Ten Tasks of Change by Dr. Jeff Evans - This book helps turn the management of change into a set of understandable and actionable tasks. The authors do a great job of making each task make sense and help you see how to apply each to your situation. This book works for change implementations large and small. Use this book as a guide and understand these tasks and organizational change will be better understood, and more importantly, achieved.
Creativity
Mindmapping by Joyce Wycoff - A good text on mind mapping and its various uses. This is written for anyone, and does not spend much time on theory - very practical and useable.
Jump Start Your Brain by Doug Hall - This book is full of techniques! Some are way out and wacky. Some are more traditional. Doug and his team have proved all of them with groups from many major companies. The jacket notes say that the average American home has 18 brand-name products and services that the author helped conceptualize. Add this to your library.
99% Inspiration: Tips, Tales, and Techniques for Liberating Your Business Creativity by Brian Mattimore - This book is full of techniques that you can use yourself or share with others. Bryan’s style is light and easy to read. The techniques while firmly based in creative "theory", and written to be easily used and played with. This slim volume deserves to be on your shelf. Not only does it deliver on its title, it is fun to read.
Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko - This book is full of techniques! Over 300 pages with approaches on most all of them. The author takes time to give us background to thinking processes and shares techniques for unblocking our thinking in general. There are also many visual treats throughout the book to help the visually creative. This book is highly recommended.
Facilitation
The Skilled Facilitator - Practical Wisdom for Developing Effective Groups by Roger M. Schwartz - A complete text on facilitation, it covers all the major subject areas, including intervening skills. Also talks about how to use facilitation throughout an organization. As a facilitator, a book to have.
Intervention Skills Process Consultation for Small Groups and Teams by Brendan W. Reddy - A complete text on facilitating small groups and teams. Full of examples and useful models, this book is very useful to the new as well as the seasoned facilitator.
The Facilitator Excellence Handbook by Fran Rees - A practical book filled of tools and techniques. Designed so you can pick it up, turn to a chapter if you have a specific need, and use it right away! Among all the great stuff, it includes an excellent section on recording techniques.
Learning
The Brain Book by Peter Russell - This book provides a good background on how the brain functions. It takes this technical topic and makes it quite readable and useful.
Owners
Manual for the Brain Everyday
Applications from Mind-Brain Research by Dr.
Pierce J. Howard - A fabulous book that puts cognitive science
in everyday practical language. If you want to know what is now
known about the brain in a way you can understand and apply, this
is the book to read.
Training to Imagine by Kat Koppett - The subtitle tells the story: Practical Improvisational theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership and Learning. Well it almost tells it all. This book teaches you in a very readable way about the concepts of improv, which is very interesting and a great read. THEN it provides you with 50 exercises that you can use immediately or tailor for your needs in training on almost any possible training topic. The best training book of the year.
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