When we asked some of the Green Industry’s most popular consultants
what their favorites books relating to business management are, they responded
with these 10: 1. How
to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. Galahad.
The art and science of positive inter-personal relations. More than 20
million copies sold. 2. The
Great Game of Business, by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham. Considering
open-book management? Start here. 3. In
Search of Excellence, by Thomas Peters, Robert Waterman, Tom Peters.
Warner Books. Where a lot of the modern day management theories have started.
Fixes for some of the shortcomings that may be taking place in their company.
4. Be
My Guest, by Conrad N. Hilton. Prentice Hall. An autobiography
really showing the power of a person who has a dream, a big dream. 5. Good
to Great, by Jim Collins. HarperBusiness, October 2001. Collins
shows how regular people can build great companies and goes into detail
as to what made them great. 6. First,
Break All the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman.
Simon & Schuster. Based on interviews by the Gallup Organization of
more than 80,000 managers. The best book I ever read on what makes great
managers great, much can be used on our landscape businesses. 7. Execution,
the Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan
and Charles Burck. Crown Business. Practical insight into the nuts and
bolts of what a leader needs to do and how he or she needs to do it to
achieve maximum profitability. 8. Selling
to VITO (The Very Important Top Officer), by Anthony Parinello,
Adams Media Corp. If your role is sales, read this book. Don’t waste
your time. Sell to the decision maker. 9. Who
Moved My Cheese?, by Spencer Johnson, MD, Kenneth H. Blanchard.
Putnam Publishing Group. Every company and individual goes through change.
This book will help you deal with it. 10. Purple
Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, by Seth Godin.
Portfolio. Put a Purple Cow (something remarkable) into everything you
build and everything you do to create something truly noticeable.
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