Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Malcolm Gladwell A fascinating book about how choices and decisions get made. Why do some people make brilliant decisions and others are always inept? Why do some people’s instincts lead them to success and others always seem to stumble into error? Why are some of our best decisions often impossible to explain to others? The insights in this book help us to understand these questions and provide a whole new way of looking at the world. A way that is heartily compatible with the approaches of improv theatre.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t Jim Collins Collins continues the examination of successful organizations that he began in Built to Last and looks at five surprisingly clear factors that separate the truly great companies from the merely competent. You don’t need—in fact you don’t want—superstar CEOs or radical improvement plans to achieve greatness.
Inspirational Leadership: Henry V and the Muse of Fire Richard Olivier Of all the leaders about whom Shakespeare wrote, Henry V was the greatest. Olivier takes us through the play and shows us what Shakespeare has to tell today’s leaders about vision and commitment, assuming power, dealing with former peers, managing the “naysayers,” motivating the troops, examining strategies and tactics (and changing if you should), exploring the “dark night of the soul” and turning the battlefield into a garden.
Movies to Manage By: Lessons in Leadership from Great Films John K. Clemens and Melora Wolff Literature that makes great metaphor for organizational life continues to be found in today’s most powerful medium, film. Clemens, a professor of management, and Wolff, an essayist, poet and playwright, look at nine films, including Appolo 13, 12 Angry Men, Citizen Kane and Wall Street, for what they can teach us about decision-making, improvisation, teamwork, conflict and turnaround and leadership.
Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership John O. Whitney and Tina Packer Lessons in leadership from the world’s first organizational psychologist. Whitney and Packer lead us through what Shakespeare taught about power, trust, decision-making and action. Today’s leaders can learn much from the errors and achievements of Richard II, Richard III, King Lear, Othello, Hamlet, Henry IV and Henry VI.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Malcolm Gladwell Change happens. For some this is a welcome thing and for others it’s hard to deal with. However we feel about it, change is inevitable, it’s always happening. This book describes that moment in time when an idea or a trend or set of organizational behaviors seem to suddenly catch fire. A threshold is crossed and in and instant, something tips and everything has changed.
The Waiting Game: The Essential Guide for Wait Staff Mike Kirkham, Peggy Weiss and Bill Crawford A book written by people who love food, love the restaurant word and love the restaurant business. This is great guide for wait staff and the authors have a great understanding of the theatrical presence that can help make going out to dinner a true dining experience. There is also lots of practical, business information about food, wine and even finances and tips.
Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership, and Learning Kat Koppett A guide to the powerful techniques of the improvisational theater and how its principles and practices can be harnessed in the workplace. Kat is an actor, storyteller and an accomplished practitioner in organizational psychology. She show us how to use all these to help people in organizations build trust, accept offers (even a “no” is an offer we can learn to use) and listen to one another to achieve stronger teams and workplaces.
