Great Books on Leadership and Non-Profit Management
Leadership
Developing the Leaders Around You: How to Help Others Reach Their Full Potential (revised). By John C. Maxwell. Thomas Nelson; 2003. 224 pages
"Explains how to find and develop leaders for all levels of your organization, and how to exhibit leadership traits yourself."
-Larry Reed, President, Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Rules for Radicals. By Saul Alinsky. Vintage; 1989. 224 pages
"He was a socialist, but this guy knew how to rock the boat. If conservatives and libertarians had this kind of fire and creativity, we'd be a heck of a lot more effective."
-Tony Woodlief, President, The Mercatus Center
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. By Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. Simon & Schuster;1999. 255 pages
"Business Management and Marketing. Another great reference."
-Laura Major, Director of Sponsor Relations, Goldwater Institute
The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action. By Jeffrey Pfeffer, Robert I. Sutton. Harvard Business School Press; 2000. 314 pages
"Premise is that top-performing organizations don't get that way because they have some secret of management, or because their people are especially brilliant; they simply DO what most managers know needs to be done. The book also gives root causes of failure in this area, things like "The Smart-Talk Trap," which is the tendency for do-nothing naysayers to rise in an organization because by being critical they make themselves appear astute - yet they never create much value of their own."
-Tony Woodlief, President, The Mercatus Center
Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions. By John Hammond, Ralph Keeney, and Howard Raiffa. Broadway; 2002. 256 pages
"The best practical guide to decision-making I've ever seen, filled with good tools that can be employed right away to help guide choices a non-profit may be facing."
-Tony Woodlief, President, The Mercatus Center
Knowledge and Decisions, Thomas Sowell. Basic Books; 1996. 448 pages
"In Knowledge and Decisions, Thomas Sowell builds on Hayek's notion of knowledge - particularly individual's time and place specific knowledge - and examines how it impacts upon economic, political, and legal decisions making. He describes in concrete detail how knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout modern society. Sowell argues that the most fundamental question is not what decisions ought to be made, but rather, how is to make it - through what processes and under what incentives and constraints, and with what feeback mechanisms to correct the decision if it proves to be wrong."
-Jo Kwong, Director of Institute Relations, Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Others Don't By Jim Collins. HarperCollins; 2001. 320 pages
"The Best book on organizational strategic thinking I have read."
-Sam Staley, Former President, Buckeye Institute
"A premier management book on what it takes to build great organizations."
-Gregory McGinity, Director of Policy, The Broad Foundation
-Also recommended by Laura Major, Goldwater Institute
Character is Destiny: The Value of Personal Ethics in Everyday Life. By Russell Gough. Prima Lifestyles; 1997. 196 pages
"Explains why character is paramount in building a fruitful life and, by extension, an effective organization others will find appealing."
-Larry Reed, President, Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Non-Profit Management
Why Nonprofits Fail: Overcoming Founder's Syndrome, Fundphobia, and Other Obstacles to Success. By Stephen R. Block. Jossey-Bass; 2003. 190 pages.
"Discusses common problems like Founder's Syndrome, fear among boards and leaders of asking for money, etc. Gives case studies of how leaders have overcome these problems."
-Tony Woodlief, President, The Mercatus Center
Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration By Patricia Ward Biederman & Warron Bennis. Perseus Publishing; 1998. 239 pages
"Provides advice and great anecdotes on building great teams."
-Gregory McGinity, Director of Policy, The Broad Foundation
Confessions of a Street Smart Manager. By John Mahoney, Introduction by William Safire, Contributions by Richard Conarroe. Simon & Schuster Trade; 1998.
"One of the best books I've read on management and sales."
-Sam Staley, Former President, Buckeye Institute
Nonprofit Lifecycles: Stage-Based Wisdom for Nonprofit Capacity. By Susan Stevens, PhD. Stagewise Enterprises Inc; 2002. 140 pages
"Most nonprofit management books are suited for mature organizations, rather than small- and mid-size groups. Nonprofit Lifecycles is designed to help nonprofits diagnose their own place in the organizational "lifecycle," and take action to avoid the pitfalls of youth, middle-age, and old-age. It discusses roadblocks that frequently lead organizations to stall in their development, and reveals ways in which organizations can use the lifecycle approach to generate capacity-building programs and grant opportunities. Rated by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management as 'the best new nonprofit book release in 2002.'"
-J. Stanley Marshall, Founding Chairman, James Madison Institute
Managing the Non-Profit Organization - Principles and Practices by Peter F. Drucker. HarperCollins; 1990. 235 pages
"This is a first principles guidebook on running a non-profit. Drucker also includes interviews with several successful non-profit leaders."
-Tracie Sharp, President, State Policy Network.
Great Books on Board Development and Governance
Not On This Board You Don't: Making Your Trustees More Effective. By Arthur C. Frantzreb. Bonus Books; 1997. 250 pages
"Good advice regarding non-profit boards."
-George Pearson, Director, Flint Hills Center for Public Policy
Boardroom Verities: A Celebration of Trusteeship With Some Guides and Techniques to Govern by Jerold Panas, Precept Press; 1991. 238 pages
"Panas covers a wide range of issues facing trustees and includes a terrific bibliography of other valuable books on Board development and governance. Forms in the back of the book help you assess, score and rank a trustee's performance. This book is a must read for both CEOs and the leadership on their Board."
-Tracie Sharp, President, State Policy Network
Inside the Nonprofit Boardroom: What you Need to Know for Satisfaction and Success by Charles William Golding with Craig W. Stewart. Documentary Book Publishers; 1999. 80 pages
"Short and to the point - useful as an introductory text for new Board members."
-Tracie Sharp, President, State Policy Network