15 Must-Read Spring Books for IT Pros
By Brian P. Watson | Posted 04-23-200815 Must-Read Spring Books for IT Pros
This spring, new ideas and advice are anything but in short supply. Some of the most celebrated business professors and consultants are out with new works.
We sifted through the recently and soon-to-be released books and picked 15 that will help IT workers--from CIOs on down--excel in leadership, management, strategy, technology and finance.
Click to the next page for our list, which includes links to pages with more information on each book.
The List
Leadership
Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life, by Stewart D. Friedman
Change the Way You Lead Change: Leadership Strategies That Really Work, by David Herold and Donald Fedor
The No-Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work, by Jon Gordon
Management
Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in the Age of Uncertainty, by Peter Cappelli
Divide or Conquer: How Great Teams Turn Conflict Into Strength, by Diana McLain Smith
The Business-Oriented CIO: A Guide to Market-Driven Management, by George Tillman
Strategy
Relevance: Hitting Your Goals by Knowing What Matters, by David Apgar
The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value Through Global Networks, by C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan
Offshore Outsourcing of IT Work: Client and Supplier Perspectives, by Mary C. Lacity and Joseph W. Rottman
Technology
Invisible Engines: How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Change Industries, by David S. Evans, Andrei Hagiu and Richard Schmalensee
IT Compliance and Controls: Best Practices for Implementation, by James J. DeLuccia IV
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
Finance
The Game-Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth With Innovation, by A.G. Lafley and Ram Charan
Operational Risk Management: A Case Study Approach to Effective Planning and Response, by Mark D. Abkowitz
Financial Intelligence for IT Professionals: What You Really Need to Know About the Numbers, by John Case, Karen Berman and Joe Knight
Total Leadership
LEADERSHIP
Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life
By Stewart D. Friedman
Harvard Business Press
Available June 2008
The Wharton leadership guru goes beyond the tradeoffs of the work-life balance to explain how the two dimensions contribute to overall success.
Change the Way You Lead Change
LEADERSHIP
Change the Way You Lead Change: Leadership Strategies That Really Work
By David Herold and Donald Fedor
Stanford Business Books
Available June 6
An in-depth model for avoiding chaos when rolling out a change agenda, by two management experts from Georgia Tech.
The No-Complaining Rule
LEADERSHIP
The No-Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal With Negativity at Work
By Jon Gordon
Wiley
Available June 20
The Energy Bus author details methods for overcoming workplace negativity that can result in huge losses in morale and productivity.
Talent on Demand
MANAGEMENT
Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in the Age of Uncertainty
By Peter Cappelli
Harvard Business Press
Available Now
The Wharton management professor uses supply-chain management as a metaphor for why companies continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining the best IT teams possible.
Divide or Conquer
MANAGEMENT
Divide or Conquer: How Great Teams Turn Conflict Into Strength
By Diana McLain Smith
Portfolio Hardcover
Available May 29
Relationship advice for the business professional--complete with case studies of notable meltdowns--by a strategy consultant.
The Business-Oriented CIO
MANAGEMENT
The Business-Oriented CIO: A Guide to Market-Driven Management
By George Tillman
Wiley
Available June 27
The former Booz Allen Hamilton consultant and IT chief looks at how CIOs can become strategic partners to CEOs and CFOs.
Relevance
STRATEGY
Relevance: Hitting Your Goals by Knowing What Matters
By David Apgar
Jossey Bass
Available now
A roadmap for plotting how information can help in establishing corporate strategy and goals, from the Corporate Executive Board exec and former McKinsey consultant.
The New Age of Innovation
STRATEGY
The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value Through Global Networks
By C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan
McGraw-Hill
Available May 2
The University of Michigan IT experts explain how companies must reinvent their strategies and processes to build more customer-created value.
Offshore Outsourcing of IT Work
STRATEGY
Offshore Outsourcing of IT Work: Client and Supplier Perspectives
By Mary C. Lacity and Joseph W. Rottman
Palgrave MacMillan
Available May 27
Arguing that clients and suppliers must collaborate effectively to make outsourcing succeed, the University of Missouri IT professors provide a guide for both sides of the outsourcing deal.
Invisible Engines
TECHNOLOGY
Invisible Engines: How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Change Industries
By David S. Evans, Andrei Hagiu and Richard Schmalensee
MIT Press
Available now
The paperback version of the award-winning tome on the strategies companies use to unleash new software platforms, from a team of MIT and Harvard business school professors.
IT Compliance and Controls
TECHNOLOGY
IT Compliance and Controls: Best Practices for Implementation
By James J. DeLuccia IV
Wiley
Available now
A roadmap through the myriad regulations governing IT and business and how to create IT controls and sell them to top executives in your firm.
Groundswell
TECHNOLOGY
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
By Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
Harvard Business Press
Available in May
The Forrester Research analyst duo offers a blueprint for evaluating social technologies and understanding how your company can capitalize on them.
Read an excerpt
The Game-Changer
FINANCE The duo of P&G's chairman and the superstar consultant offer a case-based guide to boosting leadership and management and accelerating your company's innovative success.
Operational Risk Management
A guidebook, using examples like Chernobyl and Hurricane Katrina, for assessing and overcoming corporate risk from disasters.
Financial Intelligence for IT Pros
FINANCE A finance 101 handbook with detailed analysis of why measurement and ROI matter for IT professionals.
