Recommended by Knowledge Ecology Fair crew

We've compiled a list of books that we think you'll find useful. For your reading enjoyment we selected the very best books in this category.

The Age of Heretics : Heroes, Outlaws, and the Forerunners of Corporate Change, by Art Kleiner A magisterial cultural history, this book tells the story of the sixties revolution for freedom, self-expression, and high ideals--as it occurred not in the streets, but in business. Through a series of compelling stories, most never before told, Kleiner introduces readers to the visionary people who believed passionately that corporations could be the center not only of power, but of truth, freedom, and equality. Amazon.com's price: $20.97

Beyond Certainty : The Changing Worlds of Organizations, by Charles Handy From the bestselling author of "The Age of Unreason" and "The Age of Paradox" comes an exhilarating collection of 35 timeless essays, including Handy's change-making articles from "The Harvard Business Review" and "Director" magazine. "A good place to start for an aspiring manager or management trainee in need of wisdom".--"People Management Today" Amazon.com's price: $3.97

The Boundaryless Organization : Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure (The Jossey-Bass Management Series), by Ronald N. Ashkenas (Editor) In this book, four top management strategists show how leading companies are busting boundaries in all directions--vertical, horizontal, external and geographic--and achieving stellar results. Using in-depth stories from such successful companies as GE, Samsung, and AlliedSignal, the book provides a practical action guide for creating boundaryless organizations. Amazon.com's price: $22.80

The Breakdown of Hierarchy : Communicating in the Evolving Workplace, by Eugene Marlow, Patricia O'Connor Wilson Table of Contents Preface Ch. 1. Communications, Corporations, and Change Ch. 2. Electronic Media: Sudden Impact or Business as Usual? Ch. 3. Electrovisual Media and the American Corporation Ch. 4. The Emerging Corporate Landscape Ch. 5. The New Diversity Benchmark Ch. 6. Reshaping the Boundaries Around Business Ch. 7. Harnessing the Power of Electronic Communication Technology Ch. 8. Lessons from the Leaders Ch. 9. The Seven New Rules of Corporate Communication Appendix I. The Emerging Employment Landscape Appendix II. Communication Studies and Commentaries Bibliography Index About the Authors Amazon.com's price: $14.36

Changing the Essence : The Art of Creating and Leading Fundamental Change in Organizations (Jossey-Bass Management Series), by Richard Beckhard, Wendy Pritchard Rapidly changing conditions in today's business environment have made unprecedented demands on organization leaders--often requiring radical rethinking of purpose and priorities, visions of the future, and the very structure and function of the organization itself. Using illustrative examples of CEOs who have successfully responded to these demands, the authors reveal the strategies and leadership behaviors required to manage and integrate this kind of fundamental change. Amazon.com's price: $24.00

The Challenge of Organizational Change : How Companies Experience It and Leaders Guide It, by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, et al In an era of increased global competition, of business takeovers, downsizing, restructuring, and even outright failure, intelligent organizational change is the most difficult challenge facing American business. The authors present a comprehensive overview which will be essential for managers. Amazon.com's price: $26.25

Creating Strategic Change : Designing the Flexible, High-Performing Organization, by William A. Pasmore Pasmore has brought over 20 year's worth of expertise to this conceptually sophisticated yet practical guide concerned with organization design and change. Concentrates on implementation and how organizational planning and transformation efforts can improve performance productivity. Features extensive cases and examples developed by the author from his consulting work at enterprises like Proctor & Gamble, TRW, Goodyear, General Foods and other companies. Amazon.com's price: $27.97

Diffusion of Innovations, by Everett M. Rogers "Innovations" are not just new products and technologies. It also includes ideas and the patterns that have been called "memes", indeed all social changes that require the voluntary cooperation of the members of society. This is the best of the books on this important and neglected subject. Indeed, it is one of the few. It should be required reading for anyone concerned about social change. One of the more interesting results of research in this area is that innovations diffuse through a society not as the result of broadcast messages but from direct contact between earlier and later adopters and the example provided to the latter by the former. Amazon.com's price: $26.36

Fast Forward : The Best Ideas on Managing Business Change (Harvard Business Review Book Series), by James Champy (Editor), Nitin Nohria (Editor) In fifteen articles and interviews, Fast Forward considers the future of organizations, the process of accelerating change, and the new role of management. Contributions from the top executives and management thinkers of today, including Peter Drucker, Michael Hammer, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, John P. Kotter, and Noel Tichy, are featured. Amazon.com's price: $17.47

Large Group Interventions : Engaging the Whole System for Rapid Change (Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series), by Barbara Benedict Bunker, Billie, T. Alban Organizations today are under intense pressure from all sides. They must learn how to change rapidly in order to accommodate a turbulent environment and survive. Large Group Interventions presents a comprehensive overview of 11 different models of large group intervention, explores their similarities and differences, describes their origins, and presents the methods with vivid examples and case studies that give the reader an inside account of each intervention. Amazon.com's price: $28.95

Leading Change : Overcoming the Ideology of Comfort and the Tyranny of Custom (The Jossey-Bass Management Series), by James O'Toole One of America's most esteemed management thinkers offers a book that transcends how-to management primers, offering an unorthodox approach to leadership based on the lessons of history, moral and political philosophy, and the practical experience of men and women across cultures and circumstances. Amazon.com's price: $17.50

Managing Transitions : Making the Most of Change, by William Bridges Business consultant William Bridges attacks an area of managing change that many not only avoid, but also do not even recognize--the human side of change. Directed at managers and employees in today's corporations, where change is necessary to revitalize and improve corporate performance, this book addresses the fact that it is people who have to carry out the change. Amazon.com's price: $15.20

The New Entrepreneurs : Business Visionaries for the 21st Century, by Michael Ray, John Renesch (Editors) John E. Renesch: "When Michael Ray and I co-edited this collection of essays, we wondered if the world was ready for the ideas presented by the visionary authors who contributed to this anthology. Time has aged this book nicely as it is now as applicable as it was in 1993 when it was published. The difference is that the receptivity is probably greater." Amazon.com's price: $29.95

The New Paradigm in Business : Emerging Strategies for Leadership and Organizational Change (A New Consciousness Reader), by Michael Ray, Alan Rinzler (Editor) From the Table of Contents Foreword: Sculpting a New Business Paradigm By Rinaldo Brutoco Introduction: What Is the New Paradigm in Business? By Michael Ray Pt. I. The Roots of Present Change Pt. II. The Beginning of New Leadership Pt. III. Organizational Transformation Pt. IV. Social and Environmental Responsibility Pt. V. Visions of the Future Epilogue: Rebuilding the Spaceship While It Is Still in Flight By Michael Ray Amazon.com's price: $11.96

The Organization of the Future (Drucker Foundation Future Series), by Frances Hesselbein (Editor) This much anticipated second title in the Drucker Foundation Future series imagines tomorrow's workplace. In 28 new essays, by bestselling authors, Fortune 500 CEOs, and management scholars expound on the challenges people face in building the organization of tomorrow. Amazon.com's price: $17.50

Profit from Experience: How to Make the Most of Your Learning and Your Life by Michael J. O'Brien, Larry Shook In this volatile time of down-sizing, reengineering, and streamlining, organizations large and small have to rely on their employees to take charge of their own development and make the changes demanded by today's business environment. This book is a field guide for self-managed change. Amazon.com's price: $17.47

The Pursuit of Wow! : Every Person's Guide to Topsy-Turvy Times, by Tom Peters From America's most influential business analyst comes a work as iconoclastic and wide-ranging as the man himself. Encompassing everything from his incisive look at revolution in the workplace to intense dialogue with listeners on cutting-edge issues, such as America's mindless love affair with "bigness, " and how crisis can be a teacher, this program is a stimulant, not a pacifier. Amazon.com's price: $12.00

Reworking Authority : Leading and Following in the Post-Modern Organization (Organization Studies (Cambridge, Mass.).), by Larry Hirschhorn Hirschhorn begins by examining the covert processes by which people caught between the old and new cultures of authority neither suppress nor express their feelings. Feelings, he points out, are activated but are not directed toward useful work. After presenting several instructive and moving case studies, Hirschhorn explores how organizations can create a culture of openness in which people become more psychologically present. The process entails an understanding of the changes taking place in how we experience our own identities at work and the identities of "others" in society at large. What is needed, Hirschhorn suggests, is a social policy of forgiveness and second chances. Amazon.com's price: $25.00

The Tom Peters Seminar : Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations, by Thomas J. Peters For the first time ever, the acclaimed author of the phenomenal #1 bestsellingbusiness book In Search of Excellence presents the same provocative, challenging, and sometimes scary seminar that attendees pay $2000 to hear delivered in person. Peters shows how to understand and thrive in the face of the crazy demands the business world makes upon us. Amazon.com's price: $12.00

Winning Through Innovation : A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal, by Michael L. Tushman, et al The experiences of managers in top companies like Disney, 3M, Compaq, and FedEx demonstrate that short-term success actually increases the chances of long-term failure. The authors present a framework for overcoming this "success syndrome" and for developing action plans to meet these challenges. Amazon.com's price: $17.47

Other titles

Knowledge for Action : A Guide to Overcoming Barriers to Organizational Change (Jossey-Bass Management), by Chris Argyris

The Paradox Principles : How High-Performance Companies Manage Chaos, Complexity, and Contradiction to Achieve Superior Results, by Price Waterhouse

If It Ain't Broke, Break It : And Other Unconventional Wisdom for a Changing Business World Vol 1, by Robert J. Kriegel, Louis Patler

Reframing Organizations : Artistry, Choice, and Leadership (The Jossey-Bass Management Series), by Lee G. Bolman, Terrence E. Deal

Games That Drive Change, by Carolyn Nilso

Building a Shared Vision : A Leader's Guide to Aligning the Organization, by C. Patrick Lewis

Think Out of the Box, by Mike Vance, Diane Deacon

Organizational Architecture : Designs for Changing Organizations (Jossey-Bass Management Series), by David A. Nadler, et al

The Challenge of Change in Organizations : Helping Employees Thrive in the New Frontier, by Nancy J. Barger, Linda K. Kirby

The Change Management Handbook : A Road Map to Corporate Transformation, by Lance A. Berger, et al

Discontinuous Change : Leading Organizational Transformation, by David A. Nadler, et al

Organization Development : A Process of Learning and Changing (Addison-Wesley Series on Organization Development), by W. Warner Burke

Crisis & Renewal : Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change (The Management of Innovation and Change Series), by David K. Hurst

Organization Development : Behavioral Science Interventions for Organization Improvement, by Wendell L. French, Cecil H., Jr. Bell

Developing Network Organizations : Learning from Practice and Theory, by Rupert F. Chisholm

© Copyright, 1999, Community Intelligence Labs, Ben Lomond, CA