I love this book as Mike Rother has dealt with the by far the most impactful aspect of how Toyota operate:- their mindsets and behaviours that create the successful environment.

So many "Lean Practitioners" are dogmaticlly married to the tools (I hate that term) of Lean. I doubt many of them have ever experienced a genuine Lean environment. Regardless, this book covers the Coaching Kata and the Improvement Kata. Kata are learning habits.

"Wax on, wax off" - if you get that reference, let me know.

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0071635233

This MindSpring video is 10 minutes of sheer joy.

David Marquet, an ex-US Navy nuclear submarine commander, talks about how he was totally unequipped to take command of an unfamiliar submarine type. He talks about a way of working in which he truly empowered his crew and had great success.

Many leaders panic when they hear how high performance businesses improve everyday, everywhere. They can't envision how it doesn't turn to chaos.

David succintly describes how leading with intent achieves massive outcomes with crystal clear aligned focus.

<< Click here for the video >>

If the link is broken, search for "Greatness by David Marquet"

John Kotter is a transformation guru.

He has presented the critical success factors for any transformation (and I would argue ambitious operations) in a compelling story, you can read in an hour or so, with the your kids.

The lessons are powerful, in this easily digested parable of John's HBR paper on Why Transformation Fails.

I have bought hundreds of this book for clients as its lessons are vital.

My experience is that the most senior leadership of many businesses repeatedly fail in the first 3 or 4 success factors and fail to recognise they have failed.

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1509830114