100 Books on Progressive Organizations and Good Management
Some months ago, several community members of our Corporate Rebels Academy asked me to draft a reading list on progressive organizations and good management. I accepted the challenge. So, over the summer, I started to draft a list. In fact, it became a very long list—one containing more than 100 books.
Disclaimer: This list is restricted by the books I read (so far). Therefore this list is, of course, not complete, nor is it perfect.
Moreover, the list is chronologically compiled—the books at the top of the list are not necessarily the best, and the books at the bottom of the list are not necessarily the worst.
Here we go.
Partnership for All
Subtitle: A 34-year Old Experiment in Industrial Democracy
Author: John S. Lewis
Date: January 1948
Notes: Describes the case of John Lewis & Partners
In Search of Excellence
Subtitle: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies
Author: Tom Peters & Robert H. Waterman Jr.
Date: January 1982
The Eternal Venture Spirit
Subtitle: An Executive's Practical Philosophy
Author: Kazuma Tateisi
Date: November 1989
Notes: Describes the case of Omron
All Teams are not Created Equal
Subtitle: How Employee Empowerment Really Works
Author: Lyman D. Ketchum & Eric L. Trist
Date: March 1992
Structures of Social Life
Subtitle: The Four Elementary Forms of Human Relations
Author: Alan P. Fiske
Date: August 1993
Flight of the Buffalo
Subtitle: Soaring to Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead
Author: James Belasco & Ralph C. Stayer
Date: August 1994
Notes: Describes the case of Johnsonville Foods
Built to Last
Subtitle: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Author: Jim Collins & Jerry I. Porras
Date: October 1994
Skunk Works
Subtitle: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed
Author: Ben R. Rich & Leo Janos
Date: August 1995
Notes: Describes the case of Lockheed's Advanced Development Programs
Open-Book Management
Subtitle: The Coming Business Revolution
Author: John Case
Date: April 1996
Plain Talk
Subtitle: Lessons from a Business Maverick
Author: Ken Iverson & Tom Varian
Date: November 1997
Notes: Describes the case of Nucor
Synergetisch Produceren (Dutch)
Subtitle: Human Resources Mobilisation in de produktie: een inleiding in structuurbouw
Author: Ulbo de Sitter
Date: March 1998
Sociocracy
Subtitle: The Organization of Decision-Making "No Objections" as the Principle of Sociocracy
Author: Gerard Endenburg
Date: September 1998
Notes: Describes the case of Endenburg Electrotechniek
The Self Managing Organization
Subtitle: How Leading Companies are Transforming the Work of Teams for Real Impact
Author: Steven Cabana & Ronald Purser
Date: November 1998
Moments of Truth
Subtitle: New Strategies for Today's Customer-Driven Economy
Author: Jan Carlzon
Date: March 2001
Notes: Describes the case of Scandinavian Airlines
Freedom and Accountability at Work
Subtitle: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World
Author: Peter Koestenbaum & Peter Block
Date: August 2001
Maverick!
Subtitle: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workshop
Author: Ricardo Semler
Date: September 2001
Notes: Describes the case of Semco
Decentralisation
Subtitle: Why and How to Make it Work - The Handelsbanken Way
Author: Jan Wallander
Date: January 2003
Notes: Describes the case of Handelsbanken
Beyond Budgeting
Subtitle: How Managers Can Break Free from the Annual Performance Trap
Author: Jeremy Hope & Robin Fraser
Date: February 2003
A Stake in the Outcome
Subtitle: Building a Culture of Ownership for the Long-Term Success of Your Business
Author: Jack Stack & Bo Burlingham
Date: September 200
Notes: Describes the case of SRC Holdings
Good Business
Subtitle: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Date: January 2004
The Future of Work
Subtitle: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Our Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life
Author: Thomas W. Malone
Date: April 2004
Top Down
Subtitle: Why Hierarchies are Here to Stay and How to Manage Them More Effectively
Author: Harold J. Leavitt
Date: November 2004
Joy at Work
Subtitle: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job
Author: Dennis W. Bakke
Date: March 2005
Notes: Describes the case of AES Corporation
The Second Cycle
Subtitle: Winning the War against Bureaucracy
Author: Lars Kolind
Date: May 2006
Notes: Describes the case of Oticon
Let My People Go Surfing
Subtitle: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
Author: Yvon Chouinard
Date: September 2006
Notes: Describes the case of Patagonia
The SAIC Solution
Subtitle: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee Owned Technology Company
Author: J. Robert Beyster & Peter Economy
Date: March 2007
Notes: Describes the case of SAIC
Eckart's Notes (Dutch)
Author: Eckart Wintzen
Date: May 2007
Notes: Describes the case of BSO-Origin
Up the Organization
Subtitle: How to Stop the Corporation form Stifling People and Strangling Profits
Author: Robert Townsend & Warren Bennis
Date: June 2007
Notes: Describes the case of Avis Rent-a-Car
The Future of Management
Author: Gary Hamel & Bill Breen
Date: October 2007
The Age of Heretics
Subtitle: A History of the Radical Thinkers Who Reinvented Corporate Management
Author: Art Kleiner & Warren Bennis
Date: October 2008
From Pablo to Osama
Subtitle: Trafficking and Terrorist Networs, Government Bureaucracies, and Competitive Adaptation
Author: Michael Kenney
Date: November 2008
Thinking in Systems
Subtitle: A Primer
Author: Donella H. Meadows & Diana Wright
Date: December 2008
Basho Management
Subtitle: New Japanese Philosophy of Manufacturing and Empowerment
Author: Masao Maekawa
Date: January 2009
Notes: Describes the case of Maekawa Global (MYCOM)
Community
Subtitle: The Structure of Belonging
Author: Peter Block
Date: September 2009
Moral Mazes
Subtitle: The World of Corporate Managers
Author: Robert Jackall
Date: December 2009
The Fifth Discipline
Subtitle: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization
Author: Peter M. Senge
Date: April 2010
The Guide to Good Leading Series
Subtitle: Part 1, 2, 3 & 4
Author: Ari Weinzweig
Date: January 2010
Notes: Describes the case of Zingerman's
The Black Swan
Subtitle: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Author: Nassim N. Taleb
Date: May 2010
Employees First, Customers Second
Subtitle: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down
Author: Vineet Nayar
Date: June 2010
Notes: Describes the case of HCL Technologies
The Management Myth
Subtitle: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy
Author: Matthew Stewart
Date: September 2010
The No Asshole Rule
Subtitle: Building a Civilised Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
Author: Robert I. Sutton
Date: December 2010
Managing
Author: Henry Mintzberg
Date: February 2011
The Happy Manifesto
Subtitle: Make Your Organisation a Great Workplace - Now!
Author: Henry Stewart
Date: November 2011
Notes: Describes the case of Happy
Collisions and Collaboration
Subtitle: The Organization of Learning in the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC
Author: Max Boisot, Markus Nordberg, Said Mami & Bertrand Nicouvert
Date: July 2011
Notes: Describes the case of ATLAS
Anarchic Solidarity
Subtitle: Autonomy, Equality, and Fellowship in Southeast Asia
Author: Thomas Gibson & Kenneth Sillander
Date: December 2011
Start With Why
Subtitle: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Author: Simon Sinek
Date: December 2011
The Righteous Mind
Subtitle: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Author: Jonathan Haidt
Date: March 2012
Teaming
Subtitle: How Organisations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy
Author: Amy C. Edmondson
Date: April 2012
Delivering Happiness
Subtitle: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose
Author: Tony Hsieh
Date: May 2012
Notes: Describes the case of Zappos
Unboss
Author: Lars Kolind & Jacob Botter
Date: October 2012
Thinking Fast and Slow
Author: Daniel Kahneman
Date: April 2013
The Great Game of Business
Subtitle: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company
Author: Jack Stack & Bo Burlingham
Date: July 2013
Notes: Describes the case of SRC Holdings
Legacy
Subtitle: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life
Author: James Kerr
Date: November 2013
Antrifragile
Subtitle: Things That Gain from Disorder
Author: Nassim N. Taleb
Date: January 2014
Reinventing Organisations
Subtitle: A Guide to Creating Organisations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness
Author: Frederic Laloux
Date: February 2014
Organize for Complexity
Subtitle: How to Get Life Back Into Work to Build the High-Performance Organization
Author: Niels Pflaeging
Date: March 2014
Six Simple Rules
Subtitle: How to Manage Complexity Without Getting Complicated
Author: Yves Morveux & Peter Tollman
Date: April 2014
Exponential Organizations
Subtitle: Why New Organisations Are Ten Times Better, Faster, and Cheaper Than Yours (and What To Do About It)
Author: Salim Ismail, Michael S. Malone, Yuri van Geest
Date: October 2014
Scaling Up
Subtitle: How a Few Companies Make It... and Why the Rest Don't
Author: Verne Harnish
Date: October 2014
Organizational Innovation by Integrating Simplification
Subtitle: Learning from Buurtzorg Nederland
Author: Sharda S. Nandram
Date: November 2014
Notes: Describes the case of Buurtzorg
The Path
Subtitle: Find Fulfilment Through Prosperity from Japan's Father of Management
Author: Konosuke Matsushita
Date: April 2015
Turn the Ship Around!
Subtitle: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
Author: David Marquet
Date: October 2015
Notes: Describes the case of the USS Santa Fe
Simplicity
Subtitle: Be a Sharper, Faster, Clearer Thinker
Author: Edward de Bono
Date: November 2015
Team of Teams
Subtitle: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
Author: Stanley A. McChrystel, Tantum Collins, David Silverman & Chris Fussel
Date: November 2015
Notes: Describes the case of the US Army
The Innovator's Dilemma
Subtitle: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Author: Clayton M. Christensen
Date: January 2016
Freedom, Inc.
Subtitle: How Corporate Liberation Unleashes Employee Potential and Business Performance
Author: Brian M. Carney & Isaac Getz
Date: January 2016
Humble Consulting
Subtitle: How to Provide Real Help Faster
Author: Edgar H. Schein
Date: April 2016
Transforming Relationships for High Performance
Subtitle: The Power of Relational Coordination
Author: Jody Hoffer Gittell
Date: August 2016
Notes: Describes the case of SouthWest Airlines
Everybody Matters
Subtitle: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family
Author: Bob Chapman & Raj Sisodia
Date: October 2016
Notes: Describes the case of Barry-Wehmiller
Poleposition (Dutch)
Subtitle: Zelf Aan het Stuur in Hollands Kroon
Author: Arthur Cremers, Anja van der Horst, Wim van Twuijver
Date: October 2016
Notes: Describes the case of Hollands Kroon
Business for Punks
Subtitle: Break All the Rules - the BrewDog Way
Author: James Watt
Date: November 2016
Notes: Describes the case of BrewDog
Self-Management
Subtitle: How it Does Work
Author: Astrid Vermeer & Ben Wenting
Date: November 2016
Notes: Describes the case of Buurtzorg
Beyond Empowerment
Subtitle: The Age of the Self-Managed Organization
Author: Doug Kirkpatrick
Date: May 2017
Notes: Describes the case of Morning Star
Questioning Corporate Hierarchy
Subtitle: Does Management Have Any Fundamental Reason To Hierarchically Control Employees
Author: Bill Nobles & Paul Staley
Date: May 2017
Scale
Subtitle: The Universal Laws of Life, Growth, and Death in Organisms, Cities, and Companies
Author: Geoffrey West
Date: May 2018
The Microstructure of Organisations
Author: Phanish Puranam
Date: July 2018
Drive
Subtitle: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Author: Daniel H. Pink
Date: July 2018
Humble Leadership
Subtitle: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust
Author: Edgar H. Schein & Peter A. Schein
Date: August 2018
One Mission
Subtitle: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams
Author: Chris Fussel & C.W. Goodyear
Date: August 2018
It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work
Author: Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Date: October 2018
Notes: Describes the case of Basecamp
La Bell Histoire de Favi (French)
Subtitle: L’Entreprise qui Croit Que L’Homme est Bon
Author: Jean-Francois Zobrist
Date: October 2018
Notes: Describes the case of FAVI
The Fearless Organization
Subtitle: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth
Author: Amy C. Edmondson
Date: December 2018
Brave New Work
Subtitle: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?
Author: Aaron Dignan
Date: February 2019
Bullshit Jobs
Subtitle: The Rise of Pointless Work, and What We Can Do About It
Author: David Graeber
Date: February 2019
De Collega's Werken Thuis (Dutch)
Subtitle: Kies Zelf Waar, Wanneer en Hoe Je Werkt
Author: Frank van Massenhove & Tom Auwers
Date: April 2019
Notes: Describes the case of FOD Sociale Zekerheid
Superengaged
Subtitle: How To Transform Business by Putting People and Purpose First
Author: Nikki Gatenby
Date: May 2019
Notes: Describes the case of PropellerNet
Superminds
Subtitle: The Surprising Power of People an Computers Thinking Together
Author: Thomas W. Malone
Date: June 2019
Beyond Command and Control
Author: John Seddon
Date: September 2019
Tree-Ring Management
Subtitle: Take the Long View and Grow Your Business Slowly
Author: Hiroshi Tsukakoshi
Date: October 2019
Notes: Describes the case of Ina Food
The 99 Percent Economy
Subtitle: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome the Crises of Capitalism
Author: Paul S. Adler
Date: December 2019
Corporate Rebels
Subtitle: Make Work More Fun
Author: Joost Minnaar & Pim de Morree
Date: February 2020
Moose Heads on the Table
Subtitle: Stories about Self-Managing Organisations from Sweden
Author: Karin Tenelius & Lisa Gill
Date: May 2020
Humanocracy
Subtitle: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them
Author: Gary Hamel & Michele Zanini
Date: August 2020
A Repurposed Life
Author: Ronni Kahn
Date: February 2021
Notes: Describes the case of OzHarvest
Excellence Now
Subtitle: Extreme Humanism
Author: Tom Peters
Date: March 2021
Open Management
Subtitle: Better Work for a Better World
Author: Rob England & Cherry Vu
Date: December 2021
Notes: Describes the case of Teal Unicorn
Start-up Factory
Subtitle: Haier's RenDanHeYi Model and the End of Management as We Know It
Author: Joost Minnaar, Pim de Morree & Bram van der Lecq
Date: May 2022
Notes: Describes the case of Haier
Why Managers Matter
Subtitle: The Perils of the Bossless Company
Author: Nicolai J. Foss & Peter G. Klein
Date: October 2022
Made Without Managers
Subtitle: One Company's Story of Creating a Self-Managing Workplace
Author: Alison Sturgess-Durden, et al.
Date: January 2023
Notes: Describes the case of Mayden
Confronting our Freedom
Subtitle: Leading a Culture of Chosen Accountability and Belonging
Author: Peter Block & Peter Koestenbaum
Date: February 2023
This is Beyond Budgeting
Subtitle: A Guide to More Adaptive and Human Organisations
Author: Bjarte Bogsnes
Date: February 2023
Understanding Organisations... Finally
Subtitle: Structuring in Sevens
Author: Henry Mintzberg
Date: February 2023
The Case for Good Jobs
Subtitle: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work
Author: Zeynep Ton
Date: July 2023
.....
This is the end of the list—so far. And since this is an active list, I will try to update it regularly.
*If you have any suggestions for a book I should read, and potentially add to the list, feel free to reach out and let me know.
