Recommended Resources
* Books
** On career planning and development
Canter, R.
Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, 2006
Make the Right Career Move teaches the skills, tools, and branding to make all the right career moves, whether your focus is finding a new job, moving up to a better job, or making your current job better. It makes job search and self-promotion smarter, helping readers land their dream job and realize the benefits of a better job faster. It's a career guide that belongs in the hand of every executive, attorney or professional - or any ambitious job-seeker, from new graduates to senior executives.
Women don't ask :
Negotiation and the gender divide
Babcock, L. & Laschever, S.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003
This book explores evidence for how women fail to ask for what they want or deserve, as well as on the self-imposed and social barriers to their requests, which foster ongoing inequalities in women's professional and personal lives.
Your signature path
Bellman, G. M.
San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1996
Bellman provides a unique and valuable perspective on finding meaningful work, guiding readers through a series of experiential exercises to find one's life and careerpath.
Transitions: making sense of life's changes.
Bridges, W. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1980
Bridges' classic three-stage model of organizational and individual transitions (an ending, a neutral zone of confusion and ambiguity, and a new beginning) presents a process for dealing with change and transition effectively.
The executive resume book
Foxman, L. D.
New York: John Wiley, 1989
The best book I've found on resumes
Our wildest dreams
Godfrey, J.
New York: HarperBusiness, 1992
A handbook for women entrepreneurs, that is also useful to men contemplating starting their own businesses. Shares the results of her own experiences and those of other women entrepreneurs to identify "a whole new definition of success and an entirely new paradigm of working life."
When smart people fail
Hyatt, C. & Gottlieb, L.
New York: Penguin, 1993
This book examines failure and provides practical perspective, tools, and coping strategies to learn from and move past failure, creating a more satisfying career.
Rich dad, poor dad
Kiyosaki, R. T & Lechter, S. L.
New York, Warner Books, 1997
A best-seller with some provocative ideas about the importance of financial literacy and how to make your money work for you rather than working for money.
The pathfinder:
How to choose or change your career for a lifetime of satisfaction & success
Lore, N.
New York: Fireside (Simon & Schuster), 1998
Incorporating many of the excellent ideas of Landmark Education, this book provides good information on how to identify the ideal career. Uses three primary tools: Wants List, Commitments & Requirements List, and Questions List to assist in the career assessment and targeting process.
Rites of passage at $100,000 to $1 million+:
Your insider's lifetime guide to executive job-changing and
faster career progress in the 2lst Century
Lucht, J.
New York: Viceroy Press, 2000
Written for executives, the book provides excellent information on the use of recruiters in a job search, reflecting Lucht's professional background as a recruiter. Also includes information on websites to assist in a job search. I don't agree with some of Lucht's ideas (about resumes of more than two pages, for example), but his advice on recruiters is well worth reading.
You don't have to go home from work exhausted
McGee-Cooper, A.
New York: Bantam Books, 1992
This entertaining book provides practical steps to avoid burnout and increase energy, job satisfaction, and balance in your life.
Be your own mentor
Wellington, S. & Catalyst with B. Spence
New York: Catalyst, 2001
Based on the research of the non-profit Catalyst organization, this book provides a "step-by-step guide to advancement" for women.
** On organizational development
Managing for excellence
Bradford, D. L. & Cohen, A. R.
New York: John Wiley, 1984
Presents a new approach to management based on the ideas of "Manager as Developer" and shared responsibility of managers and their teams.
Influence: Science and practice
Cialdini, R.B.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001
The fourth edition of this bestseller provides a comprehensive and well-documented review of the principles of influence and how they permeate our lives, affecting us often in subtle and unobserved ways.
How to make meetings work
Doyle, M. & Strauss, D.
New York: Jove - Berkley Publishing, 1985
The innovative and effective Interaction approach to making meetings work, with its simple technology laid out for the reader.
The five dysfunctions of a team
Lencioni, P.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002
One in a series of leadership fables by Lencioni, all of them instructive and easy to read, that enumerates the central challenges of teams - trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results - and how to address them in simple and powerful terms.
Fish! A remarkable way to boost morale and improve results
Lundin, S. C., Paul, H., & Christensen, J.
New York: Hyperion, 2000
An entertaining parable about how to create workplaces that are happy, productive, and offer excellent service to their customers.
Managing the professional service firm
Maister, D. H.
New York: Free Press, 1993
In this and the following book, Maister advances important ideas about how to be successful in a professional service firm, from where and how to focus business development efforts to the importance of coaching and accountability to enhance productivity.
True professionalism
Maister, D. H.
New York: Free Press, 1997
In this and the previous book, Maister advances important ideas about how to be successful in a professional service firm, from where and how to focus business development efforts to the importance of coaching and accountability to enhance productivity.
** On executive and personal development
Center for Creative Leadership
A non-profit organization that provides research and training in leadership development publishes an excellent array of books and reports on development issues. Also see website below.
Bringing out the best in people
Daniels, A.C.
New York: McGraw Hill, 1994
Daniels explains simple and powerful behavioral principles, such as positive reinforcement, to create successful development and other change programs.
How to think like Leonardo daVinci
Gelb, M J.
New York: Dell, 1998
A guide to developing your creative and intellectual potential through a set of engaging exercises and lessons based on 7 DaVincian principles of genius, including curiousity, sensation, and whole-brain thinking.
Emotional intelligence
Goleman, D.
New York: Bantam Books, 1995
I recommend this book for its cogent and fascinating explanation of how emotional "smarts" (emotional intelligence, or EQ) - such as the ability to understand the reactions of others and manage one's own reactions predict success and achievement twice as powerfully as traditional measures of IQ.
Wherever you go, there you are
Kabat-Zinn, J.
New York: Hyperion, 1994
This wise book and practical guide to meditation is subtitled, "Mindfulness meditation in everyday life." You may remember Kabat-Zinn from Bill Moyers" Healing and the Mind series.
A path with heart
Kornfield, J.
New York: Bantam Books, 1993
A profoundly inspiring book about the challenges of living a spiritual life in the modern world, written by a leading American Buddhist teacher, psychologist, and meditation instructor. This book is filled with stories, guided meditations and practical tools, humor, and wisdom. It is a delight.
A general theory of love
Lewis, T., Amini, F., & Lannon, R.
New York: Vintage Books, 2001
A fascinating book about the psychobiology of love and relationships, written by three psychiatrists from a leading medical school. Part poetry, part science, and endlessly fascinating exploration of the human brain and relationships.
The lessons of experience:
How successful executives develop on the job
McCall, M. W., Jr., Lombardo, M. M., & Morrison, A. M.
New York: Lexington Books, 1988
Empirically based book from the Center for Creative Leadership on the kind of experiences and lessons that provide the best learning for successful executives.
Breaking the glass ceiling
Morrison, A. M., White, R. P., Van Velsor, E. & Center for Creative Leadership
Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1987
Results from the Center for Creative Leadership's pioneering three-year study of women executives in Fortune 100 companies, identifying the factors that determine success and derailment in corporations.
The resilience factor
Reivich, K., & Shatte, A.
New York: Broadway Books / Random House, 2002
Subtitled, "7 Essential skills for overcoming life's inevitable obstacles," this book by University of Pennsylvania psychologists, presents information and techniques based on 15+ years of research into the importance of resilience for emotional, occupational, and physical health, well-being, and success. Reivich and Shatte show that resilience -- "the ability to persevere and adapt when things go awry" -- is the most important component of emotional intelligence. Based on the importance of accurate thinking (as opposed to positive thinking), the book helps the reader evaluate his or her level of resilience and then shows how to develop and maintain resilience in the face of life's challenges. An empirically- based and useful how-to book for life and career.
Learned optimism
Seligman, M. E. P.
New York, Knopf, 1991
Written by a recent past president of the American Psychological Association and a leading expert on motivation, this fascinating book looks at the critical role of optimism in determining the quality of life. The book nurtures optimistic coping styles by including a program exercises to break the habit of pessimism and helplessness and learn the habit of optimism.
Fierce conversations
Scott, S.
New York: Berkley Books, 2002
A practical and inspiring guide on powerful communication: how to have difficult conversations and how to use those conversations to transform relationships and situations.
The art of possibility
Zander, R.S. & Zander, B.
New York: Penguin, 2000
Co-written by a therapist and orchestra conductor couple, this little book with a big message radiates enthusiasm and optimism. It offers a sense of the great possibilities that can illuminate and transform our personal and professional lives if only we choose possibility.
What Happy People Know
Baker, D. & Stauth, C.
New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2003
This easy-to-read book, co-authored by the founder of the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch, distills simple and effective principles and skills for achieving happiness.
What Got You Here Won't Get You There
Goldsmith, M.
New York: Hyperion, 2007
One of the world's best executive coaches provides tips on the 20 workplace habits that keep successful people from reaching their full potential in an entertaining and useful book that every ambitious person should read.
Going to the Top
Gallagher, C.
New York: Penguin Books, 2000
Based on research with 200 women executives, this book outlines the lessons for women interested in going to the top, including four critical factors for women's success: competence, outcomes, relationships, and endurance.
What Makes a Leader?
Goleman, Daniel
Harvard Business Review, November-December, 1998
Whether you are a leader or not, this is a simple, straightforward description of emotional intelligence at work.
Meeting of the Minds
Stone, Judith
"O" Magazine, October 2006
An interview with Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, about how relationships have the power to shape our brains.
Business Week Online has a number of excellent career columns, including Marshall Goldsmith's "Marshall and Friends" that have excellent career advice.
A great trove of articles on feedback, leadership skills, and other career resources from a leading provider of training and research, the Center for Creative Leadership
** On consulting
Flawless consulting
Block, P.
Austin, TX: Learning Concepts, 1981
An enduring classic about the consulting process and skills necessary for a successful consulting practice, from negotiating contracts to being authentic with clients. Practical "consulting guidebook" that contains specific how-to advice for many consulting situations.
Million dollar consulting
Weiss, A.
New York: McGraw Hill, 1998
A first-rate book on how to build a consulting practice, including the important distinction of pricing based on value not time.
* Websites
The website of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), a national membership organization has numerous links and information on everything from policy to resources.
A comprehensive website with everything from job listings to company and salary profiles to career management articles and tools.
A comprehensive website with everything from job listings to company and salary profiles to career management articles and tools.
An excellent array of resources on development from a leading training and research center, The Center for Creative Leadership.
This website brings together independent consultants and contract projects with a database of over 130,000 gurus and over 14,000 hiring companies. Also includes a guru gallery with interviews of consultants.
is an example of online professional networks, one of the newer and fastest-growing Internet resources.Based on the six degree of separation networking principle that only six intervening contacts can connect any two people in the world, and based on the success of social networking sites like Friendster, LinkedIn and similar sites are among the newer Internet resources that can be used to link with your trusted contacts and with theirs. Can be used for information, introductions, jobs, and other business opportunities.
is a great general all-in-one reference tool for the Internet.
tracks the board memberships of major U.S. companies and allows the user to track information on top executives and companies and their interlocking associations.
Another comprehensive career management website featuring a wide array of career resources, including insider profiles on companies, career advice from experts such as Richard Bolles; information on careers, industries, and salaries; selected company videos; discussion boards on different careers.