Leadership & Management: Management Books to borrow

For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do. Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing; but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life - all the way to the very end.

The struggle to perform well is universal, but nowhere is this drive to do better more important that in medicine. In his new book, Atul Gawande explores grippingly how doctors strive to close the gap between best intentions and best performance in the face of obstacles that sometimes seem insurmountable. His vivid stories take us to battlefield surgical tents in Iraq, to a polio outbreak in India, and to malpractice courtrooms around the country. He discusses the ethical dilemmas of doctors' participation in lethal injections, examines the influence of money on modern medicine, and recounts the astoundingly contentious history of hand-washing. And he gives a brutally honest insight into life as a practising surgeon. Unflinching but compassionate, Gawande's investigation into medical professionals and their progression from good to great provides a detailed blueprint for success that can be used by people in every area of human endeavour.

This book reveals the surprising power of the ordinary checklist now being used in medicine, aviation, the armed services, homeland security, investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds. It shows what the simple idea of the checklist reveals about the complexity of our lives and how we can deal with it. "The modern world has given us stupendous know-how. Yet avoidable failures continue to plague us in health care, government, the law, the financial industry?in almost every realm of organized activity. And the reason is simple: the volume and complexity of knowledge today has exceeded our ability as individuals to properly deliver it to people?consistently, correctly, safely. We train longer, specialize more, use ever-advancing technologies, and still we fail. Atul Gawande makes a compelling argument that we can do better, using the simplest of methods: the checklist. In riveting stories, he reveals what checklists can do, what they can't, and how they could bring about striking improvements in a variety of fields, from medicine and disaster recovery to professions and businesses of all kinds. And the insights are making a difference. Already, a simple surgical checklist from the World Health Organization designed by following the ideas described here has been adopted in more than twenty countries as a standard for care and has been heralded as the biggest clinical invention in thirty years?

In this work, Atul Gawande offers an unflinching view from the scalpel's edge, where science is ambiguous, information is limited, the stakes are high, yet decisions must be made.
In these gripping accounts of true cases, bestselling author Atul Gawande performs exploratory surgery on medicine itself, laying bare a science not in its idealised form, but as it actually is - complicated, perplexing, and profoundly human. Dramatic and revealing stories of patients and doctors explore how deadly mistakes occur, what happens when medicine comes up against the inexplicable and what it feels like to insert your knife into someone.

Uses true stories to illustrate the art and science of diagnosing a patient. As Sanders reveals through cases of bizarre and elusive maladies, this crucial process is full of unpredictable challenges that force doctors to reevaluate accepted beliefs and become detectives piecing together complex mysteries.

This book focuses on human factors to explore the relationship between human behaviour and fallibility. It covers the design of systems and processes, environments, tools, tasks and technology which can help to positively improve a patient's safety and experience

A senior surgeon suggests that many commonly performed operations are not necessary and that any benefits they offer are a placebo. For many complaints and conditions the benefits from surgery are lower, and the risks higher, than you or your surgeon think. In this book you will see how commonly performed operations can be found to be useless or even harmful when properly evaluated. Of course no surgeon is recommending invasive surgery in bad faith, but Ian Harris argues that the evidence for the success for many common operations, including knee arthroscopies, back fusion or cardiac stenting, become current accepted practice without full examination of the evidence.

The First 90 Days has become the bestselling globally acknowledged bible of leadership and career transitions. In The First 90 Days, Watkins outlines proven strategies that will dramatically shorten the time it takes to reach what he calls the "breakeven point" - when your organization needs you as much as you need the job.

In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni once again offers a leadership fable , This time, he turns to the world of teams." "Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: uniting a team that is in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's tale serves as a reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight." "Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions that go to the very heart of why teams - even the best ones - often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team.

Fred Lee has the enviable distinction of having been both a senior vice president of a major medical center and a cast member at Disney University. In this book Lee sets out 91/2 principles for hospital teams to gain competitive advantage that comes from being seen as "the best" by their own employees, consumers, and community.

Selected as a Book of the Year by New StatesmanMost athletes are not born with any natural advantage. Three world-class chess players were sisters, whose success was planned by their parents before they were even born. Anders Ericsson has spent thirty years studying The Special Ones, the geniuses, sports stars and musical prodigies. Draws on the examples of chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory mavens to outline a powerful approach to learning that enables proficiency through strategic goal setting, self-motivation, and feedback exercises.

This book analyses and explains the principles behind Safety-I and Safety-II and approaches and considers the past and future of safety management practices. The analysis makes use of common examples and cases from domains such as aviation, nuclear power production, process management and health care. The final chapters explain the theoretical and practical consequences of the new, Safety-II perspective on day-to-day operations as well as on strategic management (safety culture).

A new business parable from John Kotter - Here is the story of a clan of meerkats who live in the Kalahari. Well organised and efficient, the colony enjoys many years of successful growth, until it suddenly comes under threat from a new form of predator and is forced to rethink its organizational structure. John Kotter uses this charming parable to explore why organizations often struggle no matter their past success, and why they fall. Kotter shows that by embracing reliability, efficiency, speed and agility, and building passion, discipline and personal growth, organizations can once again prosper, fulfil their mission, create great jobs and services and generate wealth

This innovation guide shows you how to: inspire and ignite trailblazing innovation in your workplace; design a new business model that's creative, collaborative, and sustainable; apply the traditional scientific method to the latest innovations in "design thinking"; build a customized toolkit of the best practices, project portfolios, and strategies; increase your innovation capacity--and watch how quickly you succeed. These field-tested techniques grew out of the health care industry but are designed to work with any complex organization. Its concise, easy-to-implement methods can help jump-start your employees' creative potential, involve them in the collaborative process, and pave the way to the future of sustainable innovation.

Both a visionary road map and practical guide, this book will help leaders
* Identify and communicate the organisation's true purpose
*Set achievable priorities
*Deliver greater customer value through more efficient processes
*Build organization-wide problem-solving capabilities
*Develop personal clarity to become a direct, purposeful, and successful leader