100 Books Like Managerial Dilemmas

There are so many golden calves in the world of management and leadership theory, and this book knocks nine of them down politely but mercilessly.

My favorite chapter: “The Delusion of Rigorous Research,” coming from a business school professor who knows first-hand what he’s talking about. I’m encumbered by philosophical training, and in the business world, I constantly find myself asking, “Yes, but what does that word actually mean?” or “What kind of evidence could support that claim, and is that evidence you could actually collect?”

More and more content about how to succeed in business and management gets produced by humans, and increasingly by AI. In that context, I’m grateful for books like this one that focus more on “how” than on “what” to think.

I loved The Book of Three because it was the first story that made me feel like adventure could begin anywhere—even for someone as unsure of themselves as Taran.

I connected with his clumsy eagerness to prove his worth, and watching him grow gave the journey real heart. The companions he meets—Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam, and Gurgi—bring warmth and humor, showing that bravery isn’t about perfection but about loyalty and sacrifice.

Lloyd Alexander’s world of Prydain felt alive with magic, danger, and wonder. It made me believe that even ordinary people could rise to do extraordinary things.

This book is so many things at once. It’s a history of management education. It’s a damning indictment of the consulting world. It’s an acerbic memoir of life as a consultant that had me laughing out loud.

But what resonated most with me is that it’s also a profound and rigorous argument for why business schools are not the right place to learn about management and that the traditional liberal arts give you more skills and mental models for assuming responsibility for leading an organization.  

This is a kind of reverse-quirky choice among quirky books about leadership because it gives what I might call the conventional view of leadership, with leaders being people who are simply exemplary in every way your grandmother told you to be. The book does so excellently; I took away lots of actionable tips, and I enjoyed the real personal stories of leadership.

It’s just a very likable book, and you can’t go wrong reading it or taking its recommendations. Those recommendations will make you a gosh-darn good person to be around, which will go a long way–but maybe not quite all the way–as a leader. 

This book really struck a chord with me.

Ferrazzi's insights on workplace innovation during the pandemic have helped me reshape my company's practices to remain competitive in a constantly evolving business landscape.

What I appreciated most about this book is that it's based on research from real-life executives, innovators, and changemakers who redefined their strategies and business models to stay ahead of the curve.

In diving into this book, I couldn't help but draw parallels between Maxwell's teachings and our foundational principles of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). Although Maxwell isn't exactly a card-carrying behavior scientist, his wisdom on topics like vision, influence, and commitment resonates deeply with OBM practices I've come to advocate for.

He's revamped the book with modern examples, making it all the more relevant in today's business world. Yet, the core truths—those unshakeable leadership tenets—remain. Through my lens, blending Maxwell's insights with OBM's evidence-based strategies can empower anyone navigating the complex world of leadership.

This isn't just another leadership book; it's a bridge between traditional leadership wisdom and the pragmatic, results-driven approach of OBM. Highly recommended for those with a passion for melding theory with real-world solutions.

Management as a skill is typically established and honed by osmosis, mimicry, and corporate crash courses. Data scientists pursuing management roles need to understand management from base principles to create meaningful change and establish productive team conventions. After almost 70 years, Drucker’s book still stands up as a foundational piece of reading.

Put simply, it summarises the former four and has gifted me “So What?” When ‘Command and Control’ was recognised as an obsolete model for a modern army, the two authors had the task of rethinking what that would mean and how to accomplish something better.

When leading an organisation whose budget has been slashed, but you cannot lose the capacity to effectively respond, it focuses the mind. As the authors say, we must change the way we change.

There is a clue in the title. The recipe is clear and is anything but a dry narrative. It shows how the future will be created by positive action and empowered teams—not by slogans or strategies—but by action.

For almost six decades, I have studied the histories of firms and their successes and failures in creating value. I am always looking for heavy hitters who write about their thinking/doing process. Curt Carlson qualifies.

When he was CEO of SRI International, he guided the conception and development of HDTV, Siri, the computer mouse, electronic banking, robotic surgery which evolved into Intuitive Surgical (the dominant robotics surgical firm with its Da Vinci system), and much more.

I first found Carlson via a Harvard Business Review article in which he laid out his proven steps for value creation that seem so straightforward, yet are rarely followed. I wanted a more comprehensive discussion, and I got it with this book.    

I was given a free copy of this book at a conference and only read it as I had nothing else to read at that point. But, for the time, its method of communicating ideas and concepts was revolutionary and this, as well as the contents of the book, have stayed with me.

I hadn’t read it for a while, but on re-reading it to write this review, I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Once again, I am drawn to the emphasis on the individual and their ability to be creative, adaptable, and innovative. These concepts seem, in my eyes, to be lost in finance education but are fundamental to a strong real-world financial system that avoids the effects of the groupthink seen in the 2008 financial crash.