Books
Unlike the suppliers section, this selection of titles
is purely personal. These are books which we have found useful in some
way or have been recommended to us. We hope you will enjoy or benefit
from too.
Human resources
"A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice"
Michael Armstrong
Good standard manual, updated to cover current HR concerns and challenges.
"Human Resource Management Textbook: a Contemporary
Perspective" Ian Beardwell, Len Holden
Comprehensive and reasonably up-to-date student introduction to HRM with
exercises, activities and detailed case studies to aid the learning process.
Good coverage of international issues.
"Employee Reward" Michael Armstrong
New edition. Remarkably complete coverage of this complex topic. Sane
guidance taking into account the wide range of factors that affect our
attitudes to pay. Good coverage of the impact of motivational and measurement
theories.
"Training Needs Analysis and Evaluation"
Frances Bee, Roland Bee
Straightforward guide to be commended for stressing the
importance of aligning training to business objectives. Useful help on
evaluating the success and cost-effectiveness of programmes.
"Identifying Training Needs" Tom
Boydell, Malcolm Leary
A useful volume from the CIPD stable written in a very accessible style.
Sound methods for assessing needs at individual, team and company level,
with particularly good approach to analysis of data, cost justification
and measuring benefits.
Payroll
Tolley Publishing seem to have a monopoly on payroll
"bibles". You'll find some of them from the link below.
Can you recommend any good titles on payroll?
Personal development
"Unlimited Power" Anthony Robbins
If only ever read one book on personal development make it this one.
Much ripped off by other authors since it was written in the mid '80s,
this has a sincerity and strong ethical stance lacking in most "success"
books. Worth the money if you only put a few things into action.
"Awaken the Giant Within" Anthony
Robbins
Builds on "Unlimited Power" with even more practical tools
to enhance our lives. Only slightly marred by the copious "Americanisms".
"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"
Stephen R. Covey
If you prefer working with a "methodology" this is a well
structured and still ethically-based approach.
Sales skills
Perhaps more than any other subject books on sales techniques
tend to serve up the same material packaged in a slightly different way.
We have selected some of the standard works and some that we think offer
a little extra. In a way it doesn't matter which ones you go for - putting
the theory into practice is what counts.
"How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success
in Selling" Frank Bettger
Don't be put off by the title. You do have to forgive a few non-PC
lapses, but it was written in 1949! Still it is packed with little gems
that if updated and adapted to your own style will add to your success.
"How to Win Friends and Influence People"
Dale Carnegie
The daddy of them all. Still very relevant today - and not just for sales
people! The title may have become a cliché but the content most certainly
is not.
"The One Minute Sales Person" Spencer
Johnson, Larry Wilson
Slim volume of sound advice with the benefit that you can put it all
into practice very quickly.
"The S.P.I.N. Selling Fieldbook: Practical Tools,
Methods, Exercises and Resources" Neil Rackham
An excellent introduction to the SPIN customer-centred selling techniques.
It could almost be used as an induction course for sales people who are
new to selling complex or intangible products.
"The New Strategic Selling" Stephen
E. Heiman, Diane Sanchez, Tad Tuleja
Update of the excellent "Strategic Selling" (Miller, Heiman).
Outlines an excellent methodology for tackling complex sales and discovering
the real buyers and the motivations of all the players.
"Rethinking the Sales Force" Neil
Rackham, John DeVincentis
An excellent examination of the challenges facing sales people and their
managers in today's rapidly changing commercial world. The book looks
at ways to deliver added customer value at a time when the expectations
of buyers and evolving purchasing patterns threaten traditional sales
processes.
Management
"Working Knowledge : How Organizations Manage
What They Know" Thomas H. Davenport, Laurence Prusak
Concentrated and concise examination of the knowledge management debate.
Not just empty theory, but constructive use of real life examples to indicate
what does and doesn't work.
"The One Minute Manager" Kenneth
Blanchard, Spencer Johnson
Perhaps a bit pointless to include this title. Surely everyone has read
it? Experience shows, however, that not all have made use of it! Not an
instant solution to all problems, but an excellent allegory.
General business
"Liberation Management" Tom Peters
No list of business books would be complete without a Tom Peters title.
Perhaps not as fashionable as he was he nevertheless has a lot of thought
provoking examples worth examining. "Liberation Management"
is probably the best of the bunch even if only for the story of Titeflex
and how it transformed its production processes to be totally customer-focused.
"Management Challenges for the 21st Century"
Peter F. Drucker
Fascinating view of the next 50 years as Drucker believes it will
unfold. One of the most influential business thinkers of the last four
decades, Drucker, now aged 90, is more creative and challenging than ever.
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