Annotated Bibliography
Management/Leadership
Gabarro, John J, ed. Managing People and Organizations. Harvard School of Business Publications, 1992. This book provides a great primer on management, and is recommended highly. It includes topics such as effective time management, leadership vs. management, motivating and managing individuals, performance appraisals, managing your boss, organization effectiveness, how to run a meeting, and others.
Collins, Jim. Good to Great, 2001. Many chiefs have found this book useful. This management classic gives practical, clear advice based on the evidence of real companies that made the leap from mediocre to exceptional. It provides excellent evidence-based guidance about how to be a Level 5 humble and effective leader, and how to become the best team-maker you can be. The ‘hedgehog’ concept helped one Chief understand what his Division should be focusing on. Ross, Wentzel, Mitlyng. Leadership for the Future: Core competences in Health Care.
Financial Management
Zelman, McCue, Millikan and Glick. Financial management of Health Care Organizations. A comprehensive, solid grounding for understanding finances of health care entities.
Strategic planning/Business planning
Ginter, Duncan, Sappington, Swayze. Strategic management of Health care organizations, 5th edition. A highly rated text, very readable. Semple, Business planning for health care management. Tips and conceptual skills on how to plan and implement a new line of business.
Change management
Harvard Business School press, Managing Change and Transition. One of a series, gives an essential overview of leading change.
Kotter, John P. Leading Change. An oft-quoted, Harvard business “bible” on change management.
Gladwell, M. The Tipping Point.
Miscellaneous:
The Harvard Business Review Series offers books in the following areas which would be of interest to Chiefs. Keep in mind these will not be health care focused.
- Business Communication
- Essentials Guide to Negotiation
- Finance for Managers
- Hiring and Keeping the Best People
- Managing Change and Transition
- Harvard Business Review on Work-Life Balance (?A contradiction in terms?)
- Harvard Business Review on Leading in Turbulent Times
Bob Centor’s picks Bob Centor is a seasoned Chief at the University of Alabama, was a founding member and Past-President of ACGIM, and Past-President of SGIM. His picks are as follows:
First, Break All the Rules
The greatest managers in the world seem to have little in common. They differ in sex, age, and race. They employ vastly different styles and focus on different goals. Yet despite their differences, great managers share one common trait: They do not hesitate to break virtually every rule held sacred by conventional wisdom. They do not believe that, with enough training, a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They do not try to help people overcome their weaknesses. They consistently disregard the golden rule. And, yes, they even play favorites. First, Break All the Rules explains why.
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of The Gallup Organization present the remarkable findings of Gallup's massive in-depth study of great managers across a wide variety of situations. Some were in leadership positions. Others were front-line supervisors. Some were in Fortune 500 companies; others were key players in small, entrepreneurial businesses. Whatever their situations, the managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup's research were invariably those who excelled at turning each employee's talent into performance.
The One Thing you need to Know - Marcus spends time on leaders and managers. "Great leaders rally people to a better future."
"Great managers discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it." There are significant differences between leaders and managers and Marcus spends a good deal of time reviewing this with good stories along the way.
Whether you are a leader or a manager, you still are an individual person and need to find your own path to success. It is this thread that finally leads Marcus to the one thing: "Discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it."
Wait, this is phrased as a negative. Why? Simply it goes back to the strengths and weaknesses argument. Focus on the strengths and keep doing those. But this oddly isn't enough. You will also need to find out your weaknesses (what you don't like doing) and figure out a way to avoid doing it. Of course, the devil is in the details. It will in many cases be harder to do than it seems. But when you think about it, it does make sense. It may not be easy for some folks to accomplish as they may have found themselves in a position where had they listened earlier, they may not be so far off track now.
Influence by Robert Cialdini - Robert Cialdini is a Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and has spent many years devoted to the scientific investigation and research of persuasion techniques. His book "Influence " has become a classic. Within his book Cialdini lists six basic social and psychological principles that form the foundation for successful strategies used to achieve influence.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Dr Stephen Covey is a hugely influential management guru, whose book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, became a blueprint for personal development when it was published in 1990. The Seven Habits are said by some to be easy to understand but not as easy to apply. Don't let the challenge daunt you: The 'Seven Habits' are a remarkable set of inspirational and aspirational standards for anyone who seeks to live a full, purposeful and good life, and are applicable today more than ever, as the business world becomes more attuned to humanist concepts. Covey's values are full of integrity and humanity, and contrast strongly with the process-based ideologies that characterized management thinking in earlier times.
Getting to Yes - One of the most influential works in the endeavour of negotiations is Getting to YES. This work offers a clean, easy to read and is quite digestible for both novices and the experienced negotiator. The novice will be introduced carefully and will easily understand the principle centred approach outlined by the authors. Experienced negotiators will find it to be an excellent source of refreshment and reference.
Why these books? I believe that division chiefs need 3 major skills - leadership, management and negotiation.
Leadership (in my thought process) defines the skill of anticipating the future and leading the charge. Leaders rarely accept the status quo, rather they look for ways to improve, expand, and move forward. I would start with the 7 Habits and then read the One Thing you Really Need to Know. Buckingham’s section on leadership has influenced my strategic thinking.
Management differs greatly from leadership. Some chiefs excel at one, and fail at the other. Management refers to the ability to help the members of the group succeed. While the 7 Habits help here, I find the 2 Buckingham books as the best source I have read. I adore First, Break all the Rules. This book is based on careful survey data. The One Thing you Really Need to Know expands these thoughts.
One should never underestimate the importance of negotiation. Division chiefs spend time negotiating with faculty, staff, department chairs and the health system. I would read Cialdini’s book on Influence first as a background, then read the classic on negotiations - Getting to Yes.
I hope these books are helpful.