Welcome to Berkshire Bookstore

We have identified a few key texts which support our programmes and others which underpin or have influenced our own philosophies to learning, training, facilitating and coaching. This list forms a useful start point for reading beyond our programmes if you have recently been on a BCL programme. While many of the texts are classics, we will be adding to and developing this list as we ourselves read on, and discover new texts.

If you would like to purchase, we have a click through arrangement with Amazon. For each book sold through this arrangement, they will pay us a small fee. We will donate this fee to Naomi House, one of our BCL sponsored local charities.

Do bookmark this page and return to it as we will be adding to it on a regular basis. The next update will feature more books on leadership and action learning.

General Leadership

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen CoveyThis book is a management staple as Stephen Covey brings to life practical real life examples of how we can solve problems differently and effectively. From time management to managing others, this book covers a range of tools which can be incorporated into professional and personal toolkits alike. - Rebecca

Facilitating Learning

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life by Parker J. Palmer
An amazing book exploring the emotional backdrop to the teaching and learning process – really gets you thinking about your practice at another level – Liz

Influencing

Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini
This book is great. Cialdini has explored the components of how we are influenced through a series of undercover roles. Its an easy read, packed with great examples, and you will find yourself thinking very differently about the whole subject of influencing after reading this - Liz

Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini
This follow-up book from Cialdini has a wealth of examples of persuasion in practise to bring the concepts to life in a straightforward and memorable manner - Rebecca

Lend Me Your Ears by Max Atkinson
Brilliant book – well the concept is great and we could use techniques for pitches/presentation skills. He researched political speeches, analysing what made people applaud/cheer. He was then challenged by Granada TV to train someone who had never spoken in public to deliver a political speech at the SDP annual conf – result was a standing ovation. The devices he uses are simple and really work; there’s also lots of fascinating political examples - Rob

The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto
I was first introduced to "The Pyramid Principle" by Barbara Minto in 1988 and it is one of those management books which has stood the test of time! Barbara was working for McKinsey when she realised report writing and writing persuasively were not typically strengths of many business people. She devised the pyramid principle of marshalling information in a logical way, then structuring reports and even paragraphs to make it easier for the reader to digest that information. I still use it when writing proposals and reports, and it’s a great vehicle for helping a team derive the most important findings on the assignment, then presenting them in a compelling way to clients. Mike Robinson

Tork & Grunt's Guide to Effective Negotiations by Bob Harvey
This is a good introduction to negotiating – particularly if you are haggling over a mammoth carcass! The book is an entertaining read, following the exploits of two cavemen (Tork & Grunt) as they seek to ensure the survival of their respective tribes – hence the mammoth carcass. It details the various stages of negotiation and, quite rightly, places great emphasis on preparation. There are useful checklists provided for each stage and I liked the clear differentiation between positional and directional negotiation. It primarily covers one-on-one negotiation although there is a section on team negotiating at the end. Ian Fox

Conflict

Getting to Yes: Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton
Getting to yes – another slim red book, full of examples of how these two Harvard professors have facilitated collaboration in business, personal and political conflicts using the Principled Negotiation technique. The later chapters go on to explore using variants of the technique in conflicts where the people really are proving the problem and how you can work with this. Strongly recommended, particularly for those who find the idea of collaboration and full win-win outcomes difficult to swallow - Liz

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success in Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott
A great book that expands this technique through stories and examples and has the power to really challenge your thinking about what makes a quality relationship. Strongly recommended, particularly for those who score highly in the avoid and accommodate areas of the conflict patterns - Liz

TA Today : A New Introduction to Transactional Analysis by Ian Stewart and Vainn Jones.
To understand the I’m OK You’re OK model in greater depth (an old text which has stood the test of time). Again, this book provides excellent examples and is a good first introduction for exploring the powerful concepts of Transactional Analysis (from which the I’m OK, You’re OK model derives) - Liz

Strategy and Change

Strategy Safari by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel
A highly readable overview of the field of Strategy that explains the different schools of thinking and ideas about organisational strategy emerging over the last few decades. The approach is to provide a user friendly explanation of each school of thinking, its assumptions about the nature of strategy with an easy to understand critique - what they add and their limitations. If you get one book on Strategy, this would be my choice! - Sue

Managing Transition by William Bridges
A good overview of the different psychological stages of change that maps on to the well known ‘Change Curve’. It brings more of an organisational perspective on the stages of change, describes the psychology of peoples’ typical responses, together with practical guidelines and tips for line managers to help themselves and others through transition. While fully acknowledging the personal stress that change can mean, it brings to life in a practical way what individuals and working teams can do to take back control and develop their ways of working in times of uncertainty. - Sue

Switch – how to change things when change is hard by Chip and Dan Heath
Switch sets out a really clear approach to managing change. It picks up on the key principles of effective quality improvement, change management, and appreciative inquiry. It is based on the idea that to make change happen you have to see those you are trying to encourage to change as elephants with riders. So, you have to Direct the Rider - engage the logic side (using appreciative inquiry, outcome states, scripting critical moves), Motivate the elephant - the emotional side - make people feel something, shrink the change, grow your people and Shape the Path - change the environment to make it easy (Eg, Amazon's 1-click), build habits (eg. action triggers), and rally the herd - create space for conversations and a language for change

There are lots of excellent examples which bring the well explained concepts to life. The authors are really generous with their materials and their website has access to podcasts, summaries, and the like. - Liz
http://heathbrothers.com

Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson
This quick yet evocative read is a great way to quickly identify with the different ways in which we handle change. Highly recommended as a practical and accessible story that brings the need for change management to life - Rebecca

Leading Change by John Kotter
This book is one of my favourites on change. It is written simply by John Kotter, a Harvard Professor, and starts by covering 8 common reasons why change fails with subsequent chapters addressing each of these errors and how to implement change more effectively. It seems so simple on the surface but organisations big and small regularly fail to take heed of such advice, focusing on managing rather than leading change.

Berkshire's top tip: ask your senior team to score their change implementation approach against Kotter's 8 principles, then ask people lower down in the organisation to do the same and then feedback the results. Rob Sheppard

Beyond Performance by Scott Keller and Colin Price of McKinsey.
Using their global database of organisations and managers, McKinsey specialists have researched what makes for effective long term change in organisations. They have, not surprisingly, identified that this is down to a focus on longer term Health as well as shorter term Performance. They have set out ways to build the Health of organisations in parallel with focus on Performance. Ie. To make the culture, people and behavioural side of change integrated with the more technical and physical side of change, and to therefore make sure it happens. It reinforces many of our beliefs and practices at Berkshire, and will be an important companion as we design leadership and change interventions with and for our clients.