Recommended Reading
We challenge ourselves to continually learn. To seek the insights and opinions of reputable sources. To be true business consultants with a deep understanding of how today’s companies are led.
Below are some of the many books in the Bell Oaks library. We have found these titles to be among the most informative, inspiring and useful. We hope they provide a benefit to you as well.
The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance
Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton
ISBN-13: 978-1439149171
Got carrotphobia? Do you think that recognizing your employees will distract you and your team from more serious business, create jealousy, or make you look soft? Think again. more»
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ...
and Others Don’t
Jim Collins
ISBN: 0066620996
Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" ... more»
 The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift
Andrés R. Edwards,
Foreword by David W. Orr
Great companies don’t just depend on strategies—they depend on people. The more great people on your team, the more successful ... more »
 The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility
David Vogel
In the highly praised The Market for Virtue, David Vogel presents a clear, balanced analysis of the contemporary corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement in the United States and Europe ... more »
 Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose
Rajendra Sisodia, David Wolfe, Jagdish Sheth
ISBN-13: 978-0131873728
It's a fact: People are increasingly searching for higher meaning in their lives ... more »
 Bringing Your Business to Life
Jeffrey Cornwall, Michael Naughton
ISBN-13: 978-0830745937
Bringing Your Business to Life examines the four virtues necessary for doing well and being good, within the complexities of the life of the businessperson. The authors draw from their vast combined experiences and from the rich and profound tradition of the four virtues of prudence, justice, courage and temperance to teach today’s entrepreneur in business. ... more »
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 Back to Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion
Peter Kreeft, Foreword by Russell Kirk
ISBN: 0898704227
In the book, Kreeft explains how our civilization has rejected the idea of virtue and why we desparately need to recover this moral vision ... more»
 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
Patrick Lencioni
ISBN: 0787960756
Once again using an astutely written fictional tale to unambiguously but painlessly deliver some hard truths about critical business ... more»
 Clients for Life: Evolving from an Expert-for-Hire to an Extraordinary Adviser
Jagdish Sheth and Andrew Sobel
ISBN: 0684870304
More than 15 million people in this country earn their livings by serving clients, and their numbers are growing every day ... more»
 Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference
Tim Sanders
ISBN: 978-0385523578
Even the actions of a single person can help to change the world. How? Through simple acts of leadership and compassion. Open up this book, and discover the true stories of people whose actions have caused a chain reaction at work and in their communities. ... more»
 Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental, and Economic Impacts
Marc J Epstein, Forewards by John Elkington & Herman B Leonard
Epstein outlines the ethical arguments for sustainable business practices and lays out large-scale strategies on how to implement and measure the actual social and financial impacts of these initiatives. ... more»
 Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World
Chris Lowney
ISBN: 0829421157;
Pub. Date: 01/2005
Leadership is crucial to building organizations with staying power. In Heroic Leadership, author Chris Lowney examines organizational principles derived from the history and teachings of the Jesuits and applies them to modern corporate culture. ... more»
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Once again using an astutely written fictional tale to unambiguously but painlessly deliver some hard truths about critical business procedures, Patrick Lencioni targets group behavior in the final entry of his trilogy of corporate fables. And like those preceding it, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is an entertaining, quick read filled with useful information that will prove easy to digest and implement. This time, Lencioni weaves his lessons around the story of a troubled Silicon Valley firm and its unexpected choice for a new CEO: an old-school manager who had retired from a traditional manufacturing company two years earlier at age 55. Showing exactly how existing personnel failed to function as a unit, and precisely how the new boss worked to reestablish that essential conduct, the book's first part colorfully illustrates the ways that teamwork can elude even the most dedicated individuals – and be restored by an insightful leader. A second part offers details on Lencioni's "five dysfunctions" (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results), along with a questionnaire for readers to use in evaluating their own teams and specifics to help them understand and overcome these common shortcomings.
Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose
It's a fact: People are increasingly searching for higher meaning in their lives, not just more possessions. This trend is transforming the marketplace, the workplace, and the very soul of capitalism. Increasingly, today's most successful companies are those who've brought love, joy, authenticity, empathy, and soulfulness into their businesses: companies that deliver emotional, experiential, and social value, not just profits. Firms of Endearment illuminates this: the most fundamental transformation in capitalism since Adam Smith. It's not a book about corporate social responsibility: it's about building companies that can sustain success in a radically new era. It's about great companies like IDEO and IKEA, Commerce Bank and Costco, Wegmans and Whole Foods: how they've earned powerful loyalty and affection from all their stakeholders, while achieving stock performance that is truly breathtaking. It's about gaining "share of heart," not just share of wallet. It's about aligning the interests of all your stakeholders, not just juggling them. It's about understanding how the "new rules of capitalism" mirror the self-actualization focus of our aging society. It's about building companies that leave the world a better place. Most of all, it's about why you must do all this, or risk being left in the dust... and how to get there from wherever you are now.
Bringing Your Business to Life
Bringing Your Business to Life examines the four virtues necessary for doing well and being good, within the complexities of the life of the businessperson. The authors draw from their vast combined experiences and from the rich and profound tradition of the four virtues of prudence, justice, courage and temperance to teach today’s entrepreneur in business. Practical and inspiring, this unique blend of real cases and practical insights provides a balanced approach to doing business. For anyone with entrepreneurial spirit, Bringing Your Business to Life provides a unique integration of moral reflection and entrepreneurial experience that displays the importance and the benefits of applying faith at work, both personally and professionally.
Good to Great
Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11 – including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo – and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider.
The Carrot Principle
Got carrotphobia? Do you think that recognizing your employees will distract you and your team from more serious business, create jealousy, or make you look soft? Think again.The Carrot Principle reveals the groundbreaking results of one of the most in-depth management studies ever undertaken, showing definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful managers is that they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. With independent research from The Jackson Organization and analysis by bestselling leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, this breakthrough study of 200,000 people over ten years found dramatically greater business results when managers offered constructive praise and meaningful rewards in ways that powerfully motivated employees to excel.
Drawing on case studies from leading companies including Disney, DHL, KPMG, and Pepsi Bottling Group, bestselling authors Gostick and Elton show how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing increases in operating results--whether measured by return on equity, return on assets, or operating margin. And they show how great managers lead with carrots, not sticks, and in doing so achieve higher
• Productivity
• Engagement
• Retention
• Customer satisfaction
The Carrot Principle illustrates that the relationship between recognition and improved business results is highly predictable--it’s proven to work. But it’s not the employee recognition some of us have been using for years. It is recognition done right, recognition combined with four other core traits of effective leadership.
Gostick and Elton explain the remarkably simple but powerful methods great managers use to provide their employees with effective recognition, which all managers can easily learn and begin practicing for immediate results. Great recognition doesn’t take time--it can be done in a matter of moments--and it doesn’t take budget-busting amounts of money. This exceptional book presents the simple steps to becoming a Carrot Principle manager and to building a recognition culture in your organization; it offers a wealth of specific examples, culled from real-life cases, of the ways to do recognition right. Following these simple steps will make you a high-performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement.
The Sustainability Revolution
Sustainability has become a buzzword in the last decade, but its full meaning is complex, emerging from a range of different sectors. In practice, it has become the springboard for millions of individuals throughout the world who are forging the fastest and most profound social transformation of our time-the sustainability revolution.
The Sustainability Revolution paints a picture of this largely unrecognized phenomenon from the point of view of five major sectors of society:
• Community (government and international institutions)
• Commerce (business)
• Resource extraction (forestry, farming, fisheries etc.)
• Ecological design (architecture, technology)
• Biosphere (conservation, biodiversity etc.)
The book analyzes sustainability as defined by each of these sectors in terms of the principles, declarations and intentions that have emerged from conferences and publications, and which serve as guidelines for policy decisions and future activities. Common themes are then explored, including:
An emphasis on stewardship
• The need for economic restructuring promoting no waste and equitable distribution
• An understanding and respect for the principles of nature
• The restoration of life forms
• An intergenerational perspective on solutions
Concluding that these themes in turn represent a new set of values that define this paradigm shift, The Sustainability Revolution describes innovative sustainable projects and policies in Colombia, Brazil, India and the Netherlands and examines future trends. Complete with a useful resources list, this is the first book of its kind and will appeal to business and government policymakers, academics and all interested in sustainability.
Andrés R. Edwards is an educator, author, media designer and environmental systems consultant who has specialized in sustainability topics for the past 15 years. The founder and president of EduTracks, an exhibit design and fabrication firm specializing in green building and sustainable education programs for parks, towns and companies, he lives in northern California.
Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility
In the highly praised The Market for Virtue, David Vogel presents a clear, balanced analysis of the contemporary corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement in the United States and Europe. In this updated paperback edition, Vogel discusses recent CSR initiatives and responds to new developments in the CSR debate. He asserts that while the movement has achieved success in improving some labor, human rights, and environmental practices in developing countries, there are limits to improving corporate conduct without more extensive and effective government regulation. Put simply, Vogel believes that there is a market for virtue, but it is limited by the substantial costs of socially responsible business behavior.
Clients for Life
An Innovative Blueprint for Enduring Client Relationships
More than 15 million people in this country earn their livings by serving clients, and their numbers are growing every day. Unfortunately, far too few develop the skills and strategies needed to rise to the top ina world where clients have almost unlimited access to information and expertise. Supported by more than one hundred case studies and wisdom gleaned from interviews with dozens of leading CEOs and prominent business advisors, Clients for Life identifies what clients really want and lays out the core qualities that distinguish the client advisor – an irreplaceable resource – from the expert for hire – a tradable commodity.
- Experts are specialists; advisors become deep generalists who have broad perspective.
- Experts are for hire; advisors have selfless independence, balancing client devotion with objectivity and detachment.
- Experts have professional credibility; advisors develop deep personal trust.
- Experts analyze; advisors synthesize and bring big-picture thinking to the table.
- Experts supply expertise and information; advisors are educators who provide insight and wisdom.
Portraits of history's most famously successful advisors, including Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, and J. P. Morgan, underscore these timeless qualities that modern professionals need to develop to excel in today's competitive environment.
Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World
Leadership is crucial to building organizations with staying power. In Heroic Leadership, author Chris Lowney examines organizational principles derived from the history and teachings of the Jesuits and applies them to modern corporate culture. Based on the four Jesuit pillars of success: self-awareness (reflection), ingenuity (embracing change), love (positive attitudes toward others) and heroism (energizing ambitions). Despite the emphasis on the four pillars, this is no formulaic "12-steps-to-success" tome. Rather than focusing on what leaders do, Lowney shows how the Jesuit approach focuses on who leaders are. His conversational voice draws the reader in as he unfolds leadership lessons from some unlikely Jesuit role models, including explorer Benedetto de Goes, linguist Matteo Ricci and mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius. Lowney's passion for history is appealing, and he is careful not to sugarcoat his historical role models. Professionals looking for a One-Minute type of business book won't find it here, but more reflective businesspeople of faith will find Lowney's insights a breath of fresh air . A Jesuit seminarian turned investment banker, Lowney recognized a tremendous lack of able leaders throughout his seventeen years of multinational management experience. By modeling the Jesuits' success, Lowney shares methods for molding innovative, ambitious leaders in the modern corporate environment.
Making Sustainability Work
Epstein outlines the ethical arguments for sustainable business practices and lays out large-scale strategies on how to implement and measure the actual social and financial impacts of these initiatives.
In recent years, corporations of all sizes and orientations have become more sensitive to social issues and stakeholder concerns, and they are collectively striving to become better corporate citizens (in some cases, urged on by shareholder pressure or government regulations). The best practices in corporate sustainability are no longer the exclusive domain of companies like Ben & Jerry’s or Body Shop as they were a decade ago; now, large, multi-national companies like G.E. and Wal-Mart are leading the way with significant financial and organizational commitments to social and environmental issues. To help managers and academics keep their eye on the ever-moving target of sustainability, award-winning author and academic Marc Epstein’s provides an authoritative and comprehensive guide to implementing corporate sustainability initiatives and to measuring both their social and financial impacts.
Back to Virtue
In the book, Kreeft explains how our civilization has rejected the idea of virtue and why we desparately need to recover this moral vision in order to know true blessedness inwardly and good relationships outwardly. As Thomas Merton wrote, "We are not peace with others because we are not peace with ourselves, and we are not peace with ourselves because we are not peace with God."
Kreeft argues that we need a clear roadmap concerning right and wrong – and that roadmap is clearly discovered in God's Word. "The most striking feature of God's roadmap is the stark fact of the Two Roads. There is the road that leads to Life, and there is the road that leads to Death. There is Good, and there is Evil. There is Right and there is Wrong" (11). We must regain the wisdom of those who have gone before us in order to meet the challenges of the present and the future. C. S. Lewis concisely presents the modern problem: "For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality, and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline, and virtue. For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man, and the solution is a technique." Kreeft argues that we must return to a historic understanding of virtue and vice in order to confront the moral turmoil that surrounds us. "In an age of relativism, orthodoxy is the only possible rebellion left" (189).
With this historical backdrop in place, Kreeft introduces his readers to the four cardinal virtues of justice, wisdom, courage, and moderation. "Cardinal" comes from the Latin word for "hinge". All other virtues "hinge" on these four. He then considers the three theological virtues – faith, hope, and love. Finally, he considers the seven deadly sins and contrasts them with the Beautitudes.
In short, this book is well worth its weight in gold. It is a fine introduction to a subject that needs to be recovered in our society and – even more importantly – in our churches. We are to make every effort to add virtue to our faith (2 Peter 1:5).
Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference
Even the actions of a single person can help to change the world. How? Through simple acts of leadership and compassion. Open up this book, and discover the true stories of people whose actions have caused a chain reaction at work and in their communities. Among them: A manager who gives an employee some supportive praise, and as a result literally saves his life (page 231).
A small group of bank tellers who spearhead a movement to raise millions of dollars for breast cancer, making it the biggest fundraiser in North America, and enhancing their company’s reputation (page 213).
A sales manager who gets a copy of a groundbreaking book that leads to a transformation of the company’s operations. As a result, hundreds of millions of pounds of carpet waste avoid the landfill, and the company sparks a revolution in its industry (page 12).
A “responsibility revolution” is shaking up corporate America. In this provocative and insightful book, bestselling author Tim Sanders reveals why companies must to go beyond making a profit and start making a difference.
Every one of us, regardless of title or position, can inspire our companies to change the way they do business, helping them to become a positive force for enriching people, communities, and the environment. When this happens, not only do we help save the world, we help save our companies from becoming irrelevant. We also become part of what Sanders calls the Responsibility Revolution.
Companies that don’t participate in this revolution risk becoming obsolete. Today customers, employees, and investors are demanding that companies focus on their social responsibilities--not just their bottom lines. Sixty-five percent of American consumers say they would change to brands associated with a good cause if price and quality were equal; 66 percent of recent college graduates will not work for companies with poor social values. And more than sixty million people are willing to pay a premium for socially and environmentally responsible products.
In Saving the World at Work, Tim Sanders offers concrete suggestions on how all of us can help our companies join the Responsibility Revolution. Drawing on extensive interviews with hundreds of employees and CEOs, and illuminated by countless stories of people who are making a difference in the workplace and in the world, Sanders offers practical advice every individual and company can use to make the world a better place--now and in the future.
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