Leadership

Books

• Aligning the Stars: How to Succeed When Profressionals Drive Results
  by Jay W. Lorsch and Thomas J. Tierney
  

  In talent driven firms, stars, say the authors of Aligning the Stars ($39.95, Harvard Business School Press), make the difference between winning and losing - and they walk out the door each day. Outstanding firms align stars across business lines, geographies, even generations. Building a successful firm is akin to building a brick wall: You may want to add many bricks at once, but it's tough to do so without toppling the wall.

• The Knowing-Doing Gap
  by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton
  

  The Knowing-Doing Gap ($32.50, Harvard Business School Press) confronts the challenge faced by many law firms and their leaders. They know what to do, but they just don't do it! This book is a candid, uselful and realistic guide for improving your firm's organizational performance.

• Managing the Professional Services Firm
  by David H. Maister
  

  If you had to pick just one book to read to be more a more effective managing partner, this is it. Managing the Professional Services Firm ($26.00, Free Press), written by David Maister, covers a wide array of topics ranging from strategy to profitability, marketing to motivating employees. This should be in every managing partner's library.  

• Leading Change
  by John P. Kotter
  

  John Kotter is widely regarded as the world's foremost authority on leadership and change. Leading Change ($26.95, Harvard Business School Press) outlines in just over 200 pages an actionable 8-step process to initiate and sustain organizational change....even in a law firm environment. Another "must-read" for managing partners.

• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference 
  by Malcolm Gladwell
  

  The Tipping Point ($39.95, Hachette Book Group) is another international best-seller from Malcom Gladwell, whose other books include Blink and Outliers. Gladwell examines the phenomenon of social change - that magical, defining moment when an idea, trend and behavior really takes hold and spreads throughout a society or an orgnaization. Gladwell argues that big changes often occur as the result of a series of small events. It's a lively and engaging read.  

• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
  by Jim Collins
  

  Good to Great ($29.99, HarperCollins) is one of the leading books on organizational performance in many decades. It discusses concepts like Level 5 Leadership, First Who (first get the right people on the bus, then figure out where to drive it) and the Flywheel. It makes our short list recommended reading list for every managing parnter.

• Leadership for Lawyers
  by Herb Rubenstein
  

  Leading for Lawyers ($39.95, ABA Publishing) is the first book of its kind written by a lawyer for lawyers, judges, law firm administrators and others in the legal profession and provides practical advice on how to become a more effective leader. Rubenstein takes the reader on a guided tour of the leadership literature of the past fifty years, identifying the various brands of leadership and pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each.
  

• Never Eat Alone - And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
  by Keith Ferrazzi
  

  In this best-seller, Ferrazzi writes about how to build a lifelong community of colleagues, contacts and friends without becoming a networking jack-ass. Never Eat Alone ($24.95, Doubleday) is on almost every rainmaker's short list of recommended reading. It makes our short list, too.