Transformation & Change108

Evan's Book Reviews: New Ways of Working

Across the organization

Evan Leybourn

February 3, 2019

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I read a lot - not all of it related to agile or business management, but enough. Below are some of the important books that have shaped my thinking (and writing). Not all of them a great (as you can see from my ranking), but they all contain some interesting ideas. This group of reviews will focus on those books that relate to new ways of working across the organization. 

This post contains Amazon affilliate links.

Agile Value Delivery – Beyond the Numbers

Authors: Larry Cooper and Jen Stone

From the back of the book: "Simply stated, the digital revolution has thrust us suddenly and rapidly into in a new world with new rules. This book is a practical behavioural guide to those who want to master these new rules."

For those moving beyond projects and looking at value management, this book is a valuable addition to your library. 

Evan's rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Download a free copy: Amazon link


Nehemiah Effect

Authors: Ted and Andrew Kallman

From the back of the book: "The rapid convergence of technological and knowledge growth is resulting in disruptive change unlike any in human history. So why go back 2,500 years for a business leadership and project management model? According to today’s experts, Nehemiah’s building the 4.5-mile wall around Jerusalem in 445 BC should have taken years with a huge labor force. But he accomplished it with 150 leaders and an enormous volunteer team in 52 days.

This book is a roadmap on how to accomplish seemingly impossible goals using a Business Agile framework. The Nehemiah Effect combines new mindsets, methodologies, and technologies with proven, ancient wisdom to deliver surprising results for today’s business leaders and project managers."

This book is an unusual discovery. Very few books take ideas from ancient history to apply to modern business - and do so in such a intriguing and compelling way. 

Evan's rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Buy a copy: Amazon link


Directing the Agile Organisation

Author: Evan Leybourn

Agile is about change; changing how you think, changing how you work, and changing the way you interact. By accepting, embracing, and shaping change, you can take advantage of new opportunities to outperform, and out-compete, in the market. While this sounds simple, change, by its very nature, is not easy.

The concepts in this book change what it means to do business. ‘Agile Business Management’ is a series of concepts and processes for the day-to-day management of your organisation, regardless of industry, size or location. The end goal is to improve business adaptability, staff engagement, quality, and risk management, for the benefit of your Customers.

Evan's rating: N/A (as this is my book, it feels disingenuous to review it)

Buy a copy: Amazon link


The Lean Playbook

Authors: Antonio Medina, Daniel Santiago, Antonio José Rodriguez, Iván Martin, Manjit Singh

This book is aimed at everyone, but with a special focus on consultants, Lean practitioners, operational team leaders and strategic heads of departments. It goes from making the first steps introducing Lean in an organization to leveraging a change of culture, optimizing value streams and facilitating innovation.

Evan's rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Buy a copyAuthors website

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