7 Responses

1. These should help…
   It’s refreshing to see a public sector body interested in creating momentum through creativity – well done!
   A book I often use when I train is “Instant Creativity”, Brian Clegg and Paul Birch. I also recommend “Fish!” and “Fish! Tales” for a fresh approach to teamwork. “The Enneagram in Love & Work” may sound an odd choice, but it’s very insightful into how people respond. Feel free to contact me at The Potential Centre if you have difficulty in obtaining any of these.

2. Recommended reading
   Who moved my cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson. Takes less than an hour to read but is very enlightening and thought provoking. Looks at dealing with change and can be related to business and peronal life alike. Well worth the £5.99!

3. Understanding Organisations
   The most useful book I have found and recommended to others over the years is Charles Handy’s Understanding Organisations (my copy is Penguin Books Third edition 1985, but there may be later reprints). It covers both the theory about such things as motivation, roles, behaviour in organisations, workings in groups, organisaitonal culture etc, but also the practical application for managers and leaders. Acutally I would recommend anything by Handy, he is excellent value, challenging and future thinking.

4. Book on business writing
   I know I could be accused of advertising here but one of my latest books (I am the author) has been bought for use in a number of company libraries and I’m told is appreciated by staff who want to improve their written communication generally. The book is called “Powerwriting” and more details are available from http://www.business-minds.com/detail.asp?item=100000000016610&affid=STM

5. Small books, small price
   Try looking at a web site called ‘pocket book’ its at http://www.pocketbook.co.uk. They have a great range of useful books on all sorts of training issues, and whats more they are quite cheap to buy.

6. Try Books 24×7
   Difficult to recommend this without being accussed of advertising, but you should consider an online reference library called Books 24×7.

   There is a business professional libray which contains thousands of books and workgroup user’s can send each other interesting chapters so it can be used in collaborative learning.

   An added advantage is that they can access the library from wherever they are.

   Regards

   John Belchamber

7. Find a good bookshop and enjoy…
   One of the great bonuses of your exercise is that you can go into a bookshop and have a really good browse, and find ones that strike you as useful.
   I’ve run and researched a few open learning centres, and Stephen Covey’s 7 habits has consistently been oversubscribed.
   Another tip is to sit and browse Amazon, as they have reasonable reviews that can give you some pointers too.