October Reading List

I do not consider myself your typical bookworm... Sometimes I will buy 5-10 books at once and read a few of them at the same time. In my mind a well presented book should be easy to use as a reference after you put it down.

What I am currently reading:

1. Risk Management for IT Projects by Bennet P Lientz and Lee Larssen
   This book is a great reference and working tool for resolving risks in IT portfolio management and is recommended for IT managerts, PMO staff, line of business managers engaged in IT work and technology consultants. The authors have done a great job of stratifying typical issues and risks in a way that makes it easy to read a short 1-2 page summary of each problem, identifying and detecting key issues and recommended actions. They run the range of teamwork, project work project coordination, resistance to change and much more.
2. The TEAM Handbook - Third Edition by Peter R. Scholtes, Brian Joiner and Barbara Streibel. A combination of facilitation techniques and information gathering methods borrowed from various change management methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma). Abound with illustrations,the TEAM handbook introduces the reader to meeting evaluation forms, team work planning, how to facilitate group think, how to help teams prioritize, documentation ideas (using whiteboard, flip charts, etc), diagraming, presentation tips, DMAIC model (six sigma), organizational development and much more. In essense it contains all the tools we use on an ongoing basis as consultants working with our customers to help them build internal capabilities that bridge organizational silos. This is not a Lean/Six Sigma methodology book but rather a cook book of how-to's for many of the techniques used to improve team mechanics and getting people to work well with each other. Excellent reference!