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Twelve Books That Changed the World
I was enthralled by a great TV programme over the Easter Weekend. (His lordship!) Melvyn Bragg, the eminent writer and broadcaster, has selected the 12 books that he contends have been agents of social, political, and personal revolution. The only work of fiction that made the cut was William Shakespeare's first folio of 1623, with everything from Darwin's Origin of Species through to the First Rule Book of the Football Association being on the list. You can see all 12 here.
As Bragg himself explains, "When people think of things that change the world, they tend to think of extraordinary events: the assassination of leaders, the invasion of countries, the havoc wreaked by natural disasters. There is something less attention-grabbing, but just as powerful, which changes the world—books. The series aims to show that the lives we lead have been formed as often as not by a single book."
The closest we get to a 'business' book that makes the final 12 is Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, which set me thinking ... would any of the great business books from the 20th and 21st centuries qualify for such an esteemed status? Which of them could we say, hand on heart, have truly changed the way we lead our business lives? What's your nomination for the most influential business book since The Wealth of Nations? And what is your evidence of its impact?
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For books that have stood the test of time: Principles of Scientific Management, F.W. Taylor, 1911
It revolutionized industrial production - leading to the consumer society
Posted by Mike L at April 18, 2006 4:08 PM
Peter Drucker: "The Effective Executive."
Posted by MarkJF at April 18, 2006 4:30 PM
"Credibility", by James Kouzes and Barry Posner.
Posted by Felix Gerena at April 18, 2006 5:21 PM
Tom, agree it is a great list does but a bit too Anglo centric? We could argue Marco Polo's travels, the Greek epics, Hindu epics infleunced even greater numbers of people...
Posted by vinnie mirchandani at April 18, 2006 5:25 PM
Umm ... forgive the obviousness but whatever happened to "In Search of Excellence"?
That was the book that BEGAN management bestsellers. If you look at the way nearly every management book is written today, much of the style and format is down to "Excellence".
It's actually the book that made me want to study an MBA in the first place, and I know for many of my generation (I'm 25), the feeling is quite universal.
When a book written at the time you were born is still relevant and exciting, let alone a BUSINESS book, I think it says something.
Posted by Daniel M. Harrison at April 18, 2006 5:38 PM
permission marketing - seth godin
maybe not change the world, but certainly marketing & therefore the way we do (or should do) business. at least for the next decade or five...
Posted by mikey rhodes at April 18, 2006 7:14 PM
Kotler's "Marketing Management" made it possible to "learn" marketing skills. Its impact was that it brought structure to a field that was seen as "You work in marketing and you know it from experience".
It also touches so many aspects of business and not just marketing.
Admittedly, the book is written by an army of writers, but still, the insights in the book are phenomenal. Each writer is a specialist in one or two narrow fields of marketing and brings that expertise to the book.
The next time you read that book - read a paragraph and read it a couple of more times as you think about it. You'll see just what I mean!
Posted by Arun Sadhashivan at April 19, 2006 12:43 AM
It would be Good to Great from Jim Collins. Also, REIMAGINE by Tom Peters.
Posted by Khoe H W at April 19, 2006 2:31 AM
I am not sure we cannot discount the World is Flat from the present. Ultimately I don't think you can beat Drucker and his writings, huge impact on the business world.
From my perspective ReImagine has been a huge influence...built my business around the concept! and also Funky Business - brilliant book which made me look quite differently at the business world.
Posted by Anna at April 19, 2006 2:41 AM
I'm with Daniel on this and please excuse the obviousness but for me it has to be In Search of Excellence.
Madeline’s question is....
"Would any of the great business books from the 20th and 21st centuries qualify for such an esteemed status? Which of them could we say, hand on heart, have truly changed the way we lead our business lives?"
I have taken that as a PERSONAL question to me and ISOE changed my view of business, leadership and management from the day I first bought it in 1983 and started to read it on a train journey when I was 31 and already 15 years into a management career in healthcare. To be perfectly frank it was the only book on business or management up to that point in my life that gave me any sort of buzz. My previous management reading was about as exciting as Margaret Thatcher’s sense of humour. ISOE is plain language about 'softer stuff' as well as the (for me anyway) previously boring rational stuff. It is still the only any management book have read more than once. No contest as far as I am concerned. ISOE was ground breaking and will always be remembered as a book that broke the mould. The only books that come anywhere near close are 'Body and Soul' by Anita Roddick, 'Managing Transition' by William Bridges and Stephen Covey's '7 Habits.'
Posted by Trevor at April 19, 2006 3:46 AM
AA Milne - Winnie The Pooh
Posted by Craig at April 19, 2006 6:24 AM
I'm also reminded of all of the poverty, suffering, and waste that is the result of Marx's Das Kapital. Think of all that died in Russia, Ukraine, China, Vietnam, Cambodia ...
Chris
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com
Posted by Chris Meisenzahl at April 19, 2006 7:38 AM
"His lordship" should be avoided at all costs! Alas the once great days of Britain and now Londonistan inching forward.
Posted by Sean at April 19, 2006 8:25 AM
I thought the list was a bit "Anglo-centric" myself and was going to comment if the Magna Carta (was the Magna Carta a book, per se?) was to be included, perhaps the Declaration of Independence had been slighted. Then I went back and reread the actual title of the article: "Twelve BRITISH Books That Changed the World." Obviously, from everyone else's input, many others have had their influence as well. Can it all be boiled down to twelve? An interesting debate as to WHICH twelve.
Posted by Ed Di Gangi at April 19, 2006 8:44 AM
I started out as a teacher in the late 1970s, but it was reading "In Search of Excellence" a few years later that convinced me that the world of business offered me more -- more opportunity, more intellectual stimulation, and more active engagement with the world. My peers at that time all felt the same -- it changed both the way we talked about "doing business" within our own disciplines and our collective expectations of our employers. For all of Peter Drucker's particular genius at defining the work of business management, no one passed his books around the office like we did "In Search of Excellence."
Posted by Ron Atkins at April 19, 2006 10:00 AM
Perhaps the author should have called this "The 12 British Documents that Changed the World" since a speech would hardly count as a book in my book (which is longer than a speech).
Posted by John Woodall at April 19, 2006 12:13 PM
For me it was 'The Pursuit of Wow!', because up until then I hadn't realised that it was permissible not only to have fun in business, but to base business around 'fun' - for the team and for the customer. Having heard Tom speak I went out and bought it as it was his latest at the time.
More recently 'First, Break all the Rules' by Buckingham & Coffman deserves to change the world... via helping every employer become better and more successful, and every employee have a more rewarding career/life.
Posted by Stephen Spencer at April 19, 2006 1:34 PM
I don't pretend to know what business books have most influenced the world. But I do know what business books have most influenced me.
When I worked through the list of books that have most changed my life, I realized that only three (3) of them are of the "business book" genre.
The 12 books that most influenced me:
http://growstate.com/2006/04/20/the-12-most-influential-books-in-my-life/
Posted by Loryn Jenkins at April 19, 2006 11:22 PM
Great to see all the points of view on this subject!
Thanks for drawing my attention to the 'anglo-centricity' of the list. I should have made it clear in my intro that the list (and the accompanying TV programme) are focused on a British audience and readership. Interesting list, nonetheless.
I can see from peoples' nominations that there are some iconic books that have impacted their individual readers. The Melvyn Bragg list goes further than that - identifying books that have created new trends, breakthroughs or widescale ways of seeing the world.
My inclination, like a few of you, was to nominate In Search of Excellence. For those managing in 1982 it was a real wake up call, but it is delightful to hear that a 25 year old here is still seeing this as a watershed piece of writing! My evidence of its impact on the world is the transformed profile of the customer in business. Before ISOE, companies focused on markets not customers. Tom and Bob Waterman's book marked a turning point in the way businesses focus on their customers - transforming the relationship irreversibly.
Posted by Madeleine McGrath at April 20, 2006 5:33 AM
10 BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY VIEW OF THE WORLD:-
1. IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE – TP & BOB WATERMAN
2. WINNING – JACK WELCH
3. PEPSI TO APPLE – JOHN SCULLEY
4. WORLD IS FLAT – TOM FRIEDMAN
5. RE-IMAGINE – TP
6. MY YEARS WITH GENERAL MOTORS – A.P.SLOAN
7. BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT – BILL GATES
8. AUTOBIOGRAPHY – LEE IAACOCA
9. STRAIGHT FROM THE GUT – JACK WELCH
10. LEADING THE REVOLUTION – GARY HAMEL
Posted by K.Sriram at April 20, 2006 6:49 AM
"Would any of the great business books from the 20th and 21st centuries qualify for such an esteemed status? Which of them could we say, hand on heart, have truly changed the way we lead our business lives?"
For me, it was The Goal, by Eli Goldratt, followed closely by Thriving on Chaos by Tom Peters (funny how this book gets almost no mention on this blog--I still think it has much to offer 'lo these many years later, but it might not be so popular because it has all those assignments for the reader...).
Posted by Mike at April 20, 2006 8:13 AM
Mike is right - Thriving on Chaos changed the world. It was the first popular business book that portrayed business as what we now call a complex adaptive system, which can be influenced if you're quick and clever, but never managed or (God forbid!) planned. Without TOC, The Tom Peters Seminar, The Pursuit of Wow! and Re-imagine are unthinkable. Compared to Chaos, ISOE is a collection of cliches ("Stick to the knitting") and Good to Great is feel-good aphorisms (e.g., BHAGs).
Posted by Chet Richards at April 20, 2006 1:46 PM
YA GOTA B KIDIN!!!.. business books life changing?... now don't get me wrong, i am a consultant to big business dealing with big issues, and have been for last 15 years, but business books life changing?... indeed, i've read a large number of books mentioned here and, in my opinion, some are very good... BUT, c'mon guys, get a life!!!
for what it's worth, my nomination would be - Shobogenzo by Dogen Zenji
Posted by onehandclapping at April 23, 2006 1:37 PM
Sun Tzu - The Art of War, although I suppose it being a 'business book' is questionable.
Same goes for Richard Bach's brilliant "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull", but read through it and notice how many of Tom's fundamental principles apply. Excellence. ALWAYS. Indeed.
But inside the rather narrow rules of being 'business books', I would nominate
"The Cluetrain Manifesto" by Chris Locke and others (can be read online for free at www.cluetrain.com - go go go).
and
"Funky Business" by Jonas Ridderstråle and Kjell Nordström (which reminds me I need to read the sequel called "Karaoke Capitalism").
Posted by Lars Olufsen at April 26, 2006 5:35 AM