Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge

Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, William M. Snyder
Harvard Business School Press, 2002

Organizational learning is key to both execution and planning, yet few executives are deliberate in fostering learning in their companies. Hiring capable people and assuming that they will somehow communicate, learn, and improve the way they work is not enough. Leaders must deliberately pursue learning in order to improve organizational performance. This reader-friendly book from three pioneering thinkers provides a practical guide for fostering learning in your organization, using communities of practice. (more...)

The Toyota Way:
14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer

Jeffrey k. Liker
McGraw-Hill, 2004

In The Toyota Way, Jeffrey Liker gives us an inside look at Toyota's unique culture. He writes: "Lean thinking [...] involves a far deeper and pervasive cultural transformation than most companies can begin to imagine." The purpose of the book, he states, is "to explain the Toyota culture and the principles it is based on." In other words, what makes Toyota tick? (more...)