10 Books from My Transformation Journey

Access to information multiplies our transforming power, and for me this human potential to obtain and generate knowledge is what keeps us connected to a new era.

I have separated some of the books that are part of my journey to help you become an advocate and above all, to create a new future in this very unpredictable  environment that we live in. I share with you authors who have guided me in this complex mission of understanding on how to lead our corporations in search of real business impact.

I hope the books are as inspiring for you as they were for me.

Cesar Gon 

1) Fast/Forward: Make Your Company Fit for the Future

Today, instead of seeking more analysis, companies respond with agility, making intelligent and intuitive decisions. Fast / Forward illustrates this new strategic approach and provides a manual for making companies fit for the future.

2) Design a Better Business: New Tools, Skills, and Mindset for Strategy and Innovation

Design a Better Business presents a complete design journey from the initial idea to the escalation to make the business even better.  

3) The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win

The Phoenix Project is a guide for IT in the DevOps revolution. In this book, readers will not only learn how to improve their own IT organization, and they will never see them the same way again.

4) Managing to Learn: Using the A3 Management Process to Solve Problems, Gain Agreement, Mentor and Lead

Managing to Learn, by John Shook, is constructed as a dialogue between a manager and his boss, and explains how "A3 thinking", a center of Lean management and leadership, helps managers and executives  identify, frame and act on problems and challenges.  

5) Organizational Culture and Leadership

In this book, Edgar Schein analyzes and illustrates the concept of culture and shows its importance for the management of organizational change. It is an essential resource for leaders who seek continuous improvement in the face of current business realities.

6) The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production- Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry

The authors Womack, Jones and Roos present the advantages of the lean production system over the mass production model. The book offers essential guidance for turning traditional ventures into examples of Lean success.

7) The Lean Turnaround: How Business Leaders Use Lean Principles to Create Value and Transform Their Company

Art Byrne shares everything he has learned about Lean methodology and shows how anyone can achieve similar results, and what a company needs to be responsive to its customers.

8) Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Antifragile is a book in the series Incerto, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, which investigates volatility, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk and decision-making in a world we don't understand.

9) The Future of Management

By Gary Hamel, organizations need management innovation more than ever. The management of the last century is no longer sufficient in a world where adaptability and creative drive business success. To prosper in the future, companies must reinvent their management.

10) The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Ben Horowitz offers heartfelt advice on the difficulties in building and running a startup. The author expands on business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs, sharing the insights he gained by developing, selling, buying, investing and supervising technology companies.

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