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All my life I have been an avid reader – a lover of books, libraries, newspapers, and journals and even some blogs. Early in life, I read everything that came my way, from cereal boxes to instruction booklets. Later on, I became a bit more discriminating and tended to focus on history, fiction, and the social sciences.
When I began my life as a consultant I continued in this habit, though I was quite surprised to find that the reading habits I had weren't exactly common among my colleagues. I found that wide reading and seeking out new ideas was quite valued by my clients, as well as satisfying my own habit. So I continued to read, and more and more wrote about what I read and tried to get others to read what I valued. I plan to point you to the eclectic and idiosyncratic. And I want to know what you're reading, too.
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Larry Prusak is a researcher and consultant and was the founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Knowledge Management (IKM). He currently co-directs 
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Larry,
It is great to see you on the HBSP blog. For those who don't know, Larry one of the most widely and well-read people you will ever meet -- the most widely read person I know inside or outside of academia. And Larry actually remembers what he reads.
To add to the fire, my favorite academic writers are Karl Weick and James G. March (start with their collections of articles, see Amazon). Some of my favorite more applied management books are "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" by the late Gordon MacKenzie, "1776" by David McCullough, "Searching for a Corporate Savior" by Rakesh Khurana, and Chip and Dan Heath's new book "Made to Stick."
Why 1776? Isn't it about George Washington? Yes, but it shows so many lessons -- that leadership is something that is, at least in large part, learned; that the people leaders work with are routinely underrated (look at what happened when Henry Knox got sick), and that acting like you are in charge and confident -- while changing course when new information comes in -- is a key to effective leadership.
- Posted by Bob Sutton
March 26, 2007 8:20 PM
Doris Kearns Goodwin's recent book Team of Rivals is also a good example of an historical text that is applicable to contemporary organizations. Deliberation, decision-making, collaboration and personal dynamics are all woven together in such a way that they present lessons for the present from the past.
I too am glad to see you in the blogosphere, Larry.
According to a recent Forrester report, you've moved up a rung on their 'ladder.'
- Posted by T.J. Elliott
May 2, 2007 11:26 AM
Hello Larry - a nice surprise to find you here. I was looking for a "letters to the editor" link for HBR when I noticed your link, so I thought I'd drop by to say "hello."
Just read the current HBR issue (Jul/Aug 2007) article, The Making of an Expert, and was all set to fire off a rant, but alas there is no apparent avenue to address one.
Would love to read your thoughts on this article - it does a great job of muddying the water on what constitutes expertise by conflating expertise and being a champion. And then I read your blog entry about "no one knows anything" and I really had a laugh.
Hope you are well.
-Tom
- Posted by Tom Short
July 3, 2007 5:02 PM
Hi Larry:
Great to see you in your element.
A favorite from my summer reading list this year has been "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance" by Atul Gawande. The author, a Boston-area surgeon, will be known to some of your readers for his essays in the New Yorker. Gawande is a fine storyteller with a passion for unearthing the roots of excellent performance in medicine and public health. The picture that emerges from these essays is unglamorous but inspiring. Truly excellent performers are data-driven, they interrogate their own practices constantly, and they exhibit a simple doggedness--sweating the details, getting in early, sticking with it. Anyway, it is a terrific book and just the sort of summer reading to recharge one's batteries for the return to the office.
- Posted by Joseph Horvath
August 14, 2007 10:37 AM