2008 Book Reviews

As the year is winding down, I want to continue a tradition and offer my recommendations for best books I've read this year. There were 26 books on my reading list in 2008 and I have a hefty stack of books ready to read in the New Year. This year every book on the list was rated "excellent". Typically, I will start with books written by authors I've only heard of and don't know. This year is different. Many of my best recommendations were written by people I've been fortunate enough to know and work with.

Before the book recommendations, I'd like to offer three ways that you can do something special for our military during the holidays. These are opportunities to let someone serving our country know that we are thinking of them.

www.helpthemcallhome.org is a program where you can donate old cell phones or money to help service men and women call home.
You can send a Christmas card which will be shared with a solider who has been wounded. Just send it to: A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
If you go to the web site www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier currently serving in Iraq.

My first book recommendations were written by colleagues whom I've had an opportunity to work with. If you read one book from my 2008 list, read:

Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic: Prescriptions for Service Success by Leonard L. Berry and Kent D. Seltman. It is thoroughly researched and well written. The book shares incredible stories of extraordinary service from empowered physicians and employees. Have a box of Kleenex nearby when you read the final chapter. Certainly the authors talk about the successes at Mayo Clinic but they also evaluate times that things didn't go so well and how the organization recovered and used those examples to get better. I hope we all have an opportunity some day to work in an organization that is practicing Destination Medicine.

If you read two books, add the book I gave with my holiday greetings this year:

The Truth About Getting the Best From People by Martha Finney. This is a very readable book. Its 49 short, highly quotable and inspirational chapters are an easy read. The book could be used for a weekly managers' discussion by reading one chapter a week. It would be an excellent preassignment for a Leadership Development Institute focusing on moving your People Pillar metrics – employee engagement, reward and recognition, and employee retention.

For those needing to fine tune strategic thinking and planning skills add the book Studer Group's Strategy Team has been using as our guide along with the author as our facilitator:

The Breakthrough Company: How everyday companies become extraordinary performers by Keith McFarland. An excellent book with applications whether you have your own business or are developing and nurturing a cost center within a larger organization. The book has good chapter summaries which review key points, highlight skills and offer tips. The "squirts from the grapefruit" are excellent – these are findings that surprised the researchers.

Two additional books from authors who are also excellent speakers and can successfully augment any Leadership Development Institute:

The Healing Art of Communication by Burl Stamp. Stamp incorporates the concepts Studer Group talks about in AIDET, Critical Communications and SBAR in a succinct, easy-to-read book. There are excellent examples of conversations with staff and with patients as well as super tips for written and e-mailed communications. He includes a model for developing communications action plans.
Raising the Bar on Service Excellence: The Health Care Leader's Guide to Putting Passion into Practice by Kristin Baird. An excellent book about how to create and hardwire a service culture. Kristin writes well and has an engaging style that keeps the reader waiting for the next great idea. Her healthcare experience comes through in practical recommendations which are illustrated with case studies. You'll like the book and come away with some new ideas which you can implement to help move your service to the next level. With increasing national attention on HCAHPS scores, this is a very timely book. Leader Reflections and Actions at the end of each chapter are good summaries and give the reader questions to ask to refine your role as a leader in a service culture.

Then there are three books that can really help you drive results in your business by looking at things through a different lens:

Why Hospitals Should Fly: the ultimate flight plan to patient safety and quality care by John J. Nance, JD. An outstanding book. This is a must read for anyone concerned about healthcare safety with a desire to be part of the solution and support the creation of a Culture of Safety. Written as a healthcare fable, the book tells the story of a hospital that became the center of patient safety.
How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, M.D. This is a well-researched and easy-to-read book. Dr. Groopman includes real-life stories that are examples of key points.
Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, et. al. A very energizing book. Lots of applications in both professional and personal areas. There are good summaries at the end of chapters. The book includes many healthcare examples – both clinical and operational.

And finally two books I really enjoyed which were fun and inspirational:

Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.
212 – the extra degree by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson

Complete reviews with information on how to order the books are available on Studer Group's web site at www.studergroup.com. Go to Tools and Knowledge – Articles – Book Reviews.

My wish for everyone is a prayerful one that as individuals, companies and a country we will all enter 2009 more reverent and thankful for what we do have, conscious of the impact our decisions and actions have on others, and able to make decisions that will enable us all to do the work we have chosen. As you seek purpose and do worthwhile work, know that you are making a difference.

Happy New Year. May there be a good book in your future.

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