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The Society for Information Management, the national organization of CIOs, just released this year's reading list for candidates in its Regional Leadership Forum—a SIM-led leadership development program for IT executives. There were more than a few surprises.
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By John McCormick
The Society for Information Management, the national organization of CIOs, just released its reading list for candidates in the organization's Regional Leadership Forum—a SIM-led leadership development program for IT executives.
To date, some 2,500 IT managers have gone through the RLF program. And the current 265 candidates are expected to read all 30 books (and see the one movie) on the list.
The list is issued each summer and the books are widely seen as the "must reads" for all information technology managers. Some of the books are management manuals, while others are literary classics. Yet, according to Robert Rouse, a computer science professor at Washington University in St. Louis and the head of RLF program, all are "informative, provocative....and address important leadership issues."
Some of the entries on this year's book list are a bit of surprise, particularly the one that's not a book—the movie Gandhi.
Why is there a movie on a book list?
Rouse gives two reasons.
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The first is that RFL had never focus on an individual before, but Gandhi offered a different kind of leadership—a spiritual leadership—and RFL facilitators felt students could learn from his example. The other was that RLF wanted to gauge the benefits of alternative media and thought this movie would be a good test.
Some of the list other highlights, according to Rouse, include:
"How To Read A Book," by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles vor Doren. According to Rouse, the book is the list's "historic anchor." "None of us receive an education on how to read a book. We don't get advice on how to attack a book," he says. "This is a manual for doing it."
Another is "Man's Search for Meaning," by Viktor Frankl. This is a book about a Nazi death camp prisoner and his search for a reason to live. Frankl himself was a concentration camp survivor. This book is a "source of great strength" says Rouse. Frankl faced unspeakable tough times, he says, something many of us can't truly comprehend.
Rouse also highlights "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High," by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. The book is a manual for handling difficult conversations and other communications. "We all have difficult conversations," says Rouse, be it at home, at work, or with friends. "So you better learn how to do this."
And, just as important, is listening. So it's no surprise that Rouse highlights "The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction," by Rebecca Shafir. "So much is coming at us—phone, e-mail," says Rouse, that the simple act of listening to what someone is really trying to say is critical. "Listening is the most important communications skill," he says.
The complete RLF reading list is as follows:
Next: Books 1-10
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