Summer vacation means a healthy mix of activities and relaxation. This year, we asked our associates to share the books that they would recommend, consider important, or have simply been good reads for both personal and professional growth.
Alain Reid
BSc, MPs, Organizational Psychologist
Partner | Organizational Transformation & Strategy
Good to Great by Jim Collins
This book addresses a single question: can a good company become a great company, and if so, how? Good to Great shows that greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance but largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.
The Power of Nice: How to Negotiate So Everyone Wins—Especially You! by Ronald Shapiro
A must-read for anyone whose business relies on the art of negotiation and influence.
Alain Dumas
MBA, ASC, CPA, CA
Partner | Organizational Transformation & Strategy
La puissance des mots en affaires by Hélène Douville
A real goldmine of advice on how to gain trust and communicate with your clients.
*In french only
Fusions et acquisitions : la croissance en accéléré by Robert Martin
This book outlines the 11 steps in the acquisition process, from developing strategic objectives to the integration plan, and identifies the issues and risks.
*In french only
Étienne Beaulieu
CHRP
Partner | Organizational Transformation & Strategy
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity by Jennifer Garvey Berger
For leaders hoping to operate in an increasingly complex business world. Using her background in adult development, complexity theories, and leadership consultancy, Garvey Berger discerns five pernicious and pervasive “mind traps” that steer us wrong in a fast-moving world.
Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!: Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter by Marvin Weisbord, Sandra Janoff, Jack MacNeish
This book details ten key principles that will change the way you think about, organize, and lead the meetings that matter most.
Julie Carignan
MASc, MPs, Organizational Psychologist, CHRP
Partner | Leadership & Team Development
How to be an Inclusive Leader by Jennifer Brown
A recent work (published in 2019) on a very promising theme in our field. Diversity and inclusion expert Jennifer Brown provides a step-by-step guide for the personal and emotional journey we must undertake to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.
For those who have not read them yet, here are two timeless classics that make good beach reads and that, in my opinion, make several possible connections with our field from a more philosophical angle and that make your mind wander.
The Why Café by John P. Strelecky
The Why Cafe will get readers young and free and older and entrenched to rethink their personal yardstick for success. Charming, simple, and inspiring, it will change lives.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
To read—or reread—for the young and the young at heart. A book about the introductory and philosophical learning of Jonathan Livingston, a seagull like no other. His only dream is to fly higher and faster to be free.
Kimberlea Baron
MASc, PhD, Organizational Psychologist
Partner | Leadership & Team Development
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
If we can go with what is on our bedside table, Think Again examines the critical art of rethinking: learning to question your opinions and open other people’s minds, which can position you for excellence at work and wisdom in life.
The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (2007)
If you haven’t read it yet, Kim recommends The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. It’s a treasure trove of advice on how to manage yourself, stress, and emotions and deal with your internal conflicts—so relevant given the mental health challenges we face today.
Laura Hambley
PhD, Registered Psychologist
Partner | Leadership & Team Development
No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results by Cy Wakeman
“This is a great read because it applies across all workplaces and all industries. It’s rooted in reality-based leadership and resonates so well with what I see across the companies I’ve worked with. In my opinion, ego is one of the biggest challenges I see for many leaders.”
Surviving to Thriving: The 10 Laws of Grateful Leadership by Steve Foran
Surviving to Thriving explores how anyone can master gratitude and create the life of their dreams. “This book has had a positive impact on my life as a leader, and on my work with other leaders. I actually interviewed the author, Steve Foran, on my Dr. Laura Where Work Meets Life™ podcast and wrote a blog article on the episode.”
Marie-Josée Lareau
EMBA, PCC
InnoveLab Leader | Leadership & Team Development
Adaptive: Scaling Empathy and Trust to Create Workplace Nirvana by Christopher Creel
Marie-Josée invites you to discover Adaptive and its pearls. Among other things, the importance of changing the culture of our organization and making trust the new default mode. And how integrity must be an integral part of the company to achieve this.
Kukum by Michel Jean
For diversity and inclusion and to understand from the inside the reality of the First Nations people. A must–read book that gently expands your mind and takes you on a magnificent journey into the heart of the forest.
*in french only
Martin Cloutier
MPs, Organizational Psychologist
Partner | Talent Assessment & Onboarding
Martin, who prefers a good biography, introduces us to two great leaders of our era through his reading suggestions.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
Vance uses Musk’s story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition?
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
A book about the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett—his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom.
