What books leaders are reading and hiding you.

What does it take to make a company that’s loved by its staff? Haruki Osawa share with us

OKAMURA
6 min readApr 21, 2021

The original article “15 books to help build up an ideal organization” is a part of the WORK MILL with Forbes JAPAN Issue 4 -loved company ©WORK MILL, published on April 11, 2019

Haruki Osawa

Manager of organizational development designing at Link and Motivation and executive director of OpenWork. Since joining Link and Motivation, Osawa has engaged in enterprise organizational reform. He led the planning department of a new business before being promoted to his current post.

* Motivate Your Team Members

1-When your team is worn out

Reinventing Organizations

By Frédéric Laloux

Published by Nelson Parker

There are numerous types of organizational structures in the enterprise world such as top-
down and pyramid models. This book introduces the Teal organization, a progressive organization model that could become the next norm. In a Teal organization, instead of being managed, employees work autonomously to adapt to change.

2-A hint to managing millennials

Motivation Revolution

Motivation Revolution

By Kazuhiro Obara

Published by Gentosha

Millennials were born into a world of no want. They don’t yearn for material goods or social status. They’re the “generation of no thirst.” Upon the premise that humans are not completely rational economic beings but only partially rational emotional beings, this book helps the reader to understand the “generation of no thirst.”

3-Support for both the management and the team

The Hard Thing About
Hard Things

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

By Ben Horowitz

Published by Harper Business

Ben Horowitz is one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capitalists and has invested in Facebook and Twitter. In this book are raw accounts of how to face “hard things” that management must deal with such as recession, bankruptcy, and fund shortages.

* Make your Work Productive

1-Approaching the organization and the individual

The Fifth Discipline

The Fifth Discipline

By Peter M. Senge

Published by Currency

How can a company achieve self-fulfillment of the individual and maximization of organizational results?
Based on the “systems thinking” method where organizations should have the ability to learn, this masterpiece explains a reproducible process on how to superimpose individual and organizational visions.

2-Making a lean, mean, problem-solving machine

Visualization

Visualization

By Isao Endo

Published by TOYO KEIZAI

This book describes how to create a highly efficient organization where each individual can solve problems without being nagged by their bosses or the management. The process of visualization is categorized into five parts with plenty of examples along with ten key points for implementing visualization.

3-For non-productive work styles

Why Googlers Deliver High Output Without Fatigue?

Why Googlers Deliver High Output Without Fatigue?

By Piotr Feliks Grzywacz

Published by SB Creative

While the two publications to the left handle the efficiency of the team and the organization, this book has suggestions on efficiency for the individual. The consistent message is about how anybody can control how they use their time and emotions, and how they eat, sleep, and exercise. It’s the self-management of the body and soul.

* Be More Creative Company

1-How to build a creative team

Creativity Inc.

Creativity Inc.

By Ed Catmull

Published by Random House

A book by Ed Catmull, the president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. The reason both studios keep creating worldwide hits lies in not the hands of a single genius creator, but the organization and culture where talented and ambitious employees can keep working efficiently.

2-From principles and rules to ready ideas

High Output Management

High Output Management

By Andrew S. Grove

Published by Vintage

Even 30 years after its release, this book still shines. To maximize output as a manager, one must focus on the efficiency of the team and not just oneself. This book elucidates how to utilize managerial leverage (i.e. leveraging the team’s output).

3-The ray of light for an organization that’s lost creativity

The Mediocre Killing
the Genius

The Mediocre Killing the Genius

By Yuiga Kitano

Published by Nikkei Publishing

This book defines genius, talented, and ordinary person, and explains that each talent may work positively or negatively in the organization. It’s not as simple as “genius is good, mediocre is bad.” This book illustrates how organizations are a cooperative system that cannot be broken down into such clear-cut categories.

* Build Good Teamwork

1-Learn how to engage with your team

The Team

The Team

By Koji Asano

Published by Gentosha

Almost every businessperson works on or with a team, but nobody is systematically taught about team buildings at school or in society. The world is brimming with “team theories” based on idealism and experience. This book scientifically analyzes the principle of teams and introduces the basic rules to working with teams.

2-Scientifically proved factors of a strong team

Trust Factor

Trust Factor

By Paul J. Zac

Published by AMACOM

Is the rift between successful and unsuccessful teams whether a “culture of trust” has been nurtured? The author, a neuroscientist, proposes 8 management policies for creating trust within a team (OXYTOCIN). A tour de force on corporate culture since E. H. Schein.

3-From preparation to training

Find Your Why

Find Your Why

By Simon Sinek

Published by Portfolio

Everyone has asked themselves at least once in their life WHY they exist, WHY the team exists, but got lost trying to find the answer. Over the course of 25 years, this book has devised how to find the answer to all the WHYs, helping to bring fulfillment to the individual and the team.

* Recruit the Right Person

1-Not just for recruiters, but all businesspeople

Recruiting Standards

Recruiting Standards

By Yasuyo Iga

Published by DIAMOND

What does McKinsey & Company, the world’s greatest consulting firm, look for most when recruiting? Intelligence and logical thinking are obviously important. But what comes before everything is leadership. This book delves into the leadership of true global leaders.

2-Recruiting capable management

War for Management

War for Management

By Ed Michaels

Published by Harvard Business Review Press

This book is based on McKinsey’s research on the differences a high-achieving company has compared to an average achieving company when it comes to HR strategies. It became clear that high-achieving companies focus more on “acquiring and training managerial personnel” than the “HR process.”

3-A new point of view for after being hired and even after leaving

The Alliance

The Alliance

By Reid Hoffman

Published by Harvard Business Review Press

The days of lifetime employment and the inter-restricting relationships between companies and individuals have passed, and it’s normal for one to change jobs in just a few years. Companies and individuals are now free to choose one another. This book shows how management and HR should approach the individual in this fluid society.

--

--

OKAMURA

Okamura creates new value in spaces where people work and live. Heightened inspiration means greater productivity. Where comfort and health go hand in hand.