Issue No. 17 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 31, 2006) features the Top-10 books of 2006 (including several from 2007). As you welcome in 2007, here's a recap of the books I've reviewed in 2006. To download a PDF of the chronological list of book reviews, visit the Book Bucket page at the Management Buckets website.
Here are my Top-10 picks of the year for the books I reviewed. It's a tough assignment to narrow it down to 10, since all of us are at different levels of competency within the 20 buckets. But...maybe this will be helpful to you.
2006 Book-of-the-Year
Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job, by Dennis Bakke. (Read my review.)
Have you ever announced this to your staff? Water Cooler Wisdom #8: “Everyone must get advice before making a decision. If you don’t seek advice, ‘you’re fired.’”
Bakke is no believer in workplace decisions by consensus or majority vote. Hire great people and let them have the fun (the joy) of decision-making.
If that’s not revolutionary enough, shake-up your team with Water Cooler Wisdom #9: “A ‘good’ decision should make all the stakeholders unhappy because no individual or group got all they wanted.”
Trust me. Your team members will love this book! I had the privilege of writing an endorsement for this book.
The Other 9 Books
Note: Back in 2006-2007, for the first 68 issues of the eNews, we did not select "Top-10" books for 2006 and 2007. So...now in 2026, I have cycled back and selected 20 for 2006-2007 that have stood the test of time. Enjoy!
2. A Tale of Three Kings: A Study in Brokenness, by Gene Edwards. (Order from Amazon.)
In the Old Testament, David complained to the Lord that King Saul was hardly God-honoring—so why should David honor and respect this tyrant king? Sound familiar?
Gene Edwards is a master storyteller and this classic unwraps the relationships between David, Saul, and Absalom. His conclusions may astound you. It’s a powerful book to recommend and discuss at your weekly staff meeting.
3. Balancing Life's Demands: A New Perspective on Priorities, by J. Grant Howard. (Read my review.)
Setting priorities is not an exact science in the workplace. It’s even more difficult for the thoughtful Christian leader or manager—in spite of the trite conventional wisdom. Most books, and far too many authors and preachers, will give you this dribble about balancing priorities: God is first, family is second, church is third, and your career is fourth.
J. Grant Howard writes that a list of sequential priorities makes absolutely no sense. “It can’t be intelligently explained. It can’t be easily understood. It can’t be logically lived out.” He adds, “I am convinced that the existing sequential model is not only impractical it is unbiblical.”
4. Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business, by Patrick Lencioni (Read my review.)
This is easy to admit—I cannot improve on Patrick Lencioni's fast-reading, get-the-four-big-ideas-immediately book. So, I'll just quote him in this review.
But first...here's a Pop Quiz! Everyone stand up. OK...now remain standing if your job requires you to attend at least one meeting a week. OK...now remain standing if you are in a minimum of five meetings a week (staff meeting, one-on-one meetings, etc.). I know...everyone is still standing. But now...remain standing if you have ever read a book, attended a workshop, viewed a webinar, or been coached or mentored on effective meetings management. (Anyone still standing?)
My top book pick in my "Meetings Bucket" is this book, but I've never fully reviewed it here. Be sure to read what (and why) Lencioni preaches about "Sneaker Time" (pages 251-252):
5. Effectiveness by the Numbers: Counting What Counts in Church, by William R. Hoyt. (Read my review.)
Bill Hoyt quotes the cynic who said, "Churches are very willing to change. They will make any change necessary to keep things the same!" Hoyt muses that churches are reluctant to measure effectiveness because the cold hard facts might require them to change. Well...it's about time. Preach it!
This book packs a punch. You can't manage what you can't measure and finally, here's a clear and thoughtful voice for local church metrics. There's nothing like it on the market and when an author uses an illustration from The Blues Brothers movie, you know it will be a fun read.
6. Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. (Order from Amazon.)
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction! A pastor’s warm letter to his son. Church challenges. And, perhaps, the most beautifully-written book you’ve ever read.
7. Good Governance for Nonprofits: Developing Principles and Policies for an Effective Board, by Fredric L. Laughlin and Robert C. Andringa (Read my review.)
More than any other tool or template, I have recommended the Board Policies Manual (BPM) template to hundreds of nonprofit organizations and churches. Fred Laughlin and Bob Andringa teamed up to produce this brilliant tool, the BPM. The who, what, where, when, why, and how—are all explained in their concise, but thorough, color commentary, Good Governance for Nonprofits.
The book describes the efficacy of compiling the twists and turns of board policies (some that conflict with others) into one thoughtful 15- to 20-page document that is designed to be revised at any board meeting throughout the year.
As Dan Busby and I note in Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: “While many organizations have unwritten policies covering a wide range of topics, they’re often filed away incoherently in the archives and no one can find them when needed. ‘Here’s a fun job for a new board member,’ they say. ‘Please dig through 20 years of board minutes. Bring a flashlight and emergency provisions!’”
2026 update: Read more about the BPM in "Tool #17" in the book, ECFA Tools and Templates.
8. Good to Great and the Social Sectors, by Jim Collins. (Read my review.)
"The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide toward mediocrity will have begun" says Jim Collins in this easy-to-read 35-page book. Your team will appreciate his insights on how a nonprofit or church measures results.
"All data is flawed," writes Collins. "It doesn't really matter whether you can quantify your results. What matters is that you rigorously assemble evidence—quantitative or qualitative—to track your progress."
Leverage this book to help your team understand the difference between greatness and "business-like." After you read it, ask your nonprofit board and senior team to address these questions:
1. Where are we on a scale of "mediocre" to "great?"
2. How rigorously do we assemble evidence to document our results?
3. What assignment should we make today as a result of this discussion?
9. Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, by Bob Buford. (Order from Amazon.)
Bob Buford suggests that people in “Halftime” ask the following questions:
• What am I really good at?
• What do I want to do?
• What is most important to me?
• What do I want to be remembered for?
• If my life were absolutely perfect, what would it look like?
How effective is your organization in helping people in the second half of their lives move “from success to significance?” (Note: See also Buford's book, Drucker and Me.)
10. How to Deal With Annoying People: What to Do When You Can’t Avoid Them, by Bob Phillips and Kimberly Alyn. (Read my review.)
For years, I've encouraged leaders and managers (actually, anyone who takes nourishment) to study the four social styles: Drivers, Analyticals, Amiables and Expressives (visit the People Bucket). The authors have creatively communicated what makes people annoying to us (and us to them) by overlaying the social style construct on all things annoying. It's brilliant.
The book delivers conflict prevention and resolution principles, including 10 myths about conflict.
• Myth #7: "Harmony is normal and conflict is abnormal."
• Myth #10: "Conflict is a sign that people do not care."
The book also suggests how to sell to annoying people. Example: explain to Expressives how their buying decision will "add more adventure, fun and excitement to their lives." (Fundraisers: take note.)
The chapter, "Dispelling 10 Stereotypical Gender Myths," is worth the price of the book. If you've bought into the myth that women are relationship-oriented and men are task-oriented, you've misread God's unique design in people—male and female. It's a must-read chapter.
And finally, these reminders:
1) Delegate your reading—assign books to other team members and ask for mini-reports at staff meetings;
2) Read relevant chapters only—don’t feel guilty for not finishing a book;
3) Hold high the value of sharpening the saw—model it yourself and reward others who read; and
4) Budget for books—invest in your people by investing in books.
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