Managing the Professional Service Firm

I like books that are actionable. Lots of books are inspirational but not that useful (e.g. crossing the chasm). I run a curriculum in my company which uses a few books I have read over the years. emyth revisited (how to think about and structure an org) getting to yes (negotiation) influence the psychology of persuasion (negotiation) spin selling (enterprise sales, supplanted by sandler) You cant teach a kid to ride a bike at a seminar (sandler sales) 5 dysfunctions of a team (one of the best leadership books) first break all the rules (management) accounting for dummies purple cow (differentiation) blue ocean strategy (differentiation) traction (strategy/operations) rocketfuel (strategy/operations) for professional services: managing the professional services firm getting naked

I run a professional software-development firm, and Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Maister is the most accurate and instructive book I've read on the topic (and not for lack of other books). Maister basically made a manual of my whole world which includes things I never thought about like "leverage formulas" and "service programs". Would highly recommend if you are a partner of a firm or thinking of starting your own.

- Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Maister - Quantum Computing since Democritus by Scott Aaronson - Cryptography Engineering by Bruce Schneier et al - Time Management for System Administrators by Thomas Limoncelli - Expert C Programming by Peter van der Linden