This may seem counter-intuitive since I am such a fan of following clues and links of people on the web via Twitter and blogs, etc; however at this time of year I really enjoy the expanse of time created by holidays and lying around reading a hard copy paper book (purchased online of course).
So here is the list I've been reading through. Considering I've only finished one and I'm going back to work on Monday, this reading is going to extend w-a-y past my annual leave.
- Change by Design (Tim Brown): now this is the one I have finished reading. The concepts here are familiar to me, as I believe they dovetail neatly into other types of thinking that revolve around human needs, and then meeting them in innovative ways. Even in my former career in the performing arts, the study of human motivation and actions was a fundamental part of the 'design' of a character, to then elicit a response in the audience as a result of the performance.
I think that human-centred design is pretty much fundamental to everything, even more so in the 'knowledge age.' I found Tim Brown's approach to design thinking useful and straightforward, especially the way he explains the concepts through visuals. - Enterprise 2.0 (Andrew McAfee): I've just started this one. It's a great read so far, it has some great case studies and of course he's a key guru for Enterprise 2.0 and the practicalities around how it transforms organisations.
- The Cluetrain Manifesto (Levine, Locke, Searls, Weinberger): An oldie and a goodie, prophetic, insightful and entertaining. It's been published free online for years, yet I felt the need to have a hard copy. I read it years ago and I'm looking forward to revisiting it.
- Digital Habitats (Wenger, White, Smith): Another one I'm looking forward to. I've followed Etienne Wenger's work for years, and I participated in a few activities with Nancy White when she was in Melbourne last year. Great ideas and thinking in different ways about communities.
- Drive (Dan Pink): Actually, this one was a late inclusion, I only discovered it last week when doing one of my regular scans, following clues for interesting material. It follows a theme I'm fascinated by, human motivation, particularly our intrinsic motivators to connect and share what we know with each other, and why we want to achieve and learn together.
So that's it for now, I have lots to occupy me and prepare me for reading and reflection into 2010!
Posts
