Books
Recommended reading
Books that have shaped how I think about analysis, organizations, and getting things done. Curated from 25+ years of practice — not an algorithm’s picks.
Must reads
2 books
Give and Take
Grant’s research upends the assumption that nice guys finish last. He shows that the most successful people in any organization are systematic givers — and explains precisely how generosity and self-protection can coexist. Required reading for anyone who works in and around teams.
View on AmazonThe Checklist Manifesto
A surgeon’s case for why complexity defeats even brilliant people — and how a simple, disciplined checklist restores consistency where expertise alone fails. The implications for requirements, delivery, and operations are impossible to ignore once you’ve read it.
View on AmazonWorthwhile reads
5 books
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The clearest framework I’ve found for diagnosing why teams underperform. If you’ve ever wondered why smart people produce mediocre results together, this is the book.
Amazon ↗Death by Meeting
Every business analyst spends half their life in meetings. Lencioni makes a sharp argument that boring meetings are a structural problem, not a people problem — and offers a concrete fix.
Amazon ↗Emotional Intelligence
The foundational text on why IQ isn’t what separates effective practitioners from exceptional ones. The analyst who can read a room is worth three who can only read a requirements doc.
Amazon ↗The Art of Asking
Questioning is the analyst’s core tool and Fadem treats it with the rigor it deserves. Practical and specific — the kind of book you return to before a difficult stakeholder conversation.
Amazon ↗The Heart of Change
Kotter’s 8-step model in its most accessible form, grounded in real transformation stories. Essential for any analyst working on initiatives where adoption matters as much as delivery.
Amazon ↗On my list
4 books
Lead with a Story
On the list because narrative is one of the most underused tools in the analyst’s toolkit — especially when trying to move executives to a decision.
Outliers
Gladwell on what actually produces exceptional performance. Relevant to how we think about team composition, skill development, and context in transformation work.
The Progress Principle
Research on what actually motivates knowledge workers day-to-day. The findings have direct implications for how analysts run backlogs and communicate progress.
IT Governance
A rigorous treatment of how enterprises make and enforce IT decisions. Recommended by people who work at the intersection of strategy and technology.