Business Books of the ’90s Provide Blueprints

Business books of the 1990s range from one profiling visionary companies for emulating to one that pokes fun at Corporate America. Some of the books actually started trends, while others have helped develop them. At any rate, the ’90s have provided a wealth of business acumen. Some of the most popular books are listed below, in no particular order.

Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution
by Michael Hammer and James Champy (Harperbusiness)
This New York Times best seller started the reengineering revolution in the mid-1990s.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen Covey (Fireside)
Although this was published in 1989, it became one of the self-help books of the decade.

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras (Harperbusiness)
An inquiry into corporate longevity that seems to be a mandatory footnote in every business book since.

The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge (Doubleday)
This book introduced the emergence of the learning organization.

In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies
by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman (Warner Books)
An American business management “bible” that presents eight specific management principles common to successful companies.

The One Minute Manager
by Kenneth H. Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (Berkley Publishing Group)
This book has been hailed a practical business guide for managers wanting to get the most from their employees.

The Dilbert Principle: A Cubicle’s-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads & Other Workplace Afflictions
by Scott Adams (Harperbusiness)
This book provides all too familiar portraits of the lunacy of the contemporary workplace.

Competing on the Edge : Strategy as Structured Chaos
by Shona L. Brown, and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt (Harvard Business School Press)
This book discusses how companies like Microsoft and Nike succeed because they’ve found a medium between structure and adaptability to market changes.

SOURCE: Charles Decker, president and publisher of Berrett-Koehler Communications, San Francisco; Theodore Kinni, editor of The Business Reader, a free online newsletter of business publications, Williamsburg, Virginia(bizbooks@gte.net); and Amazon.com.