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PDF Version << Syllabus Home Page2 Page3 Page4 Page5 Page6 Page7 Last >> Creativity and Personal Mastery Course Outline Prof. Srikumar S. Rao
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook; Doubleday, 1994 This book is co-authored with Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts and Art Kleiner and tells you how to actually apply the theories propounded in the earlier book. It is simply written and chock-full of useful exercises, case histories and practical tools. It is a thick tome so take your time going through it and selecting what will be of most use to you. This is an excellent reference manual and lists great resources. Reading level 1.The Dance of Change; Doubleday 1999 Same co-cuthors as the Fieldbook with George Roth as an addition. Same comments as for the Fieldbook. More recent examples of companies in the middle of change and more thoughts on the change management process. Reading level 1.Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future Society for Organizational Learning, 2004 This book is co-authored with C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski and Betty Sue Flowers. The authors interviewed more than a hundred leading figures involved in organizational change and present a synthesis with many quotes. The focus is not just on how to make change happen, but on making sure that it is a nurturing change that benefits both the individual and the organization. Respect for the Universe is a strong subtext throughout. Reading level 1.Sheth, Jagdish and Andrew Sobel - Clients for Life: How Great Professionals Develop Breakthrough Relationships; Simon & Schuster, 2000 The authors posit that the best consultants have ongoing - perhaps lifelong - relationships with clients and are consulted on a wide range of issues, even issues that are outside their expertise. Their advice is always valued and frequently heeded. Examples are Aristotle for Alexander, Cardinal Richelieu for King Louis XIII, Harry Hopkins for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thomas More for King Henry VIII. There are also more recent business examples. The advisor needs a special blend of empathy, depth of understanding and integrity and the authors define the qualities and how to develop them. Reading level 1. Stewart, James B - Disney War; Simon & Schuster, 2005 An excellent book about executive shenanigans at the company that Walt built. Painstakingly researched by a former Wall Street Journal reporter the book makes you a fly on the wall in conference rooms where momentous decisions are taken. The pettiness, greed and sheer obtuseness of some of our corporate titans is laid bare with a scalpel. You will wonder how supposedly intelligent directors, charged with looking out for shareholder interests, ever permitted such antics. Reading level 1. Stoll, Clifford - Silicon Snake Oil Anchor Books, 1995 The author is one of the pioneers of the Internet and plenty computer literate. He makes a searing case that computerization has gone too far and now detracts from the quality of life. He points out the many deficiencies of cyberspace and documents how the push to computerize schools is likely to produce even more illiterate and innumerate graduates than today's schools do, but at greatly increased cost. His arguments are compelling but he pushes some of them a little too far. Judge for yourself. Reading level 1. Sugarman, Joseph - Advertising Secrets of the Written Word - Marketing Secrets of a Mail Order Maverick - Television Secrets for Marketing Success - DelStar Books, Las Vegas, NV 1998 Joe Sugarman is the copywriting wizard who wrote those incredibly entertaining full-page advertisements for high-technology gizmos. The company he founded, JS&A, was wildly successful and the precursor to others such as The Sharper Image and DAK Industries. He is also the guy behind the BluBlocker sunglasses. These books are a distillation of the marketing lessons he learnt in a lifetime of entrepreneurship and he is incredibly candid. He tells you what worked and why and what didn't work and why. Lots of real examples. Reading level 1. Templeton, Sir John - Discovering the Laws of Life; Continuum Press, 1994 Templeton is the mutual fund czar who founded the mutual fund family that bears his name and retained his honor while building an enormous fortune. Not an easy task. In this book he reveals the deeper principles by which he steered his business career and invites you to do the same. They apply to your personal life as well. Do not be fooled by its simplicity and apparent naivete, there is much wisdom here. Reading level 1. Tichy, Noel M. with Eli Cohen - The Leadership Engine; HarperBusiness 1997 Noel is a professor at the University of Michigan business school and director of its Global Leadership Program. He takes you through the guts of many major organizations such as General Electric and Ameritech and dissects their culture. The chapter on values is particularly good and the appendix, a handbook on how you can create leaders in your turn, has much food for thought. Tichy's thing is that you should have your own "teachable point of view". I concur. Reading level 1. Tichy, Noel M. and Stratford Sherman - Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will Doubleday, 1993 Both authors are intimately familiar with General Electric and its charismatic leader, Jack Welch. They take you behind the scenes and show you what happened when Welch took over the reins from Reginald Jones, and why. What was the reason that one of America's biggest and most profitable companies was literally turned upside down and inside out, the human cost of such turmoil and how the spectacular and well-documented productivity increases came about. You may like or abominate Welch, but it is indisputable that he set a trend in motion and many, many companies are doing likewise with varying degrees of success. Read this book to find out what and why. Reading level 1 to 2. Mind over matter: There is an entire genre of books that basically postulates that you can create whatever you want by thinking about it. You can also change yourself, eradicating undesirable traits and inculcating positive ones. This genre is growing at an exponential pace, perhaps as a result of increasing frustration and inability to cope with the rapid changes taking place in the world today in all dimensions from social mores to business practices. Many, but not all, of these books have a religious/spiritual underpinning and are deliberately inspirational. A few would lodge in the 'self-help' section of giant bookstores. Do not look down your nose or scoff at them. I know chief executive officers of NYSE companies who swear by some and the exercises they suggest. You may well find something here that is highly relevant either in itself, or as a springboard for further growth. Many of these books have been reprinted several times by different publishers. The publishers listed are either the original, or very early, ones. Dyer, Wayne W. - Manifest Your Destiny: The Nine Spiritual Principles for Getting Everything You Want; HarperCollins, 1997 A popular speaker and author, Dyer has other books you may wish to explore including Real Magic and Wisdom of the Ages. This book is a good manual on how you can use mental forces to create a physical reality. Good tips on how to harness the power of the subconscious mind and the whole has an explicitly spiritual underpinning which is quite common in this entire genre. Reading level 1. The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way; Hay House, 2004 This book is an excellent summary of all that the author has been saying for years, but the exposition is more lucid. He explains how each of us creates our world through our inner dialog and how we can change this dialog to produce better results. Many chapters have a "Five ideas for implementing the suggestions of this chapter" section at the end and this is valuable. Definitely one of his better books. Perhaps even his best. Reading level 1.Fisher, Mark - The Instant Millionaire; New World Library, 1990 It is a slim volume and written as a fable in which a young man seeks the secret of wealth from an elderly millionaire mentor. It discusses the power of focused thought how to master your subconscious and many similar topics in an easy, convincing style. Many homilies such as, "Always remember that at a certain height there are no clouds. If there are clouds in your life, it's because your soul has not soared high enough. Many people make the mistake of fighting against their problems. What you must do is raise yourself above those problems once and for all. The heart of the rose will lead you above the clouds, where the sky is forever clear. Don't waste your time chasing the clouds, They will unceasingly reappear..." Reading level 1. Gawain, Shakti - Creative Visualization; Bantam, 1982 An introduction and workbook for using mental energy to transform your life. There are many powerful affirmations and visualizations along with tips on meditation. The startling success of this book catapulted the author to New Age cult status and she promptly started giving workshops and lectures to large audiences. If you do explore this work be sure to do the exercise on establishing your own sanctuary. Reading level 1. Hill, Napoleon - Think and Grow Rich; Many publishers; try to get the Original Version, Restored and Revised, Aventine Press, 2004 Industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who may have been the world's richest man at the turn of the century, commissioned Hill to study the lives of the worlds richest and most successful men and come with a "success formula" that others could apply in their lives. He surveyed dozens of the top leaders of his time including Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Clarence Darrow and Thomas A. Edison and published his findings in a series of articles and papers. This particular volume has become a cult classic and is one of the all-time bestsellers. A better book is the thicker tome The Law of Success. Reading level 1. Katie, Byron - I Need Your Love - Is That True? Harmony Books, 2005 Katie is one of the many authors who report having a sudden awakening experience that literally changed her life. She was deeply unhappy before and wonderfully fulfilled after. Her first book - Loving What Is - was a best seller. In this book she focuses on relationships and points out that many of them become toxic because of the heavy demands we place on them to satisfy our own desperate needs. Reading level 1. Maltz, Maxwell - Psycho-cybernetics; Prentice-Hall 1960 A plastic surgeon, Maltz was amazed at the psychological complications that were tied up with physical imperfections whether real or imagined. He found that his scalpel did not merely change persons' faces, they changed their psyches as well and transformed many run down hacks into spirited chargers. He elaborates on what you can do to take charge of your life using well-tested psychological principles that make heavy use of autosuggestion. Reading level 1. Peale, Norman Vincent - The Power of Positive Thinking; Prentice-Hall, 1952 For half a century Peale was the beloved pastor of New York's Marble Collegiate Church and an inspiration to generations of his congregation. Still selling briskly after more than forty years this book catapulted the author to preeminence as the confidant of presidents and the spiritual mentor of many movers-and-shakers. Simply and powerfully written it calls for enlisting the help of Jesus Christ to solve a variety of human problems. Reading level 1. Ponder, Catherine - The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity; Prentice-Hall, 1962 Another book very much along the lines of The Power of Positive Thinking. In fact the author has been referred to as "the Norman Vincent Peale among lady ministers." It also talks about "prosperity laws" and how to apply them in your own life. Good sections on goal-setting and how to develop an attitude of abundance. Strong Christian religious undertone. Reading level 1. Roman, Sanaya and Duane Packer - Creating Money; H. J. Kramer, 1988 This book was supposedly transmitted to the authors by a pair of "beings of light" who dwell in the higher dimensions. I have a problem with this but that is my hang-up. It need not be yours. It is simple to read, well written and contains many exercises that absolutely do work to help you on the stated goal of achieving wealth. There are two catches: 1) You must have an underlying world view that is compatible with the exercises prescribed, and 2) The time frame can sometimes be a very long one. Read the introduction and the first three chapters. If you are not strongly attracted to it, drop the book. It will not work for you. Reading level 1. Vitale, Joe - Spiritual Marketing: A proven 5-step Formula for Easily Creating Wealth from the Inside Out; 1stBooks, 2002 A slim, self-published volume, this book is shot through with typographical errors, grammatical excess and sophomoric bromides. There are frequent references to the authors' friends who are miracle-workers, one and all. Despite its faults - and they are legion - the author makes some very good points on wealth consciousness and how to achieve it. You may well find benefit in his simple, sincere style. This book became an unheralded and underground best seller and was picked up by Amazon.com and other mainstream distributors. Reading level 1. Wattles, Wallace D. - The Science of Getting Rich Or Financial Success Through Creative Thought; Reprinted Iceni Books, 2002 One of the early classics, this book is still highly relevant. First published in1910, it is one of the clearest expositions of the Law of Wealth that I have come across. It is a powerful law and it works. And I will not say what it is because the purpose of this introduction is to inspire you to get the book and find out for yourself. Reading level 1. Life changing books: This is a loaded title for a section, and I have chosen it deliberately. What, exactly, is a life-changing book anyway? If a precocious high-school student reads a textbook on aerodynamics and, being inspired, subsequently becomes an aeronautical engineer, does that make it a life-changing book? If a young social misfit reads Mein Kampf and rises to head a supremacist group, does that make it a life-changing book? Whether the answer is yes or no depends on the perspective from which the question is asked. Life-changing books come in many flavors. The books in this section are life-changing in the sense that they help you find answers to life's deeper questions: Why are we here at all? Where are we going? etc. This section will be particularly relevant to you if you have been gnawed by a question that won't go away "Is this all there is to life?" There is a substratum to life on earth, a moral and spiritual bedrock as it were, that gives stability, direction and purpose. You have to discover it on your own and learn how to use its power. Some of these books may help you on your journey of self-discovery. The principal texts of the world's great religions, such as the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, the Koran and the Dhammapada are certainly sources of succor and strength. They have not been included here because they are already well known enough in their own right. The books listed, while they may spring from a particular tradition, have a broad appeal and a powerful message. Read many of them but be warned that mere reading, even careful reading, is fruitless. You will only benefit if you "grok" them. For those of you not familiar with Heinlein's delightful work Stranger in a Strange Land here is how one of the characters explains the term: "... 'Grok' means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes part of the observed - to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience....If I chopped you up and made a stew, you and the stew, whatever was in it,would grok - and when I ate you, we would grok together and nothing would be lost and it would not matter which one of us did the eating." The concept itself is quite difficult to grok! Helpful hint: do not rely too much on your analytical mind. The deeper, life-altering, meaning is always revealed intuitively. Be humble when you read any of these books because there is deep wisdom there. If you find feelings of incredulity or disdain rising, stop immediately. There are two reasons for this: First, if such emotions arise you will assuredly not be able to grasp what the book has to offer so you might as well not waste any time. Second, at some later time in your life the message in that book may be precisely what you need. Why preclude yourself from such help by forming a negative impression now? Happy grokking! No readability scores have been assigned to any of these books. They are generally simply written but have to be understood at many deep levels. Some books have been translated by more than one person and published by more than one firm. Some of these editions differ quite markedly from each other. Feel free to select the one that suits you best. Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad - al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal (Deliverance From Error) In W. Montgomery Watt's (tr.) The Faith and Practice of Al-Ghazali; Kazi Publications, Chicago, 1982 Born in eleventh century Persia, Al-Ghazali gave up a career as a distinguished academic to become a wandering ascetic. Widely acclaimed as the greatest Muslim after Muhammad he makes a case for higher forms of human apprehension than the cognitive levels of normal functioning. He absorbed the philosophical texts and trod the way of the mystics. He presents his synthesis in simple language and deep conviction. Augustine of Hippo, St. - Confessions; Tr. R. S. Pine-Coffin, Penguin 1961 One of the early great leaders of Christianity, Augustine was a libertine deeply wedded to physical pleasure till his conversion at age thirty two. This is a personal account of his search for truth, his wrestling with his libido and other passions, his repentance of his early ways and the consecration of his life to Jesus. Dass, Ram - Be Here Now; Lama Foundation, 1971 Formerly known as Richard Alpert, Ram Dass was a professor of psychology who was fired from Harvard because of his highly public experiments with psychedelic drugs. His subsequent peregrinations took him to India where he found his master and settled down to drug-free spiritual practice. The first part of the book is a brief autobiography. The guy has a Ph. D. from Stanford and is well aware of the mental games we all play, particularly academics. The third part consists of plain language essays on a variety of topics such as money and right livelihood, getting straight, the rational mind, etc. There are some great quotes in this section. The middle part is the kernel of the walnut - a series of cryptic statements about how life's odyssey really works, all richly illustrated with new age graphics. This will either make immediate and profound sense to you, or it won't. If it does, stick with it. If not, move on and don't worry about it. de Mello, Anthony - Contact With God; Loyola University Press, 1991 A Jesuit priest, who passed away unexpectedly in 1987, de Mello achieved international renown for the workshops he conducted for both priests and laypersons. This book was published posthumously from his retreat notes and deals with how to use prayer as a powerful and effective means of bringing a spiritual presence into your life at all times, and also why you should strive to do this. You may also wish to explore A Call to Love, which is a series of meditations, and Awareness, which was compiled, from workshop lectures. French, R. M. - The Way of the Pilgrim, The Pilgrim Continues His Way Ballantine, 1974 Nobody knows who the Pilgrim was or much about his antecedents. Written in Russian, the manuscript was discovered years after his death and first published in 1884. The first English edition came in 1930. He was not only unknown but also uneducated. He was crippled in one arm. He was dirt poor all his life and frequently destitute. Yet his touching account of his unrelenting search for enlightenment has raw power that has inspired countless others. And, despite his penurious outward circumstances, he found the "peace which passeth all understanding" by using a simple device. Read it to find out what and how and try to do likewise. Goldsmith, Joel - The Art of Meditation; George, Allen and Unwin, 1957 A mystic himself, Goldsmith takes you by the hand and shows you how to meditate in simple, uncomplicated steps. Note that I said "simple", not "easy". Whether you find it easy or impossibly difficult depends on the strength of your intent. Goldsmith is unambiguous about the process, the experience and the fruits. Hahn, Thich Nhat - The Miracle of Mindfulness; Beacon Press, 1975 A Vietnamese Zen master, who now lives in exile in France, Thich Nhat Hahn's writing is both gentle and insistent. He well knows human foibles and the spirit of compassion is palpable. The book contains anecdotes and exercises designed to help you practice mindfulness, the eastern skill of being awake and fully aware. As common in Buddhist traditions, breath is the vehicle used to bring you to mindfulness. The exercises will bring you relaxation, peace and eventually self-awareness. Ignatius of Loyola, St. - Spiritual Exercises Tr. Thomas Corbishley, P. J. Kennedy & Sons, 1963 A Spanish nobleman, Ignatius of Loyola left court life to enter the army. Recovering from severe wounds suffered at the battle of Pamplona he read several books by and about the early saints and underwent a remarkable conversion that led to his hanging up his sword at the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat. He entered priesthood, founded the Jesuit order and was its first superior-general. While practicing austerities and meditation he underwent mystical experiences which formed the basis for this book. These are powerful contemplative exercises. Kempis, Thomas A. - The Imitation of Christ Tr. by Betty I. Knott, Fontana, 1963 A German-born Dutch religious in the fourteenth century, relatively little is known about Thomas of Kempis. Even the attribution of this work to him has been contested. It is a powerful and simple interpretation of the teachings of Jesus and the attitude needed to benefit from them in daily life. Immensely practical, it does not dwell on theological points. It goes instantly to the heart of man's predicament: How to gain happiness and freedom from suffering by learning the Truth. Lawrence, Brother - The Practice of the Presence of God H. R. Allenson, Ltd., London Nicholas Herman of Lorraine, a footman and soldier, uneducated and lowborn, entered a Carmelite monastery in seventeenth century France. By the time he died at age eighty he was known as Brother Lawrence and deeply revered for his saintliness. The latter trait shows through in this book, particularly in the spiritual maxims and gathered thoughts. Practical, devotional and inspirational. Maimonides, Moses - The Guide for the Perplexed Tr. by M. Freidlander, Dover, 1956 Born in Cordova in the twelfth century Maimonides became a physician in the court of Saladin as well as one of the most influential philosophers of his day. The Guide reconciles scriptural texts with the findings of the science of its time. There are lucid expositions of topics such as the impossibility of ascribing any positive attributes to God. While this is quite worthwhile, it is heavy reading. Nikhilananda, Swami - The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, NY, 1942 Ramakrishna was the untutored nineteenth century mystic and sage who proclaimed, through personal experience, that the endpoints of the world's major religions were identical. The best western account of his life and times is Christopher Isherwood's Ramakrishna and his Disciples. This book is a translation of a Bengali work that recounts details of his conversations with his disciples and visitors. Much of Ramakrishna's teachings were through parables. Osborne, Arthur, Ed. - The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Messrs. Rider & Co., London Ramana Maharshi was the Indian saint introduced to the West by Paul Brunton in Search in Secret India. An exponent of the philosophical system of Advaita Vedanta, he espoused the short, direct solution to the human predicament - self enquiry. Steady and continuous investigation into the nature of the mind transforms the mind and resolves it into its source. Read Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge by the same author first. If that makes a deep intuitive appeal to you, follow up with this book. Palmer, G.E.H., Philip Sherrard and Kallistos Ware, Tr. And Ed. - Philokalia Faber and Faber, 5 volumes These are the writings of the early church fathers compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. They were men of deep spirituality who found simple powerful ways to bring the presence of God into everyday life. Springing as they do from personal experience, their writings are deeply moving. The Philokalia was the only book the Pilgrim carried apart from the Bible. PDF Version << Syllabus Home Page2 Page3 Page4 Page5 Page6 Page7 Last >> |
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