Books I have written (best place to buy is Amazon)
"The Workplace Battlefield: where great talent goes to die." (2023)
Workplace culture can make or break any strategy to attract, motivate, retain and engage great talent. This book explains the problem and suggests solutions. When talent arrives at work, they are placed in a workplace that will be new to them - as well as they will be new to others. Will the workplace motivate and stimulate them or wear them down? Will it help build great people or act as a demolition site for people's potential?
"Responsible Business." (2023)
This book, based on the RBP 2030 framework developed by Jim Bignal in the UK, demonstrates how workplace culture, and the leadership that creates and manages it, is central to efforts to seek more responsible corporate behaviour. This book lays out the problems and provides a five step plan to a strategic solution, including examples of letters, forms and other support materials.
"No Fun at Great Toys." (2022)
Fictional book about the CEO of a family business (Great Toys) who is faced with possible loss of the business, and traces the problem back to a poor culture, that has been created by focusing on the bottom line alone. This has caused problems in innovation and creativity, demotivating employees (who had not yet been laid off), and alienating customers and suppliers. This book shows how Steve, the CEO, unravels the problem and sets the path ahead.
"Fun Returns to Great Toys." (2022)
This fictional book picks up where the previous book left off and shows how Steve, the Great Toys CEO, went about implementing the actions required to make culture a strategic initiative. The book shows how the changes he made, started to re-build the business as an innovative and creative leader in both the design and production of toys but also in new areas of product and service development.
"The Cost of Poor Culture." (2021)
This book, that every CEO and CFO as a minimum should have on their desk, explains how the invisible costs of a poor culture are hidden from view making it impossible to see the ROI from investments aimed at enhancing the workplace. These costs are presented in three categories - financial surprises, buried operating costs, and the financial loss from undiscovered innovation and creativity. Once the failure costs caused by a poor culture and seen, reported and understood, management can re-focus efforts on critical areas of people strategy.
"Understanding and Reporting Human Capital." (2021)
Metrics related to HR or "people issues" have become increasingly important. This book looks at the evolution of HR metrics and demonstrates how many current approaches are outdated - focusing more on HR process management than on people strategy. The book provides a new framework for thinking about and developing HR metrics that embrace both traditional aspects as well as emerging challenges such as employee engagement. A great read for those tasked with new thinking around HR.
"The Tunnels of Wallingford - Fact or Fiction?" (2021)
Wallingford, in Berkshire, England was granted its Royal Charter in 1155 and existed for several centuries prior to that. As a very old town there are many stories and rumour's about hidden tunnels, including those leading to and from the ancient Wallingford Castle. The author spent his early years living in a house that dates back to the 1500's on the site of the old Priory. This book brings together many of the stories of the past and poses the question as to whether they are fact or fiction. The book includes plans and maps of the town that shows possible locations of hidden tunnels.
"Corporate Culture - Combining Purpose and Values" (2021)
Demonstrates how values can be developed and deployed as a foundation for behaviour, and how these must permeate every activity so as to become "moments of truth." Provides a "how to" guide to implementation.
"How Accountants Lost their Balance" (2021)
Demonstrates the rise of intangibles as drivers of value creation and the inability of accounting to embrace and communicate the substantial financial investment taking place to sustain these capabilities. Provides a call for action and suggests areas to be addressed.
"Reflective Leaders and High-Performance Organizations" (2012 Co-authored with Dr. Peter Smyth)
Demonstrates the leadership skills and capabilities required to support and develop high level of employee engagement and commitment. Based on 25 years of hands-on consulting experience.
"Governance, Accountability and Sustainable Development - an agenda for the 21st century" (2005)
Demonstrating how governance approaches must change to reflect a human-centric and intangible based business environment. While management adopts new approaches like dashboards and scorecards, boards and investors continue to rely on audits and financial performance - neither of which reveal the risk of sustaining capability.
Workplace culture can make or break any strategy to attract, motivate, retain and engage great talent. This book explains the problem and suggests solutions. When talent arrives at work, they are placed in a workplace that will be new to them - as well as they will be new to others. Will the workplace motivate and stimulate them or wear them down? Will it help build great people or act as a demolition site for people's potential?
"Responsible Business." (2023)
This book, based on the RBP 2030 framework developed by Jim Bignal in the UK, demonstrates how workplace culture, and the leadership that creates and manages it, is central to efforts to seek more responsible corporate behaviour. This book lays out the problems and provides a five step plan to a strategic solution, including examples of letters, forms and other support materials.
"No Fun at Great Toys." (2022)
Fictional book about the CEO of a family business (Great Toys) who is faced with possible loss of the business, and traces the problem back to a poor culture, that has been created by focusing on the bottom line alone. This has caused problems in innovation and creativity, demotivating employees (who had not yet been laid off), and alienating customers and suppliers. This book shows how Steve, the CEO, unravels the problem and sets the path ahead.
"Fun Returns to Great Toys." (2022)
This fictional book picks up where the previous book left off and shows how Steve, the Great Toys CEO, went about implementing the actions required to make culture a strategic initiative. The book shows how the changes he made, started to re-build the business as an innovative and creative leader in both the design and production of toys but also in new areas of product and service development.
"The Cost of Poor Culture." (2021)
This book, that every CEO and CFO as a minimum should have on their desk, explains how the invisible costs of a poor culture are hidden from view making it impossible to see the ROI from investments aimed at enhancing the workplace. These costs are presented in three categories - financial surprises, buried operating costs, and the financial loss from undiscovered innovation and creativity. Once the failure costs caused by a poor culture and seen, reported and understood, management can re-focus efforts on critical areas of people strategy.
"Understanding and Reporting Human Capital." (2021)
Metrics related to HR or "people issues" have become increasingly important. This book looks at the evolution of HR metrics and demonstrates how many current approaches are outdated - focusing more on HR process management than on people strategy. The book provides a new framework for thinking about and developing HR metrics that embrace both traditional aspects as well as emerging challenges such as employee engagement. A great read for those tasked with new thinking around HR.
"The Tunnels of Wallingford - Fact or Fiction?" (2021)
Wallingford, in Berkshire, England was granted its Royal Charter in 1155 and existed for several centuries prior to that. As a very old town there are many stories and rumour's about hidden tunnels, including those leading to and from the ancient Wallingford Castle. The author spent his early years living in a house that dates back to the 1500's on the site of the old Priory. This book brings together many of the stories of the past and poses the question as to whether they are fact or fiction. The book includes plans and maps of the town that shows possible locations of hidden tunnels.
"Corporate Culture - Combining Purpose and Values" (2021)
Demonstrates how values can be developed and deployed as a foundation for behaviour, and how these must permeate every activity so as to become "moments of truth." Provides a "how to" guide to implementation.
"How Accountants Lost their Balance" (2021)
Demonstrates the rise of intangibles as drivers of value creation and the inability of accounting to embrace and communicate the substantial financial investment taking place to sustain these capabilities. Provides a call for action and suggests areas to be addressed.
"Reflective Leaders and High-Performance Organizations" (2012 Co-authored with Dr. Peter Smyth)
Demonstrates the leadership skills and capabilities required to support and develop high level of employee engagement and commitment. Based on 25 years of hands-on consulting experience.
"Governance, Accountability and Sustainable Development - an agenda for the 21st century" (2005)
Demonstrating how governance approaches must change to reflect a human-centric and intangible based business environment. While management adopts new approaches like dashboards and scorecards, boards and investors continue to rely on audits and financial performance - neither of which reveal the risk of sustaining capability.
Guidelines and articles
"The Behavioral Aspect of Cost Management," 2016. Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA)
Demonstrates how accountants cannot control cost alone, and corporate culture that drivers human behavior must be the enabler of responsible stewardship.
"Unrecognized Intangible Assets: Identification, Management and Reporting," (2010) Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA), co-authored with Mary Adams,I-Capital Advisors.
Demonstrates the growth of intangible assets as a component of organizational value and capability, and suggests approaches to measurement.
"The Evolution of Accountability - Sustainability Reporting for Accountants," (2008), Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA).
Exploration of the emerging importance of environmental and social demands on organizations and the financial impact that these have on organizations in terms of risk, value, reputation and sustaining operational capability.
"Values and Ethics" From Inception to Practice," (2008) Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA)
Unethical behavior is a growing challenge for business; this guideline demonstrates how a commitment to ethical behavior is more than a "plaque on the wall" and must be demonstrated by leadership and permeate every activity of the organization.
I have published a large number of articles and papers over the last forty plus years and have also given many presentations.
Demonstrates how accountants cannot control cost alone, and corporate culture that drivers human behavior must be the enabler of responsible stewardship.
"Unrecognized Intangible Assets: Identification, Management and Reporting," (2010) Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA), co-authored with Mary Adams,I-Capital Advisors.
Demonstrates the growth of intangible assets as a component of organizational value and capability, and suggests approaches to measurement.
"The Evolution of Accountability - Sustainability Reporting for Accountants," (2008), Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA).
Exploration of the emerging importance of environmental and social demands on organizations and the financial impact that these have on organizations in terms of risk, value, reputation and sustaining operational capability.
"Values and Ethics" From Inception to Practice," (2008) Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA)
Unethical behavior is a growing challenge for business; this guideline demonstrates how a commitment to ethical behavior is more than a "plaque on the wall" and must be demonstrated by leadership and permeate every activity of the organization.
I have published a large number of articles and papers over the last forty plus years and have also given many presentations.