Three Books Every Manufacturing Professional Must Read

When I started my career in manufacturing working with my hands as a machinist, I never gave much thought to reading business-oriented books. Frankly, I looked at them as a waste of time.

As I got older and more interested in moving up the ladder as a manufacturing professional, I discovered a few books that are absolutely indispensable when it comes to building a solid background in business.

Here are my all-time favorite three. Every one of them is entertaining and valuable:

1. The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews. This book is a phenomenal essay about success in life through lessons taught by some of history’s greatest figures. The main character in the story is a man who is experiencing the most terrible adversity he’s ever faced. With a lost career, a sick daughter and impeding doom seemingly lurking in every corner, the man gets into a car accident and begins a journey across time to meet the likes of Harry Truman, King Solomon, Anne Frank and Abraham Lincoln. Each of the historic icons he encounters offers an important lesson about overcoming hardship and becoming a person of action, change and impact. Truly one of the best books I have ever read in my lifetime. Key takeaways: Happiness is truly a choice, real leaders seek to serve the people they meet (regardless of station in life), and any individual can actually change the course of world history by one simple decision.

2. The Five Temptations of a CEO by Patrick Lencioni. Built around a fable about leadership, Lencioni’s book is a classic tale about an overstressed CEO who is facing a crucial board meeting in less than 24 hours. His company is struggling to succeed in most measurable areas of performance, and as the man at the top, he knows he’ll be in the hot seat when the board meeting convenes. Riding the subway home on the eve of the meeting, he meets several CEO’s from other companies, each with a particular shortcoming that leaders must strive to avoid. This is another excellent, fast and easy read, and one that will put any manufacturing professional ahead of the pack in key areas of management and leadership. Key takeaways: Clarity and accountability are crucial to delivering and meeting expectations. Also, the ability to admit mistakes is a hallmark signature of any great leader.

3. Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni. OK, so there are two by the same author, but there’s a good reason for that. Death by Meeting is an excellent book about changing the mindset that makes most people hate going to business meetings. The story takes the reader through a young entrepreneur’s struggles as a business owner who is forced to overhaul company meetings and make them more effective. It illustrates the factors that contribute to the dread employees feel about attending staff meetings, and does so in Lencioni’s page-turning, instructive way. By the end of the story, the author will manage to change your mind about the utility and impact of business meetings, and you’ll enjoy the fable along the way. Key takeaways: Harmony is an overrated concept, and creating conflict in meetings is what drives meaningful outcomes.

Those are my three favorites, but there’s a fourth book that qualifies as “required reading” for the ambitious manufacturing professional. That would be Eli Goldratt’s The Goal, which is yet another fictional story about a factory manager who is faced with the closure of his plant if he fails to adopt an effective continuous improvement program. The Goal is also an engaging story that’s well written and fun to read, even though it’s teaching you lessons on every page.

In reality, all of the books I’ve mentioned here have the same central theme as The Goal, because every one of them is really about the same thing. Continuous improvement – not just in business or manufacturing – but also in everyday life.


By: David DiCola

David DiCola is a 20-year management veteran and the author of Customer Golf – The Short Game, a novel about overcoming obstacles in business and in golf.