26 great books for ASC leaders — 2016 reading list

Here is a list of the best books as recommended by ASC owners, operators and physicians recommended by administrators and industry leaders from around the country. The books are arranged in random order.

1. Out of the Crisis, by W. Edwards Deming, looks at two of the central issues facing industry: quality control and productivity.

2. The Machine That Changed the World, by James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones and Daniel Roos, is based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's $5 million, five-year study on the future of the automobile.

3. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Leaning Organization, by Peter M. Senge, focuses on group problem solving using the systems thinking method in order to convert companies into learning organizations.

4. How to Drive Your Competition Crazy: Creating Disruption for Fun and Profit, by Guy Kawasaki, offers irreverent, unconventional and extreme strategies in sales, marketing, production and human resources to make one's company more competitive.

5. Switch - How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, delves deep inside the human psyche to explain why it is so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities and in our own lives.

6. It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness, by Sylvia Boorstein, demystifies spirituality, charts the path to happiness through the Buddha's basic teachings, shows how to eliminate "clear seeing" hindrances and develops a realistic course toward wisdom and compassion.

7. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Bruce Patton, Roger Fisher and William Ury, is one of the primary business texts of the modern era, and is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution.

8. How the World Sees You, by Sally Hogshead, gives readers the perfect tools to make a brilliant first impression.

9. Developing and Managing an Ambulatory Surgery Center, by Jeanne Barkheimer, provides proven strategies to spot and avoid common pitfalls, sail through regulatory, licensure and accreditation issues and formulate sound budgets and effective financial plans.

10. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't, by James C. Collins, is a management book that aims to describe how companies transition from being average to great, and how companies can fail to make the transition.

11. The Governance Factor: 33 Keys to Success in Healthcare, by Errol L. Biggs, provides board members with the information they need to be productive.

12. Better Communication for Better Care: Mastering Physician Administrator Collaboration, by Kenneth H. Cohn, helps you rise above frustrations by using open and productive communication, as well as presenting practical strategies for making dialogue a high priority and working closely together toward a common purpose.

13. Solving Partner Level Challenges in Ambulatory Surgery Centers: Strategies for Physician Owners, by Gayle Evans, provides helpful tips and strategies and problem-solving skills for ASC physicians.

14. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living: Time-tested Methods for Conquering Worry, by Dale Carnegie, helps lead the reader to a more enjoyable and fulfilling life, helping them to become more aware of not only themselves, but others around them.

15. Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a Difference, by Quint Studer, offers a road map and practical how-to guide for creating and sustaining a culture of service and operational excellence.

16. Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, uses a revolutionary program to help readers discover their distinct talents and strengths based on a Gallup study of over 2 million people who have excelled in their careers.

17. If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9½ Things You Would Do Differently, by Fred Lee, challenges the assumptions that have defined customer service in healthcare by focusing on the similarities between Disney and hospitals.

18. The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership, by James C. Hunter, tells the story of a troubled executive who is also struggling as a husband, father and coach, and his story is an allegory that teaches the timeless principles of Servant Leadership.

19. FYI: For Your Improvement, by Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichert, presents a comprehensive list and description of competencies needed for leadership, according to the Lominger Group.

20. Rewire: Change Your Brain to Break Bad Habits, Overcome Addictions, Conquer Self-Destructive Behavior, by Richard O'Connor, PhD, is a brain-based guide that helps readers get rid of the bad habits that plague us.

21. Unaccountable, by Marty Makary, MD, is a powerful, no-nonsense, non-partisan diagnosis for healing our hospitals and reforming our broken healthcare system.

22. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown, draws on the author's experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the disciplined pursuit of less.

23. Who: The A Method for Hiring, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, provides a simple, practical and effective solution to unsuccessful hiring.

24. Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence, by Tim Sanders, readers will learn about total-confidence principles and how these principles can help them rise above personal and financial losses.

25. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, shows how to get the job done and deliver results, whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job.

26. How Doctors Think, by Jerome Groopman, MD, pinpoints the forces and thought process behind the decisions doctors make, and explores why doctors err and shows when and how they can, with our help, avoid snap judgments, embrace uncertainty, communicate effectively and deploy other skills that can profoundly impact our health.

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