We reached out to the entire Ardoq team and got their recommendations to create a must-read list of enterprise architect books that teach, inspire, and boost skill sets.
Sometimes to enable successful change, we need to change our perspectives on challenges. While many of these books are not about leveling up your technical know-how, they may provide a new perspective on managing change, people, and projects.
Which books have you found most inspiring or beneficial to boosting your skillsets? Have you read any of the below? Send us your favourites in the chat bubble on the right or share it with us on Twitter.
New Perspectives, New Opportunities - Why We Decided To Share Our Favourite Enterprise Architect Books
We recently hosted a webinar in collaboration with Debasish Mishra, looking at what we can do as EAs and technology leaders in light of the current situation.
You can watch the full On-Demand Webinar: Don't Waste a Serious Crisis.
One of the 5 recommendations was, if you have the capacity, to upskill yourself and your team.
Here They Are, Our Top Recommended Enterprise Architect Books
Software Project and Technology Management:
Fred Brooks: The Mythical Man-Month
- Why adding more people to a late project only makes it later
Tom DeMarco Timothy Lister: Peopleware
- Focus on the human side of software development
Gene Kim et al.: The Phoenix Project
- The above book set in software
- The follow up to the above
Nicole Forsgren et al.: Accelerate
- Use technology to drive business value
Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson: Machine, Platform, Crowd.
- Understanding the opportunities in emerging technologies
People, Culture, and Organizational Management:
- What motivates (creative) people
Daniel Coyle: The Culture Code
- How to create an environment for high performance.
- How to give feedback.
- A classic book on Theory of Constraints.
Ray Dalio: Principles: Life and Work
- Radical Truth and Transparency and how life’s lessons can be turned into algorithms for better decision making.
Specific for Enterprise Architecture:
Jeanne W. Ross: Enterprise Architecture as Strategy
- Classic required reading for new EAs.
Stafford Beer: The Heart of Enterprise
- Looking at the enterprise as a system.
Miscellaneous good reads:
- The Entrepreneurship 101 book, a must-read and applicable to internal innovation projects.
- Turning points for nations in crisis (maybe fitting?).
Eden Medina: Cybernetic Revolutionaries
- An interesting part of history where technology and politics meet.
Brent Adamson and Matthew Dixon: The Challenger Sale
- Understanding a modern strategy for selling (Lessons applicable to “selling” internally).
Ozan Varol: Think Like a Rocket Scientist
- Changing the way your approach challenges to turn the impossible to possible.
Charles Petzold: The Annotated Turing
- For those interested in math and computer science.
- A solid entry point into strategy.
Bethany McLean: The Smartest Guys In the Room
- The rise and fall of Enron.
Online Resources and Courses:
Debasish Mishra: The Digital Enterprise
- Ongoing Podcast Series specific to Enterprise Architecture topics.
- A valuable course on AWS not limited to technologists and architects.
UW Online Courses: Programming Languages
- 3 part series.
What enterprise architect books or online resources would you recommend to others? Let us know!
Don't forget you can watch the full webinar on-demand here:
