Books for an Ops team

As our Operations team begins to form this summer, I've began thinking about ways we can unify our vision and gain momentum before we officially launch in August. Reading the same books related to our job could play a helpful role in this. Here is a reading list that I'm thinking about suggesting to our GNW Ops team to work on this summer:

1. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni - Great book to help us establish healthy team norms and avoid the 5 dsyfunctions that teams can fall victim to. Was really helpful for our WSU team, and I know other teams in the NW have read it together, too.

2. Next Generation Leader, Stanley - Another book with five main points, this one was referred to me by my friend Matt (see About) as the best of Andy Stanley's books. I was challenged and encouraged when I read it last year and think it's a good fit for our emerging young leaders.

3. Linchpin, Godin - This is the most current of the list. Godin is an innovator and challenger of the status quo. While not writing from a Christian perspective, I think there is much that translates to leading, working, and innovating in ministry. Michael Hyatt, CEO of Christian publisher Thomas Nelson, liked it enough to give copies out to a whole bunch of his employees.

4. StrengthsFinder 2.0, Rath - Combined with the (included) online test to suggest your "top 5" strengths (everything is 5 in publishing, huh?), this book helps people to discover and leverage their strengths. Basic idea: spend more time working out of strength then focusing on weakness. Again, many teams with Campus Crusade, including mine at WSU, went through this together and gained great insight into how to better work as individuals and as a team. 

5. Celebration of Discipline, Foster - The first four deal a lot with productivity, leading, being pro-active, getting things done, etc. Topics like prayer, meditation, simplicity, and worship will be a good counter balance to help us stay centered on Christ and rely on the Spirit more than the flesh.

Have you read some of these books? Did you like them? What other books would you suggest for a new team to read together?

[Update: The book we will all engage with the most, both individually and as a team, is the Bible. All other books we read and engage, of any genre, will be sifted and processed through a Biblical framework.]