Books Content Managers Should Read (Especially If You’re Trying To Make Process Improvements)

If you’re a manager whose department is looking to make the move to content management, you likely need lots of information. Lucky for you, there are three very important books to help you learn what you need to know to make wise decisions and to influence others.

• Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy by Ann Rockley, Pamela Kostur and Steve Manning. In “Managing Enterprise Content”, the authors make the case for their “Unified Content Strategy”—a practical and logical way of researching, planning, preparing, testing, implementing and selling content management across an enterprise. The lessons contained in this easy-to-read volume are not lost on smaller organizations, however; departments, small work groups, even individuals, will also benefit from learning innovative ways to effectively create, use and manage content. Managers will find the level of detail very useful, as the authors don’t just touch on how to do a particular task, they explain it, often with detailed examples.Chapter 2—Fundamental Concepts of Reuse is available as a free download (PDF). You may be surprised to know how many types of content reuse there are and how they differ from one another.
• Document Engineering: Analyzing and Designing Documents for Business Informatics and Web Services by Bob Glushko and Tim McGrath. In “Document Engineering” the authors make the case for technical communicators and their place in the world of information design. The authors explore the changing definition of “document” and identify “document engineering” as a new discipline for specifying, designing, and implementing documents that serve as interfaces to business processes. The authors also examine XML, content models, patterns, and content reuse in practical ways using real world situations as examples.
• The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies by Jagdish N. Seth. The author uses historical data to explore why of the world’s most successful companies eventually failed. Of particular relevance to management are the reasons why good companies go bad: denial, arrogance, complacency, competency dependence, competitive myopia, and many more. Each is covered with a real-world case study. It’s an easy read and jam-packed with common sense advice you can use today.

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