Nine books for campaign success

I’m often asked about the best reading for advocacy success, so I wanted to share some of the books that have inspired me over the years.

This list is far from exhaustive – and these books are not exclusively about advocacy – but they do provide a great perspective on what delivers change, both through theory and real life examples.

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read them. And likewise, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Please do add to this list in the comments!

• Chip and Dan Heath, Switch – very practical examples of how to deliver lasting change by understanding human behaviour.
• Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto – a look at how to transform outcomes by avoiding human error (but using the best of humans instead).
• Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms, New Power – a brilliant exploration of the new forces shaping campaigning.
• David Plouffe, The Audacity to Win – a thorough look at what delivered for Obama from his chief strategist.
• Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals – the Godfather of Community Organising; my change bible.
• Drew Westin, The Political Brain – THE book on the power of a narrative; advice on rooting your campaigns in what drives action not what feels good.
• Jamie Bartlett, People vs. Tech: How the internet is killing democracy – an interesting take on how the internet is changing how we campaign.
• Tim Shipman, All Out War – a look at how the Brexit campaign won, and a great read if you want to understand the forces driving this agenda.
• Brian Sheehan, Gráinne Healy, and Noel Whelan, Ireland Says Yes: The Inside Story of How the Vote for Marriage Equality Was Won – a very practical case study of how the equal marriage campaign in Ireland won, centred on the power of local, people-driven campaigns (and love).

This post was originally published on LinkedIn